"That… was weird," Larry said, staring at Pearl.
"It was?" Pearl said.
"Not everyone is used to spirit channeling, Pearly," Maya said.
"Really?" Pearl said, looking confused.
"Really," Edgeworth said. "It's all I can do to keep a rational mind about this. I cannot even begin to explain what just happened."
"Oh, that's easy," Pearl said. "There are many worlds out there, not just this one. They're all connected in a way, including the spirit world. Women of the Fey family are able to connect to the spirit world by switching their soul with a soul in the other world."
"Switching soul in another world," Larry said slowly.
"Right," Pearl said. "Ami Fey was the first one to discover this connect, and it's been passed down to Fey women ever since."
"So… All Fey women can do… that?" Edgeworth said.
"Mostly," Pearl said, biting her nail. "For some reason, Fey girls are sometimes born with little spiritual power and can't connect to the spirit world. Like Dahlia."
"So you can, but Fey can't?" Larry said. "Because of… spiritual energy?"
"That's right," Pearl said, grinning. "For some reason though, my sister is better with Magatamas than anyone. I guess she has just enough spiritual energy to make it work."
"I guess so," Edgeworth said. He turned to Phoenix. "You seem to be absorbing this rather easily."
Phoenix shrugged. "I have a very open mind. And there's something about actually using the Magatama yourself that makes it all less surreal, I guess."
"Oh yes, the magic charm that lets you unlock people's hearts," Larry said. "That would clear anything up."
"It's actually not as weird as you'd think it would be," Phoenix said.
"Maybe you had exposure to this kind of thing in another life or world or something," Maya said.
"Yeah, maybe in a world where Larry can actually get a girlfriend," Phoenix said.
Larry pushed the artist's shoulder. "And you actually dress properly for a trial."
"What's wrong with this?" Phoenix said, looking at his blue sweater and red scarf.
"You and Fey are known as the Casual Defense," Edgeworth said.
Maya giggled, and Phoenix rolled his eyes. "Whatever. If you're done critiquing my sense of style, ladies, I think I should go talk to Dahlia."
"Lady?" Larry and Edgeworth glared at him.
Out of the corner of his eye, Phoenix noticed Maya whisper something in Pearl's ear.
"Especially you, Larry," Phoenix said. "After all, last I checked only girls were supposed to go in the girls' room."
"And last I check only girls were supposed to hit a C sharp when they shriek," Larry said.
"Come on Nick, we have to go see Dahlia," Maya said.
"Bye Ms. Detective, bye Ms. Butz," Pearl said innocently.
Maya raised her palm, and received a high five from Phoenix.
Dahlia faced Phoenix, Maya and Pearl from the other side of the glass.
"Welcome to the Detention Center," Dahlia said depressingly. "Where all hope is lost."
"Nice to see you too, sunshine," Phoenix said. "I see you're still wearing your hat."
Dahlia rubbed her temples. "What else can I do? I'm surprised they even let me keep it."
"I thought you looked nice with black hair," Pearl said.
"It suits me, doesn't it?" Dahlia said darkly.
"What's up Dahlia? You're worse than usual today," Maya said.
"They don't stop Maya," Dahlia said. "They keep coming back."
"What keeps coming back?" Phoenix said.
"Don't ask," Dahlia said.
"Cheer up Dahlia!" Pearl said. "I channeled Mystic Mia today!"
"You did?" Dahlia said, looking up. "How is she?"
"Well, she didn't seem in pain or anything," Phoenix said. "And she was really helpful."
"Did she tell you who killed her?" Dahlia said.
"Well… uh, no," Phoenix said. "She didn't know."
"Or she didn't want to tell you," Dahlia said.
"It wasn't you, Dahlia," Phoenix said. He showed her the red Magatama. "And she didn't lie."
"So it could have been anyone," Dahlia said.
"Stop insinuating it was you, Dahlia," Phoenix said. "Why are you so dead set on it?"
A strand of black hair fell into her face, and Dahlia pushed it away. "I've been thing about it, and it seems more and more possible. You can put the Magatama down, Nick."
Phoenix shook his head. "I think I've got the hang of this thing now. And I'm not finished yet."
She couldn't see them, but she felt the chains around her. She could stand up and walk away right now, but she knew she would still be caged inside her secrets and weighed down by the locks she had created.
"So this is what it's like to be on the other side of the Magatama," Dahlia said. "Alright, if you really think you can break these locks give it your best shot. But remember, I'm very stubborn."
"Duh," Pearl giggled. "You're more stubborn than me and Mother."
"Exactly," Dahlia said.
"Hey, I'm pretty stubborn too. I'm not giving up," Phoenix said. "So, why do you think you killed Mia? This case isn't exactly rock solid."
"Are you sure?" Dahlia said. "You've seen the evidence; you have to admit it's pretty conclusive."
"We've found contradictions," Phoenix said.
"But nothing that proves my innocence," Dahlia said. "You can't change the fact that I bought the knife, and my fingerprints were on it."
"What if that wasn't you, though?" Phoenix said.
"Forget it, it's not possible," Dahlia said.
"Why do you say that?" Phoenix said.
"Because I know Iris is dead," Dahlia said; her gaze stone cold.
Phoenix flinched. "How did you-"
"Simple," Dahlia said. "I could tell you already knew about Iris. Larry might have told you, or Mia, or anyone who knew I had an identical twin sister. But she couldn't have been the one to buy all that stuff, or go see Matt. Because she died."
"Who told you that?" Phoenix said.
"Iris died in this very detention center," Dahlia said. "Word travels fast between cells."
Phoenix was silent for a minute, absorbing what Dahlia had just said. "It's still possible. You might even say it's likely."
"You're kidding, right?" Dahlia said.
"There's more to this case then you think there is," Phoenix said. He presented a glossy page. "Maya found this in Mia's office, and Miles taped it back together."
"What does that…?" Dahlia skimmed the letter, and her eyes widened. "That's-"
"Morgan's handwriting," Phoenix said.
"She wrote that," Dahlia said. "But Pearly…"
"Lost the letter, and Mia found it," Phoenix said. "Now, how do you think she would react?"
"She'd… want to help," Dahlia said.
Phoenix nodded. "And she did. By channeling Iris."
"Mia did what?" Dahlia said.
"She locked herself in her room and channeled Iris before Pearls could," Phoenix said. "But Iris escaped."
"How do you know that she was the one to see Matt, or buy all those things?" Dahlia said.
"Easy," Phoenix said. "Remember what Matt said? When he thought he saw you, your hair was brown. Like Mia's."
"But…" Dahlia said.
"See? Now we have a whole new world of possibilities," Phoenix said.
Dahlia felt a burden rise from her shoulders, and she knew that Phoenix had broken her first Psyche-Lock. She had to admit, that did explain a few things.
"So you know I'm right," Phoenix said, smiling triumphantly.
"I know you're right about Mia channeling Iris," Dahlia said. "But tell me, why do all this? I know my mother never approved of my aunt and her direct descendants being the main family. I can see her coming up with a plot like this. But there's just one thing, why would my mother want Iris channeled and go through such a complicated plan?"
"Well, if she did it herself she might get caught," Phoenix said. "But if Iris, your identical twin, did it... She could frame you."
"My mother is crazy, but she never does anything without a reason," Dahlia said. "Why would she frame me?"
"Well, you two never really got along," Phoenix said, not making eye contact.
"Prove it," Dahlia said, even though she knew her assistant was right. She wanted to make this challenging.
Phoenix winced. "I was kind of hoping I didn't have to play this card."
He pulled out a small red notebook with a golden Magatama painted on the cover.
"My diary," Dahlia said. "You have my diary."
"Don't kill me," Phoenix said.
"Fine," Dahlia said.
"Believe it or not I was afraid you'd say that," Phoenix said.
"Shut up," Dahlia said. "What did you read?"
"It was their idea, okay?" Phoenix said, pointing at the Fey cousins.
"Why?" Dahlia said.
"I was worried about you, so I thought maybe there would some kind of clue about what was bugging you," Pearl said.
"Because that's what little sisters do?" Dahlia said; a hint of a smile on her face.
Pearl nodded. "Right."
"So, why are you showing this to me now, Nick?" Dahlia said. She hadn't forgotten the weight on her soul. In addition, she was curious to see how far her assistant would come with this puzzle. After all… Dahlia tucked another stray piece of hair back under her hat. Red locks are kind of my thing.
Phoenix put the diary on the table and opened it. "Dear Diary, my mother is at it again. Or, not at it I guess. She still won't say a word to me since Iris left. I'm getting used to it though. She's stopped telling me what to do and saying how disgraceful I am associating with the main family and whatever."
I remember writing that one. Dahlia bit her lip. Wait, how many entries has he read?
"That's not the only one," Phoenix said, flipping to another page. "You see? You never got along with your direct family. Excluding Pearls, that it. There's even an entry about when you first made your hair red. It was purely an act of defiance."
Dahlia felt something break free, and she heard the second Psyche-Lock shatter. She allowed herself a faint smile. Nick's not too bad. But he hasn't figured everything out.
Phoenix flipped a couple pages in the back absentmindedly, and then paused. Dahlia looked down at the page he had stopped at and her heart sank.
The wind blew through her hair and the bridge swayed in a way that felt both gentle and rough. In front of her was the barrel of a gun and to her right was the tip of a knife. Exactly as she had planned.
She clutched the soft backpack she carried, and jumped over the rope and plunged into the rapid waters below. Though she was descending deeper underwater, she felt weightless. She sunk lower and lower, her world growing darker with each passing second.
How many of those seconds passed, she would never know.
"There are a lot of entries like this," Phoenix said. "What are these all about anyway?"
My visions, and my dreams… He doesn't know everything yet. Dahlia touched her chest where her Magatama usually rested. "I dabble in poetry."
"No you don't," Phoenix said.
"Well, if you know everything about me tell me what they're about," Dahlia said defiantly.
"Hard to say," Phoenix said, playing with the pages. "Some of them tug on my memories though, like there's some kind of connection. Like this one."
A white flash of pure fury, searing through any resolve. Red petals fall, swirling and dancing. Black petals mix into the swarm, and with their touch melt away the scarlet exterior of the other petals, until there is nothing but black. The red drips down, splattering the floor like blood. The blood stains dry, turning brown. A black petal falls in the center, and everything melds together. Everything gets farther away, revealing that these stains are brown eyes of a face. One side is red, the other black.
"I feel like I should know what this is about," Phoenix said.
I sure hope you don't. Dahlia shivered involuntarily.
"Are you okay, Dahlia?" Maya said. "These are-"
Dahlia yelped, cutting off the acolyte. She stared at Maya, and shivered again. The room became darker, and then there was a sudden flash of white.
The first thing she felt was a biting chill. Rapid, tiny snowflakes stung her, but a moment later she felt nothing. She opened her eyes and stared at a pure white sheet of snow. When she looked up, to her surprise her gaze was met with scorching flames. She looked around, but the only light she could find was the blazing fire. She looked at the fire in more detail, and realized it was a bridge over a river.
Something snapped, and she turned just in time to see something fall. She watched it fall from, trying to identify it. She took a sharp intake of breath when she discovered it was a body with something sharp sticking out of it. As if that wasn't surprising enough, the body swung to the other side of the bridge. Completely transfixed on the sight, she watched it rise and land on the other side.
A figure appeared next to the body, and taking it away. After a moment, the figure stepped into the light of the flames.
Her eyes widened as they stared at the face of Iris.
Iris looked across the river and gasped. Dressed in robes, Iris stared back at her. In that instant, time froze. Neither of them moved. They stood, completely transfixed, with a burning bridge between them.
Pearl banged her little fists on the glass. "Dahlia!"
Dahlia gasped.
"What was that?" Phoenix said. "We said your name a dozen times."
"Uh, sorry, Nick," Dahlia said, feeling disoriented.
"You keep doing this, Dahlia," Phoenix said. "Tell me what's wrong."
What's wrong? Dahlia stared down at her hands, pressed down on her beating heart. I'm scared.