Prologue

Detective Gumshoe adjusted the bulletproof vest under his shirt. This was going to be his first major raid with him in the lead. It didn’t seem too difficult. It was a small mansion, but it was known that nobody lived in it. The group that was there right now visited the mansion constantly, but based on the number of cars very few people were there. He stood up and turned to the other policemen around him.

“All right, here’s the plan. Squads A and B will stay by the front. Stick to the cover. If combat starts they will attempt to charge the front door. Squads C and D will try to surround the building. C will go around the left, and D will come with me and take the right. If we find any side doors, we will open them, but stay to the side until we’re certain nobody is waiting for us on the other sides. If we come across any of the people that the group kidnapped, be sure to get them out of there as soon as possible.

“We don’t know what exactly is in there. Observations show that the place isn’t highly guarded. But, if there is one thing I’ve learned in my career as a detective, it’s always be prepared if your opponent has an ace up his sleeve. But all I can say is good luck ladies and gentlemen. Let’s get this over quickly so I can go home and celebrate my first raid with a cup of noodles! Now who’s with me?”

Cheers filled the air as the policemen wandered off to get their equipment and join up with their respective squads. Detective Gumshoe smiled as he turned to the table where his shotgun lay. While he wasn’t one to condone violence, even in the name of law, he felt like an action hero leading his squad into an epic battle. He looked over at the house that he was about to raid. “Now, time to make Maggey proud.”

----Scene cut----

Detective Gumshoe hid behind the door, and leaned out. He was just able to lean back as bullets splintered the frame of the kitchen door. They had ample cover. They had moved the furniture to make an impassible line right in the center of the main hall. He muttered curses under his breath as he motioned to the four other members of his squad. “I need suppressing fire. You,” He pointed at one of them, “You come with me. We’re going to go through the next room and then charge at them from over there.”

“But sir… What about squad C? They should be here by now…” One of the men said. Gumshoe looked around the corner quickly and sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe they’re held up… But even if it is the worst, they knew the risks… But now is not the time. We need to move now!” The three men began their covering fire while Gumshoe and the other policeman ran into the next room. Gumshoe kicked down the door, and charged towards the line of furniture. Hopping over it, him and his partner began firing.

“Come on!” Gumshoe yelled over the gunfire. Suddenly he felt two hands grasp against the back of his skull, and heard the muttering of words. His legs began to feel weak. He felt like he was going to puke. He began to feel cold, and his eyesight was fading.

“Gumshoe!” He heard his partner yell. There was a gunshot, and the feeling of a warm liquid on the back of his neck. Gumshoe fell to the ground, unconscious. The fellow policeman looked down at him, then up at the coming reinforcements. He grabbed the man and began to carry him back.

“Gumshoe is down!” He yelled as he ran, “Retreat!”

Chapter One

An annoyed Miles Edgeworth sat at his desk. He had been expecting a call from his superiors for a while, wanting him to prosecute that large kidnapping case that Gumshoe was doing the raid for. Of course, when someone says that something will be simple, it’s usually far from it.

“I just hope that bumbling fool is okay…” Edgeworth muttered. He had to admit, sure the guy was an idiot, but he seemed to grow on you. “…Maybe I should take one of my pay cuts back. At least then he could get a ring for that girlfriend of his.” But until that raid was over, he could do nothing but sit in front of his computer, watching the cards bounce from him beating Solitaire for the umpteenth time.

He stared at the screen, wondering if he should go another round, but quickly decided against it. He had better things to do then play a game he knew he could win. He didn’t know exactly what these things were. He let out a yawning stretch, noticing that the Moonlight Sonata was playing over his speakers now. As the calming music passed through him, he wondered if it was weird that all the music he had was classical, and none of this new age rock and rap nonsense.

But all those thoughts were wiped away when the phone suddenly rang. With a smile he grasped for it, “Hello, Miles Edgeworth speaking.”

“Mr. Edgeworth? This is Angie Thompson from Caduceus.”

“Caduceus? What’s going on?”

“A patient was recently brought in. One detective Richard Gumshoe…”

“Gumshoe!? What happened?”

“He was brought into Hope Hospital by other policemen. They said that during a raid he was knocked unconscious. He was in a comatose state, and wasn’t responding to any stimuli. During the scans that come with getting put into a hospital in a comatose state, they saw that he had strange brain activity, so they brought him over here to see if it was some new disease. The officers said to contact you and one Maggey Byrde.”

“…I’ll be right down there. Goodbye Ms. Thompson.”

“Goodbye Mr. Edgeworth.”

----Scene Cut----

Miles stepped into the lobby of the large hospital building. There stood two men, one with blond hair down to the base of his neck, the other with brown hair and glasses. The blonde one caught sight of Edgeworth and tapped the other on the arm and pointed. The two then walked over to Edgeworth.

“You must be Mr. Edgeworth, the “Demon Prosecutor!” The blond one said as he extended his hand for a shake, which Miles accepted with a slight glare, “The name is Dr. Tyler Chase, MD.” The brown haired one extended his hand, which Edgeworth also accepted, “And I’m Derek Stiles. Ignore Dr. Chase. He likes to joke around.” Edgeworth raised an eyebrow.

“Derek Stiles… I believe I met you once.” Derek cocked his head in thought.

“You did… Oh yeah! You were the one that prosecuted the case against Acropolis. I barely had to say anything up on the stand!” He smiled.

“I just do my job. Now what’s the deal with Gumshoe?” Edgeworth said with his usual straight face.

“Oh, he’s just down the hall. Follow me.” Derek turned and began walking down the hall, and Edgeworth followed close behind, “He’s awake now, fortunately. And we did a second scan, and it seems all the strange brain activity is gone now, or at least weakened by a lot.”

“So? Then nothing really seems to be wrong.” Edgeworth said. Derek shook his head.

“But, he still has some physically injuries that must be looked at, none of which are severe though. Plus, according to the scans, he seems to be suffering from Dissociative Amnesia.”

“What’s that?” Edgeworth asked.

“It’s a form of amnesia that is self induced as a defense mechanism. It’s in the same category as split personalities. Basically, he’s locking away his old self in order to forget something unpleasant that has happened to him. He can’t recall anything from his past.”

“How long will it last?”

“It really just depends. Unlike normal amnesia, where you just can’t remember anything, his case is a battle of the wills: His conscious will to remember and his subconscious will to forget the unpleasant memories. So, it really just depends how horrible the thing is he’s trying to forget.” He turned into a room, where Gumshoe was laying in a hospital bed.

“Hey there detective.” Edgeworth said as he walked into the room. The man looked up from the bed, a slightly confused smile on his face.

“…You know, it’s not fun not knowing anything accept that I’m a detective… And you are?”

“Miles Edgeworth, a friend of yours,” Edgeworth’s straight face turned into a frown, “I can’t believe you don’t remember me.”

“Well, Mr. Edgeworth, I’ll try my best to try and remember.” Gumshoe hung his head. There was a moment of silence, which was broken by Edgeworth’s phone ringing. He reached into his pocket and put it up to his ear, “Hello?” He then mouthed to the two, “I have to take this.” Derek nodded, and sat down in a chair in the room.

“So, how was your visit with the Maggey girl?” He said. Gumshoe smiled.

“Oh man, it was like love at first sight! She’s one of the cutest girls I’ve seen! I even think she beats out that nurse Angie.” Derek bit his lip, “But she came in sobbing, talking about how it was her bad luck. But then she realized I didn’t know who she was and we introduced ourselves again. After that we just talked about random things. Apparently I’m so poor I can only eat cups of noodles. But honestly nothing rung a bell.” Gumshoe hung his head again.

“Well that sucks. I just wish I could do more for you.” Derek said.

“But, you’re a doctor. You can only go as far as technology can let you.” Gumshoe replied. Derek let out a chuckle.

“Trust me, I’m no ordinary doctor. But that’s a story for anoth…” Derek was cut off when Miles reentered the room.

“I’m sorry guys, but I have to go.” He said as he stuck his phone in his pocket.

“Really? What’s up?” Derek stood up from his seat.

“The mansion where the raid was? The place is empty of people. It seems they just put everything back where it was and then left. They didn’t even take anything.”

“Let me guess. You’re going to try and find out what made Gumshoe lose his memory, right?” Derek asked. Edgeworth replied with a nod.

“The kidnapping case that was involved in that raid was the case I was going to prosecute, and the place could have a ton of evidence. Therefore it is my job to investigate the place, though with the ulterior motive of helping a friend.”

“Then I’m coming with you.” Derek said. Edgeworth shook his head and gestured in disagreement.

“No. You have no reason to be going to a crime scene. Plus you need to be taking care of him.”

“But as my patient, it is my job to find a way to get him back to perfect health, which includes helping get his memory back.” The two glared at each other, until Edgeworth broke it with a sigh.

“Fine, you can come. But remember that it is an active crime scene. Always take photos before touching anything, and remember to always wear gloves.” Derek nodded, and the two were off.

Chapter Two

Edgeworth sat there in silence, concentrating on the road in front of him. He felt uncomfortable about this case. It didn’t help that he was bringing a civilian into an active crime scene. And it didn’t help said civilian was being annoying and messing with his radio.

“What is love? Baby don’t hurt me; don’t hurt me, no more.” Derek sung along with the radio. Edgeworth glared over at him. His hand reached over and switched the radio off. Derek glared back at him.

“Hey! I was listening to that.” He complained. Edgeworth placed his hand back on the wheel and began to concentrate on the road again.

“You obviously don’t understand what we’re about to get into. I’ve got an active crime scene that I’m bringing a civilian into and I didn’t file any paperwork allowing it. I can get in trouble for this,” Edgeworth paused, “Plus you’re annoying me. I’d like to concentrate on the case, and it’s hard to do that with some idiot sitting next to me singing along with the radio.”

“You seemed to like the idea of me coming with you when we were back at Caduceus.”

“That was when I thought you would actually be concentrating on the case rather then acting like an idiot before we even get to the crime scene.”

“Well, like you said, we aren’t at the crime scene.”

“But we are on a case, and therefore I don’t want you acting like an idiot.”

“Well who are you to order me around like this?”

“The prosecutor who is running this investigation who can easily get you arrested for entering a crime scene without permission. Now just shut up and try not to attract attention to yourself. We’re almost there.”

----Scene Cut----

“Sorry, sir, but you’re not allowed past…” The police officer began said as Miles rolled down the window, “Sorry sir, I didn’t see it was you.” Miles glanced at the man with his usual glare.

“Just be sure that you don’t make that mistake again.” He said, putting his eyes back towards the barricaded road.

“But about your passenger…” The officer leaned over to get a good look at him, “Oh! Hey Dr. Stiles!” He reached his hand in front of Miles’ face, “It’s me, Keith!” Derek looked at him in shock.

“Keith? Hey man! It’s been ages!” Derek let out a smile as the two bumped fists, “How have you been doing since the incident at Delphi’s HQ?”

“Eh, I’ve been okay. I’ve haven’t done anything as epic since then. I wasn’t even allowed on the raid on this place.” The officer let out a sigh.

“Maybe it was for the better. I mean, the entire plan failed, didn’t it?” Derek looked at Miles, hoping for some hint that at least part of the mission went according to plan, but the man just looked annoyed.

“I know what you’re talking about,” Keith said, “I mean, an entire squad missing and the commanding officer down in one fell swoop. But, who knows. Maybe me joining could have been the butterfly effect that made the entire mission a success rather than a complete and to…”

“Can you just move the barricade! I really want to get to the crime scene, if you would be kind enough to do so.” Miles snapped at the guard. The guard rolled his eyes.

“Sure. Give me a second.” He motioned to a second officer, who then went with him to move the barricade. The moment it was moved Miles sped through the opening. Derek looked over at the prosecutor.

“Man, do you have a stick in your behind or what? Did daddy never hug you or what?” He said. Miles let out a grunt.

“I take crime fighting very seriously. I have better things to do then reminisce about random things when there is a crime scene to investigate.” He muttered.
Derek looked back at the road they were traveling up. The last few minutes of the ride were silent.

----Scene Cut---

Derek stared in awe at the small gothic mansion that appeared behind a mass of trees. The building itself had a vibe of mystery and horror around it. He looked away from it only for a second to ask the prosecutor a question that had been on his mind.

“So, how do we know that this isn’t a trap? I mean, it seemed like the people who were here were prepared from what I heard.” Miles broke his eyes off from the road to look at the doctor, but the mansion caught his eyes and forced him into a stare.

“Well, Dr Stiles, we’ve done everything to make sure the place is safe. We’ve done thermal images of the inside, had armed guards walk in, and random other tests. All showed the place empty, and almost completely devoid of traps.” Derek look scared.

“What do you mean almost completely?”

“The armed guards found some tripwires that activated random small traps. You know, heavy objects dropping, that kind of thing. They were also shoddily made. Half of the traps didn’t go off.”

“Maybe they want us to go there. Maybe it is still a trap. Could easily be a set up.”

“Well if they didn’t die it’s not going to change for us,” Miles said as he parked his car in front of the mansion, “Come on, let’s go.”

Chapter Three

As the car pulled up to the front door of the mansion, an officer walked over to the window. Miles rolled down the window and leaned out.

“Ah, Mr. Edgeworth, we’ve been waiting on you.” The officer said as Edgeworth got out of the car. Derek stepped out of the passenger side, glancing around. The menacing vibes that he got from just looking at the place wouldn’t leave him.

“Officer Swift, have you found anything?” Edgeworth crossed his arms as he glanced at the yellow tape that covered the front door.

“Nothing of consequence. That being said we’ve only been doing preliminary glances and nothing that serious. We’ve been waiting for you to give the signal sir.”

“Well, get on it then. We’ll be there in a minute.” The officer nodded and began to walk off. Edgeworth walked around to the passenger side.

“Well, Mr. Edgeworth, what are we waiting for?” Derek said as the prosecutor approached. Edgeworth tapped Derek on the side telling him to scoot as he climbed into the car, opening the glove compartment as he did so. Lying in the small compartment were a box of latex gloves, a digital camera, and a revolver.

“Take these,” Edgeworth said, placing a pair of the gloves into Derek’s hands, “You’ll need these if you plan on touching anything. I repeat and cannot emphasize enough, don’t lay your hands on anything without wearing these.” Edgeworth put some gloves on his own hands and grabbed the revolver and camera.

“… Is that a Colt Python 357. revolver?” Derek looked at the thing. Edgeworth nodded as he stepped out of the car. The duo started walking towards the front door of the mansion.

“Yes.”

“Can I use it?”

“No.”

“Please?”

“No.”

“Why do you even need a gun anyways?”

“I’m a prosecutor who doesn’t take bribes. The mob hates me.”

“Ah…” With that the two ducked under the police tape and into the old mansion.

----Scene cut----

The hall was long. That was the only way Miles could describe it. There were no distinct features on the wall. There were no decorations. No pictures, no mirrors, none of those little tables that had the little plants on them. The hall was bare, save for the peeling wallpaper whose color matched Edgeworth’s suit.

Five doors. Two on the left, three on the right. And that was all the second floor was. Five rooms and a bare hall with peeling maroon wallpaper.

“So, which side do you want?” Edgeworth said, drawing the gun out of his jacket. Derek looked at one side of the hallway, and then to the other.

“Can I have neither?” Edgeworth glared at him, “Hey, you’re the one with the gun.” Edgeworth shook his head and went to the first door on the left. The door slid open to reveal an open bedroom. There were two bunk beds, both neatly made up. There was a window the showed the front yard of the house.

Meanwhile, Derek was slowly walking towards the first door on the right. He tried his best to sneak, but the creaky floor boards and he nearly tripping over himself at the sound of said floorboards made him easily noticeable. He put his hand on the doorknob and took a deep breath. Then, throwing the door open, he ran into the room.

“WA-TAH!” He yelled as he went into an eagle kung-fu pose he learned from Mortal Kombat. He then glanced around the room, and went back to standing as normal. The room was a storage attic. It was filled with random junk from mannequins to chairs and tables.

Derek stepped out of the room and walked into the next one down the hall. He lightly cracked the door open, then stepped back and kicked it open, running in into a monkey style kung-fu pose.

“WA-TAH!” This room led to another spare bedroom, much like the room Edgeworth had found first. Only the window led out to the backyard. Outside, Derek could see a small shack, looked like a gardener’s shed. Maybe they would investigate later.

Derek walked over to the third and final door on his side. He was confident in himself and his mad kung-fu skillz now. This time he charged in, going into a viper kung-fu pose.

“WA-TAH!” The room was a bathroom. Everything was clean and spotless. There wasn’t even any rust around the bathtub’s drain. Everything seemed perfect. He turned to make his way back towards the room Edgeworth was in.

----scene cut----

Edgeworth slid the door open slowly, his gun hand scanning the room around him. Finally he got the door fully open and stepped in. Glancing around, he could already tell something was wrong. He leaned back, looking to see how much of the hall was left, the leaned forward to see how long the room was. The room was clearly smaller then the room they had for it.

“Maybe there’s a secret room.” He muttered to himself. He started glancing around the room, when he noticed something. There was a dresser with a mirror on the wall, and he could tell that the wall was fake. He walked over to the dresser and began to push against the wall, which didn’t budge.

There’s probably a switch somewhere on the dresser he thought. He walked over and looked at himself in the mirror. He began feeling the edges of the mirror, looking for some kind of switch. Finding none, he went down to the drawers, searching for any sort of hidden switch. Finding nothing he looked up to the mirror.

A figure stood behind him, holding up a dagger. Edgeworth quickly turned around, holding the gun up, but nobody was there. Edgeworth took a deep breath, trying to slow his heart rate. It didn’t help that the place itself was giving him bad vibes, but now he was seeing things…

Derek walked into the room and looked around, “So, found anything?” Edgeworth took another deep breath, calming himself.

“Yeah, there’s a hidden panel behind this dresser and I can’t seem to get it open.” Edgeworth turned back to the dresser, continuing to search.

“Really?” Derek asked, “I wonder where it could be…” Derek walked over to the bed and leaned up against the bed post. As the thing gave way, the dresser and mirror began to slide back, revealing a hidden room.

Edgeworth glanced back at Derek, “Beginner’s luck.” Derek glanced at the bedpost, and then got up, following Edgeworth into the hidden room. The new room was a large library, lined with candle fixtures and no light bulbs. There was a small round table in the center of the room, just big enough for two people to sit and still feel comfortable. Edgeworth motioned to Derek and the two started searching the shelves. For minutes the two glanced on the shelves, looking for anything that attracted their attention.

“Hey, look over here.” Derek said as he pulled a book off the shelf. The cover seemed to be made of some sort of animal skin and written in red ink. The cover was written in a language he didn’t know. Derek held the book out to Edgeworth.

As Edgeworth grabbed the book from his hands, a feeling in him made him shudder. Holding the book felt like it was eating away at your hands, but only slightly, like an extremely weak acid. Edgeworth glanced at the cover.

“It looks like Japanese.”

“Do you know how to read it?”

“No, but I just know someone who might…”

----Scene Cut----

Phoenix and Maya had been helping Adrian Andrews out recently. She’d wanted to get more comfortable around guys. And since she couldn’t do that with Phoenix because of Pearl’s anger and Maya’s slight jealousy, they had to go somewhere else.

“You know, we could get someone else, right. You can just do a little at a time.” Phoenix looked Adrian in the eyes, holding her shoulders so not to break her attention. Adrian looked at him with a smile.

“It’s okay Phoenix. I told you I wanted to use a guy who is the closest thing to the stereotype of the perverted idiot. I’m going to go through with this.” She said. Phoenix let out a sigh as he let go of her.

“Okay then, he should be here any se…” He said before being cut off.

“Hey there Nick! Where’s that model you wanted me to meet?” Larry Butz slammed the door to the Wright and Co. law offices. Phoenix and Maya let out a sigh. Adrian raised an eyebrow.

“Aren’t you that security guard from the museum?”

“Weren’t you the girl managing the Kurain exhibit?” At this point the phone rang. Phoenix signaled that he was going to get it and ran towards the phone. Larry walked over and sat on the couch next to Adrian.

“So what’s your name girl?” He asked. Adrian smiled shyly and looked over at him.

“Adrian. Adrian Andrews.”

“Oh Adrian! That is a French name. My little croissant. My little croissant with cheese. Yeah, my name La-ray. It’s spelled like Larry but its pronounced La-ray.” Larry paused, “So can I get yo’ numbah?”

----Scene Cut----

“Hello, Wright and Co. Law Offices, Phoenix Wright speaking.”

“Wright! It’s me, Edgeworth.”

“Oh, hey there Edgeworth. What’s up?”

“I need to know, does your girlfriend there read Japanese?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I need her to translate something.”

“Well we do need an excuse to leave. Where are you.”

“Do you know where the mansion where that failed raid was is?”

“Okay then. I’ll see you there. Bye.”

Chapter Four

“How long until they get here?” Derek asked as Edgeworth hung up the phone.

“I would say about twenty minutes, give or take,” Edgeworth said as he glanced at his watch, “Until then we should continue investigating.”

“There was this shed out back I saw through the window,” Derek said as he pointed towards the back of the house, “Do you think we should check that out?” Edgeworth and Derek walked across the hall and into the next room, where they glanced out the window.

“It looks unused. The thing is covered in rust.” Edgeworth pointed out.

“But still, they could do that just to make you think that. What if its hiding a dark secret?”

“You do have a point,” Edgeworth said, “Plus it will give us something to do while we wait.” Derek motioned to the door.

“So, shall we go?”

“Let’s.”

----scene cut----

From the outside, the shed looked about the size of a one room apartment. The walls were made from badly welded pieces of sheet metal. There was a cheap plastic door that was locked shut with a rusty padlock. To put it simply, it could be described in four or five words.

“Run-down piece of junk,” Edgeworth said as he saw the thing up close for the first time, “Despite my large vocabulary, that is the only way to describe this place.” The two glanced around the building.

“So, how do we get in?” Derek said as the two met around the back.

“Looks like the only way in is through the front door.” Edgeworth said as the two began to walk back to the front.

“But how are we going to get in?” Derek said. Edgeworth smiled.

“I have a little trick I learned from my father when he was teaching me how to investigate for when I became an attorney,” He knelt down and looked at the lock, “Do you have a bobby pin?”

“Oh, sure,” Derek said as he reached into his pocket, “Angie makes me carry some so I can keep the hair out of my eyes during operations.” Edgeworth nodded as he took the bobby pin and stuck it in the lock.

“Now, this is a pretty cheap lock, so I think there only should be one or two tumblers,” Edgeworth said as he began to move the bobby pin around, “After that, I just need to turn the lock to unlock it.” Derek smiled.

“Ohhh… Do I get a turn?”

“No. You’ll probably break the pin in the lock unless you’ve had any training.” Minutes passed without any progress, until Derek finally asked for the umpteenth time.

“Do I get a turn now?” Edgeworth groaned when he said it.

“If you want a go, fine. Just try not to screw up.” Edgeworth said as he scooted to the side to make room for the doctor. He turned his head just in time to see a crowbar go flying past his face and break the lock open. Derek knelt down, yanking the lock off the door.

“Look, I got it on my first try!” He said with a dumb smile. Edgeworth stood up and glanced at the lock.

“A bit uncouth, but effective nonetheless.” Was all he said as he opened the door.

The two glanced around at the inside of the shed. The light didn’t get in here due to the lack of windows, and the doorway gave nothing except for the light breeze. In the darkness, shapes were all that could be seen.

“Do you have a flashlight?” Derek said as the two leaned in.

“No, but there is a light there in the center of the room. I can just make it out,” Edgeworth said as he stepped into the shed. Derek followed slowly behind him. Next thing Edgeworth knew, Derek cried out for help.

“Ow! I’m being attacked!” In the darkness, Edgeworth could see that Derek was swinging the crowbar at enemies hidden in the shadows. Edgeworth climbed over random objects, running for the small chain hanging in the room. Clicking it on, Edgeworth let out a chuckle.

“You’re only making it worse for yourself; you do realize that right?” He said. Derek opened his eyes, noting the random gardening tools which had scratched and cut him on the head. As they chuckled, they both looked down, noticing an obvious looking trap door.

“Why would they have a basement here in California?” Derek asked as he put down his crowbar to move the debris that had piled up on it. Edgeworth quickly put his gun into his shirt and started helping.

“Or, better yet, why is the basement in the locked shed rather then the house?” He said. Finally the two got all the random tools and junk off of the door and opened it. The two climbed down and opened the door.

The basement area was a completely bare room with walls made of wood. But Edgeworth’s great powers of observation found yet another problem in a room.

“I think there’s another secret panel over here.” Edgeworth said as he walked towards the wall. Derek followed behind him and the two began to feel the wall until finally a part of it gave way. As both of them shoved, the wall slid to the side like a door on hinges. As the two stepped into the room, weird noises came from inside the room.

Edgeworth felt something weird bump up against his shoe. Kneeling down, he could hear the noises get louder. Derek held up his crowbar, ready to fight. Finally Edgeworth’s hand bumped up against something.

“Hey, I think I found a flashlight.” Edgeworth said, picking it up.

“Well you might want to hurry it up!” Derek yelled while Edgeworth felt around the cylinder, looking for the switch. When he finally found it, he flicked it on to reveal the cause of the noises hiding in the darkness.

The creature was mostly a mass of goo, looking like red pudding or Jell-o. On the bottom human legs held the thing off the ground about the height of a small child. Arms sprouted from random places on the creature. For a second, Edgeworth froze, he pointed at the thing, babbling incoherently, while Derek was still trying to comprehend the concept of the creature. Derek, scared out of his mind, grabbed Edgeworth’s arm and dragged him out of the room, still babbling.

Derek quickly ran back to the door and began to swing it shut. Finally Edgeworth began to snap out of it, and quickly ran back to the door. With their combined pulling the door managed to snap shut, the creatures alien noises behind the door. For a second, they both stood there, leaning against the panel. Then they turned to each other, trying to make sure they weren’t going insane.

They both screamed at the top of their lungs.

Chapter Five

The duo ran out of the shed, still screaming at the top of their lungs. As officers ran up to check on the two, Edgeworth began to bark out orders.

“I want a perimeter made around that shed!” He yelled as he waved his gun around, “All officers need to be armed and ready for an attack! I want everyone ready to fire at will!” Officers began to surround the shed, not even stopping to ask Edgeworth why. Derek and Edgeworth walked up to the front of the house, where Edgeworth sat down on the stairs. Derek looked down at him.

“What the hell was that!?” He yelled as he pointed back at the shed. Edgeworth looked at him.

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know!?”

“I mean, I don’t know.”

“What was going on here!? I think I deserve to know that.” Edgeworth looked back up at Derek, trying to recall all the facts.

“This place was owned by a group. A secret society. Nothing too fancy, just a group of people who had an exclusive club. Nobody knew what they had in common, who or what this secret society did. They were just there. But a large group of disappearances happened in the area, so we investigated this place. We sent an officer up here to ask if the people here saw anything. He never came back. That’s when this place became suspect. We began observing this place and ended up noticing the kidnappings. That’s when the raid happened.” Derek thought for a moment.

“Do you that that creature was what the kidnappings were for?” He pointed back at the shed, “Food, or maybe to play Frankenstein?” Edgeworth thought for a moment.

“You know, you could be right.” Edgeworth stood back up. At that point more screams came from the area of the shed. Edgeworth and Derek quickly ran around the house and saw what had become of the officers. Some were eaten or being eaten through a mouth on what could be assumed to be the creature’s front. Others were running away, screaming like little girls. Others were curled up in a ball, crying, while others were babbling like madmen or had passed out. Edgeworth pulled the revolver out of his coat.

“We have to stop that thing before it goes on a killing spree.” He said. Derek looked at him like he was insane.

“Wow wow wow wow wow… We are not going to attack that thing!” He yelled as he pointed at the creature.

“Well, I’m sorry, but it’s our turn to play action hero,” Edgeworth said as he held the gun up towards the creature and began to walk towards it, “You better know how to use that crowbar as a weapon.”

----Scene cut----

Phoenix began to pant as they finally made it to the gate. Maya was bent over, trying to catch her breath. The climb up the path to the front of the mansion was tiring on foot, especially since you were running because of the sound of gunshots. When the two had caught their breath enough to keep running, they sprinted to the front of the mansion, than ran around back to a shocking sight.

Behind the mansion they found Edgeworth, standing in… front (? Phoenix couldn’t really tell.) of the creature, firing shots from his revolver at the creature. Behind him stand a man with brown hair and glasses, who was cautiously charging in and hitting the creature with a crowbar. Phoenix shuddered at the sight of the thing.

“Oh cool! I didn’t know Edgeworth was going to star in a horror film!” Maya said with a huge smile on her face, “Maybe that’s why he wanted to know if I speak Japanese. I get to play the cute shrine maiden.” Phoenix looked down at her with a glare.

“Maya, do you see any cameras?”

“No.”

“Is Edgeworth the kind of person to even want to star in a movie?”

“No.”

“Would Edgeworth even come to us unless it had something to do with a case?”

“No.”

“Then this isn’t a movie and… That creature is real.” Phoenix had just come to the revelation himself. He looked around, trying to find a weapon. Then he noticed an axe by a pile of wood near what looked like a piece of abstract art made out of badly welded metal.

“Maya, stay here.” He said as he ran forward.

----scene cut----

Edgeworth could tell the thing was weakening. Anyone could tell if they had seen the thing’s original strength and now. The creature was slower, and it seemed to be stumbling, at least as much as a creature with ten legs haphazardly put on and no eyes could stumble. The death of the creature was in sight.

Edgeworth held the gun up, ready to put what could be the last bullet in it, “Time to die you freak!” He pulled the trigger.

Click.

“Oh God…” Edgeworth flipped open the revolver. He was out of ammo.

He glanced up just in time to see the creature lunge at him. Edgeworth let out a cry as he held his arm up in self defense. At the point he felt the creature’s mouth wrap around it. It’s acidic saliva began to burn his arm. He closed his eyes as he winced and yelled in pain.

“Edgeworth!” He heard someone yell. He looked up to see a man fly through the air, an axe raised above his head, and come down on the creature. It let out a cry of pain and fell to the floor, unmoving. Edgeworth drew his hand from the creature’s mouth, the acid still burning as he tried to shake it off. At that point, a female figure ran up with a hose.

“Stand still.” She said as water suddenly burst from the hose, dowsing his arm and part of his torso. Edgeworth, most of the pain now gone, looked at his saviors.

“Thank you Wright, Ms. Fey.”

Chapter Six

Edgeworth stood in the bathroom, drying off his wet clothing with a towel. Phoenix and Maya leaned against the wall, while Derek stood in the doorway, excited by Phoenix.

“Dude, your entrance was epic! I mean, just as Edgeworth got his arm caught in the thing’s mouth, you come running in, grab that axe, next thing I know you’re soaring through the air and come down on the creature like BLAM!” Derek was jumping up and down slightly because of the awesomeness of Phoenix’s attack, plus he was still rushing with adrenaline from the fight. Phoenix shrugged.

“I honestly had no idea what I was doing. I just saw the creature realized it was real, and then I just acted. I ran up grabbed the axe, used the pile of wood as a springboard, and then came down on the thing.” Phoenix swung his hands as though he were reliving the attack.

“Okay then, I think I’m done.” Edgeworth said as he put down the towel. He let out a deep sigh as he glanced at the arm that was in the creature’s mouth. The hand had scars from the acidic burn of the creature’s saliva, though those were now covered in gauze provided by the doctor, and the sleeve had some small tears in it. He clenched the fist, then turned back to the door.

“Now, Ms. Fey, of you would kindly follow me, the book I would like you to see is right over here.” Edgeworth walked past the group and walked down the hall to the bedroom, with the group right behind him. Edgeworth tipped the bedpost and walked calmly past the secret door with Derek right behind him. Phoenix smiled at the sight of a secret door.

“Now that is just cool. I want one! Maybe we should put one in the office, eh?” Phoenix looked down at Maya, but she just stared. She looked at the door, a look of slight fear in her eyes. Phoenix walked in front Maya, put his hands on her shoulders, and looked her in the eye, “Maya, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t want to go in that room.”

“What?”

“I don’t want to go into that room. The vibes I get from there, they’re just… I feel really uncomfortable,” She shook her head, trying to snap out of it. Phoenix let out a smile.

“Don’t worry,” He said, “I’m here.” The two walked in.

----scene cut----

Miles looked along the shelves where the book had been, softly muttering the word NO over and over again as he passed book after book. Finally he recognized the Japanese.

“Here it is.” He said as he pulled it off the shelf. He glanced at the cover, just to make sure, and then walked over, pointing the book in the young girl’s direction. She just glanced at the book, and hesitated before slowly moving her hand towards the book. The moment the cover touched her skin, she let out a cry of pain and pulled her hand back. Phoenix rushed to her aid as Maya waved the hand.

“Just touching the cover, it made my hand feel like it was on fire.” She said as she looked at the hand, which seemed uninjured. Miles looked down at the book in his hands, slightly curious, but slightly afraid at the same time. Miles then held up the book.

“Could you at least give us a title so we can see if there is an English version?” He said. Maya looked at the cover, her face still in shock. She looked at it for a minute before finally speaking.

“The book is called the Necronomicon.” The room was thrown into a terrible silence which pierced the soul. Until laughter finally broke it.

“The Necronomicon?” Phoenix laughed out loud, doubling over with laughter, “You’re kidding me right? Those don’t really exist!” They all glared at him.

“Mr. Wright, are you saying you know what this thing is?” Derek said. Phoenix wiped the tears that had come from his laughter, finally calming down.

“The Necronomicon? Of course I know what it is!” Phoenix took a deep breath, knowing this was going to be a long explanation.

“The Necronomicon is a book whose title is Latin for, when loosely translated, concerning the dead. The book originally appeared in a story by a nineteen-twenties horror author call H.P. Lovecraft, known for such stories as The Dunwich Horror and The Call of Cthulhu. The book is probably the craziest tome in all of the Cthulhu Mythos. It has spells, star charts, descriptions of creatures that don’t exist, to our knowledge.

“The original translation was by a man known simply as The Arab. Everyone thought he was crazy. And then he died the amount of people who thought he was crazy went down.”

“But if he died, why did that change the minds of the people?” Edgeworth asked.

“Well, not that many people die by being eaten by invisible creatures in broad daylight in the middle of public.”

“Ah. Carry on.”

“The Necronomicon’s pages are made of human skin, the red ink blood,” Edgeworth dropped the book onto the table, “The spine, a real human spine. I’m pretty sure looking at the pictures in it will melt your face off, but that might have been another book… And yeah, that’s pretty much it,” Phoenix said with a confident smirk. The others looked at him, somewhat disturbed, “You know I don’t see why this is such a big deal.”

“Why is it a big deal?” Derek yelled, “I’ve got a patient who is hiding something in his subconscious that is pretty damn horrible, we just fought a hideous creature which shouldn’t exist, we find a book which makes Ms. Fey here feel like her skin is burning, which I know I felt slightly, and now you’re telling us that this book was written by a guy who was eaten by an invisible demon, and you’re wondering why this is a big deal!?” Phoenix laughed again.

“Come on. First of all, guy getting eaten by an invisible demon… that was made by H.P. Lovecraft as part of the plot he made up, and I emphasize the fact that he made all this up. Second of all… that’s just crazy!” Phoenix said it, but didn’t believe it, “There is no way that all that crazy stuff is real.”

“But you saw the creature, you killed it, you saw the burns,” Edgeworth lifted up his hand, “How can you say these aren’t real?”

“So these guys like to play Frankenstein!” Phoenix yelled as he turned walked towards the door in frustration, “That has nothing to do with the Necronomicon. If it did, they would be talking to alien creatures who were the gods in ancient civilizations, not making creatures like that.” He turned as he stopped at the door.

“But Wright, The Necronomicon…” Edgeworth said before being cut off.

“Necronomicons are a dime a dozen. I have two back at my office from back when I was in college and me and some of the guys played Cthulhu Live, one in Hebrew and one in German, neither of which I can read, but both of which I know are fake because I wrote the German one and Larry wrote the Hebrew one.” Phoenix explained. He then turned to walk out of the room.

“Nick, you have experienced the supernatural with me, but you think this is crazy?” Maya said, her voice only a soft squeak. Phoenix didn’t even turn.

“Maya, there are spirits, and then there are aliens and dark gods and magic,” he walked out of the room, “Now if you excuse me I need to use the bathroom.” He left the room. Maya, Edgeworth and Derek all looked at each other, still in shock of what they thought was an amazing revelation. Suddenly there was a loud crack from outside in the bedroom. As the trio ran out, they found part of the floor cracked open, a hole leading into a room under it.

“Ow.” Phoenix moaned. Maya leaned over the hole, looking down into the dark room.

“Hey Nick! Are you okay?” She yelled down. Phoenix looked around him.

“Yeah, I’m fine!” Phoenix yelled. The room looked like a small museum, though to what, he couldn’t tell. Edgeworth leaned over and looked down.

“Hey, can you find a door down there?” Edgeworth yelled. Phoenix looked around, and then, finding one, tried to open it.

“Yeah, but the door seems locked.”

“Hang on, we’ll come down and get you!” Edgeworth, Maya and Derek walked off to find what door was the one that led to him.

“So, all I can do now is wait.” Phoenix said.

Chapter Seven

“So all I can do now is wait.” Phoenix glanced down at his watch. It didn’t really matter what time it was; they didn’t have a designated time to get him out. But still, it was comforting when waiting. Plus, he had left Adrian alone with Larry. Good thing he told her where the pepper spray was.

Phoenix began to whistle softly, The Final Countdown coming out from his lips. He slowly turned around, glancing at random objects that this small museum had.

First up, there was a dagger. The blade was jagged, going back and forth in a zigzag pattern. The hilt had a large opal in the center of it, and even in the dim light it shimmered brilliantly. Phoenix wanted to touch it, but the glass kept it out of reach. The description, though some of it was rubbed off read, “Sacrificial dagger: This dagger was used by cannibalistic ___________swamps _______ from New Orleans during the 19__’s to sacrifice their victims to ____ before eating them.”

As Phoenix continued on the line, he came across what looked like a key card. On one side of the card there were needles, about an inch long as Phoenix could estimate. “Tabu__ Ra__: This device, crea___ by the ______, was stuck in the ____ of a vic___ and would, if suc_____ ,caused them to be able to ____ their mem_____ or to lower the inte_____ of the creature, which would ____ be stored in the ca__.”

At this point Phoenix found an object the really caught his eye. The object was large and metallic, and shaped like an old fashioned camera, except where the lens would be there was a large twisting piece of metal. Instead of a tripod, there was a handle with a trigger. “Yi_____ Lightning ______: This we____, made by the great a_____ race of ____ was made shortly after there arrival at pre______ E_____. This _____ shoots out li______ at a target not over 10_ ya___, za_____ them greatly. There is a chance that it will overheat. This on_ is curre___ without charges.”

Phoenix, trying his best to comprehend the somewhat garbled messages, was highly disheartened to learn that the cannon was out of ammo. What it would be to have a thing of that power. Of course, that being said it would probably explode in his face. Phoenix looked down at his watch again, wanting to see how long it had taken them to get here.

The sound of shattering glass filled the air. Phoenix jumped and quickly turned around to find the crooked, bejeweled dagger floating in the air. The thing turned left and right, as though it were looking, and then locked straight onto Phoenix. As the dagger raced toward Phoenix, he began to panic. So he did the first thing that came to his mind

“AHHHHH!” He dove to the left, the dagger slamming into the glass of the cannon’s display. Phoenix put his hand over his face to block the shattering glass. Even then, he could feel a shard of the glass make a large cut on his cheek. Hopping back up to his feet (he knew learned how to do a Chinese man’s get up would be useful some day) he turned and started running. Looking behind him, he saw the dagger zooming towards him. He ducked, but the dagger quickly turned around.

The dagger waved back and forth, looking for a good place to stab. It went for his right side, but Phoenix dodge to the left. It went for his left, but Phoenix dodge again. Then the dagger went straight for his neck.

Phoenix’s hands quickly grabbed for the hilt of the floating dagger. He could feel the blade stop just short of his neck, the point light touching the skin. He used all his strength, trying to push it back, and at the same time, kept backing up until he felt the back of his head hit a wall.

Phoenix couldn’t tell how much time the struggle between him and the dagger up against the wall had gone on. Time seemed slower when you were within an inch of death. But then he got an idea. Phoenix, mustering up what was left of his strength, he quickly moved to the side and slammed the dagger into the wall, driving it in as far as he could.

“What now! You do not mess with the Turnabout King punk!” Phoenix yelled in between shallow breaths. He watched as the dagger squirmed back and forth, trying to wedge its was out of the tight fit of the wall. At that point he heard the sound of wood cracking.

Phoenix turned around, scared out of his mind that something bigger was about to attack him. Derek stood in the doorway, rubbing his shoulder.

“Ow.” He muttered, “That hurts more then it looks,” He quickly turned and looked down the hall, “Hey, I found him!”

“And I’m okay. Thanks for asking.” Phoenix said as he leaned over, taking as deep of breaths as he could.

Chapter Eight

Phoenix rubbed at the bandage on his cheek, letting out a sigh. He now knew what it was like to be Gumshoe. And with the grins on the other three faces, he could tell they were thinking the same thing.

“Well, Mr. Wright,” Derek said as he put away the first aid kit, “The cut didn’t seem so bad. There is a slight chance that you will get infected, but nothing some minor antibiotics won’t fix.”

“How did you get injured anyway?” Maya asked, a slightly smug smile knowing that it was probably supernatural, ergo meaning that he was wrong and the other three were right.

“Dagger… flying… not all that fun… end of discussion.” Was all that Phoenix said.

---scene cut----

Gumshoe walked as the new young woman walked into the room. She had long blonde hair down to her waist and a large, thick pair of glasses. He let out a smile. It was always nice to see a new face.

“Hello there, Mr. Gumshoe. My name is Nurse Rose. I’ll be taking care of you while Dr. Stiles is gone.”

“Well, Ms. Rose, it’ll be nice to have you around,” Gumshoe said as he watched the nurse look down at his charts, “I like meeting new… urk!” Gumshoe leaned forward, grabbing at his chest, then suddenly fell back, convulsing.

“Mr. Gumshoe!” The nurse yelled as she ran up to him, “Mr. Gumshoe!”

----scene cut----

As the four stepped out of the building, the ringing of a cell phone filled the air. Derek reached down into his pocket.

“Dr. Stiles speaking. What? You’re kidding me! What’s his condition now? I’ll be right down there.” Derek stuck his phone in his pocket and walked up to Edgeworth.

“Derek, what’s going on?” Edgeworth asked, a worried tone in his voice.

“Gumshoe has suddenly gone into convulsions. I need to get back to the hospital ASAP!”

----scene cut----

As the group ran into Caduceus, they darted directly towards Gumshoe’s room. Outside, a nurse was crying while other hospital staff continued about their business. Angie sat next to the nurse, comforting her. Derek walked up to the two, kneeling down to their height.

“What is his status now?” Was all he said. Angie looked up at Derek.

“Right now he seems to be stable. He’s just sitting in there, relaxing as though nothing happened.” Derek leaned to the side, looking into the room. Gumshoe was sitting up in his bed, staring out the window.

“Do you know why his convulsions started?” Derek asked. Angie just pointed at the other nurse.

“You’ll have to ask Nurse Rose here. She was the one in the room when he started convulsing.” Derek looked over at the other nurse.

“Nurse Rose… Lida… What happened in there?”

“I… don’t… know…” The nurse said in between sobs, “I just… walked in and… introduced myself. When I was… looking… at his charts… he grabbed… at his chest… then he… started… having a seizure.” Derek got up and patted her on the shoulder.

“You guys better go check on him. I’ll stay out here with these two.” Derek motioned in towards the room. Edgeworth, Phoenix, and Maya all nodded and walked into the room. The moment they walked in Gumshoe spoke.

“Miles, Phoenix, Maya, great to see you again.” He said without even turning to see who it was.

Miles and Phoenix both stopped moving and just started at him. Maya pushed past them and walked over to Gumshoe.

“Hey there detective! How are you doing?” she asked as she took a seat. Gumshoe continued to look out the window, a smile now crossing his face.

“My memories are beginning to come back.” He said. Maya smiled back.

“That’s great! Is there anything you can remember that might be able to help us get your memories back?” Gumshoe paused for a moment.

“Well… I do remember that there was a connection between the case I was on and another over in another state.”

“Really? Where was it?”

“Have you ever heard of a city called Arkham in the state of Massachusetts?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Well, the license plate covers on one of the cars that was spotted at the mansion was from Miskatonic University. I think that you might find useful information over there.”

“Thank you detective. We’ll try to find something.” Maya turned, where Phoenix and Edgeworth were waiting in the hallway.

“You could sense it too, couldn’t you?” Phoenix said to Edgeworth. Edgeworth looked uncomfortably back into the room.

“Yeah. It was like… it wasn’t really him speaking. It could easily be that he hasn’t gotten his normal tone of speech back though.” Phoenix shook his head.

“No, this was something entirely different. Didn’t you see how he didn’t even look at us and he knew who we were?”

“Well, do you have any ideas?”

“What do you mean, Edgeworth?”

“Well, you were the guy who knew what the Necronomicon was.”

“Just because I knew that doesn’t mean I know what his problem is!” Finally Maya cut in.

“Guys, I think I have a new lead.” She said, “A city called Arkham, Massachusetts.”

Chapter Nine

Derek tapped his feet as he glanced down at the suitcase. He glanced around at each and every object that he was planning to bring on this trip. There were some things that were completely necessary to bring on this trip.

“Okay, I’ve got the first aid kit, tooth paste, tooth brush, comb, glasses cleaning kit, three changes of clothing… Hey Angie! Is that really nice black coat at the dry cleaners?” Derek turned and leaned out the door which lead from his bedroom to the kitchen of his house. Angie sat at the table, her hand around a cup of tea.

“Wha…? No. You left it on the chair by the computer.” Angie looked up, a forced smile on her face. Derek was confused at the sight. He walked out of the bedroom and walked to the table, sitting down next to her.

“Angie, what’s wrong?” Derek asked, putting his arm around Angie’s shoulders. She made an attempt to shrug him off, but stopped, leaning on his shoulder.

“It’s just… are you sure you need to go?” Angie looked up at him. “I mean, you said that some weird things happened at the mansion. It could be dangerous over there.” Derek smiled.

“Angie, it’s okay. We’ve been in situations where we had to deal with danger before. What’s different from those times?”

“Well, this time we don’t have military help. All the other times we had guys with big guns surrounding us.”

“What about the time when I had to disarm the bomb? Or when we got kidnapped and were held by Delphi in their HQ?”

“Well…”

“Angie, it’ll be okay. I can take care of myself. Plus, I’ll have some people with me, and I know at least one of them has a gun. I’ll be fine.” He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

----scene cut----

Phoenix and Maya stepped out of the cab and headed towards the door to the office building they rented out of.

“So, Nick, are you sure you can get us a place to stay over there?” Maya asked as they stepped in the elevator.

“Yeah. A cousin of mine is currently a student over at Miskatonic University. Hopefully we can get him to let us stay in his apartment. Maybe he’ll let us use his car.”

“And if we can’t stay with him?”

“Well, it is a town. There is probably a hotel somewhere.”

“Oh…” The elevator was thrown into silence, until Maya spoke up again.

“Hey Nick, you thought something was weird with Gumshoe right?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Do you have any theories as to why?”

“…A number of things.”

“…such as?”

“He could just not have picked up any of his mannerisms from his life before he got amnesia. I mean, its highly probable. There is the possibility of Gumshoe having gotten a split personality. There is also the possibility of what I call insane insight.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s when a character in a book or movie either goes insane and then has a huge revelation and knows something, or when they learn something and go insane from it. He could have been replaced with a doppelganger, though when that could have happened I don’t know when. And, if we want to go really super ultra insane, then we can go to Yithian possession.” The elevator was thrown into silence.

“Yith… poss… what?”

“In the Lovecraftian universe, there are creatures known simply as the great race of Yith. They will sometimes possess humans in order to accomplish goals among humans, considering our weak sanity.”

“What does Yithian possession look like? What happens to the person who gets possessed once the Yithian wants to leave his body?”

“I’m really not sure. I’ve heard some people play it so that the person just instantly changes, and then once the Yithian leaves the person who gets possessed dies. Others I’ve seen play so that the person looked like they had a stroke when he got possessed, and then the person woke up as though they were sleeping the entire time.”

The elevator doors opened to reveal the hallway. The two stepped out and walked towards the door of the Wright and Co. Law Offices, where they found a note taped to the door. Phoenix read it out loud.

“Dear Mr. Wright and Ms. Fey. Thank you so much for introducing me to Larry! I haven’t found a guy who was that charming or that funny in a while! I thought you said it was going to be hard for me to deal with him! Anyways, sorry for leaving without calling you. We went to go see that new movie Oktober Tears: A Cold War Musical. Sincerely, Adrian Andrews.” They stared at the note, and then stared at each other.

“Oh my god, what have we done?”

----scene cut----

Edgeworth smiled to himself. This was one of those moments when he was glad he was always prepared. And one of those moments when his knowledge of the law helped.

“So, Miskatonic University has called you to do a lecture?” The chief prosecutor said over the speaker of Edgeworth’s office phone.

“Yes sir. They want me to be a guest speaker for one of their law courses.” Edgeworth said as he stared at the e-mail the university had given him. His persuasiveness had gotten them to accept him as a guest speaker in only three e-mails from him.

“And you want me to pay for your tickets to go there why? As the ones wanting you to come, I believe it is their job to pay for you to come.”

“Well, you see, the school recently got a major edition to its Metaphysics department. If they spend the money to send me over, some of the professors will get short-changed when salary time comes. Even with how slight it will be, they still don’t want to take the chance.”

“Metaphysics… Is that even a legitimate subject? I don’t want to be sending you to some backwater school for crazy people.”

“Sir, this school has given us quite a few prestigious theologians. Also, this school also prides itself in it’s English department and its history programs. Despite the fact that it is small and largely unknown, many great historians came from Miskatonic.”

“…Fine. Are there any other things you need covered?”

“Yeah, I have two assistants who is coming with me. Have you heard of Phoenix Wright?”

“…Why are you bringing a defense attorney with you?”

“He is a good friend of mine. Plus we want a defense attorney so we can balance it out. And he goes nowhere without his assistant Maya Fey, so we need to bring her along too.”

“…I’m not sure I want to do this.”

“Fine, I’ll just tell this prestigious university that I couldn’t come. They’ll probably be really pissed. Rumors will spread about how such a tightwad you are. They’ll wonder if rather or not they should let you control the budget, and slowly but surely the power will fall from your hands. Eventually you’ll start to…”

“Fine! Fine! Look, I’ll let you and your friends go on this trip.”

“Thank your sir. Good bye.” Edgeworth hung up the phone. This was one of those moments when he was glad he was always prepared.

Chapter 10

Edgeworth looked down at the lights glaring up through the night sky. He probably should be sleeping right now. But he had trouble sleeping on flights, despite the comfortable seating given to him in first class. Even then, he still wanted to study the file of the case to see if he could find any information that would prepare him for anything that he might encounter.

“’sup?” A young man said with a yawn. Out of the corner of Edgeworth’s eye, he looked scraggly, wearing a basketball jersey and torn jeans. Edgeworth looked at the figure with a glare, which he soon took back.

“Oh, Dr. Stiles, I didn’t recognize you without your scrubs on.” Edgeworth motioned to the seat next to him. The doctor took a seat and glanced at the files that Edgeworth had on his tray table, “How was your nap back in coach? Since you prefer sleeping on three seats sideways then one leaning back.”

“It was fine until that small patch of turbulence five minutes ago. After that I couldn’t get back to sleep,” Derek picked up one of the documents, “Is this the file for the case at the mansion?” Edgeworth nodded.

“Yeah. I’ve been studying up on it to see what we might encounter when we get to Arkham. Apparently the group that used the mansion was part of something calling themselves the Esoteric Order of Dagon.” Edgeworth passed the paper to Derek.

“Dagon huh?” Derek skimmed the paper.

“Does the name ring any bells?” Edgeworth asked.

“The only bell it rings was back in high school during my senior year when I took Bible for Lit instead of English12. Dagon was the god of the Philistines. The building Samson destroyed when he died was a temple to Dagon. Also, in some other story the Philistines had the Ark of the Covenant and stored it in a ‘house of Dagon’ for the night. Next morning the statue had been toppled. Other then that, I’ve got nothing.” Derek finished his tale. Edgeworth took out a pen and noted it down.

“Why would a pagan god from a long forgotten religion appear in this case?” He asked to no one in particular, “Is there something involving that religion that could do with Gumshoe’s amnesia?”

“I wouldn’t think so,” Derek responded, “Unless they managed to get some hallucinogenic drugs near him, and then he saw something really horrible while he was all tripped out with the snozberries tasting like snozberries and all that. But other then that, probably not.” Edgeworth let out a grunt. He felt as though the answer was within his grasp, but he couldn’t reach it.

Or maybe I’m not willing to grab for it. I mean, though we were faced with all this creepy stuff so far, there aren’t really any dark gods involved…

Are there?

Chapter Eleven

Phoenix let out a yawn. He stared at the luggage carousel, waiting for Maya’s purple bag to come along. His foot tapped against the concrete floor in an unknown rhythm that he had stuck in his head. He was bored after the long flight.

He watched as the suitcase inched towards him on the metallic conveyor belt. He stared at it intently as he waited for it to come in front of him. His senses sharpened as he waited for the opportune moment to strike. He had gained the senses of a hunter, an animal closing in on its prey. He only had to watch and wait before…

“Hey, Nick! Snap out of your inner monologue!” Maya snapped in front of his face. As he came back to reality, he noticed she was holding the handle of her suitcase.

----scene cut----

Phoenix smiled at the figure that stood next to the black SUV. The tall, skinny male was in a black sport coat, white button up shirt, and worn blue jeans. He had on black, pinstripe fedora over his black hair, and his brown eyes were hidden behind a pair of aviator glasses.

“Hey, Jonny!” Phoenix yelled as he walked towards the figure. He let go of his suitcase and ran towards the figure that ran back towards him. When they got near each other they stopped, pulled their fists back, and shook each other’s hand with a yell of, “FALCON HANDSHAKE!” The two hugged each other and turned back to the rest of the group.

“Hey Guys, this is my cousin, Jonathan Monroe.” Phoenix began pointing out who was who, “The girl is my assistant, Maya Fey. The man in the jersey is Dr. Derek Stiles. You’ve probably heard about him on the news. The man in the magenta suit is prosecutor Miles Edgeworth, my rival.”

“Well, its really nice to meet my cousin’s friends, but you might wanna hurry it up a bit,” Jonny said as he looked back at the driver’s seat, “I have class on obscure religions and their effect on the society around them,” He moved towards the back of the car and opened the trunk, “Today we’re talking about the voodoo cults of Louisiana, specifically one that was destroyed a long time ago after a raid by an Inspector Legrasse.” Jonny helped lift the bags into the trunk and they were off.

----scene cut----

It had been two days since they landed. And finally Edgeworth had a chance browse through the police files they had chosen as examples for the class. He hoped there was something that would give him a lead on this case, the next piece on this trail of bread crumbs.

“And I would like to say thank you to my good friend Miles Edgeworth.”

Chef murdered fighting robber in restaurant… Not it.

“Give him a hand everyone! Come on!”

Hobo found dead near abandoned barn… No, not important.

“As he just said, my name is Phoenix Wright, and I am a defense attorney.”

Mansion destroyed in mysterious fire a few towns over… interesting, but probably not important to us.

“And this young woman here is my beautiful assistant Maya Fey.”

Woman claims her son hasn’t come home from his job in the city of Innsmouth. Cause of his disappearance still unknown. It doesn’t help nobody wants to go there due to the legends of inbreeding and cultists… Bingo!

“Wright, I need to speak with you right now!”

Chapter Twelve

Edgeworth looked at the door, saying a silent prayer that this was the lead they had been waiting for. With a deep breath he raised his hand and knocked on the door. There was a moment of silence before the door creaked open, a chain keeping it somewhat shut.

“Yes? Who is it?” A middle aged woman looked through the crack in the door. She was short, and her hair was black with tinges of grey. She had a façade that seemed calm but Edgeworth could see a tinge of worry that lingered in her eyes.

“Hello Miss Burnham. My name is Miles Edgeworth, perfect prosecutor. I was here in town do a class at Miskatonic when I heard about your case. It intrigued me because I believe it may have something to do with a case I’m involved in back on the west coast. Can I ask you a few questions?” Edgeworth said, his charming smile shining through.

“Oh, sure!” The woman said with relief as she shut the door, sliding the chain off its latch, “Come on in!” The door slid open and Edgeworth stepped inside. He found himself in a small sitting room. There was a couch, a small table, and two chairs to his left, a bookshelf to his right, and a hallway in front of him.

“Take a seat,” Miss Burnham said as she walked down the hall, “I’ll go grab some tea. Would you like some Earl Grey?” She turned around before walking into the kitchen.

“That would be lovely.” Edgeworth said with a smile. He turned towards the bookshelf, glancing at the pictures that lined one of the shelves. One of them was a family photo and looked to be pretty recent. Maximum time would probably be a year. In the center was Miss Burnham. To the right was an older man, probably Mr. Burnham. He looked tall and confident, with a full beard with tinges of grey. To the left was a young man, looked to be seventeen or eighteen. He had short brown hair and was muscular.

“The man on the left is my son, Brian.” Ms Burnham said as she placed two full teacups on the small table. Edgeworth sat down in the chair and grabbed the cup.

“So, Ms Burnham,”

“Call me Marjorie.”

“Marjorie, your son is missing correct?”

“I believe so.”

“Believe? You aren’t certain your son is missing?”

“Well, sometimes he has stayed in Innsmouth if the workload was especially harsh, but even then he would call and tell me he was staying over there. And even then its been a week since he disappeared.”

“Touché. How about the actual city? Do you know anything about it?”

“Only the urban legends. Supposedly the place has genetic tradition in it which gives people certain appearances. Their eyes are wide and unblinking, their skin scaly. It’s called the Innsmouth taint and is from years upon years of inbreeding. Other then that, I visited Brian once when he first got the job.”

“He worked at Innsmouth?”

“Yes. He was the manager at the First National Grocery Store when the chain moved over there. He had some leadership qualities and nobody of better caliber wanted to go to that town. Anyways, I visited him once. The city was run down. A ton of the places were boarded up. It reeked of dead fish.”

“Did Brian have any personal relationships in Innsmouth?”

“No, he didn’t know… Actually, when I visited, I’m pretty sure he had a girlfriend.”

“Do you know who she was, what her name was?”

“No, I never actually met her, and he never actually talked about her…”

“Mother’s intuition, eh?”

“Exactly. I could just tell he was at least flirting with some girl over there.” Edgeworth took the final sip from his cup.

“Well, Marjorie, I think I’ve got all the information I need. Thank you for your time. By the way, this tea is delicious.” Edgeworth gave a nod and went for the door.

“Mr. Edgeworth, please bring my son back.” Marjorie said as he left.

----Scene cut----

Nick walked into his cousin’s apartment, wading through the pizza boxes and beer cans. In an upstairs bedroom. Someone was singing Livin’ on a Prayer horribly off key while the song blared over the stereo.

“She said we gotta hold on to what we got cause it doesn’t make a difference if we make it or not! We got each other, and that’s a lot for love! We’ll give it a shot!” Maya sung behind him. Phoenix looked at her.

“You know, you’re actually a good singer.” He said. The girl smiled at him.

“Thank you.” The two walked up the stairs and towards the room where the music blared. The two slid open the door to see one Jonathan Monroe playing air guitar while jumping up and down on his bed.

“Whoa, we’re half way there! Ohhhh, Livin’ on a Prayer! Take my hand, we’ll make it I swear! Whoa, Livin’ on a Prayer!” Jonathan jumped off the bed and landed on his knees, air guitaring behind his head.

“Hey, Johnny!” Phoenix yelled over the music as he hit the button on the radio. Jonathan shook off the adrenaline and stood up.

“Hey there Nick! What’s crackalackin?” He said as the two hugged.

“Yeah, I need a favor. I need you to give me and my friends a ride somewhere.”

“Sure? Where do you need to go?”

“Innsmouth.” The smile suddenly faded off of Jonathan’s face.

“Innsmouth? Really?” He said.

“Yeah. Is that a problem?” Jonathan got really close to Phoenix. He began to whisper.

“Look here man. People do go to Innsmouth. With all the legends people just stay away. Hell, I wouldn’t even go there if God himself came down and said ‘go to Innsmouth’. Just stay away man, stay away.”

“Jonathan, it’s important that we go to Innsmouth. If we don’t go there a good friend of mine might not regain his memory.”

“And if we go there, we might not live to help your friend regain his memory! Look man, I’m sorry, but I won’t help you with this!” Phoenix glared as he began to turn around. Maya let out a sniffle.

“Now, Jonathan won’t be helping us?” Tears began to form on Maya’s eyes, “Now we’ll never be able to go to Innsmouth. Now Gumshoe will never regain his memory and we’ll never see the old him again.” Lines of water began to run down Maya’s face. Jonathan let out a sigh as he ran his fingers through his hair.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry,” He wrapped his arms around the crying girl, “It’s okay, I’ll give you a ride.” He mouthed curses behind her back at Nick. He just responded by making his hands into a heart.

Chapter Thirteen

Derek stood on the sidewalk, slightly shaken and in his own little world. It took him a few seconds to realize the black SUV pulled up to the curb. He climbed into the passenger door and looked at the group. Howard was driving, and the other three were in the back seat with Maya in the middle.

“Where were you while we were busy?” Edgeworth asked, not looking up from the notebook the three in the back seat were writing information on. Derek reached into the bag he had with him and pulled out a bunch of documents.

“I was talking to Brian’s youth pastor, Dr. Ezekiel Wallace. He helped Brian get a job, though he stopped when he learned Brian was going to get the Innsmouth job. After that, he tried to stop Brian from getting the job, and when that didn’t work, he just told Brian to keep away from the churches there.”

“After that he asked me why a doctor was getting involved in Brian’s case. I tried to lie, saying that it had to do with a medical case I was working on, but he saw right through me. After that, I explained to him the truth: Gumshoe, the mansion incident, everything. After that, he pulled out all these papers and told me a story.”

“Over in the Polynesian islands, he heard of a legend of fish people who attacked a tribe which lived on the other side of the island. They were famous for their jewelry, which he was given a description of. Later, when investigating these fish people legends, he realized that they lined up with the rumors around Innsmouth. And when he went to visit Miskatonic’s big museum exhibit, he found a necklace that matched the style of the jewelry perfect that was given to the university by the people of Innsmouth.”

“Even more research led to the discovery of a disturbing fact: The Marsh family, they pretty much run the town, made an unholy pact with something. Be it Satan or these legendary fish people, he didn’t know.”

“At that point he pulled out a bunch of documents which he said were typed copies of old newspapers. And I mean really old, like 1840’s. They talked about mysterious disappearances. Later on the papers mentioned a man called Obed Marsh and a group called the Esoteric Order of Dagon being the perpetrators.”

“The Esoteric Order of Dagon?” Edgeworth cut in, “That’s the one that was in the documents.”

“Exactly. Then after that he pulled out a diary which was from some civil war soldier that lived in Innsmouth. Marsh and his followers made several midnight trips to a place called Devil’s Reef. It also mentions rumors of human sacrifices.”

“Next he showed me two pictures. The first one was a family portrait. He thinks it’s the Marsh family. It shows them dressed up formally. All of them seemed somewhat… bulgy-eyed, like a frog. In the center there was a woman sitting down in a long white dress with a veil covering her face. The second portrait was horrible. It is in front of what looks like a church. There is a man standing there, who looks very fish-like, frog-like, whatever you want to call it, dressed in robes colored sea green and blue. On his head is a golden crown of a strange design. In his scaly arms he held a human baby. Both his and the baby’s heads are illuminated by a halo, like a renaissance picture of a saint.”

“Then he pulled out a whitish gold tablet. On it there was a picture of a fish-man, with strange glyphs that I couldn’t decipher. On the back, there was a crudely scratched name: Dagon.”

“After that I read through his diary. It had information on all his research. It generally summarized everything I just told you about.” Derek finished his story. Howard looked over at Derek.

“Fish-people? Really? You have got to be kidding me?” He said, shaking his head. Derek looked at him with a shrug.

“I kid you not my friend. We are about to go into the leviathan’s den…” Derek said as he buckled his seatbelt. Howard looked at Phoenix.

“What the hell have you gotten me into?”

Chapter Fourteen

They were in Jonathan’s apartment. Jonathan was lying on the couch. Maya was sitting on a chair with Phoenix sitting on the arm. Derek was leaning against the wall, while Edgeworth was pacing back and forth.

“So, Innsmouth is a city of fish people who worship Dagon, eh?” Derek said. They all looked at him and nodded uncomfortably.

“At least that’s what the evidence points at. It’s a bit crazy, but it could easily be possible.” Phoenix said.

“But was does this have to do with Gumshoe!?” Edgeworth yelled, “He does a raid on a house on the other side of the country that seems to be run by a part of the cult and loses his memory. The only connection is the cult.”

“How do you know he wasn’t just hit on the head really hard?” Jonathan asked.

“There was no head trauma,” Derek explained, “Well, there were a few scratches, but that isn’t enough to cause brain damage. Plus, the scans done on his brain clearly showed he was suffering from Dissociative Amnesia. That means he saw something his mind wants him to forget. Maybe he came into the power of the cult full force, seeing something major that they believed in?”

“No,” Edgeworth said, “Reports said that he passed out when someone grabbed his head where he got those scratches. Plus other people were in the area, and they are all fine.”

“Possibly a spell? They did have a copy of the Necronomicon, and that thing reeked of bad vibes.” Maya said.

“Plus the Necronomicon is historically classified as the mother of all creepy spell books,” Phoenix said, “Maybe that guy who grabbed Gumshoe’s head was a warlock or something.”

“But you guys said that he was acting weird,” Maya pointed out, “At least when we visited him the second time at the hospital after the heart attack or whatever it was. What would that mean? Would that have anything to do with a spell?”

“Well, in my opinion as a doctor, it could be possible that he has a new Dissociative personality disorder.” Derek said.

“Dissociative…What?” Phoenix asked.

“It’s the scientific name for multiple personalities, often confused with Schizophrenia.” Edgeworth answered.

“Yes,” Derek said, “It is possible that something within him snapped and he got his memories back, but then he cracked again. His mind continues to protect him, so he has himself, and then that creepy one that is willing to know all the facts. Of course, that would still be really rare. Once the mind realizes it’s protection will break, it gives up. That being said, I’m amazed that his mind gave up the first fight in the first place. It usually takes longer then twenty four hours to crack an amnesiac.”

“Wait, if his mind is stronger, why did he go insane in the first place. We haven’t even hit insanity once, unless you count my short case of shock when we saw that gelatinous creature with the arms in the mansion’s basement.” Edgeworth said.

“That’s what doesn’t make sense. There must be something that we haven’t even thought about yet, maybe something our feeble human minds couldn’t think up.” Derek said. Finally Jonathan let out a yell of annoyance.

“Really!?” He exploded, “Gelatinous monsters, Philistine gods, fish people… You guys are crazy!” He stormed off towards his room.

“Johnny! Wait!” Phoenix yelled.

“Don’t talk to me Nick! I’ll give you the ride tomorrow, but in the end I don’t want to get involved in this crap!”