Chapter Text
“Hey, old man, sit your ass down for second.”
“You call me old and expect me to obey your directions?”
“What, like that’s unusual for me?”
“…Touché.”
“Well…” She trails off, clearly expectant. He should take the hint.
“Well…?” He ignored the hint, apparently.
“Shit, I’m not very good at starting this stuff, but c’mon, Nick! Talk to me. Are you okay?”
“Uh…no. Are we done now?”
“No. Keep talking. Express your emotions.”
“Maya…I really don’t know that I wanna talk about it…” And fuck if she doesn’t understand that. How many conversations about her sister, her aunt, her mother has she avoided?
But how many more times has she desperately wanted to scream about it? How much of the anger and grief and bitterness about being alone at 17 has rotted her from the inside?
So…do as I say, not as I do, and all that.
“Okay, I get it, but you need to talk to someone. And to be honest, I need you to fill in some blanks for me. I’m here for you, man! It’s team Fey & Co.-“
“-Wright & Co.-“
“-just like usual! You, me, and Pearly kicking ass and solving crimes! This may not be a normal case, but why should that stop us! We’ll fix it in no time!”
Pants on fire, Maya.
Nick rubs his forehead in the classic ‘you’re giving me a migraine, Maya’ way.
“…I appreciate it, I really do, but this isn’t something that we can solve in three days. Even if we manage to figure out who framed me and how, we’d have to prove it to the courts and the Bar Association.”
“Surely Edgeworth has some strings he can pull, right? If he can charter a private jet within, like, a day of hearing that you had the flu-“
“I literally fell off of a burning bridge into a freezing river.”
“-he could probably fix this whole thing in no time!”
“Maya, don’t you know he’s already tried? He has much more influence at the P.I.C. than he does at the Bar. He can’t do anything without evidence. None of us can.”
“Alright, well, what evidence do we have? Theories? Suspects?” She’s trying to mask the note of desperation seeping into her voice, but she’s never been a good actor.
“At the moment? Anyone and no one. Could’ve been someone with a grudge against me, could’ve been someone who hates Zak. Most of the people I’ve exposed on the stand are either in jail or six feet under. The majority of those couldn’t possibly set up such an elaborate trap. And the one or two that could-Edgeworth’s already checked them out.”
“What about that police chief you busted when I was in Kurain that one time? He was a serial forger, right? Gaunt? Ghost?”
“Gant. Damon Gant. He was the first person Edgeworth thought of, but the police department has been investigating and routing out his forgeries for years. The forger who testified-Misham-he’s never been contacted by Gant or his close associates. Plus, the Japanifornia City Prison monitors all mail coming from or going to inmates. Most of his letters are appeals to slimy politicians for pardons. Gant was a scheming bastard, but he wasn’t really a criminal mastermind. His entire enterprise was built on threats and blackmail. It only worked for so long because he had amassed enough power to sustain it for a time.”
“Wow. That’s…you did some digging, huh?” How much digging? Is there really nothing left to sift through?
“I barely did anything on that one. Gumshoe and Edgeworth were the ones who could access that information. I was busy trying to figure out what seven-year-olds are supposed to eat.”
“You let Pearls and me eat junk all the time!”
“That’s because Pearls’ murderous mom banned unhealthy foods from their house, and because you have the appetite and metabolism of a professional linebacker.” Maya cringes at the mention of her Aunt Morgan. Phoenix twitches as well; probably in sympathy, if not because of his own grueling memories of her.
“Which one is the linebacker again?”
“Hell if I know. Ask a straight man that question.”
“But what if this was all about Zak? What if you were just collateral? Do you have any leads there?”
Phoenix snorts sarcastically. “Maybe we would if he hadn’t disappeared. The man was an actual magician. He kept all of his secrets close. That includes enemies, for the most part. His partner, Valant, is sneaky. I know he tried to frame Zak for Magnifi’s murder, but it seemed like an impulsive decision. He was in police custody for the majority of the time between the murder and the trial, and the forgery itself directly contradicted his story. Why would he discredit himself? No, Valant doesn’t make any sense.”
“Well, didn’t Zak give you the page? Could he have commissioned it? The forgery?”
“…”
“Nick?”
“Promise me you won’t tell anyone what I’m about to say to you. Please.”
Oh, good. Maya hopes he’s swearing her to secrecy because of some unrelated matter. Maybe he finally got the balls to buy a ring for Edgeworth (yes, it’s too fast, but is it really if you’ve been long-distancing pining for each other for a decade?). She can only pray.
“That’s dramatic as hell, Nick. But fine. Spill.”
“…Trucy gave it to me.”
“…What? She gave-the forgery?”
“She gave it to me during recess. Said that someone had told her it was very important and that it had to go to her Daddy’s lawyer. She had never seen him before that day. And, unfortunately, she wasn’t paying much attention to what he looked like. It was a man, blond. He was wearing gloves. That’s all she remembers.”
“I…some random stranger gave it to an eight-year old?”
“Not just any eight-year-old. To the defendant’s daughter. He instructed her to give it to me. He mentioned me by name. And he was wearing gloves, meaning-“
“-He didn’t want to leave fingerprints on it. You don’t have any idea who this guy is?”
“Nothing, Maya. Nothing.”
Fuck. She knew this wasn’t really a spur-of-the-moment crime, but this? Maya knows it’s already happened and Trucy wasn’t hurt, but knowing that a criminal like that got close enough to an eight-year-old girl…to use her as a pawn…
Would any other lawyer in Japanifornia be willing to use evidence delivered by a child? There are a lot of lawyers in the state, but are there any who would take such a risk? Any who would trust someone so implicitly?
Any with a history as objectively insane as Phoenix Wright’s?
Eventually, Maya comes to an inevitable conclusion.
She can’t fix this.
She can’t do anything. Fuck. Why can’t she do anything? Why is she always the dead weight on his shoulders?
She used to think that her channeling was her way of helping, and it still is. But she came to a conclusion at some point that has been haunting her for years, now.
Maya Fey will never be good enough as herself. The only time she’s useful is when she’s someone else.
It hits her all at once, how helpless she feels, and she knows it must show on her face because Phoenix gets this look of fatigue and sadness and, of all things, pity , in his eyes.
“I-I…Nick…”
“I know, Maya. I know. I’ve accepted it. For now.”
“B-but-! You can’t accept it! It’s all wrong! You don’t deserve this!”
“No, but I’ve been given it anyway.”
“Tell me what I can do. Anything! There has to be something! I can’t just sit and-“
“-Maya, I honestly don’t think that you can help, here. I’m sorry.”
And, oh, he didn’t mean it like that, but she hears it that way anyway.
She feels her cheeks dampen with tears. She’s gasping heavily now, holding tension in her lungs as if she could trap her anxiety inside herself along with her breaths.
“No, no, Nick. You don’t understand! This is it! This is the one time when I can rescue you instead of you rescuing me! I can repay you! I have to repay you! I can’t-you saved me when I needed you most. I lost my sister, and you were the one who kept me from losing everything else.
I-if I can’t help you now…I’m worthless to you.”
“Oh, Maya, no-“
Ugly sobs are flowing out of her as Nick holds her tightly . He’s comforting her. As if she were the one who lost everything. She thinks of how pathetic that is-how Nick has to hold up her up when he’s barely keeping himself afloat. Of course, that only makes her cry harder.
“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry. You shouldn’t have to-this isn’t about me, okay? This is about you. I just-I don’t like feeling stuck like this. I can’t just sit and watch you be miserable. I know how much your job meant to you. How much your badge meant. I really wish I could replace it for you.”
He has a sad, gentle smile on his face. When she’s this close to him, grasping onto the solid anchor he always becomes for her, she can see the damage more clearly. Bags under his eyes, paler skin. He hasn’t shaved in at least a week. His eyes and nose are red and watery. He looks more than tired, almost like he’s asleep, but not a restful sleep. Warm hands continue rubbing slow circles into her shoulders. When that started, she couldn’t tell you.
“I know. I appreciate it. And it sucks, it really does. I…sometimes get scared of how much I get into my own head about it. How easily time passes when everything feels pointless. But whatever happens, it’s not your responsibility. You don’t owe me, Maya. That’s not the way love works. That’s not the way family works. You are helping me, really, just in a different way. Bringing Pearls over and helping with the kids…Getting off my ass is hard, but I feel just a little bit more normal afterwards. You being here makes everything a little less…gray.”
She sniffs through a smile and her next words, her breathing less jumpy, now.
“I’m glad. Really. But if there’s anything else I can do…” Damnit, she doesn’t want to, but feels obligated to offer: “-um, do you need me to channel Mia? Do you want to talk to her?”
“I doubt she could tell me anything I don’t already know. No one ever questioned her credibility, as far as I know.” A wave of relief washes over her. Relief, and then guilt, and unease, and then the wave overwhelms her, so she blocks it out. It’s routine.
“A-are you sure? Maybe for comfort, or something?”
“…Maya.”
“Yeah?”
“You know that I’m not friends with you because you can get me in contact with your sister, right?”
“…I wouldn’t say…I mean, not exactly-“
“Fuck, Maya. You’re not just a cell phone to me, okay? Your worth to me doesn’t depend on my relationship to Mia-”
“-I wouldn’t blame you. If it was, I mean.” Even dead, she can give you so much more help than I ever can.
“Cut it out! You’re plenty helpful! I couldn’t do what I do without you! And even if you weren’t useful, even if you were just dead weight to me, I would keep you, anyway. God, and Edgeworth thinks I need therapy. I’ll sic him on you if you keep that thinking up, Fey!”
Wet laughter fills the room. Nick’s radiator makes a crackling noise that comforts her.
“I know, I need to work on it. Please don’t call Dr. Edgeworth on me. I don’t know how many diagnoses I can handle.”
“Nuh-uh, you’ve got it the other way around. The diagnosis is the easiest part. After that, you have to treat it. Put in effort. Actually try to fix your problems instead of wallowing in them. It’s exhausting. And all of this from the man who faked his own death because he couldn’t deal with his crises of conscience and sexuality, respectively.”
“Ouch. Don’t you think that’s a little harsh?”
“I’m allowed to be mean to him because I grieved his ass. Also, you’ve heard the things he calls me in court. A professional setting, mind you. Insults are the von Karma love language.”
Maya snorts. A comfortable silences hangs in the air, if not a melancholy one. The low buzz of the radiator continues lulling Maya into drifting off. Tears are dried. They are both left with a sense of exhaustion.
“It’s getting late, I’ll call a taxi so you guys can get back to your hotel room before Pearl falls asleep standing up again. Do you want me to go with you so it’s not just you two in the car? If I thought Apollo had a rebellious bone in his teenage body, I would stay in case he sneaks out. You’ve met him, though.”
“Ha. I think Trucy’s more likely to sneak out, and she would probably get away with it, anyway. You don’t need to ride with us, though. I’ll text you when we get there. And hey, if anything happens, I have Gumshoe on speed dial.”
“Good. It’s good to see you two, Maya. In spite of the constant bullying. What time are you coming back tomorrow?”
“Heck if I know. I’m not waking up before 10, if that’s what you’re asking. And I’m going to wreck that complimentary breakfast, so be grateful that brunch isn’t on your dime, mister.”
“No rush.”
“For what it’s worth…I’m sorry, Nick.”
“Me too, Maya. Me too.”