Merry Christmas! I hope you all had a great day yesterday (or the day before yesterday, if you live in Finland ;D).
Speaking of yesterday, I came to log on after I had finish watching the Doctor Who Christmas special and finished off this chapter when:
"ERROR 503: SERVER UNAVAILABLE"
So, I'm very sorry about that. :(
However, this chapter is much, much, much longer than any of the others, so I hope that makes up for it. :)
I hope you recieved nice presents, eat lots of food (and mince pies, if you like them :3), had lots of fun and were very happy! :D
OK, so without further ado, I present (hahaha, present- you know, like a Christmas present?...oh, unintentional puns...they're so bad, they're good) to you the Christmas chapter of A Law-some Christmas!
It was six o' clock in the morning when Phoenix Wright dragged himself out of bed, wearily put a creased blue t-shirt and some trousers on, and went into the kitchen/living room area of his apartment to make himself a coffee. Deciding that he'd need all the caffeine he could get his hands on- it was six in the morning- Phoenix made himself a black coffee with no sugar and a dash of milk, letting it cool for but a minute before downing the lot. It was hotter than he expected, actually, and he reached for the remaining milk to cool his throat down before it burned.
Ah…that's better.
Phoenix, after relaxing on the sofa for five minutes in silence to set his head straight, turned on the TV and realised that a half-baked comedy show was on. After a little while of thinking, Phoenix forgot why he had woken up earlier today- 3 hours earlier, in fact. His alarm, after a quick inspection, had been unplugged at the wall, and Phoenix sheepishly remembered that one day he had done so because he wanted to go back to sleep. It couldn't be a person waking him up- nobody lived with him, he wasn't married or in a relationship, and his assistants, Maya and Pearl, usually stayed in Maya's apartment but, because today was Christmas Day, they were sleeping over at the office in their camping bags.
Wait…
That's it!
Having now remembered why he woke up early today (a choice which he truly regretted), Phoenix hurriedly got his coat on and rushed out of the door.
Miles Edgeworth couldn't sleep.
It was many a day when he couldn't sleep due to terrible nightmares, but this one had been one of the worst he'd ever had. It had been about an hour ago now when Miles had found himself in that elevator again, with that same earthquake preventing them from reaching where they wanted to go and preventing the people in the elevator from much oxygen, causing a bailiff by the name of Yanni Yogi and Miles' father Gregory to start fighting…
Stop it, Miles. Only thinking about it will make it worse.
Miles had watched as his father and the bailiff fought and argued, getting more aggressive by the second until the bailiff decided enough was enough and grasped onto Gregory's neck, almost attempting to strangle him
Don't think about it, don't think about it…
Miles- his nine-year-old self- had looked around desperately for something to distract the bailiff, something to stop the two in front of him from possibly risking their lives in a fight. As his father's hands reached up in defence Miles grabbed something as it slid across the floor towards him and threw it at the bailiff and his father, the object in question letting off a loud bang that sounded remarkably like a gunshot…
No…please, no…
All at once there was a scream- a scream so piercing and terrible that it terrified Miles and sent more than a few chills down his spine. It wasn't a scream of terror, though, but it was a scream of horrible pain, pain that led Miles to believe that surely that person would be dead from that amount- it sounded as if they had been stabbed or shot. Before Miles could realise that the object he had thrown was what had caused the scream, his eyes closed as he slipped in and out of consciousness; it seemed that the oxygen deprivation was finally taking its toll on the party in the elevator.
The last he ever saw of his father was Gregory in a completely unconscious state, his eyes shut tightly closed. He never saw what happened after that; in reality, he had fallen unconscious by then, and in his nightmares he always woke up after the scream, even though he already knew what did happen next.
…No….
Miles sat up in his bed, wiping his misty eyes with the back of his sleeve and deciding to go have breakfast with a sigh. Even at six in the morning- an extremely early time for him, even though he pulled an all-nighter now and then to get important work completed- Miles knew that he couldn't go back to sleep. He just couldn't.
Getting out of bed and stretching his arms out in front of him, Miles put on his crimson dressing gown over his pyjamas and made his way downstairs.
When Phoenix arrived at his office, two purple somebodies crashed into him, almost knocking him over. Maya and Pearl, clad in their spirit medium attire, hugged Phoenix tightly and literally dragged him toward the Christmas tree.
"Nick, can we open our presents now?"
"Mr. Nick, we've been waiting for an hour already…can we open the presents?"
"Come on, come on, Nick!"
Phoenix laughed. "Sure. You two knock yourselves out."
Pearl and Maya squealed in delight and started to rapidly open their presents, putting the odd one aside and leaving those ones alone. Maya received mainly Steel Samurai merchandise, such as the latest annual and the newest season DVDs, and Pearl received the next few books of a series she was reading and a copy of the Oh, Cult! 25th Anniversary Special Edition, the same as Maya's one. When the Wright and Co. Law Offices had been entirely dominated by a sea of wrapping paper and the girls had let out all their excitement and appreciation, Pearl handed over the untouched pile of six little presents to Phoenix, who took them with a bemused look.
"Are these…for me?" Phoenix asked, looking awestruck. Maya stared at him with a funny look on her face, probably wondering why on earth he needed to ask that question in the first place.
"What else would they be for, Nick? Me and Pearl bought one each for you, and the rest were from the rest of our friends! You know, like Mr. Edgeworth and Miss von Karma."
Phoenix smiled. "It was nice of you to get them for me. Thanks, guys."
Phoenix found himself being enveloped in spirit medium as he was hugged tightly once more.
"It's OK, Mr. Nick!"
"Yeah, Nick, you don't have to thank us! You're family."
Phoenix grinned as he picked up the first present, giving it a small shake. It was a tiny little box, about the size of the palm of Pearl's hand, and upon inspection- that is, shaking it- it appeared to have liquid inside of it.
"So, who's this from?"
"That one's from Iris, Nick!"
"…Iris? Like, Iris Fey? Your cousin?"
"Yep!"
Phoenix was shocked. "Wow…I didn't think she'd remember me, after all this time."
Maya gave Phoenix a wink. "When I went to visit her the other day, she did go on about you quite a lot, blushed when I mentioned you, and gave me this to give to you. Oh, and she also said that you were cute…"
Phoenix went bright red. "Maya, that's enough. She would never say something like that…about me. Or do any of those things. Or, you know, blush at the mere mention of my-"
Maya nudged Phoenix with her shoulder, chanting playfully: "Nick's in love, Nick's in love, Nick's- in- looo-ooove!"
"N-no, I'm not! Men naturally act like this when a good-looking girl calls them cute-"
"HOLD IT!" Maya yelled, imitating one of Phoenix's courtroom phrases, "You just called her good-looking, Nick, and don't you dare deny it."
"I deny it."
"Nick, you're so easy to read! You almost wear your heart on your sleeve, you're that obvious. Come on, Nick, you can't lie to me- after all, I am Maya Fey!" Maya flashed a grin at no-one in particular.
"OK, maybe I said she was good-looking, but does that really prove anything? Take Franziska for example: she always looks wonderful, but I haven't fallen for her or anything."
Maya suddenly burst into peals of laughter, to Phoenix's annoyance.
"What is it, Maya?"
"Sorry, Nick, it's just that…imagining you and Miss von Karma…hahahahaha!"
Maya's laughter and Phoenix's sighs of exasperation were silenced by a quick slap to the cheek from Pearl, who had had enough with their conversation.
"Mr. Nick! Mystic Maya! Don't you understand? You're meant for each other! Cupid doesn't care if a different girl calls you cute, Mr. Nick, 'cause he's already hit Mystic Maya with his bow and arrow! You see?"
Both Maya and Phoenix were unable to speak, rubbing their cheeks in pain and their mouths clear 'o' shapes. Pearl placed her hands on her hips in defiance and stood in front of the two, smirking in schadenfreude.
"There! Now, Mr. Nick, you need to open that present."
Phoenix snapped out of his train of thought and nodded. "R-right, Pearls."
Pearl laughed loudly as Phoenix opened the present to find a small box of men's perfume, a ten-pound note and a small, handmade friendship bracelet. As well as this, there was a small note on a post-it note attached to the inside of the box. It read, in partially smudged handwriting,
Dear Feenie,
I hope you don't mind me calling you that. Here's your Christmas present, and I hope you like it!
You, Maya and Pearl should come visit soon. It's boring here without anyone to talk to- of course, I could talk to Bikini, but she's been busy with reservations for the Ultra Courses here at Hazakura recently.
I miss you, Feenie. I hope what my sister did hasn't hurt you, Maya and Pearl too much.
Please stay safe and warm, especially in this cold winter season!
Have a lovely Christmas,
Iris xxx
After Iris's present had been opened, the trio went through the other presents. Phoenix received a portable chess set, a new tie, $38 and a few pictures of their childhood days together from Edgeworth (the latter gifts meant to be symbolic of Phoenix always being there for Miles throughout his life, and that was explained further in the note that Edgeworth included), a bottle of grape juice from Larry (which he promised to try some time), a DVD box set of Phoenix's favourite TV show series and an envelope with something hard in it which read, 'Maya, it's the card. Only let him open this when you want him to.' from Franziska. Phoenix also received a storybook about Phoenix being transported into Steel Samurai Land in something called the DISTAR- a magical mail box that was bigger on the inside- that Pearl had made herself, and a bottle of toilet-cleaning bleach (which Pearl found hilarious) from Maya.
Sighing at the latter present he had received, Phoenix checked the time: 10:55. Realising that they only had an hour and twenty-five minutes left until the gargantuan Christmas dinner over at Edgeworth's, Phoenix spoke to Maya and Pearl and decided on a plan: Maya and Pearl would return to Maya's apartment and get ready, and Phoenix would always get ready at his apartment, after which they would all return to the office. Nodding in agreement, the group disbanded with bright smiles on their faces, each envisioning the fun they'd have later on.
When Phoenix, Maya and Pearl arrived at Edgeworth's house via a local taxi service, Phoenix's eyes widened at the mere sight of it. It was massive; it seemed big enough for more than ten people to live there and still have a spare room. A far cry from Phoenix's kind-of homely apartment, Edgeworth's house was magnificent in its own right.
"Mr. Edgeworth owns a mansion? Nice!"
Phoenix frowned and crossed his arms. "And yet he insists that it's only 'close to a small mansion in size'. What a load of rubbish!"
Maya tutted and wagged her finger at Phoenix. "Now, now, Nick. I know you're jealous, but it won't do to speak ill of other's perceptions of their places of residence…"
"I am not jealous!"
Maya chuckled. "And you think that attitude convinces me of that fact?"
"I…I…Hmph."
Pearl rang the doorbell and immediately it opened to the sight of Miles Edgeworth in front of them and a gathering of people behind him. Miles smiled warmly at them, Phoenix grinning back.
"Hello, Maya. Hello, Pearl. Hello, Phoenix."
Before Miles could react, Phoenix had his arms around him and was giving him a hug. Miles liked it, and so hugged back until Phoenix let go.
"Nice to see you again, Miles. I trust you've read the novel I gave you early this month?"
Miles nodded before smirking pretentiously. "Twice."
Maya did a spit-take. "Twice?!"
"Yes. I really did like it, you know."
"Thanks! I thought you would. So, how's this thing gonna work?"
"Well," began Miles, gesturing to the people behind him, "there's a few people here already, so you can go make some new acquaintances for twenty minutes until it's time for dinner."
"Great! Thanks, Miles."
Miles beamed, to Phoenix's surprise. "Always a pleasure."
All of a sudden, a girl with medium-long black hair held up by a peculiar key-shaped hair clip, a colourful outfit with a golden three-legged raven brooch, navy blue gloves and a grin plastered on her pale face rushed up to the gang and rested her elbow on Miles' shoulder.
"Ow! Kay, that hur-"
"So, who are these people, Mr. Edgeworth? You gave Mr. Toilet Brush over there a hug, and you never give hugs out. Especially not to me or Gummy."
Kay stuck her bottom lip out, crossed her arms and turned away from him. "Do you love them better than me, Mr. Edgeworth? Do you? If you do, I'll tell Agent Lang you watch the Steel Samurai…"
Kay smirked as she watched Miles' face turn from sheet white back to its usual colour to sheet white again, convinced that she was witness to Miles Edgeworth having an intense mental battle between his thoughts and his feelings. Kay suddenly thrust her hand forward and hit him heartily on the back, the force almost winding him.
"Oof! That…really…hurt-"
"I was only joking, Mr. Edgeworth!"
"...I don't like jokes."
Phoenix laughed. "Back to normal, are we, Miles?"
Miles sighed. "Phoenix, Maya, Pearl- this is Kay Faraday-"
"The second Great Thief Yatagarasu! I'm really awesome, guys," Kay began, addressing Maya and Pearl, "so regardless of what Mr. Grumpy Pants says-"
Maya and Pearl laughed as Miles sighed. "Kay, that's enough…"
Kay giggled. "Sorry, Mr. Grump- Mr. Edgeworth! Say, do you want to come with me, you two? We'll have loads of fun!"
Maya nodded excitedly. "Yes, please! Nick, can we?"
"Sure, Maya."
"Yay!" Kay and Maya shouted in unison, giving each other a high-five and rushing off together. Phoenix noticed that Pearl was still next to him and tried shouting for Maya and Kay to come back, but Pearl shook her head.
"Mr. Nick, I don't want to go."
Phoenix looked concerned. "Why? Are you feeling unwell, or sad, or-"
"No, no, not at all," Pearl butted in, smiling, "there's just someone else I want to talk to."
Phoenix and Miles watched Pearl closely as she made her way over to the left corner of the hall, sitting down on a small bench next to a tall, intimidating man that almost resembled a wolf by name and by nature. Miles started to laugh, although Phoenix didn't understand why until the man started to speak.
"Hello there, Mr. Wolf-man. What's your name?"
The man turned around in surprise and raised an eyebrow when he saw Pearl looking hopefully up at him. It seemed like he wanted to say something for a moment, but he hesistated and turned back around to Pearl's evident dismay. She was about to make her way back to Phoenix- but the man noticed this and put a firm hand onto her shoulder.
"My name is Shi-Long Lang. What's your name, friend?"
Pearl turned on her heel to spot Lang smiling warmly at her, and in less than five minutes they were having a fully-blown conversation. Pearl, Phoenix noticed, was acting much more mature than normal- but the most surprising and funny thing about the whole affair was the look of complete and utter shock on Miles' face.
"Who knew…Shi-Long Lang, conversing better than I did with him at any point in our work together with an eight-year-old…remarkable…" Miles muttered to himself. Phoenix was about to point this out to Miles- but before he could do so it was 12:20, the appointed tike for dinner to start. Edgeworth cleared his throat and told everyone, in an abnormally loud voice, to make their way to the dining room. As the guests started to make their way into the room next door, Phoenix caught Miles rubbing his throat and laughed.
"Miles, are you OK? Your throat must hurt after all that."
"It's nothing compared to when you yell at me from across the courtroom. If you ever have a protégé sometime, Phoenix, I bet they'll shout even louder than you do."
Both looked at each other and laughed before walking into the dining room together, smiling.
When everyone had been seated, Phoenix turned to Edgeworth (as Maya was sitting with Kay and Pearl with Lang) and asked if he could raise a toast. Edgeworth nodded, and so tapped his knife on his wine glass to get everyone's attention, which proved to be fruitful. Phoenix stood up, not realising that his legs were shaking a little bit.
"Before we start, I'd just like to raise a toast to three people today; our hosts for this dinner. Out of their own accord they invited us to dinner for absolutely nothing and have offered us a seat, food, a glass of wine-"
"Or punch!" Kay and Maya piped up, causing everyone to laugh. Phoenix nodded and laughed along with them.
"Yes, yes, or punch. Nevertheless, Miles Edgeworth, Franziska von Karma and Adrian Andrews have done very well at organising this and being great friends. And so," Phoenix finished, picking up his glass and raising it up high, "to our hosts!"
"To our hosts!" the other guests chorused, clapping as Phoenix sat down and grinned widely, the chatter and hubbub rising once more.
"You know, Miles, I've always wanted to do that."
"I can imagine," Miles laughed, picturing Phoenix when he was but a small child; shy at first but with goals he vowed to aspire to and eventually reach. The nightmares from the morning came to mind, and Miles was overcome with the urge to tell his best friend about them.
"Phoenix…?"
Phoenix's face was the epitome of concern. "What is it, Miles?"
Miles' fists clenched as he tried his best to keep himself together. He couldn't fall apart; not here, not now.
"It's the nightmares…they've become worse and worse. And, you know…that day is only 3 days away from now."
"It's OK, Miles," Phoenix replied, putting a comforting hand on Miles' shoulder, "It'll be OK. I know it will be hard for you, and if you ever need help you can always talk to me- but you can make it through, alright? You're one of the bravest people I've ever met, Miles- try not to let it hurt you again, OK?"
"I'll try, but-"
"No buts. You can do it. You're Miles Edgeworth!"
Miles laughed weakly. "I suppose I am, aren't I?"
"Yes. You are. You're not a weak person, you're not a fool, you're not mean, strict and calculating. You just had the most terrible past- but what's in the past is in the past. You can get through it, right?"
"…Yes, I suppose so."
Phoenix smiled. "Good. Now, let's get ready to-"
"May I just say something?"
A lady that looked to be in her mid-twenties stood in front of the door to the left of the congregation, tossing her long, dark brown hair back with a flick of her hand. She wore a turquoise dress that seemed to fit quite tight on her, a light touch of makeup, a small black handbag, and a piercing look that could scare even the most hardy of people as she scanned the guests. Edgeworth, all of a sudden, spotted something, and nudged Phoenix to get him to look to the right. On the right side of the table, Franziska von Karma looked shell-shocked as she stood up, her legs shaking violently and feeling as if they were to give way.
"…Kirsten?"
Kirsten sauntered across the room, glancing at Edgeworth and Adrian as she passed them and winking. The two winked back, and Phoenix was confused as to what they meant.
"Hey, Miles, why was she-"
"Shhhh, Phoenix. Watch." Miles urged, pointing back at the now still Kirsten standing in front of Franziska.
"Kirsten…it is you…isn't it?" Franziska asked in barely more than a whisper, but everyone's attention was now on her and Kirsten, so they heard her clearly. Kirsten curtseyed politely and then broke into a grin, standing back upright and looking Franziska right in the eyes.
"What kind of von Karma would I be if I forgot my own sister?"
Phoenix gasped, maybe a little too loudly. Covering his mouth with his hands, he waited for punishment for either of the two sisters- but none came. Instead, he nervously looked back at the two and saw Franziska's lip trembling and a tear coarse down her pale cheek. Phoenix nearly let out another gasp of surprise, but managed to hold it in successfully.
Before he knew it, the two sisters embraced each other in a hug, tightly clasping onto the other and never wanting to let go. Cries of 'Awwwwwww…' came up from the onlookers as Franziska began to cry quietly onto Kirsten's shoulder. When she had regained her composure, she wiped her eyes and began to speak.
"But you…you left with Mother, all those years ago… How did you know I was…?"
Kirsten smiled warmly at Franziska. "I was here on a business trip with the company I work for, and two most wonderful people figured out that I was your sister. They told me you were here."
Franziska laughed. "I'll talk to them about that later."
Edgeworth paled, and Phoenix chuckled quietly. That was quite the unpredictable scenario Franziska had initiated, Phoenix thought- it could mean both good and bad for Edgeworth and Adrian.
"Thanks for coming, Kirsten."
"No problem." Kirsten stated, suddenly turning around to face the party.
"I'm sorry about how long that took. Now, I was going to ask if I could stay for dinner, with your permission?"
Everyone clapped, and Kirsten- beaming- sat down, and the talk resumed as normal; as if nothing had ever happened and possibly the most intimidating person in the room had just broken down in tears.
When they got around to it- needless to say, it was later than expected- the actual Christmas dinner was wonderful. The room was filled with tantalising smells and aromas of various different components of a Christmas dinner: turkey, gammon, potatoes, gravy and many other things. Joy and compassion was shared between all- even people who usually despised each other. Crackers were pulled, bad puns were cracked, plates were licked clean (in a metaphorical sense), glasses were clinked, toasts were raised, hugs were given and Christmas spirit was most certainly spread around the congregation.
When everything was finished, the guests left, taking with them a small, random present that Miles, Franziska or Adrian had bought or, in some special cases, made. Phoenix waited for his two assistants, and soon enough a worn-out, full to the brim with food Maya walked slowly up to him.
"The amazing Maya Fey, who has four whole stomachs- one each for steak, burgers, sweets and everything else- is full?!" Phoenix gasped in mock surprise.
"This is terrible! The apocalypse has BEGUN!"
Maya and Phoenix burst into laughter and, as the laughter dwindled into nothing, they spotted Pearl saying a sad farewell to her new best friend.
"Do you have to go to Germany in a few days? Is it true?"
Lang crouched down and put his hands on Pearl's shoulders.
"Yes, little Pearl, but I won't forget what you've taught me today."
Pearl looked unconvinced. "Promise, Mr. Lang?"
Lang smiled and held out his hand, which Pearl gladly took. "I promise, on my honour as an Interpol agent, that I won't forget this very special girl."
"She's very special indeed," Miles said, as he turned to Phoenix beside him, "as she's the only one who can get through to Shi-Long Lang like that. I've never seen him that…caring before."
"I guess not, Miles," Phoenix replied, now experiencing the same shock that Miles was.
Pearl made her way over, waving a goodbye to Lang as he waved back at her. When everyone was gathered together, Miles presented Pearl and Maya with a small box.
"Open it, if you want."
Pearl and Maya opened the boxes to find two chess pieces. These chess pieces were very peculiar; one was dark purple and held what appeared to be a spear that seemed familiar to Phoenix and Maya, and the other was light purple, smaller than the dark purple one, and appeared to be holding what appeared to be a Magatama.
"Wow…thanks, Mr. Edgeworth!"
Miles smiled at Maya, and handed Phoenix a piece of his own. Phoenix's piece was blue and had spiky hair, but there was something different this time around. Before, a few years ago, Phoenix's chess doppelganger was a pawn and had been surrounded by red knights which had swords with sharp 'edges'. Now, Phoenix realised, his was a knight.
"I felt that the other chess you was inaccurate, so I changed him. Are you alright with that?"
Phoenix looked at Miles with a warm smile that lit up his face and spirits.
"The mere thing that you thought about giving me something is all I needed."
When Phoenix fell into bed at eight o' clock, he was exhausted- and so, with no objection whatsoever, let himself fall into a deep sleep.
All was well.