"Nick! What the hell happened to you?" Larry had been walking to the gym for his workout, passing the medical area, seeing Phoenix in one of the windows. Phoenix had a black eye forming surprisingly fast under the ice pack and had to keep switching the tissues in his nose.

"I beat him." "Beat who?" "Shi-Long Lang, Larry," Kay interrupted. "WHAT?!" "Yeah man. I got the bloody nose because he was just a baby about it, but I don't know where the black eye came from." "Dude, you beat Shi-Long Lang, the biggest kid here, and only came out with a bloody nose and black eye?!" "Only?!" Phoenix questioned in his head.

Kay interrupted his thoughts. "Larry, you should have seen Phoenix! He went total beast mode! Ask anybody in our class! And he didn't just last the time, he armbared Shi-Long!" "Dude, that's crazy, but, are you okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine." Phoenix smiled. "I showed Lang who's boss." "Your happy particles might be hiding the pain," Larry joked. "I got to tell Miles during workout, see ya." "Bye Larry." Larry closed the door, leaving Phoenix, Kay, and the nurse. She didn't really give them much attention, painting her fingernails on her desk.

"Phoenix, I can't tell you how many times how awesome that was." "Thanks Kay. Where did you have to be now?" "Oh, technology, but I'm at the front of the class, so screw it today." Phoenix smiled "Okay then." "What did you have?" "The simulator." "Oh, well kind of sucks for you, your first mission being tomorrow night." "Oh, great." "Don't worry about it. You'll do great." "Do you even know what the mission is?" "No, but you beat up Shi-Long. Miracles can happen." Phoenix shook his head.

"Oh, five minutes before dinner, do you want me to show you the music room?" "Oh yeah. Sure." Time past in the medical area, Phoenix asking Kay stupid questions.

"Okay, lets go. Your nose stopped bleeding, right?" "Yeah." Kay pulled Phoenix down the hallway, turning a few times. "Okay. Here we are." Phoenix made a mental note of where the room was. Kay opened the door for him to find instruments from guitars to a piano to banjos to violins laying about the room. "Thanks Kay. I'll check it out later." "Yeah. Let's go eat." They ran to the mess hall, laughing all the way.

When Phoenix opened the doors, it was automatically silent. Phoenix blushed and rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed by who-knows-what. Then, all of a sudden, all the kids started clapping. Phoenix blushed an even deeper red, smiling. He went to the lunch line and got a tray with Kay. "Wow, everybody already knows!" "I don't know how to take it," Phoenix said, a smile still on his face. "If people are clapping, they're proud of you." "Well, yeah, but what if Shi-Long is in here?" "Phoenix, you beat him, so don't be scared, but don't let it go to your head either. If you do, the Shi-Long would beat you easily, so always keep your guard up and to get ready for beast mode at anytime." "Well that's great. Try to help your friend and now your getting attacked over and over again."

Kay went to her own table, Phoenix seeing Mia. "Hey, where's Larry and Miles?" "I should be asking you the questions. First of all, did you really beat Shi-Long Lang? Second, are you okay? Finally, you could have been hurt way worse." "The last one isn't a question, but okay. First question, I don't know how, but I did. Second, yes, I'm fine." "That black eye and bloodstained nose isn't saying so. Oh, there they are."

Phoenix turned around and found Larry speed walking towards the table, Edgeworth right behind. "Wright! A-are you okay?!" "I'm fine, Edgeworth." "See, told you Edgey. Nick beat that Shi-Long to smithereens!" "I wouldn't say that, La-" "Oh, come on! Long story short, you beat him." "Wright, did you really?" "Well, the coach stopped the match because Shi-Long wasn't tapping." "Holy crap, you SUBMITTED HIM?!" "Yeah." "With what?!" "An armbar."

Edgeworth sat down with Larry. "Don't ever do that to me again, okay Wright?" "Do what?" "Defend me. I can talk to Shi-Long by myself." "Yeah, but can you beat him in one of the matches?" Larry asked. "Dude, just let Nick bathe in the glory a little bit." Edgeworth turned his earring. "But what if Shi-Long had hurt Wright?" Phoenix didn't know what to think of Miles's behavior. This morning he went from serious to anxiety attack and now he went from worrying to regret. "Wright, just...please don't do that to me again, okay?" Phoenix sighed. "Fine. If you don't want me to talk to Shi-Long, then I won't." "Thanks," Miles mumbled as he stabbed his fork into the noodles.

"Hey Mia, where's Maya?" Larry asked. "She's taking a shower. Said she wanted to get ready for the mission first, then eat. Maggey's eating with Gumshoe since who knows where Shi-Long is."

"Is B-4 back yet?" Phoenix interrupted. Mia stood up and looked around just like that morning. "No. Probably a longer mission than I thought." The Psyche-Lock appeared around her again. Phoenix whispered, "Mia." She looked at him, then the glowing bracelet. "I'll talk to you later," she whispered back.

They ate in silence until Larry broke it. "Do you think Shi-Long got cut? Like, off the organization cut?" "Would they really go that far for beating up a teammate?" Phoenix asked. Edgeworth answered first. "Gant would. He really cares about everybody, but if somebody hurts their teammate, he doesn't hold back, that's for sure. He once got rid of a whole team for almost killing one of the girls on a prank." "Well, to be fair, killing is serious business." "Still, he doesn't play around when it involves others safety."

Miles stared at his food for a long moment. "EDGEY!" Miles almost fell out of his chair due to Larry's shout. "What the hell man?!" Everybody at the table laughed, looking at Edgeworth's shocked face. "Eat your fricken food, man! You're just skin and bones now, pretty much. I can see your rib cage from here!" "Did you really have to shout in my ear for that? Anyway, I'm not hungry, and stop acting like my fricken mom!" "I have to act like your mom if it means you don't die of pain and starvation." "Whatever."

Edgeworth grabbed his tray and took Larry's pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. He started walking into the lobby when Larry finally noticed. "Hey, Edgey! Come back here!" Larry ran after Miles, leaving Phoenix and Mia alone. "I didn't want them worrying. Believe it or not, they look up to those guys." "B-4?" "Yeah. I just don't want them to go crazy, you know what I mean?" "I hear ya." Phoenix stabbed at his own food. "Did you ever see Edgeworth or Larry when Godot was on there team?" "I saw Miles, but we never got acquainted. That's why I introduced myself at breakfast."

Ema came skipping over with who Phoenix assumed was her sister. "Hey, Mr. Wright! I heard what happened!" "Oh, yeah." "Congrats! This is my sis, Lana." "Nice to meet you, Mr. Wright. First day and already making yourself known I see." "I didn't know it would spread like wild fire!" Lana gave a small smile. "Oh, Mia! I've been meaning to talk to you about Gant." "Yes, of course." Mia stood up. "I'll see you later, Phoenix." "Bye Mia. Nice to meet you, Lana." Lana shook Phoenix's hand and walked away, Ema still standing at the table. "I'm going to go finish eating. See you tomorrow, Mr. Wright!" "See ya, Ema."

Phoenix looked at his watch. Already 8:14. "I'll go take a shower," he told himself. "Then I'll go have a look at that music room."

Phoenix entered the black metal door to find Larry shoving his own stuff off the bed. "Um, hi Larry." Larry turned around. "Oh, hey Nick. Stay right there, okay?" "O-okay?" Phoenix stood still while Larry kept digging through the messy bunk bed. "Here it is!" Larry jumped down and handed Phoenix an ear microphone with speaker attached to the end. "For the mission tomorrow! Your going to be using it a lot, so don't loose it." "Oh thanks Larry." Phoenix set it on his own bed.

"I'm gonna take a shower." "You take your shower at night?" "Yeah, why?" "I don't know. Just seems weird." Phoenix took a quick shower, just like the night before. He walked out and didn't see Larry or Edgeworth. "I'll go to the music room, I guess."

Phoenix slipped a pair of pants on and usual white t-shirt. He walked down the hallway and finally got to the mentally noted music room. He slowly opened the door, not seeing Edgeworth. "Wonder where he is?"

Phoenix wandered around the room, looking at all the instruments. "I'm surprised that they even allow instruments here. Well, I guess with Gant as head director, he doesn't want anybody bored. Ever."

Phoenix heard the door creak and jumped behind the piano, nerves of who he would find. He peeked through the bottom to see Edgeworth sigh with notebook in hand. "Wonder where he was..." Edgeworth grabbed a guitar and hit a few notes. "Okay," he whispered to himself.

Phoenix recognized the beat from a song on the radio a while ago, but it sounded slightly slower. Then, to Phoenix's surprise, Edgeworth started singing. "I'm gonna make you bend and break, it sent you to me without wings, say a prayer but let the good times roll!" Edgeworth continued to sing with Phoenix still hiding. His voice sounded handsome, but teenage-ish at the same time, making it even better. When he was finally done with that song, he switched to another, this one by Green Day.

"Must be one of the posters on his bed." "I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known. Don't know where it goes, but it's home to me and I walk alone." "Man, dark."

Edgeworth finished that one and strummed a few notes on the guitar once again, starting a new song. Phoenix didn't recognize it unto Edgeworth hit the chorus. "So take a look at me now. Well there's just an empty space. And there's nothing left here to remind me, just the memory of your face." "Phil Collins?! Wouldn't imagine Edgeworth listening to tha-"

The sound of the wooden door opening hindered Phoenix's thoughts. "B-Badd?! What are you doing here?" Edgeworth asked, startled. Phoenix resisted every urge to jump at Badd, staying hidden. "You've got an interesting friend, you know that?" "I would prefer the term 'teammate' for now." "Teammate?! For now?!"

"Well, whatever the hell you want to call him, he got Shi-Long booted out." "As in left?" "As in, forced to leave, yeah." Badd pulled something out of his pocket and stuck it in his mouth. At first, Phoenix thought it was a cigarette, only able to see the part sticking out of Badd's mouth. He then realized that it was a candy sucker.

"Want one?" "No thanks." "Your body is saying something else," Badd said, nodding towards Edgeworth's visible rib cage. "Why do you care?" "Just trying to be friendly. Now that Shi-Long's gone I realize that I was kind of being controlled by him. So, want to start fresh with ya." Edgeworth glared at Badd. "Look, you probably don't want anything to deal with me and I don't want anything to deal with you. So I'll spare you the pain." "If you say so." Badd left the room and closed the wooden door.

As soon as he did, Edgeworth started to break down, his eyes getting teary. "D-Dammit, why now? Why the hell now?!"

Phoenix wanted to jump up and help his friend, but stayed in his position, wanting to see what he would do. Miles bit his hand, trying his best not to let the tears fall. "He's gone. He's gone and you're not gonna get him back, so stop it."

Edgeworth immediately flipped open his notebook, tears falling so fast that they landed on a few of the flipping pages. He pulled the ink stained cap of the pen off with his mouth and started writing furiously. He then pulled one of the music stands over and set his notebook on it. He sat in the chair with guitar in hand and hit what Phoenix figured were the first notes of Edgeworth's own song.

"Being without you is like being without the sun, no light to warm me." Edgeworth continued the song until the bridge. "Did he not write this part?" Phoenix decided to come out from hiding, slowly standing.

Edgeworth turned around with a pained looking face. "How long have you been in here?!" "Um, before you came in." Edgeworth cussed under his breath.

"Who were you...crying about?" "I wasn't crying." "Bull crap. I saw you and why else would you bite your hand?" "Whatever. I was just...thinking of my dad. That's all."

Phoenix patted Edgeworth's back. "Are you alright?" "Yeah, I'm fine." A few Psyche-Locks appeared around Edgeworth, but the problem wasn't how many of them there was, but the color. "B-black?!" Edgeworth looked at Phoenix's shocked expression. "I wear black everyday, what's the big deal?" he asked, trying to change the subject. "No, your Psyche-Locks." "What the hell are Psyche-Locks?!"

Phoenix looked at his bracelet, which was glowing a darker green than usual. "Why is your bracelet glowing?" Edgeworth asked nervously. "Oh, this can detect lies, and I'm guessing you want to keep that lie a secret, because you've sealed it away, deep in your heart." "That sounds weird, but if it will make him feel better..."

Only one of the four black Psyche-Locks broke. "You're gonna have to try harder than that, Wright." Edgeworth sniffed, rubbing his arm against his nose. "Well, I obviously can tell you're lying. Let me just tell you now. You are not okay."

Edgeworth stood up, grabbing his notebook. "I'm okay Wright. Really." He walked past Phoenix and paused, hand on the doorknob. "Thanks for getting Shi-Long out." Edgeworth fully opened the door and stepped out, leaving Phoenix in the quiet music room.