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The celebration at the bar was over. Wright and his assistant went home. Larry went with a girl. Gumshoe led him back to the detention center. He felt better entering it knowing that he was already declared not guilty.
In the morning, Miles was released. He was free.
He called a cab to return home. Pess was currently with Gumshoe and would be dropped at his house later. The detective was good at cleaning Miles' office, managing money on a tight budget, and taking care of animals. While Miles was halfway to his apartment, he thought of the parrot on the stand, the one Wright cross-examined to save his life.
So he called Gumshoe and went back.
Miles visited Yanni Yogi and learned all there was to it to taking care of a macaw. Yanni gave him permission to take the bird food and the wooden perch from his boat rental shop.
"So you're not guilty, huh...? Kid, I'm sorry for what I've done. You didn't deserve a death sentence. You shouldn't have gotten caught up in the revenge plan… Please take care of Polly for me. She is all I have left in this world. Goodbye."
Miles went back home.
Gumshoe had come by and dropped what Miles needed: Pess and Polly, the bird perch and food and toys. He forgot how much he depended on the detective sometimes. Gumshoe even had his spare keys. Despite being incompetent at detective work, he remained one of Miles' most trusted people.
In the living room, Polly was on the bird stand. Pess sat at the foot of the perch, looking up but never barked. He was well trained.
Miles sat on the couch facing the bird. He tried to remember what Wright and Maya had said to the parrot during the trial. Miles wasn't sure of the words, so he tried, "Polly, hello."
"Hello!" Squawk. The red bird flapped her wings and tilted her head.
"You're supposed to talk to me," Miles said. "Polly, what are your name and occupation?"
"Pol-ly." The bird gave a long squawk.
Miles gave up. He asked Gumshoe on the phone to bring the State vs Miles Edgeworth trial script to his house.
Gumshoe was quick. The knock was around ten minutes later. Miles thanked the detective for the file and returned to the living room, taking the script out from the manilla folder. He skipped to the last day of the trial and skimmed through it until he found the interesting part.
Miles read the first question that Maya asked after Wright's awkward hold-it. "… Polly, Polly. What is your name?"
"Pol-ly! Pol-ly!" Squawk.
He skipped the second question and asked the last one. "Polly, what was the number of the safe in the shack?"
"1228! 1228!"
Then he read the second question. "Polly, have I forgotten something?"
Polly didn't answer.
At the trial, the bird didn't answer this question when Maya asked. Miles had hope that a change of place would fix Polly's retrained condition. Since the parrot still refused to talk, it must be something else.
Miles sighed. He hung his jacket and tucked the cravat off, both were something he should have done earlier. Pess followed him to the kitchen in his search for food.
Had he really adopted a bird? Miles thought, opening the refrigerator. And the bird that was raised by the killer who had tried to frame him?
The fridge was quite empty so he closed it. But back then, Yanni Yogi was as much a victim as him. He checked the cupboard too. Only tea.
"I've forgotten to buy dinner," Miles said to himself. Stating the simple fact out loud helped him cope with his thoughts. It prevented him from overthinking the what-ifs.
"-6!"
Miles turned around. Did Polly just answer his question? She was facing this way.
Miles reentered the living room and walked toward the bird perch, the parrot watching his every step. Miles stood in front of her, hoping she would repeat it again.
Polly looked at him and squawked. "Don't forget DL-6!"
His blood turned cold.
The prosecutor's office could be gossiping for all he cared. Miles asked for a one month break and he would get it.
The first night in his own bed, he had the same dream he always has. A small, dark place. The air was running thin. Two people were bickering. Something dropped at his feet. He grabbed it and…
He heard the loudest squawk he had ever heard in his life.
Miles staggered backward, away from the noise, and fell off the bed. There was a dog barking in the distance.
Miles looked at the ceiling of his bedroom. The room was dark but he could see light peeking out of the curtains. There was still the bird noise. Miles sat back up. Polly was on the bed. She looked at him, squawked, and reached out to pull his hair.
When he went into the shower, Polly went in there with him too. It took him a while to get past his insecurities.
When he went shopping for groceries, he made sure to buy a decent amount of fresh fruits and vegetables. And after he had cooked his own meals, he chopped the vegetables and put them in a bowl. Eating at the same table as a parrot was a new experience for him. Pess was eating with them too, of course.
The days with the bird and the dog was rather peaceful, or perhaps it was because the last few days were so hectic. His time with Pess and a sixteen years old macaw seemed calm in comparison.
Miles had bought a lot of bird stands and bird toys and renovated one of the guest rooms to become Polly's room. The parrot loved it. He told Pess to never enter Polly's room ever again. The dog seemed to understand.
They all spent two whole days watching Steel Samurai marathons together on the couch. Polly on Miles' left shoulder, and Pess sitting to his right.
On the last day of the year, Gumshoe opened the door to Miles' house and saw him talking with the bird from that trial.
"Polly, what's the safe number?"
"1228! 1228!"
"Um, Mr. Edgeworth?" Gumshoe took off his shoes. Pess ran to him and barked. "If you have a safe, you shouldn't tell your bird the password!"
Miles walked to the door and took Gumshoe's coat. "The same way I don't set my ATM card's number to 0001, I know."
"What?"
Miles frowned at the detective. "You didn't pay attention to the trial at all?"
"I only pay attention when it's going bad, sir! My heart couldn't take all the stress! Oh, plain coffee please." Gumshoe entered the living room. Polly on the perch was next to the couch. He looked around. "Is there a safe in here, sir?"
Miles was preparing coffee and tea in the kitchen. "That was Yanni Yogi's safe password, not mine."
"Oh." Gumshoe walked closer to the bird and gave Miles the can-I-pet-the-bird look. Miles nodded. Gumshoe reached forward slowly. The bird leaned closer and he petted her. "By the way... you'd have to retrain her, right?"
"Hm. I don't mind the old tricks. Polly seems well trained." Miles came back and handed him the coffee cup. "However, we will need more time to get to know each other and see how we should adapt."
"That'd take a lotta effort." Gumshoe was petting the bird's head. She squawked. "I never expect you to be a bird lover, sir. I wonder why you adopt her."
Miles gave him an honest answer. "I don't know."
On New Year, Wright also visited. Polly said her signature 'Hello, hello. Squawk' and Wright almost got a heart attack.
"Holy heck, Edgeworth. You adopted the bird?"
"What do you think?" Miles crossed his arms.
"That you would totally hate the bird and don't wanna see it again?" Wright said. "Yeah."
Miles snapped his fingers. Polly hummed the Steel Samurai theme song.
"... Wow, nevermind. It's a committed relationship. Alright, Edgeworth, I got it. I won't get between you two."
Miles came back to work after a month. Then Wright finally took the first case after Maya went away. Every day after the State vs Lana Skye trial, Miles came back home frustrated.
First, he realized his enemies were around every corner.
Then, he started to see how deep the corruption was, how unfair, how...
After the third day, he wondered if there was a place for him.
He left a note. He went into hiding. He ended up flying away. He took Polly with him. He hoped Gumshoe would care for the dog, like always.
The reason he chose Germany was that he wanted to properly say goodbye in front of Franziska's face.
But he didn't have enough courage to enter the von Karma household.
So he found a place to have lunch. He thought that it would be his last time in a restaurant. He ended up going in to have dinner later.
He booked a hotel for only a day, which he planned to be his last, but he ended up booking more and more days.
It was not supposed to be like this. He had planned this. He had envisioned it. He meant what he had written.
"Polly, this is a carrot."
The bird ate the vegetable. She had adapted to the hotel room they had been staying in for a week.
Miles stared blankly at the desk in front of him. One advantage Gumshoe had over him was that the detective was allowed to carry guns. "Polly, where did Yanni Yogi get the gun?"
Squawk.
"Right. Manfred gave him that… Polly, is using the gun the quickest way?"
The parrot bit his cheek.
"Ow… I would say it is. I could never forget how-"
"Don't forget DL-6!"
Miles laughed. "You need to remind me."
He had thought about going back to the courtroom, as an audience, not as a prosecutor. Maybe Polly would like that too? He wanted to be a good prosecutor. He's tired of the 'demon' people said he had become. He… he wanted to start again.
"Polly, what is my name?"
"Mile Gegoey Edgword!" The bird said, the speech still not perfect since it was a new word for her. She couldn't remember many words, but her actions were plenty. Polly climbed up to Miles' shoulder and headbutted his cheek.
"Yes… Thank you for reminding me, Polly." Miles petted her. "How about the number of the safe?"
"1228! 1228!"
"What is your name?"
"Polly!"
Phoenix won the trial today. He had heard that Edgeworth also won his case. Phoenix wanted to apologize for his behavior in the Matt Engarde case. Maya and he opened the door to the prosecutor lobby.
And saw that bird.
"Polly, the safe?"
"1228!"
Phoenix and Maya gave him a weird look. Miles Edgeworth, the Demon Prosecutor, have taken a bird to the court, and now he was giving the bird some bird treats.
"Hello!" Squawk. Polly was on Edgeworth's shoulder. "Hello!"
"Uhh hello, Polly," Phoenix said.
"I manage to teach her something new." Edgeworth smirked. "Polly, who is a fool?"
"Feenie Wright!"
"WHAT." Phoenix glared at his rival. "You ruined Polly! How could you teach her that?"
"There's something I've been wondering." Maya looked up at the bird. "Polly, Polly! Have we forgotten something?"
Polly didn't answer.
"Huh…" Maya's face fell. "I wonder what that creepy von Karma did… Mr. Edgeworth, can you buy me some swiss roll?"
"... Very well, Maya." Edgeworth let Polly jumped to Phoenix's arm and he walked to the vending machine.
"He calls me Wright but calls you Maya?"
"Don't be a grumpy old man, Nick." Maya turned to the parrot and clapped. "Polly, have we forgotten something?"
"Don't forget DL-6!"
Maya gaped. "She- she said it, Nick!"
Edgeworth came back with two swiss roll and handed one to Maya. He didn't seem that surprised. "I wonder why."
Phoenix huffed. "She hates your face, that's why."
"She had said it to me on multiple occasions, Wright, so I know for a fact that's not the case... It has been roughly a year and I have yet to figure out the retrained condition."
"I wonder why?" Maya said.
"Right, Maya. Polly has something to show you." Edgeworth snapped his fingers and Polly hummed the Steel Samurai theme, somehow in orchestra version.
"Oh my god." Phoenix put his face in his hands while Maya cheered and clapped.
Miles later made Polly his emotional support animal. Finally, he could bring something to court like other prosecutors.
And Miles noticed that there was this one new prosecutor called Simon Blackquill. He seemed to look up to Miles like a role model. Huh.