Into the Dawn - Chapter Twelve

Miles was discharged from the hospital just before noon. His car had been towed there, and he was grateful for this as it meant he had no need to return to that place of nightmares and death. He dropped Maya off at Phoenix's old office with the promise that she could come by that evening and then went straight home. The very first thing he did was take a long shower. After grooming and getting dressed in what he considered casual clothing, he headed for his basement where he hoped he would find his lover.

Relief washed over him when he saw the shape of the man lying on the old sofa in his single-room sub-level. Careful not to make any excess noise, he walked toward his lover, leaning over him in preparation to lie down.

"Miles?" Phoenix's eyes became slightly focused and moved to him instead of the rafters.

"I'm sorry..." Miles muttered. "I just... wanted to be near you. You can go back to sleep... We... don't have to talk." He crawled atop his lover and settled himself, his head resting on Phoenix's shoulder. He felt a powerful arm encircle his waist and he was glad to know Phoenix had no problem with this arrangement.

"Glad to see you got home safe..." Phoenix muttered. "How is Maya? She looked awful when I saw her last night..."

Miles shut his eyes, just basking in their closeness. "I have managed to tentatively convince her she need not grieve. I... told her she could come by tonight and see for herself that you are not dead. I..." He paused, taking in a deep breath. "...I had to tell her the truth, Phoenix. The only other option was to let her believe you were gone."

"No, it's fine," Phoenix assured him. "There's really no hiding it from her at this point, and... the cat will be out of the bag soon, if it isn't already." He paused, and Miles felt his hold tighten just a little. "And how are you?"

The prosecutor took in a deep, shaky breath. "I am... merely relieved that you returned. Everything else... I am... trying not to dwell on it." In all honesty, he was afraid to go to sleep, terrified of what his sleeping mind would show him. He had not slept since coming out of sedation the previous evening, and he was fighting that exhaustion now.

"Miles, I'm... so sorry I couldn't protect you from that. I... can't believe we both came so close to losing one another, all because I couldn't see the trap for what it was." Miles felt a tremor go through his lover's body, and the emotion in his voice was bringing out his own grief.

"Phoenix, you saved us all in the end..." Miles pointed out, his voice just as quiet as the other man's. "Somehow, you did something that should be impossible and turned around such a hopeless situation... just like you always do. I was the one who was useless... I tried... I truly did, but..."

Miles." He felt Phoenix's free hand come up to caress the side of his face lovingly. "You realize you saved my life twice, don't you?"

Miles bit his lip, saying nothing.

"The night everything went to Hell, you both stopped me from drinking that synthetic blood after it had been contaminated, and you killed the vampire I was fighting with before he could win... which he was about to do. Sure, I guess I still would have been able to bring help, but not only did you and the other captives make it possible for the rescue to go over without any more loss of life, you made sure i could come back to you afterward."

Despite the gravity of all that had happened, Miles felt a smile tug at the corners of his lips. "...I did not open myself completely to you just to let you get away that easily, Phoenix Wright..."

The man beneath him shook with a tired but genuine laugh. "Miles, just think about it for a second and you'll realize there's no getting rid of me. I've come back from death twice to chase you down."

"Mm..." Somehow, Miles felt much more relaxed after that brief shift in tone and decided to just stay silent. Phoenix grew quiet as well, and before long, Miles felt himself drifting to sleep. He chose not to fight it, hoping that doing so in this embrace would drive away any nightmares.

"All right, soda for Maya, apple juice for Pearls, disgusting cheap beer for Larry, and wine with a name i can't pronounce for the fancy prosecutor." Phoenix set the tray down on the coffee table and handed each person their requested beverage.

"Th-thank you, Mr. Nick," Pearl said politely as she took the cup with both hands, still staring at Phoenix in wonderment as she tried to understand what they'd all been told about him. She was sitting on Miles' couch beside her older cousin Maya, and farther down sat Larry. Miles was sitting on the loveseat, a space beside him left for his lover once everyone was served. He wasn't accustomed to having this many people in his home, but he had offered no protest to the idea. Phoenix had not seen these people in so long, and he wasn't going to deny him this chance.

"Yeah, thanks, dude," Larry said as he snatched the beer can and cracked it open. "What, you're not getting anything?"

Phoenix took his place beside Miles and leaned back. "Nope. I can't eat or drink anything normal anymore. Just blood."

Maya was a little green, but she was too curious to let it go. "W-what happens if you, uh... do eat or drink anything else?"

"Projectile vomiting," Phoenix answered bluntly, making Miles choke on the sip of wine he'd just taken. "And if you think regular puke is gross-"

"W-Wright, that is quite enough!" Miles cut him off, his hand over his mouth while he gathered his composure. "I believe they get the point." He heard Phoenix snicker beside him and shot the man a glare before at last lowering his hand, clearing his throat, and straightening himself out. The subject was quickly changed, but he wasn't sure he was entirely comfortable with the new topic either.

"So, Nick," Larry began, looking at the two of them with a little confusion. "You and Edgey? Never saw that coming! I mean, Nick, you even had a girlfriend in college! A cute one, too!"

"W-Wait..." Pearl's eyes widened and she leaned forward a little, staring at the two of them, then looking back at Maya. "B-but I thought that Mystic Maya was Mr. Nick's special someone..."

Maya sighed and reached over to pat her cousin on the back. "No, no, Pearly, that's what I kept trying to tell you. Nick and I are just friends."

Phoenix offered the little girl a kind smile. "That's right, Pearls. Maya is more like my little sister. You're both very important to me, but in a very different way than how Mr. Edgeworth and I feel about each other."

"Oh..." Pearl looked a bit upset for a brief time, but she appeared to be chewing on the idea, testing it out. "W-well... I guess that's okay, too. A-as long as you really love each other, then... then I'm happy you are finally together."

"Thank you," Phoenix said, resting a hand on Miles' thigh, a gesture which the prosecutor had to struggle not to rebuff while others were watching. "We're very happy to have your blessing."

This seemed to cheer the little girl up a bit, knowing her opinion was so highly valued by the grown-ups. Miles was glad that Phoenix was good with children, because he himself had no idea how to handle them. In fact, he had yet to really say much, for while he knew all of these people relatively well, the situation itself was unfamiliar and uncomfortable. Of course, he was the only one who felt that way, which he was accustomed to. At least he was near Phoenix, which made any situation just a little bit better.

Larry took a large gulp of his beer, set the can down, and then leaned forward with a grin. "Well, Nick, time to show us the goods. Come on! Let's see 'em!"

Phoenix blinked. "Huh?"

Maya apparently caught the hint and leaned forward as well, grinning a little. "Duh, Nick! Isn't it obvious!? You just got done explaining to us how you're a vampire and you drink people's blood. We wanna' see your new fangs!"

"Yeah, come on, dude! I remember watching you in court; you told us something really weird, so now you gotta' prove it! That's how it works, right?" Larry's grin had broadened, and Miles could sense that he was no longer the only one in discomfort.

"Er..." Phoenix reached up to rub the back of his neck. "Are, uh... you guys sure about that? I mean, I, uh... wouldn't wanna' scare Pearls or anything."

The little girl put on a brave face. "I won't be scared, Mr. Nick, I promise."

"See, she's fine!" Maya insisted, one of the three now staring hard at Phoenix in anticipation. The former attorney forced out a sigh of resignation.

"Alright, fine. Don't say I didn't warn you." With that, Phoenix moved to sit on the edge of the cushion and lean toward them, and Miles heard him give a low growl accompanied by the sound of his fangs extending. He couldn't see them, but he had no need to; he was intimately familiar with them.

"Oh-ho-ho, DUDE!" Larry exclaimed in wide-eyed astonishment. "That is AWESOME!"

"Jeez, Nick," Maya added, tilting her head to get a better look. "It's a good thing you can put those away or you'd, like... bite off your own tongue or something!"

Pearl giggled, far from frightened. "Those look kind of like the long teeth that kitty-cats have!" she observed joyfully, making Phoenix laugh. He retracted his fangs and sat back once more.

"Sorry, Pearls, but vampires aren't really as cute as kitty-cats."

Larry was still quite excited over this new development. "What other cool stuff can you do? C'mon, show us!"

Phoenix deliberated for a moment, and then a mischievous smirk curved his lips and he looked over at Miles, who instantly knew what was about to happen. "Wright, no, I- Ah!" Before he could react, Phoenix had easily lifted him up one-armed and put him over his shoulders. Then, they were moving. Dizziness overwhelmed the prosecutor and he had no way of keeping up with the sudden motion, but they were soon back where they'd started.

"For you, my friend," Phoenix said with a gracious little bow as he handed an astounded Larry a second beer.

"Woah...!" Larry said in awe while Maya laughed and Pearl clapped in delight.

"W-Wright, put me down this instant!" Miles sputtered in protest, his face bright red. Phoenix chuckled and carefully lowered him back down to sit on the loveseat, dropping down beside him. Miles immediately turned his face away to hide the blush, but the giggling of the two girls was only making it worse.

Phoenix was still laughing a little as he patted Miles' arm. "Sorry about that. Just having a little fun."

Miles' only response was to growl in irritation, refusing to turn back toward him until the blush - and tiny smile - had faded.

"Poor Mr. Edgeworth," Pearl said, still trying to stifle her own giggles. "He's so bashful!"

The conversation continued with Phoenix having to answer quite a few questions about his new condition and whether or not 'this' was true about vampires or 'that' was true about vampires. Miles thought the man had to have remarkable patience, as he himself would have told them to stop quite a while ago. Phoenix was interrupted in the midst of insisting he could not turn into a bat by the sound of a sharp series of knocks at the front door, and he suddenly became very tense. Miles moved to stand, but Phoenix took a firm hold of his arm to stop him.

"It's all right," Miles assured him, understanding perfectly why his lover was so worried. "I know who it is." Phoenix gave him a dubious look, but reluctantly released his arm and let him go. He heard Maya snicker and Pearl giggle as he left the room; he tried to ignore them.

Miles walked into the foyer and unlatched the bolt in order to open the door. Sure enough, Franziska stood on his doorstep, and she looked more hostile than usual. He opened his mouth to greet her, but he never quite got the chance.

He was honestly impressed with the speed and force of the slap she delivered, causing his head to jerk to the side upon impact. He barely had time to recover his senses before he felt himself drawn back a step, a powerful arm around his waist and low growl near his ear. He saw the startled look on Franziska's face, and his heart began to race as he realized just how close the situation was to getting out of hand.

"Phoenix, don't!" he hissed, nudging his lover slightly with his elbow to try and get his attention. "I'm fine. Calm down." When he glanced over at the man holding him protectively, he was alarmed to realize Phoenix had his fangs out, a clear threat to anyone who dared harm his human.

Franziska didn't move, and despite her obvious fear, she managed to work her expression into a challenging glare. Apparently, she didn't trust herself to speak, though.

Miles took in a deep breath. "Phoenix, please... go back to our guests. I am capable of handling this."

It took a few tense moments, but Phoenix slowly released him and drew back. He retracted his fangs, but gave Franziska a lingering glare of warning before he walked away. Miles watched him go and then turned back to look at his sister, his hand resting on the doorknob.

"So it really is true," Franziska said in a low tone, her stare icy. "Phoenix Wright has become one of those fanged, walking corpses, and you have let it into your home and your bed." She pointed a gloved finger at him. "Disgusting and shameful, Miles Edgeworth!"

Miles did his best to remain calm, but someone insulting Phoenix in such a way was suddenly a lot more upsetting than it had once been. He met her glare with one of his own. "He is still the same man he once was, only with a few minor alterations. As for the status of our relationship, that is none of your concern."

"What is my concern is that you have been harboring such dangerous knowledge for at least half a year, not only from me, but from all of law enforcement! I knew I should have forced you to tell me what happened to you when you vanished for two weeks and then showed up in my house unannounced and covered in blood! I was a fool to let you talk your way out of it!"

"Franziska, revealing that secret would have cost me my life, as well as the lives of anyone I had told," he stated. He was making no move to invite her in, as her obvious anger would most definitely ruin the night, and he wasn't going to do that to Phoenix and their friends. "I had no choice but to keep their existence and Wright's presence to myself."

Franziska gritted her teeth, and her fingers closed around the coiled leather at her hip. "And was this by his order, Bruderlein? Have you allowed yourself to be taken prisoner in your own home because you are too pitiful and weak to stand up to your friend?" He noted how she said the word 'friend' with as much disdain as 'pitiful' and 'weak', but it came as no surprise to him.

Just hearing the word 'imprisoned' made him queasy, but he forced it down and maintained his outward calm. "No, Franziska. This arrangement was by my invitation, and our partnership as much of interest to me as it is to him. Think me weak for possessing human emotion if you must; I care not either way."

Franziska only sneered at him, and her voice dripped with more venom than he had heard from her in quite a long time. "You are more pathetic than I could have possibly imagined, Miles Edgeworth. The sight of you disgusts me, and if your Master EVER threatens me again, I will have him fried in the morning sun!" With those bitter words, the German woman turned on her heel and marched away, head held high and not a single backward glance.

Miles only watched her go for a few seconds, then closed the door on the warm summer night, resisting the urge to slam it. He sighed, shaking his head in exasperation, wondering how long it would take this time for her anger to subside. He lightly rubbed his bruised cheek then turned to head back toward the living room where the others were idly chatting.

"Larry! Feet OFF the coffee table!"

"Hey, Nick...?"

Phoenix stopped at the foot fo the stairs and turned back to see that Maya was sitting up. The two girls were staying the night - Maya on the couch and Pearls on the loveseat - and while he'd known his former assistant hadn't been sleeping, he'd not expected her to notice him or speak. He'd simply come downstairs to check on them after Miles had drifted off. "Hm?" He could see her clearly in the dark living room, but she was only looking in his general direction as she spoke softly.

"Can we, umm... talk for a minute?" Her last few words were muddied slightly by a yawn. She was clearly exhausted, and the more protective part of him wanted to tell her to just go to sleep - that they'd talk some other time. However, he could only assume that whatever was on her mind was preventing her from sleeping.

"Sure. Come out into the kitchen so we don't wake Pearls." He stepped away from the staircase and into the kitchen, flicking on the light. Soon, Maya padded in after him, barefoot and with her hair down; the effect made her look younger. He motioned her toward the dining table and she took the invitation, sitting down while he leaned against the counter and folded his arms. "What's on your mind?"

"A lot of stuff, actually," Maya replied, twirling a piece of her hair around a finger; she was looking somewhere else entirely while she spoke to him. "I know Larry and I asked a lot of questions tonight, but... there's still some stuff I really don't understand. Like... why didn't you ever tell anyone what happened? You just... disappeared one day, and none of us knew what happened to you."

"I'm sorry, Maya, but I had to go into hiding," he told her, shaking his head slowly. "Vampires have always had to keep themselves a secret. Believe me, it was... painful... to have to leave you all behind like that. I could hardly stand it, and that's how Edgeworth ended up finding out about me." Every time he thought about it, he felt a pang in his chest. Miles may have somehow found it within himself to forgive him, but Phoenix had not.

"What do you mean?" Maya pressed, as he'd expected she would. "How did Mr. Edgeworth find out but not me?" He detected a little hurt in her voice, even though she was trying to hide it. He understood what she must be thinking.

"Maya, trust me, you wouldn't have wanted to be the one I stalked that night..." He tilted his head back, staring up at the ceiling. "I made a stupid mistake. The one who turned me - my Maker - told me it was a stupid mistake, that there was no way I could hide what I was from anyone just yet, and that they would ask questions. I just... didn't listen. I knew Edgeworth was probably using police resources to try and find me, so I thought that if I just... showed him I was still around, he'd drop the search and tell you guys I wasn't dead. I wasn't thinking clearly at all, and there were... other reasons why I went after him, reasons I didn't want to admit to myself. My plan backfired horribly... Maya, I nearly killed him that night."

Maya gasped, bringing a hand to her mouth in shock. "W-what?! N-no way, Nick!"

He tilted his chin back down and fixed her with an intense look. "I wouldn't lie about something like that. I'm a predator now, and I have instincts... all so much stronger than those of humans. Only recently have I really started to get a handle on them, and that night... I lost control. Had I not found some clarity when I did... they would've found his body instead of just his car." He paused, then turned his face away. "Well, actually, they probably wouldn't have found his body... Ever. I would have had to dispose of it to hide what had happened."

By this point, Maya looked queasy. "Nick, you... I can't believe what i'm hearing... That's not like you at all!"

Phoenix unfolded his arms to shove his hands in his pockets, not quite looking at her while he spoke. "No, it isn't. That's what's been so hard about this. I'm still me, but... in some ways... I'm not, and I'm completely aware of it. It's like a sickness, as if I have some mental disorder that makes me constantly at odds with myself. It's... gotten better recently, thanks in no small part to Edgeworth. Still, I was told it won't ever completely go away; controlling it will just feel more natural to the point where it would actually take some kind of extreme to set me off."

Maya was chewing on the nail of her index finger. "Umm... S-so... i-is it safe for Pearly and I to-"

"You're safe," he said quickly, finally looking directly at her. "If I'm not especially hungry, just being around humans doesn't bother me. Besides, I've got Miles here. As long as he's around, well... I'm not really tempted to go after anyone else." His mouth twitched up into a slight smirk, and he could see that Maya was now blushing a little.

"O-oh, I-I get it," she said with a nervous giggle. "So... you weren't really supposed to show yourself to Mr. Edgeworth, but after you did, you had to make him keep you a secret, too?"

Phoenix forced out a sigh, lowering his head. "Yeah... Once he really understood the situation, I didn't exactly have to force him, though. I felt guilty the whole time, regardless of that, because I could see how difficult it was for him to lie to everyone, and also because you and the others were still so worried about me. What happened at that compound the past few days was horrible, but at least it means I could come out of hiding. I've missed you all a lot."

The young medium sat up a little straighter against the back of the chair. "That's actually another thing I wanted to talk to you about. The night before last, I... I channeled you, didn't I?" She looked incredibly confused, and he had been wondering when this topic would come up.

"Yeah, you did," he answered. "I woke up in my office and saw your note. Believe me, I am just as confused about that as you are. At the time, I... was sure I'd really died while I was resting that day."

"But you're immortal now, right?" Maya asked, placing her hand against the side of her head as she looked off in thought. "That means you can't die, doesn't it?"

"Uh..." Phoenix shifted a little. "See, we say 'immortal,' but that's... strictly speaking, not true. We don't age, so we'll never die a natural death, but we can be killed. We'll live forever otherwise, but with the situation I was in at the time, it was pretty safe to assume I'd been killed. I was pretty sure I was nothing but a pile of ashes, so... it was alarming to see that I wasn't."

Maya looked back at him, clearly still trying to work things out. "I just don't get it. When I channel someone, I call their spirit from another world, but yours is still in your body. That just... doesn't make any sense!"

Phoenix chuckled and shook his head. "You're asking the wrong guy, Maya. If you're clueless about it, there's no way I'm going to have much insight. The only hint I can possibly offer is that, when we rest during the day, we're basically dead. There's this... subconscious awareness that will alert us if anything happens nearby so that we're not super vulnerable, but other than that, we don't have any sense of time or anything. It's like I just lie down at sunrise, and if nothing wakes me up during the day, it's just suddenly sunset and I'm awake."

She appeared to be in deep thought again, and Phoenix opted to stay silent and watch the wheels turn. Finally, she huffed a sigh. "It's no use. I'm totally clueless. Maybe when I get back to the village, I'll look through some of the old books and records and see if there's anything about you guys in there. I mean, if spirit mediums can channel vampires right out of their bodies without killing them, we can't be the first ones to figure that out, can we? My family is way old. Someone has to have discovered it before now!"

Phoenix nodded. "That does seem likely, though I don't know if the records would still be around. I guess it's possible that the Feys kept that secret pretty well, but I feel like if vampires had found out, they would have made sure the records were destroyed."

Maya suddenly smirked. "I dunno', Nick. That actually sounds like a really awesome trick to know. If you have a medium friend, you can basically teleport from one place to the other, or just be somewhere during the day without catching on fire!" Her smirk had turned to a mischievous grin, and he could tell she was thinking of ways to use this trick to either help him out... or mess with him.

"Ah, we should probably be careful," he cautioned. "I don't know how safe it is to do that over and over again. For all we know, we might be playing Russian Roulette. I don't think Edgeworth would be too happy with you if one day you channeled me and I just disintegrated."

A look of shock came over Maya briefly, and then she slumped into a pout. "Oh... Yeah, I guess you're probably right... I could have really ended up killing you the other night, couldn't I?"

"Maya."

"Huh?" She raised her head to look at him, her lower lip quivering. Phoenix held her gaze while he spoke, his expression earnest.

"You saved us the other night. You know that, don't you?" She blinked a few times, looking confused, so he elaborated. "I was chained up, being held prisoner and there was no way I could fight or escape. If you hadn't channeled me when you did, not only would I have eventually been killed, but so would a lot of other people, including Miles. Maya, they were going to torture him to death and film it! When I got there yesterday morning with the police and FBI, they had already started to. They had the camera on and they were- N-no, that's not important..." He trailed off a moment to gather his thoughts and make his point. "If you hadn't channeled me, there would have been no way I could get help. Everyone in that place would've been killed except for a bunch of very evil vampires who only want to hurt people."

Her look of bewilderment had slowly morphed into astonishment while he spoke. "Y-you mean, I..."

"You saved possibly hundreds of lives, Maya." He did not allow his expression to waver, as he wanted her to know just how serious he was about this. He wasn't just trying to make her feel better about what could have been a terrible mistake; Maya was a hero, and he needed her to know that.

The young woman opened and closed her mouth several times, at a loss for what to say. About the fifth time, she finally managed to stammer out a reply. "B-but... but it wasn't like... I-I really knew what I was doing. I just... I-I just wanted to know if you were..."

"It doesn't matter if it was an accident or not." At last, he allowed a grin to come to his lips. "You're a hero, Maya. You used your special power to save the lives of hundreds of innocent people from a gang of super-villains."

She stared at him in disbelief for a moment longer, and then her face lit up. She beamed. clearly thrilled and proud of herself for her unwitting accomplishment. "Wow! I can't believe it! I really did all that? Wow..." She stared off into her fantasies for a few seconds, then hopped up from the chair, not looking quite so tired anymore. "Say, Nick, since you have all those new powers and can't be a lawyer anymore, you should totally become a superhero! I could be your side-kick: Spirit Girl! We've gotta' come up with a cool name for you, though. How 'bout-"

"Ah, that... won't be necessary," he said, holding up a hand to stay her. "Let's not get carried away here. As far as vampires go, I'm still just a baby, you know. Besides, I, uh... don't think Miles would be too happy if I started going out at night when it's the only time we actually get to spend together."

"Oh..." Maya wilted briefly, then straightened up, her smile returning in a more modest manner. "Eh, oh well. It was a fun thought, anyhow."

He chuckled, stepping forward to pat her on the shoulder. "In any case, I owe you a huge 'thank you,' and a lot more. If you or Pearls ever need anything, I'm back and I won't be going anywhere for the foreseeable future. I'm sure Edgeworth would be more than happy to help, too; he owes you as much as I do."

"Hmmm..." Maya peered off in thought for a brief time with a little smirk. "You guys owe me, huh? So, how many burgers do you think your lives are worth?"

Phoenix flinched, and he was sure the look on his face was priceless. Her giggling fit confirmed this.