In this world a man is given a destiny. Though the path may twist and shift fate itself never wavers. It looms in the distance as assuredly as the moon will lift into the night sky. Sometimes, however, paths cross and men can get lost, their designated directions in life change. Each man must reach the end of the path. Even if that end was not meant to be his.

The afternoon sun leaked through the stiff white blinds. It trickled in thin yellow waves only inches away from an antique mahogany desk. At that desk sat Miles Edgeworth, a handsome onyx haired man in a maroon suit, white shirt, and black tie. He had his face pressed into his white-gloved palm as he read over the file resting atop the black leather mat with the golden name of Gregory Edgeworth rubbing off on its corner. Miles let out an exasperated breath and delicately stirred the sugar into his tea. The steamy liquid swirled inside the simple white cup as he lifted it to his mouth.
The room itself still smelled faintly of cake and beer. The remnants of Gregory's good-bye party were evident in areas where Miles couldn't quite, and wasn't really willing to, reach when he'd cleaned that morning. A red balloon lay trapped atop the towering bookshelf that lined the entire north wall of the office. It held a range of things from old books to little statues and a few awards. Beside it sat a desk nearly identical to the one Miles was currently occupying. The only differences being that it looked a little less polished and it was covered in silver framed photos of happy, golden moments and rings made from years of sitting cups on its top unprotected.
Miles read over the neatly stacked papers on his desk one more time. He had this case thoroughly memorized and if he highlighted any more tidbits he'd have nothing but a document covered in pink lines. Still, this was going to be his first case without his father looking over his shoulder or sitting in the peanut gallery. He had to make sure that his performance was absolutely perfect.
"Knock knock." A soft, happy voice cracked through his intense focus. When his dark eyes lifted up they met the soft brown ones of a Miss Mia Fey. Mia had spent a few weeks training with his father and him while Grossberg took a month off to nurse his poor hemorrhoids. Since then she popped in on them rather frequently. "Some party last night, eh Miles?" She walked into the office and fell back into one of the plush black leather chairs in front of his desk.
"Mmhmm." Miles huffed through his nose and went back to his reading.
"Did your dad get to the airport okay?" Mia asked.
"Mmhmm." Miles replied with the same inflection as before. His eyes never lifted from the pages and their neon highlights.
"So, have you brought a girl up to have hot wild sex on your dad's desk?" She smirked.
"Mm-what?" Miles had to do a double take on that one. His eyes actually flicked up towards her smiling face.
"There's the eye contact I wanted." Mia said smugly. She folded her arms over her chest and leaned back in the chair.
"Hmph." Miles went back to his papers.
"So what case are you working on?" She leaned forward to read the name on the document. He cupped his hand over it like some kid trying to keep someone from cheating off his test.
"The murder of Cindy Stone." Miles answered rather bluntly.
"Cindy Stone…Do I know her?"
"She was a model." Miles informed her. "She was struck in the back of the head with a blunt object and died from the resulting blood loss. The man being accused of the murder is a friend of a friend Larry Butz. He's the victim's ex-boyfriend, and was witnessed leaving the scene of the crime. The murder weapon is a statue of the thinker, a present she'd gotten from the defendant." He summarized this rather quickly and with a hint of annoyance in his tone.
"A friend? Really?" Mia had gotten a bit hung up on those words. "I wasn't aware you had any friends."
"Friend of a friend." Miles corrected. He elaborated upon seeing Mia's sly smile. "Friend of a very, very old friend whom I've not seen in years."
"Oooo, what's his name?" Mia sounded like a giddy teen about to learn the mysterious identity of some crush.
"Phoenix Wright." Miles answered dully. He wouldn't have answered at all, but that woman would never go away on her own, so he might as well.
"Hey I know him! I defended him once in a murder case. He had on this goofy pink sweater and ate a crucial piece of evidence!" Mia fumed.
"You managed to win the case anyway, didn't you?" Miles decided to underline one of his highlights in pen.
"Yeah, but the real killer got away." Mia sighed. "Hey, if he was your friend why didn't you help him?"
"He didn't ask." Miles took the pictures from the folder, leaned back in his chair, and started to examine them. "The last we saw one another was in grade school."
"Oh, what happened?" Mia wondered.
"My father felt it would be good to get some exposure to other cultures, so we started to travel."
"And you didn't try to keep in touch."
"We did, at first. Eventually we both just stopped writing one another." Miles sighed. Whether it was from annoyance at being bothered, or sadness over losing a friend, Mia couldn't really tell.
"That's so sad." She pouted. "Why didn't you go see him when you came back?"
"He was already in college by then, I was just starting my career as a lawyer. It honestly just never occurred to me."
"Miles! That's horrible! You should call him now!" Mia slammed her palms against his desk like she was delivering an objection.
"I tried once or twice when I read about that trial of yours." Miles dully defended himself. "I never got a reply."
"That doesn't sound right. The kid I met would have been overjoyed to hear from an old friend."
"Apparently you were mistaken." Miles set the pictures back into the folder, and then closed both it and his eyes. He ran all the names, times, and important facts through his head. This process completely blocked out what Mia was saying to him, and, when he returned to the world, she was already finishing her statement.
"So, yeah, I don't really have anything else to do today. Mind if I sit in on your trial?" She asked.
"A little, but I'm not going to stop you." Miles answered and got up.
"Great!" Mia got up too. "I love getting to watch you work. It's like those funhouse mirrors at the carnival."

"It's over! My life, everything, it's all over!" Screamed an overemotional blond in an orange leather jacket just about when Miles and Mia entered the courtroom lobby. "Death! Despair! Ohhhh! I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna die!!!"
"Is that your client?" Mia wondered.
"Yes." Miles said with a sigh.
"Well this should prove interesting..." Mia smirked.
"Dude, I'm so guilty!! Tell them I'm guilty!!!" Larry demanded. He grabbed Miles by the lapel of his blazer and pulled their faces closer together. "Gimme the death sentence! I ain't afraid to die!" Miles managed to pull Larry off his suit before the man wrinkled it. "Oh, it's all over... I... I'm finished. Finished! I can't live in a world without her!" Larry wailed. "I can't! Who... who took her away from me, Edgy? Who did this!? Aww, Edgy, ya gotta tell me! Who took my baby away!?"
"Well according to a Mr. Frank Sahwit it was you." Miles said bluntly.
"But I would never!!! I could never hurt my baby! You gotta believe me!" Larry objected.
"Don't worry. The evidence proves you didn't do anything. I just need to show it in court. We should be done in no time at all." Miles put on his showcase smile. It was mostly just a trick from his father, and didn't really have any emotion to it.

The courtroom buzzed until the judge banged his gavel.
"The court is now in session for the trial of Mr. Larry Butz." He declared.
"The prosecution is ready, Your Honor." Said a nervous balding man.
Miles didn't bother to answer as he sifted through some files just to make sure they were in the right order. The judge seemed to be used to this reaction from him.
"First, a question for the prosecution. Mr. Payne?" The judge looked over to him.
"Yes, Your Honor?" Payne replied.
"The victim was struck with a blunt object. Would you explain to the court just what that "object" was?"
"The murder weapon was a present made by the defendant." He said with a wry smile. "This statue of The Thinker." He placed the statue onto his desk. "It was found lying on the floor, next to the victim."
"I see... the court accepts it into evidence." The judge nodded. "Mr. Payne, the prosecution may call its first witness."
"The prosecution calls the defendant, Mr. Butz, to the stand." Payne gained a small smile. Miles got a bit of an exasperated look on his face as Larry took the stand.
"With any luck he wont push his foot so far into his mouth that you won't be able to pull it out." Mia sighed.
"Ahem. Mr. Butz. Is it not true that the victim had recently dumped you?" Payne said directly.
"Oh lord." Miles closed his eyes.
"Hey, watch it buddy! We were great together! We were Romeo and Juliet,
Cleopatra and Mark Anthony! I wasn't dumped! She just wasn't taking my phone calls. Or seeing me... Ever. WHAT'S IT TO YOU, ANYWAY!?" Larry fumed.
"Mr. Butz, what you describe is generally what we mean by "dumped." In fact, she had completely abandoned you... and was seeing other men! She had just returned from overseas with one of them the day before the murder!"
"Whaddya mean, "one of them"!? Lies! All of it, lies! I don't believe a word of it!"
"Your Honor, the victim's passport. According to this, she was in Paris until the day before she died." Payne presented the passport.
"Hmm... Indeed, she appears to have returned the day before the murder." The judge replied.
"Dude... no way..." Larry looked stunned. Miles did not.
"The victim was a model, but did not have a large income. It appears that she had several "Sugar Daddies." Payne smirked.
"Daddies? Sugar?" Larry whimpered.
"Yes. Older men, who gave her money and gifts. She took their money and used it to support her lifestyle." Payne replied.
"Duuude!" Larry was getting flustered. Miles still was not.
"We can clearly see what kind of woman this Ms. Stone was. Tell me, Mr. Butz, what do you think of her now?" Payne smirked.
"Objection." Miles sounded almost bored as he said that. "The question is irrelevant." Payne looked like Miles had punched him in the stomach.
"Dude! Edgy! Whaddya mean, "irrelevant"!? That cheatin' she-dog! I'm gonna die. I'm just gonna drop dead! Yeah, and when I meet her in the afterlife... I'm going to get to the bottom of this!" Larry proclaimed.
"Let's continue with the trial, shall we?" Even the judge sounded annoyed.
"I believe the accused's motive is clear to everyone." Payne recovered quickly.
"Yes, quite." The judge nodded.
"Next question! You went to the victim's apartment on the day of the murder, did you not?" Payne pressed his fingers against his bare scalp. Larry audibly gulped. "Well, did you, or did you not?"
"Heh? Heh heh. Well, maybe I did, and maybe I didn't!"
"Answer the question more clearly, Mr. Butz." Miles instructed.
"Er... Yeah! Yeah! I was there! I went!" Larry stammered. "But she wasn't home, man... So, like, I didn't see her."
"OBJECTION!" Payne shrieked like a girl. "Your Honor, the defendant is lying."
"Lying?" The judge repeated.
"The prosecution would like to call a witness who can prove Mr. Butz is lying." Payne said smugly.
Miles still looked bored.
"Ms. Fey, could you do me a favor? Please call the Starlight Café for me." Miles handed Mia his cell phone. "Tell them to start preparing my tea. It should be ready by the time we're done here."
"On the day of the murder, my witness was selling newspapers at the victim's building. Please bring Mr. Frank Sahwit to the stand!" Payne announced.
"Mr. Sahwit, you sell newspaper subscriptions, is this correct?" Payne asked.
"Oh, oh yes! Newspapers, yes!" Sahwit stumbled.
"Mr. Sahwit, you may proceed with your testimony. Please tell the court what you saw on the day of the murder." The judge declared.
"I was going door-to-door, selling subscriptions when I saw a man fleeing an apartment. I thought he must be in a hurry because he left the door half-open behind him. Thinking it strange, I looked inside the apartment. Then I saw her lying there... A woman... not moving... dead! I quailed in fright and found myself unable to go inside. I thought to call the police immediately! However, the phone in her apartment wasn't working. I went to a nearby park and found a public phone. I remember the time exactly: It was 1:00 P.M. The man who ran was, without a doubt, the defendant sitting right over there." Sahwit gave his testimony.
"Hmmm." The judge rubbed his beard. "Incidentally, why wasn't the phone in the victim's apartment working?"
"Your Honor, at the time of the murder, there was a blackout in the building." Payne explained.
"Aren't phones supposed to work during a blackout?" The judge asked.
"Yes, Your Honor... However, some cordless phones do not function normally. The phone that Mr. Sahwit used was one of those. Your Honor..." Payne took out a file.
"I have a record of the blackout, for your perusal." He presented the file to the court.
"Now, Mr. Edgeworth. You may begin your cross-examination." The judge declared.
"Happily, your honor." Miles put on his showman's smile.
"You say that you witnessed the defendant fleeing from the apartment, correct?" Miles asked. "But isn't a man leaving an apartment a common sight? I find it odd you would take notice of him..."
"Er... heh." Sahwit writhed in his seat. "I don't know. He just seemed strange to me, that's all. Like he was mad, and yet frightened at the same time. Just like... a criminal fleeing the scene of a crime!"
"And he must have been in a hurry to leave the door half open, right?"
"Yes, yes." Sahwit agreed. "I watched for a moment, but no one came to close the door.
"And that's when you looked into the apartment?"
"Well, the door was half-open, you see. Isn't it only human to want to... peek? We climb mountains because they are there! It's the same thing."
"Truer words have never been spoken!" Payne exclaimed. "Anyone would look inside!"
"And that's when you saw Ms. Stone." Miles continued.
"Yes! I quailed in fright and found myself unable to go inside."
"So, then you didn't touch anything in the apartment?" Miles asked.
"Um, yes. I mean no! Nothing." Sahwit squirmed.
"Then you "thought" to call the police, but the phone in her apartment wasn't working."
"Yes. I mean, no, no it wasn't. Right."
"But you just said you didn't go into the apartment."
"Oh, oh, that? I can explain that! There was a cordless phone on a shelf in the entranceway. I reached inside and tried using that to call..."
"And the phone wasn't working, correct?" Payne smirked.
"Yes! I went to a nearby park and found a public phone." Sahwit put on a cheesy smile. "I remember the time exactly: It was 1:00 PM.
"You found the body at 1:00 PM." Miles tapped the side of his nose and smiled. "Are you sure?"
"Yes." Sahwit pulled at his tie. "It was 1:00 PM, for certain."
"I find that a bit hard to believe, Mr. Sahwit." Miles opened the manila folder in front of him and held up a document. "The autopsy says the death as at 4PM. There wouldn't have been a body to find at 1:00." When he said that Sahwit's face beaded with sweat.
"Oh, that! Oh, er..."
"OBJECTION!" Payne squeaked. "This is trivial! The witness merely forgot the time!'
"After his testimony, I find that hard to believe." The judge shook his head. "Mr. Sahwit... Why were you so certain that you found the body at 1:00 PM?"
"I.. er... well, I... Gee, that's a really good question!" Sahwit stumbled.
"Perhaps I can answer it for you, Mr. Sahwit." Miles suggested. "You must have heard the time."
"Heard?" Sahwit calmed some. "Why yes! Yes I did! I remember it clearly now! It must have been a taped recording or the radio!"
"No, that's not likely. There was a blackout at the time of the murder." Miles shook his head.
"I... well... urk!" Sahwit choked.
"No, if you heard the time it was likely from this." Miles presented the thinker to the court.
"Why yes! That clock! That clock went off just as I looked in! I remember seeing it on the desk!" Sahwit pulled at his collar.
"Now who said this was a clock?" Miles fiddled with the statue in his hands.
"W-why you did! Just now!"
"I said nothing of the sort." Miles replied.
"But! But it is a clock! See?! The neck is a switch. You just tilt it, and it says the time out loud!" Sahwit freaked. Miles pushed down on the head and the clock revealed itself.
"Well so it is." He examined it some. "You must have triggered it when you used it to hit Ms. Stone over the head." Miles said nonchalantly.
"W-what?!" Sahwit snapped.
"OBJECTION! CONJECTURE!" Payne screamed over the buzz of the court.
"Order in the court!" The judge demanded.
"You struck her with the clock, and the shock of the blow triggered the clock's voice!" Miles lost his smile and slammed his palms against the desk. "Something like that would leave an impression on a person, wouldn't it? You kill a woman and suddenly something just shouts the time at you. That's why you were so sure of the time of death, isn't it?"
"I... I...! That... that day... I... I never! Look... I... the clock... I heard, no! I mean, I saw...Saw... nggg! Gwaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Sahwit ripped off his toupee and threw it in Miles' direction. Miles ducked and it sailed over his head. From all the things he'd predicted about the trial this hadn't been one of them. It took a moment to get over the stun. Meanwhile Sahwit was still losing it. "Shutupshutupshutup! I hate you! I-it was him, I tell you! I saw him! H-he killed her and he should burn! Burn! Give him death!" The courtroom buzzed loudly.
"Order! Order in the court I say!" The judge banged his gavel until things settled.
"Your Honor, a-a moment please!" Payne sputtered. "There isn't a shred of evidence supporting the defense's claims!"
"Mr. Edgeworth, you claim the sound the witness heard came from the clock..." The judge declared.
"That's right, your honor." Miles nodded.
"Do you have any evidence?" The judge asked.
"Of course I do. I wouldn't have said it otherwise." Miles almost sounded offended. He sounded the alarm on the clock.
"I think it's 8:25." The clock responded.
"Mr. Payne, what time is it? And check your watch, please." Miles requested.
"Ah, well it's It's 11:25..." Payne got flustered. "But you can't prove that it was slow on the day of the murder!"
"Not slow." Miles shook his head and presented Cindy's passport. "Ms. Stone had just returned from Paris. There is a time difference between here and Paris by nine hours. The victim hadn't reset her clock since returning home. That's why the time you heard when you struck her dead in her apartment was wrong." Miles replied. Sahwit yanked further on his collar. Then he began to foam at the mouth and fell to the floor; catching Miles off guard yet again.
"Well, in light of recent events this court finds the defendant, Mr. Larry Butz not guilty." The judge banged his gavel. "Court is adjourned."
Miles started to gather his things as the bailiff dragged Sahwit away. He set all of his items gently into a suitcase. Things couldn’t have gone better, but then with Payne as the prosecution there was never any challenge. The suitcase clicked shut when he noticed a smiling Mia staring at him. It was like she was waiting on eye contact before she spoke.
"Hey! You did it! That was great!" She looked like she was on the verge of giving the man a big hug. The only thing stopping her was the cold look she was getting from Miles.
"I wanna die!!!" Larry wailed.
"Mr. Butz, Mr. Edgeworth just got you out of jail!" Mia smiled at the exuberant blond.
"I don't care! I just found out that the woman I love hated me!" He exclaimed.
"Really? That's not how I figure it." Mia picked up the thinker statue. "I mean, this thing is really bulky and sort of heavy."
"Way to rub salt in a wound, dude." Larry glowered.
"No, I mean, I'm just saying that it's not really something you want to go out traveling with, you know? And she must have because she set it for Paris time." Mia shrugged. Larry's eyes got wide and as they filled with tears the light made them sparkle.
"You mean..." His lip quivered.
"Oh god. Uh, know what? I'm probably wr-" She was tackle hugged by a weeping Larry. "Edgeworth!" She yelled for help.
"You brought it on yourself." Miles said with a small smirk and walked past them.
"MILES! DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE ME HERE!" Mia raged. Miles didn't answer her verbally, but he was smiling as he walked out.

The Starlight Café was somewhat crowded, but when Miles walked in, a pretty young thing gave him an enthusiastic wave from the counter.
"Morning, Mr. Edgeworth!" She smiled brightly at him. "I put the tea at your table!" Miles nodded at her, went to an exceptionally clean table by the window, and sat down.
Miles stared out the window while he drank his tea. He wasn't really looking at anything out there; it just came off less creepy when he lost himself in thought while looking at something that would normally be passively gazed at. This was also the same reason he went to movies.
"Miles, you're insufferable, you know that?" Mia huffed and took the seat across from him. Miles just huffed back and continued with his tea. "He tried to pick me up, you know."
"I see he hasn't changed any." Miles said into his tea. The cup was hiding the smirk on his face.
"Watercress sandwich, Mr. Edgeworth?" Asked the girl from the counter who had somehow ninja-d her way to their table. Miles nodded, but when the girl turned to leave he reached out and grabbed her sleeve. This made the girl turn bright red.
"Aren't you going to take the lady's order?" He wondered.
"Oh...y-yes sir." She smiled and turned to Mia.
"Coffee for me." Mia ordered. The waitress nodded and walked away.
They sat in silence until the girl returned with Miles sandwich and smelling strongly of flowers.
"Yours will be just another minute." She told Mia sweetly.
"So, how did you manage to get rid of the old man?" Mia asked.
"He left of his own accord." Miles replied.
"I thought you'd be happier about it, myself. I mean, your father is the nicest guy on the planet, but I know how much you've wanted to get him off your back." Mia said with a smile.
"Well it is a little unnerving. I feel as if the safety net has been pulled away." Miles admitted as Mia got her coffee. "But I've finally managed to get that blasted office in order."
"I noticed you didn't touch your father's desk though. I figured you'd have moved it out of the office by now."
"You know how unpredictable my father can be. Right now he wants to live in Hawaii, in the morning he may decide to come back and retake the firm." Miles said with a sigh.
"Are you sure it's not because you miss him?" Mia teased.
"Quite. Yes." Miles deadpanned as he finished off his tea.
"W-would you like a refill, Mr. Edgeworth?" Asked the waitress shyly. Miles smiled up at her.
"Yes. Thank you." He replied. The girl giggled.
"So, one of my clients asked about you." Mia said as she sipped her coffee.
"No." Miles said bluntly.
"But I didn't even get to the point yet." Mia pouted.
"I already know the point. The answer is no." Miles cast his eyes out the window.
"But she's a really nice girl. You'd get along so well." Mia continued to pout. Miles continued to not look her way.
"I'm busy." He said bluntly.
"You are not. If you were you'd have made tea at the office and gone OCD on another case." Mia pursed her lips and crossed her arms.
"Her name is Alexandra Dubouxe. She's a doctor."
"And why would she be needing your services?" Miles sighed. He knew he wasn't going to get out of this one, no matter how hard he tried.
"It was a malpractice suit, but the patient was a total fake. She was cleared of all charges." Mia replied. The excitement made her voice a bit higher. "I already told her you'd pick her up at seven."
"Yes, alright, fine." Miles huffed and took a bite out of his sandwich.
"Oh good! I knew you'd say yes!" Mia finished her coffee and got up. "Well I gotta go, thanks for the coffee!"
"Mmm." Miles grunted. Mia waved and scampered out.

The silence was broken by Pachelbels canon in D. Miles pulled a thick pink phone from his pocket and answered.
"Miles Edgeworth."
"Father senses tingling…Do you have a date Miles my boy?" The happy voice of Gregory Edgeworth came through.
"Hello to you too, dad." Miles sighed and pinched his nose.
"Well do you?" Gregory sounded more like a sly college roomie than a father.
"Yes." Miles immediately regretted answering the question.
"Is he hot?" Miles just knew his father was smiling like an idiot on the other side of the phone.
"It's a she, actually." Miles sighed.
"Ooo, branching out are we?" Gregory chortled.
"Dad, I'm not gay." Miles said for the millionth time.
"You're going to starve to death in that closet one day." Gregory got out before he burst into a fit of laughter. Miles was not amused.
"Is there a point to this call, or do you just want to antagonize me?" Miles grumbled.
"Oh no point really. I've just never gone a whole day without talking to my son. I guess I'm just not used to it. Are things going well for you?"
"I won a case." Miles informed him.
"Wonderful! I wish I could have seen it! You should try getting your on TV show so I don't have to miss them."
"It was pretty boring, actually. I was up against Winston Payne."
"Baldy McSweatbullets? He's still in the game?"
"He was a competent prosecutor once upon a time." Miles half-heartedly of defended.
"Once upon a time implies a happily ever after, my boy." Gregory corrected him. "I just sort of assumed he would have had a heart attack by now."
"I'm sure he has." Miles responded for the sake of responding.
"Have you ever drunk from a coconut bra?"
"No, dad. I don't believe I have." Miles did his best not to smile.
"You should try it. It's fantastic." Gregory informed his son.
"I'll be sure to do that." Miles huffed some air from his nose.
"I'll make sure to mail you a pair!" There was some clicking on the other side and Miles could hear his father's voice muffle out some words before the phone moved back to his mouth. "Well I have to go, Miles. You do your best, okay? I love you."
"You too." Miles snapped the phone shut and put it away.
Miles sat quietly while he finished the rest of his tea. It was going to be a slow day. He usually had cases littered through the day, but for the first time in a while it was just the one. He wasn't entirely sure what to do with this spark of free time. He pulled a gold pocket watch out of his coat and checked it.
"Another cup of tea, Mr. Edgeworth?" The waitress asked sweetly.
"No." He got up and tossed his money onto the table.

Miles checked his watch again on his way back to the office. It was a rather nice day. Maybe one worth a detour to the park. Miles made a sharp left turn and in the corner of his eye saw someone's hand rise to their mouth. Then it felt as if a bee had stung him in the neck. Reflexively he slapped at it, but his hand pulled back something odd. The sheer unreality of it made him speak the name of the object aloud.
"A Blow dart?" His mouth muffled and his body numbed. It wasn't long until he lost consciousness entirely.

"Ergh." Miles peeled open his eyes. His vision was horribly blurry so when he looked around he couldn't make out much. He was inside, and there was something moving around. As his body started to regain feeling he realized that he couldn't move much due to his arms being tied together above his head. He pulled at them in a moment of panic.
"You shouldn't do that, honey." Said a voice that he almost recognized. "You'll get a dent in my headboard."
"Whah's thheh meahnin ohff ahll thhihs?" Miles' tongue felt thick so his words weren't coming out easily.
"I'm so sorry about the barbarism earlier, but you always order one more cup of tea before you leave. That's okay; I know it was that woman distracting you." The voice replied.
"Yhoo won' geh ahweh withh thhihs." Miles pulled at his restraints again.
"Please don't struggle, honey." The blurred female figure got closer. "You'll hurt yourself." The light glinted off something in her hands.
Miles felt a sharp prick on the side of his neck.
"Now sleep well, dear." The woman said softly and pat his head. Miles was about to mutter something horribly obscene, but he lost consciousness too quickly.

"He stood you up?!" Mia yelled into her phone. "I knew I should have picked him up myself. I'm so sorry."
"No really, its okay, Ms. Fey."
"It most certainly is not!" Mia yelled with righteous anger. "Asshat or not, he has no right to treat people this way! Why I should-" She was interrupted by a beep in her ear. "Hold on, I have someone on the other line."
"I need to go anyway. I just wanted to give you an update on Mr. Armando's condition. I know you've been too busy to come see him lately."
"I really appreciate it. Thanks. Have a good day." Mia pushed the flashing line two on her phone. "Fey and company law offices, this is Mia Fey."
"Hello, Ms. Fey!" Declared the happy voice of Gregory Edgeworth. "You sound lovely this fine morning."
"Hello, Mr. Edgeworth." Mia matched his happy tone. "How is Hawaii?"
"Tropical. Is my son there, by any chance, Ms. Fey?"
"What? Why would he be here?"
"Well he wouldn't answer his cell phone last night or at the office this morning. I thought maybe you could go check on him."
"Sure thing, Mr. Edgeworth. I'll check after my case. Maybe I'll even see him at the court house."
"It would mean the world to me, doll."
"I'm happy to do it."
"Ms. Fey, did you know they use Spam here?"
"No, I don't believe I did."
"They mix it with poi and musubi. Well, I shouldn't be keeping you. You do your best, Ms. Fey."
"As always, Mr. Edgeworth." Mia smiled.

The offices of Edgeworth and Son were blatantly vacant.
"This is really weird." Mia muttered to herself and went up to the first thing to catch her eye. The red light on the answering machine was flashing. "He must not have gotten back from the cafe. He always checks these." She walked up to the tea maker and pressed her hand on the top. "And there was no way he just didn't notice because this thing is cold. It stays warm for hours after he uses it." She put her hands on her hips and her eyes caught something else. "Hey, someone was in here." She walked over to Miles' desk and straightened the crooked leather mat. Then after some thought she shifted it back to the angle it was in.

Miles opened his eyes, but it took some real effort to keep them open.
"I stopped by your office today, honey, and got your favorite tea." The voice said. Miles opened his mouth to protest, but his throat was too dry to make noise and his tongue was refusing to move. "I'm going to have to go back though. I lost a contact lens and there was no way I could find it without being able to see." The bed beneath Miles started to hum and move until he was sitting upright. His body was now pulling down on the restraints around his wrists. The shadowed figure set a tray across his waist and sat down near him. Each time she moved Miles could smell flowers. "I made you a watercress sandwich too. I know how much you like those and you completely missed dinner. You must be famished." He didn't have much choice when she force fed him some sandwich and poured tea into his mouth which ended up getting more on his shirt than down his throat. He coughed when some of it slipped into his windpipe. "Oh dear, looks like we'll just have to practice this more."
The fluid and choking was good for one thing. It helped him find his voice.
"Are you insane?! Untie me!" He demanded. He yanked so hard on his bonds that it knocked his tray over. His captor was cleaning up when his cell phone went off.
"Calm down, honey." She said softly. "Oh there goes that phone again. I swear you get so many phone calls it's just downright silly." She huffed and his vision started to clear.
"You're that waitress from the cafe." He glowered.
"Well now, that's no way to talk to your wife." She frowned deeply at him.
"What?!" Miles snapped and struggled again. "You need clinical help!" He told her harshly. In response she laughed at him like he'd told some sort of joke.
"Oh, honey. You always know what to say." She brought the remnants of his mess over to a table and opened a small red case. Inside was a bottle and a syringe. Miles continued struggling, and gave her a very hard time getting the needle into his arm, but in the end she won and he slipped back into the inky blackness of unconsciousness.

"No reply." Mia sighed and put away her phone. "If he was somewhere he couldn't answer I would have at least gotten a pissed off text message by now." She was starting to get concerned. She hadn't known Miles all that long, but she did know he was too obsessive compulsive to not stop into his office to check for messages. She opened the cabinet above the tea maker to see that, unlike the rest of the office, the bags were simply tossed in. She knew good and well from the many times his father insisted that he offer her tea that, until Gregory left, that cabinet was his haven of neatness. If even Gregory himself had touched it, it would have incurred Miles' wrath. This cinched it. If Miles had come into his office at any point in that day he would have had to straighten those bags, which must mean he hadn't, and someone else was here who didn't. Mia's eyes scanned the room for any signs of who this person might be. Then she dialed the police.

Mia Fey stood up when she heard the police pull in front of the office. She peered through the blinds to see only one car and a very large, rather scruffy man in an old green trench coat get out. She had suspected as much. The police didn't tend to like taking missing person reports and would often make up a certain set of hours before one could be filed, but Mia Fey was a lawyer, and this was Gregory Edgeworth's son. There would really only be one man on the force to take the call even though it wasn't even in his jurisdiction to do so and no one would argue about sending him.
"Hello, Detective Gumshoe." Mia greeted him when he burst in. His chest heaved huffs of air through his nose as he gave her a slanted look of concern.
"How long has he been gone, pal?" He asked right off the bat, which was sort of an odd thing for the man. Then again Mia had only really encountered him at parties or after he had finished investigating crime scenes.
"I don't know. Mr. Edgeworth says he didn't answer his calls last night or this morning. He hasn't been by his office at all since, and his tea cabinet is in total disarray." Mia replied. She was sort of proud of herself for being able to give the detective some pretty valuable information, but he didn't seem to understand the importance of it. "Miles really hated it when people even opened that thing, much less go rooting around in it messing up the special order of all his teas."
"Oh, yeah." Detective Gumshoe seemed to remember, probably one of the many tongue-lashings he had gotten from Gregory's son during parties at the office, and it made him cringe a little. "Don't worry, pal! We'll get a team right on it!" Gumshoe assured her with a thick lopsided smile.
"But I only see you here, detective." Mia turned and looked out the window to see if any more cops had maybe mysteriously pulled up while they were talking.
"There's more comin'. I was just closest." Gumshoe replied. "We won't spare any expense for Mr. Edgeworth's boy! We'll have our whole search and rescue team on it!" He informed her excitedly.
"Isn't that a bit much? He's only been gone a day." Mia found herself being pulled into Gumshoe's excitement, so to reign herself in she needed to play devil's advocate.
"A day is too long, pal!" Gumshoe announced and Mia could hear the sirens of the other squad cars pulling in. She decided it might be in her best interest to return to her own office and tend to the clients she'd left sitting in detention to do this favor for Mr. Edgeworth.

Miles awoke once more. His head was a bit clearer now than it had been the first few times, but his body was stiff and numb.
"Ergh." He attempted to pull at his bindings, but his muscles didn't want to respond.
"You should be careful, dear." The cafe waitress warned him gently. "That medicine I gave you can cause some damage to your nerves if you struggle too hard."
"Who are you?" Miles grumbled.
"Mrs. Miles Edgeworth, silly." He pressed down on his nose with her finger. "Now you stay right there. I've got to fetch my contact lens." She said just before she walked out. Once Miles heard the door close he rolled his head towards the window by the bed. After a little effort he managed to shift his feet up against it and he started to kick. Each kick sent a dull pain up his legs, but he kept on. Miles gritted his teeth and finally his feet went through the glass. He managed to get a shard between his heels and then shifted it up between his toes and pulled his legs back until the glass could reach his fingers. Then once he had the glass in his hands he started to cut at his bonds. Miles managed to get his binds severed enough to pull one hand free. Then he used it to dial his phone. "Miles, honey, what are you doing?" She asked innocently as she walked back into the bedroom. He swiftly turned to her in surprise.
"You stay away from me!" Miles warned her, but she continued to walk towards him. It was the look of innocence in her eyes that was disturbing him the most. He knew it was her that had taken him, tied him up, drugged him, and yet he almost didn't want to believe she was guilty of any of it. He was still bound to the brass headboard, so he couldn't back up far enough to keep her from pulling him into a kiss. He did, however, manage to push her off.
"Miles, honey, what are you doing?" She asked again in genuine confusion. This was all just getting too much for him to take. Especially with the throbbing head ache pounding behind his eyes.
"If you take one step closer I swear I'll kill you!" He thundered. It was an incredibly stupid thing to say, and he realized it as soon as it left his lips, but his head was foggy and his emotions were high.
"Honey, you don't mean that. You're just stressed out over work and-"
"AUGH!" Miles screamed, but he was over exerting himself just standing up and was too weak to stop her from kissing him again. This bout of consciousness ended with what was turning into a familiar sharp prick.

Mia jumped when her phone rang. She checked who it was before pressing it against her ear.
"Miles? Where have you been? Everyone is looking for you. I even called the police."
"I'll kill you!" She heard the yell from a distance.
"What? Are you at a movie or something?" Mia asked.
"Honey, you don't mean that. You're just stressed out over work and-" Filtered in a soft sweet voice.
"You know it's rude to be making calls in the thea-"
"AUGH!" Mia jumped when she heard the scream.
"Miles?" She asked again, but no more sound came through it. "MILES!" She yelled before the dial tone was the only thing to respond.
Forcing herself to relax, Mia thought through the conversation. There was something about it that bothered her, aside from the obvious distress Miles had been in. She sat in thought for a moment before being hit with the proverbial bolt of lightning.
Quickly dialing Gumshoe’s number, Mia didn’t even wait for a greeting, "Detective, I think I have an idea of where Miles might be."
"That's wonderful!" Answered Gregory Edgeworth with his usual good nature. "We've only managed to find a contact lens."
"Mr. Edgeworth!" Mia yelped in surprise. "But you were in Hawaii!"
"I was, but I had a gut feeling that something was wrong and caught a plane here."
"But there's no way you could have traveled from there to here this quickly."
"You can if you charter a private jet." Gregory answered.
"A jet? Really?" Mia sputtered.
"Now what was that about knowing where my boy is?" Gregory brought the conversation back to where it needed to be.
"Right!" Mia slammed her palm against her desk. "I just got a call from Miles, but it was very strange and I heard a voice other than his that I think I recognize."
"Ah, you can tell me more once you've opened your door." Gregory informed her. Mia walked over to her office door and opened it. On the other side stood Gregory with a big smile on his face that managed to rival Gumshoe's, who was standing behind him. He was a rather strange sight with his salt and pepper hair combed over to one side, his bright blue Hawaiian shirt with giant obnoxious orange flowers printed all over it, and cut off khaki pants with sandals. He must have just gotten off the jet because this was not at all appropriate attire for the sharp colds winds that had been tearing through the area that day. Mia wondered briefly if she would find it parked outside her office instead of a car.
Gregory's first reaction at seeing her was to hold his arms out and wave her in for a hug. Mia warmly accepted.
"Look at you." He said kindly as he held her at arm's length. "You haven't changed a bit."
"Well it's only been two days since you saw me last." Mia said with a smile. She tried to pull her expression into a more serious look, but failed miserably in Gregory's golden happy presence.
"Now, what was that you were saying earlier? My boy called you?"
"I think you should just hear it yourself." Mia took out her phone and replayed the automatically recorded message. Gregory's face scrunched up and remained that way even through the scream.
"And you think you know her?" He asked with total professionalism. This was the side of Gregory Edgeworth that was only shown when things got intense in court. He must have been very concerned to slip into that persona now.
"I heard it when I visited Miles at the Starlight Café. She was a waitress, and it was pretty obvious she had a crush on him." Mia explained.
"I see." Gregory's dark eyes narrowed for a moment before his big smile cleared the clouds behind the glass. "Well let's go ask around, shall we?" He turned to the large man behind him. "You don't mind if we tag along, do you Detective?" Gregory asked for Gumshoe's permission.
"Not at all, Mr. Edgeworth!" Gumshoe declared happily.

The Starlight Café was bustling that day. So much so it looked as if the waitresses wouldn't be able to handle it all. Gregory Edgeworth strode past the long line, flashing a smile to anyone who bothered to look annoyed with it, and leaned against the counter with his chin resting in his palms. His fingers did a sort of rolling tap against his cheeks as he watched the cashier give his current customer change.
"Sir, I'm going to need you to go to the back of the line." He sighed.
"Oh, I'm with him." Gregory pointed at Gumshoe, who was just now presenting his badge.
"We wanna talk with your manager, pal." He informed the boy.
"Uh, yes, sir." The cashier nodded and led the three to a room in the back.
"Is there something I can do for you?" The manager stood up from his desk to cordially greet the three. Gregory had a seat and folded his hands behind his head as he leaned back. Then he watched Gumshoe swing into action with an amused glint in his eyes.
"Yeah, pal! We think one of your waitresses might have something to do with Mr. Edgeworth's kid's disappearance." Gumshoe nearly got into the man's face. Gregory motioned for Mia to sit in the chair next to his and as she did he went back to enjoying the show.
"A child was kidnapped?" The manager was stunned.
"Who said anything about a kid?" Gumshoe blinked at him.
"Well…you just did…just now."
"The good detective was referring to my son." Gregory informed him. "And while he's still young, he's no small child."
"Yeah." Gumshoe agreed. "We think one of your waitresses had a thing for him, pal."
"That's not unexpected. I don't see what that has to do with him disappearing." The manager was confused.
"We heard her on the phone with him!" Gumshoe roared.
"Then why didn't you just have her ask him where he was?" The manager glared. "I don't like having my time wasted, detective."
"I'll kill you!" The message started. Gregory held the phone up for the manager to see as it played through the whole thing. There was a wave of silence as he handed the phone back to Mia and she put it away.
"That sounded like Melissa." The manager finally said. "Is she in trouble?"
"Well we aren't sure. Did she come in to work today?" Gregory asked.
"It's her day off." The manager replied.
"Convenient." Gregory smiled. "Could you get her address for us? Just to ask her a few questions."
"Of course." The manager nodded.

Melissa only managed to get a portion of the needle's contents into his arm before he managed to push her off. The world around him warped and twisted, but he managed to keep his footing. He yanked the needle from his arm and tossed it off to the side.
"I've had enough of this." He growled.

"She doesn't live that far from your office, Mr. Edgeworth." Mia observed as they drew closer to her apartment complex. Gregory had that intense professional look in his face when she glanced over at him, but it melted away the second he noticed her gaze.
"It would seem so." He said pleasantly as Gumshoe pulled over.

Knocking came first, but when there was a loud crash heard inside Gumshoe decided to break through the door with his shoulder. The scene wasn't a pretty one. Miles was looming over a young woman with blood rushing from her nose and mouth. The rage in his eyes was wild and his breath was hard and jagged.
"HEY!" Gumshoe did the very first thing his instincts told him to do. He rushed over and grabbed Miles' arm before he could hit the girl again.
"OH THANK YOU!" Melissa wept and quiveringly ran to hide behind Mia. "KEEP THAT MONSTER AWAY FROM ME!"
"WHAT?!" Miles snapped.
" WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU, PAL?" Gumshoe snapped. "And why are you tied to a bed?"
"I had to. I had to, I'm so sorry. I was just afraid he was going to hit me again. I couldn't take it!" Melissa cried.
"YOU LYING BITCH!" Miles roared. When his feral eyes met that of a very angry Gregory he started to explain. "Dad, this woman kidnapped me! She's been keeping me drugged in her house!"
Mia wasn't sure who to believe. The girl was really crying, and Miles just seemed so out of himself that Mia couldn't help but be swayed away from him.
"Miles, just calm down. Let's get you untied and we'll go to the police, okay?" Mia reached over to undo the tight knots binding Miles to the bed.
"Y-you don't believe me!" Miles was surprised. His breathing grew rapid. He couldn't believe she was taking the side of that harlot. Was she in on this too? Did she know she was going to kidnap him? Had she intended to leave him alone and give that woman a chance to-
His thoughts broke as he pushed Mia away. This act left Mia not only stunned, but just a little pissed off. The anger didn't last when she saw just how utterly frightened Miles' eyes were as they jumped from face to face around the room.
"Good god, pal." Gumshoe stumbled over the realization. "You-you've gone crazy, haven't you?" Miles' only response to that was to yank at the knotted cloth that was keeping him attached to the bed. Meanwhile the waitress was still crying and had moved on to hugging Gumshoe for support.
The bonds didn't give way, but the brass bar he was tied to eventually did. Miles was flung back into the wall and sharp prickling pains rushed over his skin and sank into his bones.
"AUGH!" He yelled.
"Miles!" Mia moved to help him, but a jagged brass bar pointed at her neck prevented her from going to far.
"Take everyone outside." Gregory ordered. Gumshoe grabbed Mia by the back of her suit and did exactly as he was told.
Miles closed his eyes and swallowed. He let his head lean back against the wall and took a somewhat relieved breath.
"Y-you believe me, don't you, dad? That girl kidnapped me." His tone was weak and desperate. It was obvious he was already pushing himself too hard.
"Of course I do." Gregory smiled at him warmly. Miles nodded and that last bit of movement was enough to overwhelm his body completely. Gregory caught his son in his arms.

Gregory sat in the hospital waiting room filling out Miles' medical forms. The doctors had informed him that Miles was full of some sort of exotic illegal intoxicant, and not a single part of that sentence was acceptable. His son was not the kind of man to willingly take drugs.
"Long day, huh?" Mia attempted to make small talk while she sat across from Gregory. He pulled the pen top he'd been chewing out of his mouth so he could talk.
"Quite long, Mia." He looked back down at the papers in his lap and continued to fill them out.

Meanwhile Miles was just starting to come out of his haze and when he opened his bloodshot eyes and his vision cleared the first face he saw was a very dejected Detective Gumshoe.
"Why'd you do it, pal?!" He asked much too loudly for Miles' throbbing head.
"Why did I do what?" Miles bit out each word and pressed his palm against his temple.
"Why'd you beat on that poor girl?!" Gumshoe clarified.
"What?!" Miles jumped in surprise and all the blood rushed from his head. He closed his eyes and leaned back. "Detective Gumshoe, could you please leave." He grumbled.
"I can't, pal. Not until I ask you want happened." Gumshoe's face drooped.
"Fine. I can tell you exactly what happened." Miles grunted. This wasn't entirely true. His memory of the events were fuzzy at best, but he needed to sound confident if he was going to be making accusations. "I was on my way back to the office when this woman from the cafe drugged me and dragged me to her house. I spent the remaining hours tied to her bed and heavily sedated. I want that woman arrested."
"We already got her, pal!" Gumshoe smiled. "She's at the station already pressing charges!"
"She's what?!" Miles thundered. "For what?!"
"Abuse." Gumshoe looked very dejected as he said that. "She says you got all doped up and hit her. Looks like you really went to town too." He looked sadly towards the door to Miles' room as Gregory walked in.
"What a way to tell your old man that you got married." Gregory said with a smile.
"That isn't funny." Miles informed him coldly.
"I'm not being funny. The woman in custody thoroughly claims to be Mrs. Miles Edgeworth." Gregory had a seat near Miles' bed. He stared at his father with a completely blank face.
"I should get back to the station now, pal." Gumshoe coughed uncomfortably and passed Mia on his way out. She lingered in the doorway while Miles and his father talked.
"That woman is a psychopath." He declared with a deadly tone. "She needs clinical help."
"I was inclined to agree at first, but then she showed us the evidence. Marriage papers signed by you."
"What? Preposterous. It's obviously a forgery of some kind." Miles crossed his arms. "Or perhaps she simply drew it in crayon. I wouldn't put it past that inept police office to overlook something like that." Gregory gave a harsh glare that made Miles go pale. Mia chuckled.
"They've had it sent for handwriting analysis, but until it returns I can't ignore it. After all, everyone lies, son, even you." Gregory said mildly.
"Bah." Was Miles' only answer to that.
"In the mean time I'd like for you to tell me what happened."
"To be perfectly honest, dad, I'm not sure." Miles sighed. "I recall getting a sting on my neck while I walked to the office, then I just get these random flashes of words and visuals until I woke up here."
"Perfectly understandable considering." Gregory replied.
"I suppose this means you intend on being my attorney." Miles grumbled.
"Absolutely not." Gregory said in mock offense. "I'm retired, remember?" He smirked. "Ms. Fey is going to do it."
"I am?" Mia replied with wide eyes.
"She is?" Miles lifted an eyebrow at her. "I'd rather defend myself."
"Miles! Mia is a wonderful attorney. You're lucky to have her services." Gregory scolded and Miles went pale again.
"Sorry." He muttered to her.
"Now, you get some sleep, my boy." Gregory got up.
"You're not staying?" Miles was surprised.
"You don't need me here, and I have to pay for that jet by the hour." Gregory smiled. "I'll give you a call when I get home." He waved at Miles and ruffled Mia's hair when he passed her.
"You know," Mia took a few steps in. "I think Hawaii has turned your father a little strange."
"You're just now noticing?" Miles huffed.
After that was said the only noise in the room was the soft hum of activity beyond the closed door.

Mia had always known the identity of the mysterious Miles Edgeworth. He was pompous, cold, thoughtless, and was probably going to die of a heart attack at forty. He was also honest, generous, and patient to a fault with those who really needed it. She'd watched him take hopeless cases for no money and fight so hard for a win that he couldn't sleep until everything was over. She had even seen him deftly throw a case he could have easily won if he had just been willing to bend the truth in his favor. A man like that doesn't do the things that Miles was being accused of. Until today she had been sure of it. Miles was starting to slip off to sleep when Mia's strong voice broke through.
"If I'm going to do this I have to know…" She started, but had to take a breath before she could finish. Her sharp brown eyes were staring directly into Miles' and it was making him a little uncomfortable. "Are you guilty?"
"Of course not." Came the swift and sincere reply. "I don't even know the woman's name." His determined face and confident voice weren't the defining factors in Mia's choice to believe him. She'd seen him use the same tactics in court to sway the judge to his side. It was the way his eyes had quivered when he'd heard her say guilty. Like many of the clients he'd taken before, Miles needed someone to trust him. Mia was willing to do that.
"I'm going to go have a word with this girl." She said tartly. "She isn't going to get away with this, Miles." Mia walked out of the room and shut the door behind her.

"I'm sorry, pal, but she's under police protection!" Gumshoe replied to Mia's inquiry about speaking with Mrs. Miles Edgeworth.
"But detective, if she's pressing charges then I need to speak with her." Mia argued.
"She hasn't even pressed them yet!" Gumshoe pressed his lips together and his chest huffed up and down for a few breaths.
"I-I'll speak with her." A delicate voice drifted through the air. Behind the imposing Gumshoe stepped a gentle young girl with long dark hair and big green eyes. Her soft round features were interrupted by the apple red swelling against her cheek. She couldn't meet Mia's gaze at first, but when her emerald orbs fluttered upward Mia jumped. It was easy to see why Gumshoe was so adamant about protecting her.
"I'd like for you to come to my office, please." Mia requested. The girl nodded and followed her out.

Once at the Fey law offices Mrs. Edgeworth sat lightly on the seat and smoothed out the bottom of her sunflower day dress.
"I guess you should start with the day this all started." Mia put on a smile if only to ease the girl across from her.
"Um...well...my honey bear was telling me about this hard day at work he was having. See, his dad retired a week ago and he's missed him a lot. They spent nearly every day if not together than at least a minimum of an hour away, so it's easy to understand why. He had just gone through his first case without him. He was helping one of the children they used to play with. Larry I believe. Miles isn't very fond of him so he sort of insists that he was Phoenix's friend and not his. It's sort of funny really." Melissa laughed and it was like a dozen tiny bells were drifting in the breeze. "Well he called me and said that he wanted to meet me at my apartment today. I thought it was a little weird since we usually only meet at the park and then we go to his apartment." She gave Mia a meek smile. "I know this must sound sort of strange. If we were married then it would only make sense that we live together. We've been keeping it a secret from my father. He never really approved of Miles and would have been furious if he found out. I didn't want anything to happen to him, you know?" Her face flushed red and as she looked down at her hands the atmosphere shifted. "I love Miles. I really do. I don't regret anything we've ever done, but...recently he's been getting so detached...and then after what happened today..." Her big green eyes filled with tears. "I just...I just want my Miles back." She wept into her hands.
Mia tried to be unfazed by the girl's actions. It was hard to believe that this was all just an act, but it must have been if Miles was telling the truth. She decided to press on, perhaps the girl might let something slip.
"You say he was getting distant? How?"
"Um." Melissa sniffed and straightened her posture. "It started about a week ago. Miles' father had just announced that he was going to leave law and move to Hawaii. It was so unexpected that my poor sweet honey bear ran off to a bar. He only had one glass though. Of brandy, I think. It was brown and in a really pretty bottle. He took the bottle home with him, but he didn't touch it. I think he was meaning to give me the bottle as a present. I collect them, you know." Melissa smiled for a moment. "Then that night he got this phone call. He wouldn't tell me what it was about, but he got this really pale look on his face and he rushed off. He didn't come back home before I had to go to work, but after that he started acting sort of strange. Like he wasn't sure where he was. Then he started to lose things a lot. Little things. Keys, paper clips, pens. He'd get so upset about it though. One morning he even tore up the apartment trying to find one of his ties. He had three other ones just like it, so I don't really know why this one was so important." Melissa pressed her lips together for a moment. "He's just been so stressed out lately, and he can't really bring himself to talk about his problems to anyone. Before all this he used to tell me everything, but now...now I feel like he's just throwing me into the dark like he's done with everyone who's ever loved him..."
"He can be pretty quiet." Mia said with concerned smile. It was hard to maintain her professionalism around this girl. "I can't help but wonder, though. You obviously care deeply about Mr. Edgeworth, why are you pressing charges?"
"Oh! But I don't want to press charges! At least…I didn't…but that man said that if I was being treated poorly that I should take action…And I was!" Melissa's eyes shot up towards Mia with mild determination. "I was treated poorly!" The assurance she'd said that with faded by her next statement. "And this…this is the only way I can get my honey bear back…"
"I've got enough information for now." Mia took Melissa's hand and helped her to her feet. "Why don't you just go home, okay?" Melissa nodded and was led out.
Mia took in a deep breath and leaned against the closed door. That girl was going to be a nightmare to deal with. She needed to inform Miles of what she found out.

Miles was buried deep into his thoughts. So much so that Mia's mere presence in his room was not enough to pull him from them, nor was saying his name at all effective. He had to try and remember events more clearly. There was something that he knew could prove his claims of innocence, but the image taunted him and jumped away when he brushed the tips of his fingers against it.
"I spoke with your wife." Mia proclaimed. That jerked him to reality again.
"What did she say?" He blankly wondered. The look on his face was similar to one he might have gotten if he'd just noticed the refrigerator was making an odd noise.
"She seems to know a lot of things about you." Mia replied. Miles huffed.
"She's probably some sort of crazy stalker." He gave his eyes a hard rub. "There's something I've been trying to remember about what happened." His forehead wrinkled as he concentrated. "It feels like it's important." He grunted and pushed himself up on the bed some.
"Well hopefully you'll remember it soon. Even if this girl changes her mind and decides not to press charges she'll still be free to do this again." Mia replied. Miles visibly cringed at the thought, and tried to hide it with a cough. It was a very weak deception on his part, but he was tired and his brain was starting to addle. He'd never had this much trouble staying sharp and awake before. Of course hospitals loved the 'sleep it off' rule and so the clear liquid being dripped into his blood through the IV probably wasn't helping his forced insomnia.
"What do you think I should do?" Miles asked weakly. It was so out of character for him to look so lost that Mia was left a little stunned.
"Just leave it to me." She said softly. Her mind was set. Mia would expose Melissa Parks for the psycho she really was.
Miles nodded. He recognized the look of determination on Mia's eyes. She was prepared to fight as hard for him as she did everyone she defended. Even when she knew them to be at fault. He'd questioned her on this once and she'd said that the guilt of getting away with something was often worse than any punishment any prison could give. He could never bring himself to agree with her, but it was comforting to know that, whether she believed him or not, she was going to do her best to defend him. Miles' eyes involuntarily closed and soon he slipped into a fitful sleep.

Mia sat and watched him for a while. Melissa Parks was going to be hell to have on the stand. No judge would believe Mia's word over that girl's glistening gem stone eyes. She would need irrefutable proof that Melissa was mentally unstable. Past attempts at kidnapping, personal medical history, family medical history, that was just the tip of the mountain of work awaiting her. Miles would likely insist on helping when he was in the condition to do so, but that would prove difficult if he was being held in detention.
Her eyes fixed onto Miles. His eyes were squeezed tightly shut and even though he wasn't moving he looked as if he were seconds from yanking the blanket over his head and asking her to check the closet for monsters. She jumped when the door cracked open and the light from the hallway bled in. For a fraction of a moment she'd thought that maybe a monster was coming in.
"Mr. Edgeworth." She said softly and pressed her hand against her chest. "I thought you were leaving."
"Ah, well. I just wanted to be sure everything was okay." He replied and stepped in. The smile was still on his face, but he couldn't keep his eyes from looking sad. "Miles never really handled this sort of thing well."
"It's happened before?" Mia was fairly sure that wasn't what he meant, but wanted to clarify anyway.
"What this? No." Gregory chuckled. "But he always got terrible nightmares when we'd watch horror movies."
"Then why did he watch them?" Mia chuckled back.
"He didn't want to admit they scared him." Gregory brushed some black hair out of Miles' face. He gave Mia a bright smile and reached into the inside pocket of his coat. Then he pressed his index finger against his lips while he mimicked the shushing noise and pulled out an old worn tan teddy bear. Mia had to put her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing too hard. The bear was set next to Miles and in a few seconds he had it pulled close to his chest. The fear melted from his face.
Gregory repeatedly curled his fingers in goodbye and walked out. Mia waved back with a warm smile on her face. She looked over at Miles one more time before getting up. She'd need her sleep too if she was going to face tomorrow.

The sun glared through the windshield and into Mia's eyes. Searching the medical history of Melissa Parks had been unfruitful. If this woman had ever been committed, saw a therapist, or even spoke with her high school guidance councilor it wasn't showing up on any papers. Mia's car glided down the sundried streets as she made her way to the police station. Her best hope now was that the boys in blue had found something to help her case. Or at the very least that guy in green.
With her first step into the police station she was nearly run over by one of the officers. Everyone looked to be moving at twice their normal speed that morning.
"Detective!" Mia called out to a madly dashing Gumshoe. He stopped abruptly and out of breath. "Any news?"
"Sorry, pal. I was taken off the case." He informed her sadly.
"That's unfortunate. Who's in charge now?" Mia asked.
"Some rookie they brought in yesterday." Gumshoe did not sound pleased at this.
"Why's everyone so active today?" Mia was nearly knocked over by another officer in a hurry.
"Big murder case, pal. Got the whole place jumping." He would have probably smiled if he didn't look so tired. "I gotta run, pal." He waved and was off again. Mia huffed a sigh and sat in one of the empty swivel chairs. It was just her luck. With a big murder to deal with her piddling little abuse case would be swallowed whole. Plus, not only did they give it to a rookie, but someone totally new to the department. This was not going to bode well at all.
"Do you need to be here?" Asked a cold voice. If Mia hadn't shivered she would have jumped. She spun around in the chair to look up at the man speaking to her. The fluorescent lights shadowed his face but the way his hair spiked up in the back it almost looked like the man had horns. She could have sworn she knew him from somewhere. "Well?" He crossed his arms and glared down his nose at her. With the shift in position she could see him clearly now and the shock of it had rendered her speechless. He looked completely different than she remembered, from the black suit with white cravat and ruffles, to how his onyx black hair was already graying at the temples. And his eyes. They looked cold and lifeless like they were made of glass and stone. His fingers pulled at the sleeve of his coal black jacket as he waited for her to answer.
"I'm Miles Edgeworth's lawyer." She finally managed to speak. She stood up and held her hand out for the man to take. He glanced down at it, but otherwise didn't move. With her face flushing red she put her hand away.
"Then you should speak with him at detention." He replied with a slight growl to his tone.
"What? Already?" Mia was starting to get annoyed with this man.
"He was picked up this morning, now if you would please get out of everyone's way." He turned her around by her arms and gave her a firm push towards the exit. Mia was outside before she realized how angry she should be. Her eye twitched and she stormed back in.
"Now wait just a minute!" She snapped at the spike haired man as he was walking out of the main room. He didn't stop to acknowledge her rage. She grabbed him by the wrist and was about to force him to turn and face her, but the very second she made physical contact and he looked over at her it was like the room suddenly burst into flames. She was startled stiff and her hand immediately released its grip completely of its own accord. She remained in that position for some time as she watched him walk away. "What the hell was that?" She muttered and pulled her hand down by the wrist, then she held it up to her chest as if she were afraid she may not have gotten it back. She shook her head and left the station.

Detention was as cold and unwelcome as usual. He hadn't even been there long enough to sit down in his cell when he was called in for questioning. He sat rather stiffly at the table, he wasn't entirely sure what to expect here. He was brought in on charges of abuse, but for some reason he felt like it was for murder. Regardless, he was sure once he got to speak with the police he could clear everything up.
The man's face was obscured at first when he walked in, and Miles was sure he must have been mistaken about the only obvious owner for that hair, but when the man turned to face him there was no room for speculation.
"Phoenix." The name jumped from his throat in surprise. "What are you-"
"Melissa Anne Edgeworth." He hadn't even looked up at Miles from the clipboard in his arm. "Such a beautiful innocent girl, wouldn't you say?" His lips curled into a smile that looked incredibly out of place. Miles sat there with his mouth hanging open as Phoenix sat down on the other side of the table. His lifeless black eyes flicked over at Miles and the shiver that shot up his back restarted his ability to speak.
"I suppose." Miles cleared his throat and diverted his gaze.
"You suppose." Phoenix moved his focus back to the clipboard and it was like the block of ice that had fallen onto him seconds ago was lifted and now hanging over his head. He pulled the photo off the clipboard and slid it over to Miles. "She's angelic." Phoenix looked over at him and Miles could hear the rope holding the block of ice creak. "It's the eyes, you know." He informed Miles casually. "They're so innocent it's hypnotic. I can understand how you'd be trapped in them."
"I was never trapped!" Miles defended himself. "I don't even know this woman!"
"Well she certainly knows you." Phoenix leaned back in his chair and pressed the soles of his shoes against the edge of the table. "And you certainly beat her down."
"I! But she! She had me!" Miles stammered.
"Drugged? Yes, I know." Phoenix sighed. His eyes flicked back over to Miles and the ice block crashed down behind him. Miles jumped to his feet to hide how startled he was.
"That woman is a psychopath!" Miles snapped.
"Perhaps, but she's deeply in love with you." Phoenix said coldly. "And what you've done is unforgivable." He stood up and headed for the exit.
"What? But I haven't even-" Miles was interrupted by Phoenix walking out and shutting the door behind him. "Aren't you supposed to question me?!" Miles yelled after him.

"The nerve of that man!" Mia huffed as she sat in front of the thick Plexiglas. "Tell me to come talk to Miles and then pull him in for questioning as soon as I get here! It's been hours! Does he think I have nothing better to do than wait on him to-" She stopped when she saw Miles come in. He looked more pale than usual and Mia was pretty sure she knew why. "Are you okay?" She asked anyway. It was so strange to be talking to him on that side of the glass.
"I'm not sure." Miles ran his fingers through his hair after he sat. The stunned expression on his face didn't fade when he looked up at Mia. "Did I really beat that girl?"
"You weren't exactly yourself at the time, Miles." Mia informed him.
"How do you know?" He broke eye contact and decided to focus on the air directly in front of him.
"I was there. You were frightened, frantic, paranoid, nothing like yourself at all. Miles, you can't start questioning yourself now or we'll never win this thing." Mia's voice was stern.
"Mia, I don't think we have a chance." Mile's returned her stern tone.
"Of course we do! Where is this all coming from?" Mia replied and then she started to laugh.
"What?"
"You've fallen for one of your own tricks, that's what!" She said between breaths. "He's got you all stirred up, making you question yourself. I've seen you do it dozens of times in court."
"What? No. What I do is totally different. I'm just speaking the truth. He's…no…you're right. He thinks he's doing the same thing." Miles shook his head. "And he's right. I did hit that girl. It doesn't matter why. That's what this case is going to be about." Mia's hopes plummeted for only a moment.
"Do you remember hitting her?" She asked.
"Well…no…but you said-"
"I saw you standing over her. She was already beaten up when I got there. Miles, what if you never touched her at all? What if that was just as much a part of her fantasy as you being married?" Mia suggested. Miles laughed at the absurdity of it.
"So you're saying someone came in, hit her, and left?"
"Maybe." Mia pondered. "Or maybe she did it to herself."
"Why would she do something like that to herself?"
"She's crazy, remember? It doesn't have to make logical sense for it to have happened." Mia got up and gave Miles a bright smile. "I don't think you ever touched that girl, Miles." She declared. "And I'm going to prove it."
"Well then you better prove it fast. Court starts tomorrow morning." Miles replied.
"What?! That soon?!" Mia jumped. Miles nodded. "Well don't you worry! I'll have something by then! I promise!" She exclaimed and rushed out.

This part was made with great help from Jenna. Most of Mia's dialogue was written by her.

Mia was rushing her way past the police station when she saw a young man in a trench coat that looked to be two sizes too large for him and a cheap felt fedora covering splintered spikes of golden hair. He was waving so enthusiastically that Mia had to stop and watch him.
"Ms. Fey!" He called through his hands before hurrying up to her. "You're Ms. Fey, right?" His blue eyes shined with young exuberance under the shadow of the brim of his hat.
"Well, yes." Mia looked down at the fellow. She wondered briefly if he was a child of one of the officers that had been left to wander around on his own.
"Hi! I'm Detective Warwick. J. Hadley Warwick in full. Well Jonathan Hadley Warwick in really full. Sometimes people call me J. Hadley and sometimes they just call me Wick. Wick is my favorite. It sounds cool and mysterious like a jungle cat." Wick mimicked claws with his hands as he held them in front of his face and conjured up a fierce expression. In the middle of that expression his eyes rolled up to Mia's confused face and he immediately put his hands down and sobered. "I've been assigned to your case." He informed her. "Well, actually it's my case." Mia thought for a moment he might break into another speedy string of words, but he seemed to be holding himself back as best he could.
"You're a head detective?" Mia had meant to say the head detective, but this question was just as befuddling so she didn't correct herself.
"Hey!" Wick took offense, but it just served in making him look rather cute. "I'll have you know I graduated top of my class at the academy!"
"Right." Mia hid her smile. Wick took in a breath so he could regain his composure. This was sort of a futile effort since he didn't really have it to begin with.
"I just wanted to let you know that I will work hard to find the truth about your client. It might not be a big murder case, but it's just as important and I'm proud to have it as my very first." He declared.
"That's comforting…" The sarcasm was evident in her voice, but it seemed the great detective didn't pick up on it.
"Well that was the goal. Now if you'll excuse me I need to go talk with Ms. Parks and examine her apartment for any signs of foul play." Wick smiled and waved again and was about to walk away, but something was holding him back. "Um…Ms. Fey?"
"Yes, detective?" It was hard for Mia to call him that without laughing.
"Could I get a ride?" He asked sheepishly.
"Do they not have any squad cars?" She wondered.
"Uh…well…yes…but…I don't have my license yet." He explained. His cheeks were hot and red. If Mia hadn't wanted to laugh so badly her hopes might have plummeted.

Mia's hands tightly gripped the wheel as she sped down the street. The only sounds to be heard were the rain falling steadily on her car, the windshield wipers humming as they worked to clear her view, and the tires flinging the water behind her. It seemed the speedily speaking boy wonder was too embarrassed to make conversation in the car. This gave Mia's mind a chance to wander some.
To prove that Melissa Parks had never been hit would require that Melissa herself admit to it, and the likeliness of that happening were slim. Maybe Wick would find some sort of evidence of a fall in her house, maybe a spattering of blood on a piece of furniture that she might have hit if he pushed her off. Pushing would explain why she was on the ground. It was also just as possible that she hit herself and collapsed to the floor when she heard the sirens on Gumshoe's car. No, she would have to make Melissa admit it…but how?
Mia's car sputtered and wheezed. This bad weather wasn't good for it at all. She hit the dashboard with her palm.
"Come on!" She urged as it stopped entirely. The only thing keeping her moving now was centrifugal force. She wanted nothing more that to spout an obscenity as she pulled over. Instead she opted for a generic outburst. "AUGH!" She hit the steering wheel until her palm stung. Then she took a breath and leaned back. She considered walking out into the heavy rain to look under her hood, but she wouldn't have known what she was looking at if she did.
"We stopped." Wick observed. Mia could tell he was a bright one. Mia used the internet browser on her phone to find the number of a tow truck and called it. In a few seconds she made contact and told him where to pick her up. Nothing left now but to wait.
Mia was slipping in and out of consciousness when a knock on her window jarred her back. In the thinning rain stood a man in a blue jumper.
"I think the tow truck's here." Wick observed. "Funny, I didn't hear it pull up or anything."
"I wasn't really paying attention." Mia shrugged and got out. Wick nodded and got out with a little hesitance. As the rain misted down on him he noticed a few strange things. The first was that there was no tow truck to be seen, but instead parked behind them was a big black car. The second was that the large man in the jumper was very large and holding Mia down as he dragged her to said car. The third was that the large man had a large friend who was just about to whang Wick upside the head with a thick metal bat. He ducked and the resulting miss left a rather hefty dent in the door of Mia's car.

Mia was dragged into the limo and two large men sat on either side of her. In the seat across from her was a smartly dressed, somewhat handsome middle-aged man twirling the stem of a rose in his fingers. He was wistfully watching the flower spin before he turned his gaze towards her. He gave her a dry smile and tucked the flower into the lapel of his jacket.
"Ms. Fey, correct?" He didn't need her to answer that question. "I apologize for the barbarics, but I wanted your full attention." He crossed his legs and stretched his arms across the back of his long seat. "You're the one defending Miles Edgeworth, correct? I'm going to need a small favor from you." He smiled and leaned towards her. "You see, I know how much you pride yourself in a fair trial and, I'm a little concerned that when I send you the evidence that will allow you to win you may refuse my kindness." He leaned back again. "You don't wish to refuse my kindness now, do you?" The shaded window that blocked the view through the windshield rolled down and through the rain you could see the third of the large men throwing Wick's body against the trunk of Mia's car like he was slapping meat onto a table.
"Why exactly are you 'offering' to help me win this case? It's not a particularly important one, after all." Mia glared at the man.
"It's important to me, and that's all that should matter, correct?" The man replied. Behind him the larger man was just about to punch Wick in the face. He managed to slip out from under the large man's grasp making him punch the trunk of Mia's car. Wick tackled the large man from behind and had his arms wrapped tightly around the man's neck as he was flung and bucked as if he were riding a mechanical bull. Once Wick was thrown off the man cracked his knuckles and followed the body, but it had landed out of range of the window Mia could see through. "I trust that there won't be any problems." The man added, obviously having not noticed the display behind him.
Mia's attention snapped back from the scene outside of the car at the last statement. She needed to end this quickly, or things could get very nasty for the fresh young detective.
"Alright, fine. I'll accept your...'assistance'."
"Oh good. Your evidence will arrive shortly, I expect you to register at accordingly." He smiled. At about the same time Wick had run back into view and was effectively keeping Mia's car between himself and the large man so intent on hurting him. Wick even stuck out his tongue and made a rude gesture at the large man as he climbed onto the hood. But it wasn't until he started mimicking a baboon that steam started to rise from where the rain was pelting against the large man. He stormed over to the side Wick was on, but right before he could yank the spike haired man down he was hit in the head by his own metal bat like a t-ball.
One of the large men next to Mia started to chuckle at this which caused their host to turn and look for himself. Wick was looking at his dented bat with wide eyes and jumped out of the way of the vicious grab that the still conscious thug lurched forward with. He didn't turn to face Mia again until Wick and the large man had run out of view of the window. Surprisingly there was a large amused smile on his face.
"You certainly keep interesting company." He chuckled and waved for the large man on the left to let Mia out.
"Seems I do." Mia couldn't help being a little impressed by the scene, but her expression soured when she looked at the man again. "Are we done, then?"
"Oh, yes. I'm quite finished." He answered. "Feel free to go about your business. We shouldn't be needing to deal with one another again any time soon. Unless, of course, you'd like for me to repay the favor. This would make me in your debt. I'd think carefully though. I'm sort of an evil dijin about these things." His dry smile twisted into something more sinister. "Have a nice evening. Unless, of course, you're in need of a ride. I'll happily take you where ever you'd like to be."
"I think I'll pass." Mia said with a slight growl.
"What a shame. I thought for a moment there I might have been able to have a little fun. Ah well, such as life and all that." The large man held open Mia's door for her and when she stepped out he handed her an open umbrella. Wick had run across the street when he saw that his large man was just about to accidentally run in front of a confused tow truck driver while he gave chase. The tow truck driver peeled to a sudden stop as Wick tackled the man out of the way. He readied himself for the inevitable beating about to ensue by holding his arm in front of his face. Instead the large man simply got up and walked back to the limo.
"You're welcome!" Wick yelled and got up out of the mud. "Aw, man. I'm going to have to get all of this dry cleaned." He was about to wipe some of the mud off when he suddenly grabbed his left arm. "Gck." He made a sharp grimace at the pain that shot through it.
"Detective, you're bleeding." Mia pointed out. Wick looked down at the arm.
"Great. Now I'm all wet, covered in mud, and bloody." Wick complained as they walked over to the tow truck man. He was not at all amused.

After some dealing Mia's car was hooked up to his truck and Wick had managed to get them a taxi that arrived just as Mia was paying the tow truck guy. The rain was starting to fall harder again as the two got into the taxi.
"Where to?" The driver asked. He didn't bother to inquire as to why Wick was in such a sorry looking state, but then the back of his cab made Wick look like a golden god of cleanliness.
"3208 Mai-" Wick started to answer, but Mia interrupted him.
"Shouldn't you go to the hospital? That arm looks pretty bad."
"It's just a broken arm." Wick rolled his eyes. "The longer we wait to check Ms. Park's house the longer she has to hide crucial evidence!" Mia smiled. It was nice to know that Wick hadn't lied to her earlier.
"Somehow I don't think that really matters." Mia replied. "Hotti Clinic." She told the taxi driver.
"Yes, ma'am." He nodded.
The ride to the hospital was a quick one considering the rain and the traffic. The detective was quickly ushered away to have his arm taken care of and Mia was left standing there alone with no car and a retreating sun.
"This is just great." Mia muttered.
"Ms. Fey." A nurse walked up to her with a note in her hand. "I have this message for you." She gave Mia the note and smiled.

The note read:
Sorry again for the unnecessary barbarics. Sometimes my men can get a little exuberant. I've told the doctor that Detective Warwick is to get the finest painkillers available.
Monty

Mia's expression turned cold as she stuffed the note into her pocket. She needed to talk to Miles.

"Could we make this quick, Ms. Fey?" Miles requested grumpily as he had a seat behind the glass.
"Well, ExcuuUUUUuuuse me, princess, for trying to give you some info pertinent to your case." Mia made a face at him. "I didn't deal with mob thugs just so you could sit there and be rude about it."
"What?" Miles looked at Mia with mild surprise. "What does the mafia have to do with this?"
"They wanted to talk to me. About your case no less. It was...odd to say the least. Detective Warwick ended up fighting one of the thugs while I was forced into accepting their boss' 'assistance'." Mia pulled the note she'd received in the hospital out of her pocket and pressed it against the glass so Miles could read it. "The boss then preceded to offer us a ride, and after we declined, sent an apology note about Detective Warwick breaking his arm trying to get one of his thugs out of the way of a tow truck." Mia's eyes narrowed. "What ties do you have to these guys, Miles, that they would be so willing to go out on a limb for you?"
"I have no idea. I've never dealt with any mob types before." Miles' eyes narrowed and he took the note. He read the name at the bottom several times before something clicked for him. "Montgomery Beluciano." He grumbled.
"Montgomery Beluciano? Is he dangerous?"
"Only if you manage to get on his bad side, which you obviously haven't." Miles sighed. His anger was melting into annoyance. "You were right about him being a mob boss, but the man has a sort of twisted set of morals. He'll kill the man sitting next to you then ask if you want a cup of tea." Miles paused for a moment. "My father defended one of his thugs once. He actually happened to be innocent of the crime he was being convicted for. I guess he thinks this is his way of repaying the debt or something." Miles grumbled.
Mia's quiet tone carried an undercurrent of concern as she spoke, "That explains his actions this morning, I guess. I don't like this, Miles. I agreed to take his 'assistance' so I could get the detective out of there, but I don't like the idea of using the evidence he sends me. It could easily be falsified, and I refuse to present anything I'm not 100% sure of in court."
"This just keeps getting worse." Miles' tone was starting to match Mia's, only his was much more exasperated. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose again. He could feel a migraine coming on.
"You said your father defended one of his thugs?" Mia spoke with a glimmer of hope. Miles just nodded. "Do you think I could have his number? I'd like to talk to him." Miles opened his eyes and gave her a dark stare. "They have my phone in evidence." He told her dully.
"In evidence? Why would they?" Then she remembered the message and she and Gregory had used to find Melissa in the first place. "Right. Can't you just tell me the number?"
"He got a new one when he moved. I haven't had a chance to memorize it yet." Miles explained.
"Right. Then I guess I'll need to get that phone." Mia smiled and stood up.

"Hiya, Ms. Fey!" Wick waved at her with his good arm when she entered the police station. He had been standing over various zip-lock bags of items on a table. She could see Miles' phone in one of them.
"Shouldn't you be in the hospital?" Mia lifted an eyebrow at the exuberant young detective.
"It was just a compound fracture. They fixed me up, gave me a nice cast, and I was ready to go." He cheerfully informed her.
"They worked awfully fast." Mia muttered.
"Yeah, it is a little strange." Wick admitted. "But I'm just happy to be at work again!" If not from the shadows created by his hat, his smile might have been bright enough to blind someone. "Did you come to make a list of the evidence for tomorrow?"
"Partly. I also need a number out of Miles' phone."
"Well I dunno…" Wick rubbed the back of his neck.
"It's just for Gregory Edgeworth's new number. Miles wanted me to update him on things and he couldn't remember it." Mia partly lied. She didn't want to tell Wick about Mr. Beluciano if she didn't have to, and it seemed he wasn't going to ask about-
"And ask him about Mr. Beluciano?" Wick replied.
"Well, yes." Mia admitted.
"I guess I could allow that then…but use Mr. Edgeworth's phone. I don't want to have to file another phone as evidence." Wick opened the bag with Miles' phone in it and handed it to Mia.
"Thanks." Mia smiled. She turned on the phone and flipped down the contacts list until she saw the right number and hit call. As she heard it ring on the other line, hoped that Gregory had his phone on him while he was gallivanting around Hawaii.

After the third ring, a chipper voice came across the line, "Gregy Edgey pleasure cruise. The non stop stop to pants that drop. How will I be filling your order?"
Mia was almost positive she'd gotten the wrong number. "Er...Mr. Edgeworth?"
"Oh, Ms. Fey. My apologies. I thought you were my son."
"Oh...I see."
"What can I do for you?"
"Well, I'd like to ask you about Montgomery Beluciano."
"I have just learned the most fascinating thing. Apparently there are these little elf people called the menehune that the Hawaiians believe lived on these islands before the Polynesians."
"I...That's fascinating Mr. Edgeworth, but that doesn't help me any."
"Apparently their favorite food is the mai'a or banana. Of course I only really bring them up at all because the menehune drove out the nawao which were a wild, large-sized hunting people."
Mia's tone became accusing. "You're avoiding the topic, Mr. Edgeworth. This man is involving himself in Miles' situation and I'd like to have an idea of who I'm going to have to deal with."
Gregory's tone sobered very quickly. "I'm not avoiding it at all, Ms. Fey. I just wanted to share because I found it all very ironic."
"How so?"
"Well, you see, Monty did a very similar thing. He stabbed his father in the chest and took over the family business. His father was a very large and angry man. It's just sort of funny that you would bring him up right after the tour."
"Mr. Edgeworth, can you tell me everything you know about him?"
"Everything? Or just what's relevant to the case?"
"I don't know what'd be relevant right now, so anything you could tell me would be helpful."
Gregory's tone became playful again. "Are you sure? I wouldn't want to spoil any fun surprises. But then you are the sort of girl who likes to know how the movie ends before you go to watch it, aren't you?"
Mia tried to keep the irritation out of her voice, but a trace could still be heard. "Mr. Edgeworth, just this morning I was threatened into accepting evidence I don't even know is legitimate while the detective assigned to the case was given a severe beating outside. I'd rather not have any more surprises if they're like that."
"Hey, I wasn't given a beating." Wick argued.
"Ah, well I can assure you the evidence would be entirely legitimate if Monty is giving it to you. As for the detective, I'm very sorry to hear that. Wish him well for me, would you?"
"Tell him I wasn't given a beating." Wick insisted.
"I will, but…why would Beluciano feel the need to get involved?" Mia ignored him.
"Probably because of young Melissa. She always was his favorite. Even though she takes after her mother. Then again, that might be why she's his favorite."
Mia paused for a moment, not quite sure of what she had just heard. "Wait...Melissa Parks is...?"
"Melissa Beluciano."
"She's related?! How?"
Gregory's voice sounded, for all the world, like a kid who'd just shown his friends a new toy. "She's the youngest of three."
"His daughter? Then...why is he offering to help Miles? That doesn't makes sense...."
"Well I would assume that he doesn't want my boy to go to jail. It would likely break his poor girl's heart."
"But she's pressing charges...."
"I doubt it was her idea."
Mia pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. "This isn't making things any clearer...This whole situation is all kinds of screwed up. This is going to court, I'll have to prove that Parks was the one who kidnapped and drugged Miles."
"I'm just giving you answers, Ms. Fey. I never said they would fit your questions." Gregory replied. She couldn't see him, but she knew there was a big dumb smile on his face when he said that.
"Anything I should know about the Beluciano situation before I go?" Mia took the hint that he was done talking with her.
"Hmmm." Gregory was so quiet that for a bit Mia almost thought that he'd hung up on her. "If he offers you chocolate don't take it. There's a special sort of poison he's fond of that doesn't show up on a autopsy if it's mixed with cacao."
Mia felt an involuntary shudder run through her. "I'll keep that in mind...Thank you for your help, Mr. Edgeworth."
"My pleasure." Mia turned off the phone and handed it back to Wick.
"Well?" He sounded impatient as he pocketed the evidence for filing later.
"You'll just have to listen to the recording." Mia sighed and rubbed her temples. I have to go inform Miles…

"I take it the talk with my old man was an utter failure." Miles grumbled as Mia sat across from him. "I swear I think the man knows the answer to life itself but won't utter a word because he's afraid he'll spoil it for everyone."
Mia shot Miles a smug smirk. "He actually was quite helpful, and gave me quite a bit of information after he was on topic. He was especially illuminating regarding Melissa Parks." Miles' expression was cold and empty. He just waited silently for her to continue. "Melissa Parks is actually Melissa Beluciano. Apparently she's Mr. Beluciano's youngest daughter." Miles' face didn't give her any sort of reaction for her to figure out how to proceed. "Your father thinks that Mr. Beluciano is wanting to help us because you going to jail would upset her somehow." She added. Still no reaction from Miles. They sat in silence for some time before he spoke.
"Is that all?" He asked and Mia was surprised the glass between them didn't frost over. Mia took the hint and got up. He heat from her glare would have been enough to melt the frost. She didn't say another word to him when she left. They wouldn't speak again until court that morning.

Mia was going to face off with Phoenix Wright today. She wasn't sure why, but something felt fundamentally wrong with that. Her nerves bubbled in her throat as she stood behind her bench. Miles stood next to her just as calm and collected as any other day of the week. At least one of them would have nerves of steel today. Her fingers brushed against a red case that she'd admitted into evidence that morning. She was going to trust Gregory's word that it was good evidence, and would be using it as her ace in the hole.
The courtroom itself buzzed with excitement, but they were immediately silenced the very second Phoenix entered the room. He walked to his place without so much as a glance in the defenses direction.
"Mr. Wright!" The judge looked to be waking up from a nap at his bench. He stared at the man in black with wide held eyes. "I didn't think I would be seeing you again."
"What can I say, your honor?" Phoenix answered as he opened his briefcase and took out a couple of folders. When he snapped the case shut he looked up at the judge and smiled. "I just can't seem to stay away." He set the case down at his feet. "Could we get started soon? I have a busy day ahead of me." He requested. Mia felt like throwing her pencil at him. How could he stand there and act like this was no more important than having to pick up milk at the grocery store? Her eyes flicked over to Miles, who was maintaining that look of bored composure he always had before things really got going, but under the desk she could see his fingers twitching.
"Right." The judge cleared his throat. "Court is now in session for the trial of Miles Edgeworth." He said clearly.
"The defense is ready, your honor!" Mia nearly yelped. She was the most nervous she'd been in a long time, and it was all because of that man across from her was smiling. It was sadistic, almost primal, and showed every ounce of joy he was feeling at being able to put his old friend in jail. He was just so drastically different from when she'd met him three years ago. Was this just a show to unsettle her? Or could a man really change that much?
"As is the prosecution, your honor." The natural growl his tone had gained between back then and right now resembled a sort of purr as he said that.
"Would the prosecution please give the court his opening statement?" The judge requested.
"Most certainly!" Phoenix said cheerfully and stood up. "The case is a simple one. Miss Melissa Edgeworth was abused by her husband. A man who, at the time, was spiraling downward in a drunken and drugged stupor to the rock bottom of his ever so stressful life. There are several witnesses to the fact. One a respectable police officer, the second the woman across from me who kindly accepted to defend Mr. Edgeworth, and the father of the defense himself who I'm sure has a perfectly good reason to not be here today to support his only son."
Mia gripped the pencil in her hand. If she threw it just right maybe it would lodge into the prosecution's eye.
"I see." The judge glared in Miles' direction, but it didn't invoke a reaction from the man. Mia kept the smile on her face as best she could, but Miles could at least look shocked at the accusations being brought forth. Even a soft anger would have sufficed. This was not going to bode well at all. "Thank you, Mr. Wright." The judge nodded his way. "You may call the first witness."
"Thank you, your honor." Phoenix gave a small but appreciative bow. "As my first witness I call Detective Dick Gumshoe to the stand."
The large disheveled man walked up to the witness stand with as much pride as he could muster. He looked at Phoenix expectantly until he made a gesture to let him know he could start.
"Well Mr. Edgeworth junior stopped answering his phone, see? And Mr. Edgeworth senior got sort of upset and had Ms. Fey call him in as a missing person. Ms. Fey then got a call from Mr. Edgeworth junior and she recognized the voice of Mrs. Edgeworth, so we went to her place of work to find out where she lived. When we got there Mrs. Edgeworth was already pretty beat up and on the ground and Mr. Edgeworth junior was tied to the bed. Then he just went crazy, pal! He started yelling, and pushed Ms. Fey when she tried to help untie him, then when he broke free and slammed himself into the wall she tried to help him again, but he was going to stab her with a piece brass off the headboard of the bed! About that time Mr. Edgeworth senior told everyone to get out of there so I grabbed Mrs. Edgeworth and Ms. Fey and got them outside. Afterward Mr. Edgeworth senior came down with Mr. Edgeworth junior unconscious in his arms and we took him to the hospital."
"That's quite an exciting story!" The judge replied. "Would the defense like to cross examine the witness?"
"Yes, your honor." Mia smiled at him and turned her attention over to Gumshoe. "Detective, that was a pretty apt story."
"Thank you!" Gumshoe pulled half of his face into a big smile.
"Especially the part where you said she was already beat up when we got there." Mia continued.
"Is the defense suggesting that something else happened?" Phoenix sounded ah if he were listening to the fanciful story of a small child and was faking amusement for her sake. It took quite a bit of effort to hide the irritation that rose in Mia's tone.
"I'm simply pointing out that Melissa Parks was already on the ground by the time we arrived."
"Who's Melissa Parks?" The judge interrupted.
"The woman claiming to be Miles Edgeworth's wife." Mia explained.
"Claiming? You mean she might not be?" The judge asked.
"The wedding certificate was sent out for handwriting analysis." Mia replied.
"Why would they need to do that?" The judge wondered.
"It's a silly allegation, your honor." Phoenix sighed and shook his head, but the smile was still there. "The defendant claims to have no knowledge of ever marrying Melissa Edgeworth."
"Really?" The judge was intrigued.
"But not to worry, your honor. The certificate was analyzed and proven to in fact have been signed by Mr. Edgeworth himself." Phoenix explained.
"I wasn't informed of that!" Mia gasped.
"Ms. Fey, the trial is about whether or not Mr. Edgeworth abused his wife. Not if they were actually married. Could we please get back to the core of things?" Phoenix rolled his eyes.
"Yes, Ms. Fey. I don't need you getting this court all distracted." The judge rallied behind him.
"Yes, your honor." Mia replied. "Melissa Parks-"
"I believe Edgeworth is her last name. Could you please use it? It would lessen the confusion." Phoenix requested.
"Yes, please, Ms. Fey." The judge agreed. Mia clenched her teeth while she maintained her smile.
"Melissa Edgeworth was already on the ground when we arrived, correct?"
"Yeah, pal. You were there too ya know." Even Gumshoe was getting annoyed with her.
"Then there is no evidence that Miles actually hit anyone. Just that he was standing over her looking angry."
"Yeah, I guess so." Gumshoe consented. Phoenix started to chuckle.
"What's so funny, Mr. Wright?" The judge asked.
"Oh nothing, Ms. Fey is just so cute. I couldn't help myself, please, continue." Phoenix waved her on. Miles' expression still hadn't wavered from is stony calm, but his fingers were roughly drumming on his kneecaps under the table. Mia was starting to think throwing a pencil wouldn't be good enough for him.
"As I was saying. There was no proof that Miles actually hit anyone. Her injuries could have been a result of an earlier accident. In fact it was much more likely. Miles wasn't in any state to strike anyone even if he were to have tried. The doctors can attest that his coordination and balance were severely hindered. Melissa could have easily moved out of the way."
"Mrs. Edgeworth was stunned at her husband's behavior, Ms. Fey." Phoenix's once amused tone grew stern and reprimanding. "True, perhaps she could have moved, but she didn't. You'll find that many women in her position don't. Especially those who have as deep a love and trust for their husband as she does for her dear sweet honey bear."
"The fact of the matter is, Mr. Wright. The witness didn't see Miles hit anyone. That is what this trial is about, isn't it?" Mia smirked.
"The witness may not have, but Mrs. Edgeworth claims that he did." Phoenix said simply.
"But can that account really be relied upon? Melissa is not a sane woman." Mia pointed out.
"She sounded perfectly sane to me, Ms. Fey." Phoenix seemed to be enjoying this back a forth a bit too much.
"Well it's certainly the only way I can explain why she would decide to kidnap Miles and keep him drugged in her house." Mia replied. The courtroom erupted with chatter. The judge banged his gavel three times before things started to settle again.
"ORDER!" He demanded. "Ms. Fey, is that true?"
"I believe it to be, your honor." She replied.
"It's the weak lies of a desperate man, your honor. Nothing more." Phoenix shrugged it off. "The defense is only wanting to waste the courts time again."
"True or not, Mr. Wright. This sounds worth looking into." The judge replied.
"And it was, your honor. The police could find no evidence to support the defenses claims." Phoenix crossed his arms.
"That's because the evidence was disposed of before the police had a chance to check. It was recently discovered this morning and has been filed." Mia revealed the red case under her table. She had expected Phoenix to at least look shocked at her sudden reveal, but instead he only smiled.
"What's in it?" The judge was curious. Mia opened it to show them a bottle and a needle. "The very drug Melissa used to keep Miles subdued."
"You honor, I move that we resume the trial tomorrow so that our forensics lab has enough time to examine this new evidence." Phoenix's mild amusement gave way to a harsher tone. "And that Ms. Fey be charged for obstructing an investigation by withholding possibly valuable evidence."
"I wasn't withholding anything, your honor!" Mia defended herself. "It was sent to me just this morning. I submitted it as soon as I possibly could!"
"Sent to you from Montgomery Beluciano, correct?" Phoenix chuckled softly.
"The Montgomery Beluciano?" The judge asked with surprise. "What does he have to do with all this?"
"If Gregory Edgeworth's word is to be believed, he is Melissa Edgeworth's father."
"Her father? But I thought you said her last name was originally Parks!"
"It was. She had it legally changed." Phoenix replied. "Again, I request that the evidence be brought in for examination." He sighed and rolled his eyes. "I suppose Ms. Fey can be excused from her blunder this once since she didn't receive the evidence in time to really report it."
"I agree. Court will return tomorrow morning." The judge banged his gavel.

It wasn't long until Phoenix and Mia were the only ones left in the room. Mia was quickly gathering her things to remedy that as soon as possible.
"Quite a performance you put on, Ms. Fey." Phoenix commended her. Mia wondered if it was okay to throw her briefcase at him while no one was looking. "I was pleasantly surprised." Mia glowered at him and started to leave. "Not really a sportsman I see. Ah well, suppose I'll see you tomorrow then." Phoenix sighed and started to walk the other way, but Mia stopped in her tracks. She just had to ask.
"What happened to you?" She turned around to face him now. "The last time I saw you, you were-"
"A pathetic lovesick puppy?" Phoenix completed. "I suppose I was. People change, you know."
"But so much?"
"A lot can happen in three years." He answered darkly. "Then again, the core of someone's being never really changes, does it? Perhaps deep down this was me and all the years before it were nothing more than a charade I'd convinced myself into believing."
"Maybe this is the charade." Mia pointed out.
"I doubt that very much, Ms. Fey." Phoenix replied and the entire room chilled with his expression. Mia wanted nothing more than to leave at that point, but she was frozen in place by that stare. It wasn't until he turned around and walked away that she could even shiver.

"That was horrifying." Miles grumbled from behind the glass.
"Oh, and I suppose you could have done better?" Mia grumbled back.
"I couldn't have done worse." He huffed.
"I'm just going to take that as a compliment." Mia smirked. Things were silent for a while.
"That case. I think I've seen it before." Miles got to the point since Mia didn't seem willing to. Truth was she was still distracted from earlier interactions.
"Well the note said it was the one Melissa used." Mia blinked back to reality. There was another pause.
"How would he know?" Miles wondered.
"Maybe someone saw her getting rid of it." Mia shrugged.
"Do you really think she possesses the mental fortitude to realize she needed to get rid of it in the first place?" Miles lifted an eyebrow at her.
"The man is her father, you know." Mia pointed out.
"So he took it to protect her and then sent it to you? That just doesn't sound right."
"You father said it would be legitimate, and you even remember it yourself."
"I realize." Miles growled. "I'm just saying that maybe we shouldn't put it past the prosecution to…tamper." That last word was so hard for him to say that at first Mia wasn't sure if he'd meant to even use it.
"What are you talking about? I mean, I know he's a bit of an ass, but-"
"Listen, Mia." Miles leaned in and lowered his voice some. "His mannerisms, his posture, the way he looks through you instead of at you. I've seen all those techniques before."
"Well a lot of them are yours." Mia smirked.
"Not in me!" Miles burst. It took a second to calm himself. "In Manfred von Karma."
"Manfred von-" Mia started to repeat. "Oh, you can't be serious."
"The man is wearing a cravat, Mia! A cravat!" Miles snapped.
"So von Karma has the copyright on cravats? Miles, I think being in jail is starting to get to you."
"But it explains everything! His bizarre taste in clothes, that chill in his presence. If von Karma managed to get his talons into Phoenix-"
"Miles!" Mia disrupted his little rant. "You're raving." She warned him. Miles cleared his throat and sat up to regain his usual composure, but only seemed to make it half way.
"Just watch your back, okay?"
"Oh sure. I tell you that an infamous mob boss is following me and you just sit there and frown, but then you seem to think that some old ghost from your past has tainted a man you haven't even seen in years and now you're concerned for my safety."
"If I'm right." Miles growled darkly. "Then Phoenix Wright is much more dangerous than Montgomery Beluciano."
"You're just being paranoid." Mia sighed.
"Why is he a prosecutor, Mia?" He asked as if that alone was enough to prove him right.
"Well he did mention he was studying law when I defended him." Mia started to explain. "And prosecution does pay more than-" Mia was starting to see his point. "Ooooh." Her brow crinkled. "But why would he seek out a man like that?" Miles gave her a look that grumpily said 'how should I know?' "Right. Well I've got all day to look into it." Mia got up. Miles was already lost in thought by the time she did.

Mia sat in front of the library computer and chewed on her thumbnail. Looking up information on Phoenix Wright was a bit more difficult than she'd anticipated. People at the police office weren't exactly forthcoming with information on their newest prosecutor, and a simple google search wasn't helpful either. Mia was more used to investigating crimes, not people.
"Wow, Mr. Wright really stuck it to you in court today, Ms. Fey." Wick whistled. His sudden presence made her jump in her seat.
"Hello to you too, detective." She said with a slight growl to her tone.
"Are you working on the case?" He took off his fedora, making the fluorescent light glean off rough, jagged, messy spikes of short golden hair, and peeked over her shoulder at the screen.
"Actually, I'm trying to find some information on Mr. Wright." Mia explained. There was no point in lying to him, plus he could easily see the man's name on the screen.
"Well, if you don't mind me saying, you're going about it all wrong, Ms. Fey." Wick pulled up a swivel chair and sat next to her. Mia was going to say something snappish, but the way Wick looked up at her as he rested his chin on the back of the chair was just adorable.
"What should I be doing then?" She smiled against her will. Wick popped up, slid over, and started typing. In a few seconds he had a website pulled up.
"The people database?" Mia read the site name aloud.
"It's an online resource for private detectives." Wick explained.
"I don't think I could pay for a private detective. Besides, it'd look pretty shady if someone found out I did." Mia replied.
"Oh, it's okay. I'm using my account." Wick told her as he clicked a few things with the mouse.
"You have an account on a private detective site?" Mia wondered why he didn't just use police computers.
"Well sometimes these guys have more information then we do." It was almost like Wick had read her thoughts. "Here we go. Phoenix Wright." He turned and smiled at her. He looked rather proud of himself.
"Are you sure this is okay?" Mia couldn't help but ponder the legality of all this.
"Nope." Wick replied. "But I can't help it if I just walked away and left this computer on with this page up and you happened to come by and see it." He shrugged and got up. "Happens all the time." He put his hat back on. "Well, I'm going to get some lunch."
"Thank you, Wick." Mia smiled up at him.
"For what? I didn't do anything." Wick gave her a sly smile.
"Of course not." She chuckled. "Oh, look. Seems this computer is still on." She twisted around. Mia scrolled down and scanned the information. There was nothing all that unusual. Medical history, school grades, trial records…records? "He was on trial more than once?" She muttered. What she saw next made her fall back into her chair with wide brown eyes.
Mia might not have been good at finding information on people, but court records she was an expert with. The longest amount of time was the drive to the courthouse two counties away. Once there she found the records she wanted and read them with great intensity. She couldn't believe what she was reading. She went to the nearest fax machine and sent copies to her house, then copied some to take to Miles. A brief visit to the local library helped fill in the rest of her questions with newspaper articles and media clips. She stopped by another fax machine to send herself the articles, and made quick copies of the files and mailed them to herself.
The drive back was a sullen one.

"What is it now?" Miles asked grumpily as he sat down across from Mia. The look of cold anger in her eyes made him change his tone. "What is it?" He asked again, but this time with concern.
"I know what pushed Phoenix Wright off the happy boat." Mia replied, but she didn't want to believe her own words. "Three years ago…after our trial…"
"If you're going to tell stories about me, Ms. Fey, you could at least wait until I get here." Phoenix sounded much too amused regarding the story Mia was about to tell. "Or you could just let me tell it." He offered. "I'm sort of flattered, really. You went through all that trouble to learn about me." He chuckled. "But then, you could have just asked. It's hardly a secret."
"How can you be so casual about this?!" Mia snapped and jumped to her feet. The smile curled onto Phoenix's lips turned into a smirk.
"What is this about?!" Miles demanded.
"I don't seem to recall you being so impatient, Miles." Phoenix laughed. Mia looked like she was about to be sick. "You might want to sit down again, Ms. Fey. You look ready to fall over." He laughed again, but this time it looked almost painful. When he was done he wiped a tear from his eye and cleared his throat. "You started at three years ago, didn't you, Ms. Fey?" He began. "After that little trial of ours. Quite a definitive moment in my life you know. Inspiring almost, how willingly you believed that what I claimed was true. In this case it happened to be, but I can't help wonder sometimes how often this trust you show was misfounded." He glanced off to the side for a moment. "But I tarry. This story is about my past, not my thoughts on it." His cast-iron stare fixed on Miles as he spoke. "Dahlia Hawthorne got away, you know. It was my fault, really. I was quite foolish and decided to destroy the only evidence that could prove her guilt. Who knows how different things might have gone if someone had found that bottle of cold medicine she tried to kill me with later." He mused. "As you can see, I'm perfectly healthy now, but I was devastated then. I went to find Dahlia. I wanted to know why she wanted to kill me. It took some time, but I did find her. She told me she never wanted to kill me, that the poisoning had been a mistake. I, being the hopeless sap that I was, believed her. The next day her home was burned to the ground, and she presumably with it. I was the biggest suspect. I was found innocent, of course. I hadn't done anything to the girl." Phoenix smiled almost fondly at the memory to come, which only made Mia that much more ill. "A month later I discovered that Dahlia had faked that death, and was using me as a scapegoat. I was confused, hurt, but most importantly infuriated. When I found her again…well…let's just say my passions got the better of me."
"You murdered her!" Mia shouted.
"I did no such thing, Ms. Fey." Phoenix smirked. "I was already proven innocent of that. You are familiar with double jeopardy, aren't you?"
"It's still murder!" She growled.
"Perhaps, but in the eyes of the law I'm cleared." He replied.
"Ph-phoenix." Miles choked on his own words. "Why?"
"Why?" Phoenix laughed. "I saw the truth, old friend. When I met that woman's poisoned gaze I realized that even in the most pure of angels lurked a dark dancing devil. A devil that tangoed with me daily and I was too blind to see it. That evil lives in everyone and it takes only a simple sin to set it loose. To thrust it into a spiral of evil and malice." He replied. Miles was stunned. It took some time before he could speak again.
"You're completely insane aren't you?" He realized.
"Well maybe just a little." Phoenix signified this by hold his index finger and thumb a hair apart. "Doesn't make me any less right." Miles was happy that at that moment there was a thick sheet of glass between him and the stranger on the other side. The rules for the game had changed now. No more confusion, no more concern, no more mercy. Phoenix Wright had died three years ago, and now this demon was writhing about in his corpse.