"Maya, it's not-…"

The words wouldn't come to him. Phoenix sighed, crumpling against the doorframe he'd been resting against, his cell phone still pressed to his ear. He dragged a palm across the stubble developing on his chin.

"Nick," her soft voice came through, sounding patient, if tired, "I think you need some sleep. Tell you what - I'll call back in the morning, OK? First thing."

"… OK." Phoenix replied, his voice weary. Maya was right. It was nearly midnight, and he couldn't just stay up all through the night, even if it felt like the only real choice. Trucy was already asleep upstairs, and he could only hope that she didn't know how he was feeling at the moment.

His daughter had celebrated her twelfth birthday two months ago. That had been one of the only days since that Phoenix had felt happy and at ease.

The reason for the disquiet he had experienced ever since came with such features as a pair of thin glasses and a disarmingly polite smile.

Kristoph Gavin - the sole defence lawyer who spoke to his benefit in the chaotic aftermath of the Gramarye trial four years ago. A soft-spoken if impersonal gentleman on the outside, Kristoph was Phoenix's primary insight into the patchwork community of practicing defence attorneys in the district. It was, however, what the man was on the inside that stood as cause for Phoenix's present worries.

Between supporting his daughter and running their talent agency, Phoenix had found relatively little time for investigation into the circumstances behind his disbarment in the years since. He'd started out determined and optimistic, but those feelings had gradually begun to drain away with the passage of time. It was only on the day following Trucy's recent birthday that Phoenix had come across his first real lead in barely short of a year.

He hadn't spoken to Kristoph in nearly a month until that day; the defence lawyer made a brief visit to the Wright Talent Agency to chat about recent events before he headed to his own firm for the day. There was little about that talk to cause Phoenix any disquiet until Kristoph's parting words.

"Pass on my regards to those Fey girls, as well."

For a minute or two, he'd thought nothing of it, but as the sleek car down out in the street pulled away to rejoin the flow of traffic, something had occurred to him.

Kristoph shouldn't have known anything about Maya or Pearl.

Phoenix couldn't think of a single time he'd ever mentioned either of the Feys in conversation, and unless the two were extending their visits to the city to include the Gavin Law Offices, there was no point at which they'd ever met, either.

So, the pieces were starting to shift together. The puzzle was far from solved, but Phoenix had a proper starting place again.

On Trucy's birthday, Maya had ensured that she could visit with Pearl. Her now-thirteen year-old cousin was Trucy's best friend, after all. Neither of them would have accepted otherwise. They spent most of the day out at Gatewater Land - a favourite location of Maya's. In the evening, after a free dinner at Eldoon's Noodles, Maya and Pearl had returned to the train station for their trip home to Kurain.

What reason could there have been for Kristoph to know of them, then? That day was in the middle of his active work week. It could only be assumed that he'd spent the day at his law office, which was nowhere near any of the locations Phoenix had taken Trucy, Maya, and Pearl to visit.

Such thoughts and theories had been a constant source of anxiety and paranoia for most of the two months following.

Maya put aside her phone, sighing for herself.

She hated this. Back in the city, Nick had only Trucy, and there was no way he'd ever burden the girl with his worries right now. She had more important things to focus on; school, friends, magic - it would be wrong to throw such a curveball into her life.

Maya was on her way back to her bedroom when she caught the sound of a door sliding open.

"Troubling night, Maya?"

Her breath caught in her throat.

"Sis…?" she said, turning.

Pearl's bedroom door was wide open, and standing in the doorway was a much taller figure than the room's usual occupant.

A curtain of Pearl's recognizable chestnut hair hung down her neck, but the face before Maya was clearly her late sister. Almost automatically, she stepped forward. Mia opened her arms to accept Maya's embrace.

"So," Mia's voice went on, "What's the story tonight?"

"I just… Sis, I just don't know how much longer he can keep it up like this."

Maya's gaze fell to the floor of her bedroom, where she was resting on the edge of her bed.

Beside her, Mia gently massaged her nearest shoulder. "Maya," she said, "You remember those times, back when you were Phoenix's assistant, when you found your way into trouble one way or another? Whether it was wrongful murder charges, or life-threatening danger?"

Maya glanced up. "Kinda hard to forget, Sis. Nick's the only reason that it's not me borrowing Pearly's body right now."

"You're on the right track." Mia replied. "Whenever you and Phoenix were standing in the courtroom together, everything you two did was in service to one another. You kept each other going, no matter what kind of challenges you came across. But whenever cruel fate decided that you'd be in danger of losing each other, d'you remember what happened?"

"Yeah," Maya said with a tired smile, "Nick came in swinging, like the dorkiest badass around."

"That does describe him pretty well." Mia agreed. "But there was always one shared reason, wasn't there? One thing that kept him rooted and focused, no matter what."

"I know what you're getting at, Sis." Maya interjected. "You mean me."

"Right again. By now, you've had the pleasure of knowing him better, and for longer than I ever did, but I can tell you one thing about Phoenix Wright: as long as he can lift so much as a finger to stop it, he won't let anything happen to the people he loves."

Maya listened, huddling her knees in close to her body. She knew that every word Mia was saying was true.

"And, unless I've gravely misinterpreted the evidence," Mia went on, "The one he loves the most will always be you, Maya." She paused for a moment, and added, "That little angel he adopted is definitely tied with you, though."

"You're sure that's not just Pearly influencing you, Sis?" Maya asked, a little smirk tugging at her lips. "It's her body you're borrowing, after all."

"I think Pearl's just a bit quicker on the uptake than either of you two." Mia replied. "As I recall, she was already on board with the idea when she was eight."

"Yeah… Nothing was gonna change her mind." Maya said, a nostalgic look in her eyes now.

There was a pause. The silence of Fey Manor crept its way through Maya's senses, giving her more time to reflect on her own worries.

"... You really love him, don't you?"

Another silence. Maya could practically feel Mia's gaze boring a hole into the side of her head as she kept her eyes fixated on the gap between two floorboards.

She blinked, and was surprised to feel a thin layer of dampness welling up in her eyes.

"… Yeah." she said, using her sleeve to dry her eyes. "I do."

Her voice came out shaky, like it was on the verge of breaking. Maya sniffed, feeling tears creeping into her eyes in earnest now. Mia's arm moved from her shoulder over to her other side, and she leaned into her sister's hug.

"You're his anchor, Maya." Mia said, "If you're worried that he's starting to forget that, all I can tell you to do is to remind him."

Maya burrowed her cheek into her sister's shoulder, her tears starting to stain the thin robes she wore. She stayed that way a while longer, until a different voice arose.

"Did you have a good talk, Mystic Maya?"

Maya sat back, smiling even as her face was stained with tears.

"Yeah." she said, easing the worry plainly visible on her cousin's face. "We did. Thanks, Pearly."

Phoenix grunted, blinking in the partial light filtering into his window. His phone was ringing on his bedside table. As he reached for it, he flinched in surprise at the sight of the clock. Why hadn't his alarm gone off? An hour had passed since the time it was set to.

"… Maya, hey…" he said, answering the phone. He stifled a yawn as Maya greeted him back.

"Nick, I wanna tell you something." she said.

"… OK, so tell me." Phoenix said. He got up from his bed, stretching his back out.

"No," Maya said playfully, "Not until I see you."

Phoenix glanced curiously at the phone, as if trying to imagine Maya's expression on its surface.

"Maya, why bother bringing it up on the phone if you're-"

"That's easy, Nick. In fact, it's a one-step process. Open the door."

Phoenix hesitated. "… Maya?"

Phoenix pulled open the door to the stairwell leading into the office below and stammered in surprise as a magenta-clad figure jumped into him, arms closing around his back in a tight hug.

"Maya-!" he exclaimed, returning the gesture.

"Miss Maya!" came Trucy's cheery voice. The twelve year-old raced over to join the embrace.

Maya took her sister's words to heart. Nick was worrying himself sick over the man he suspected to be involved in the forgery that led to his disbarment. He was worried for her safety and Pearl's, but Maya wasn't going to let him just stew on those feelings on his own. He needed someone he could count on to be there, and as far as Maya herself was concerned, she was the only qualified candidate.

Late again, Mr. SUNSTON. That's no good...