84 Irrefutable Evidence

A/N: Continuation of Justice For All case four…Farewell, My Turnabout… Dedicated to my good friend and great FF writer, TheFreelancerSeal…there was a certain ‘reveal’ and ‘revelation’ that I promised you a while back Mr. Prophet…and a certain reference that is surprisingly canon that couples with it…hope you like it! 😃

“Today I had a friend. And what is strange indeed. I felt embarrassed, pleased, restless enraptured, embedded in their company. I felt strange sensations, but I guess such is the way it will always be when entering the strange world of life.”

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Phoenix Wright and Pearl Fey
Detention Center
March 22, 2018, 10:00 PM

There’s a reason why they say ignorance is bliss. Because yes the truth can set you free…but only if it doesn’t completely devastate you first, like an enormous wave crashing to the shore that tows you away back under the tide.

The defense attorney now knew the inconvenient truth. On some level, he’d always known, but for the sake of what he’d been forced to do – keep a murderer from incarceration to let Maya live – he’d made like an ostrich and willingly buried his head in the sand while he tried to obstinately maintain his unshakable belief in his client’s innocence, despite all the unignorably glaring proof Edgeworth and Gumshoe kept providing to the contrary, to preserve his sense of ethics. Of justice.

The true nature of the vicious monster that was Matt Engarde had at last been unleashed, along with the even uglier reality.

His mind was laid waste by the news. Everything he’d ever trusted, represented, and believed in… annihilated within one moment.

Phoenix had just confronted the actor with the damning evidence of his guilt, and finally, the real Matt Engarde had been revealed, right before his and Pearl’s horrified eyes. That scarred face…those diabolical eyes, those lips pulled back into more of a malevolent snarl than a smile…the formerly pretty boy actor’s face had suddenly resembled a scary Halloween mask one could have bought in a costume store.  He’d remorselessly professed that indeed, he’d hired De Killer to kill Juan Corrida because his rival was planning on ruining his career with Celeste’s last will.  It was partly his fault that his fiancée had killed herself, and if that got out, it would ruin his “refreshing like a spring breeze” reputation.

The reality shouldn’t have devastated him the way it had, but it did. The overwhelming news passed through him like a hurricane. Everything he’d worked and struggled for lay in ruins. After striving to champion the underdog all this time, and protect the innocent, the realization that he would have to go against all his morals, ethics, and beliefs to keep a guilty-as-sin murderer out of prison was downright staggering.

All because of this deceitful, two-faced, son-of-a-bitch Judas in front of him!

The horrified expression on the blue-suited man’s weather-vane face was impossible not to read, even before he finally found his voice.

“You killed Mr. Corrida!” He glared accusingly at the other man behind the prison glass.

The cruel smirk on Engarde’s mug grew even wider as he let out a gleeful cackle.

“I dare you to say that in court tomorrow. Aww, but too bad. You can’t. You’re my lawyer, after all.  Aren’t you?”

Phoenix’s hands clenched into fists, his eyes blazing as he furiously stared back at the sociopath.

“You could always drop my case and refuse to represent me. How does that sound?” Engarde sneered. “Aww, but you can’t, can you? That would be the one thing you absolutely can’t do.”

“M-Mystic Maya…!” Pearl gasped in horror.

“You wouldn’t want to test De Killer. He’s a man of his word, or so I hear.” Engarde’s tone was downright mocking now. “You could end up getting a certain friend of yours rubbed out if you lose.”

Despite the turbulent, raging emotions stirring within him, Phoenix’s dim realization that Pearl was right next to him was the sole thing that kept the litany of threatening obscenities from escaping his lips.

“Y…You… scoundrel…!” He managed to get out, jumping to his feet from his chair.

“If I were you, Mr. Wright, esquire, I think I would give it my all tomorrow.” Engarde’s malicious grin was unwavering. “Remember, everyone likes a happy win-win resolution.”

Up until that moment in his life, the pacifist, benign defense attorney could have honestly said he didn’t hate anyone. He never had, although he supposed that made him an elusive, incomprehensible paragon to most. Even in betrayal, the mechanism to turn it into hatred failed for him. Instead, his mind sought to understand the atrocious behavior from a compassionate point of view. Why did they do it? What was it about them that lead them to such a bad decision? He wasn’t a masochist; he didn’t keep folks around that hurt him over and over, failing to learn even a little from each life lesson and it wasn’t a good idea. But as far as Phoenix was concerned, the greatest predictor of future behavior was past behavior. He just hoped that in time, hatred, in general, would be seen for the pointless waste of time it was, and that when it was seen, it would be understood that it was a marker of love misused.

Such had always been his stance in life up until that moment. Not even Dahlia Hawthorne had created this level of loathing within him. But this Hollywood pretty boy was in a whole new league of despicable. This bastard was playing God with the life of an innocent girl for the sake of his own evil, twisted, selfish purposes. A girl who had never done any harm to another living creature in her whole life, and who was the light of Phoenix’s existence.

Death was too good for this snake. This villain deserved the worst possible kind of suffering known to man.

Odium and enmity welled up inside him, scorching so deep in his heart that it was ingrained in the tissue. He could feel the fury itself burning him up from within.

“I… I’ll get you for this!” The lawyer seethed through gritted teeth.

“That’s such a cliché phrase,” Engarde jeered. “Juan said something just like that if memory serves.  Of course… Well, we all know how well things turned out for him, don’t we?” He waved for the last time and skinned his teeth into one final leer. “Good night, Mister Lawyer.”

Rather than respond, Phoenix banged his fist impotently against the heavy glass, uncaring of the sharp pain in his knuckles that resulted from the action.

Maya, he despaired, squeezing his eyes shut and falling back onto his seat in complete hopelessness. Maya, what am I supposed to do!?

He was still breathing raggedly and seeing red after the fiend bade him adieu, and didn’t even notice the sudden appearance of Edgeworth until the prosecutor was practically on top of him.

“And now … you’ve finally found it. The starting line of this case.”

“Edgeworth…” Phoenix stared at the other man with reddened eyes, expecting to see some sort of triumph glinting on his face, knowing he’d been right about Engarde all along. However, the other man’s somber countenance was surprisingly sympathetic as he took the defense attorney by the arm and pulled him to his feet.

“I don’t care for the horrid atmosphere here, Wright. Let’s return to the precinct.”

Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth
Police Station, Criminal Affairs Dept.
March 22, 2018, 10:15 PM

I feel like such a damn fool! Phoenix admonished himself for the umpteenth time. How could I have been so trusting and blind and naïve to that deranged psycho’s true nature?! HOW?!

As though reading his mind, as he often somehow seemed to be able to, Edgeworth was the first to break the deafening reticence.

“You’re not the only one to be fooled by his wholesome, good-guy pretense, Wright. Engarde is the textbook definition of a psychopath.” The prosecutor’s cadence was supportively compassionate. “They don’t always come with flashing or tell-tale signs. Psychopaths can even run charities as shields for the activities they truly enjoy – causing others pain and emotional distress. They take a perverse pleasure in attaining positions of public trust and respect, they are charming and socially intelligent. They don’t play by the same rule book as the rest of society and so they win with ease. No morals mean no restraints. They are the wolves, but we don’t have to be the sheep. We can be lions.”

No response from Phoenix. He appreciated what the other man was trying to do, but he was too busy wallowing in self-berating to reply.

“In every great thing we do, the psychopaths hide, wolves among the sheep,” Edgeworth went on cajolingly.

“But that’s okay, it is because soon enough, they’ll just be wolves among lions and we will outnumber them, swamp them. Then they will pretend to be one of us, a good guy mislead. We will let them retreat, but know they are psychopathic.”

More silence.

“Well, Wright?” A note of frustration crept into Edgeworth’s tone then. “What are you going to do? If you plan on changing your strategy…”

“N…No!” Pearl shouted, then flushed at her outburst, and her shoulders drooped. “We can’t do that…”

“That’s right…” Edgeworth groaned slightly. “He’s holding Maya hostage…”

At last, Phoenix spoke, staring up with helpless, bloodshot eyes. “What… What should I do…?”

“That’s not something I can answer for you.” The prosecutor regarded him levelly. “Wright… Only you can decide where to go from here. One year ago… At that time, I didn’t truly understand what a “prosecutor” was. And that is why… I had to leave the Prosecutor’s Office. I felt that I couldn’t stand in a court of law until I knew what a prosecutor truly was.” He expelled a heavy sigh. “And now, Wright … It’s your turn.”

“My… Turn?”

Edgeworth nodded.

“What is this thing called a “lawyer”? What can you do as one? You must find the answer. And you must find it on your own.”

“I’m a lawyer!” The defense lawyer cried helplessly. “But to fight for someone who is clearly a killer like Matt Engarde… That man is really… Argh!”

He buried his head in his hands, unable to go on.

As the barrister primly reminded him that every person deserved a proper defense and fair trial as the basis of their judicial system, Phoenix’s head shot up, and he gawked at his friend in disbelief.

“A proper defense?” He echoed hollowly. “But what exactly is that? Is it where a lawyer forcibly and blindly gets an acquittal through shouting and trickery?”

“Ironic that you of all people should say such a thing.” Edgeworth flashed a wry grin and crossed his arms, returning the navy-eyed stare with his one of own. “Isn’t that exactly how you have fought for your clients up until now?”

Phoenix was caught off guard by the provoking allegation, mildly put though it was.

“W-Well, that may be true,” he stammered. “But…But that’s…That’s because I’ve believed my clients to be innocent from the bottom of my heart! But if I were to get Engarde an acquittal… That… That isn’t a proper defense at all! It goes against my ethics, my morals…and everything I’ve ever believed in!”

The cravat-wearer didn’t reply, just continued gazing at him thoughtfully, so the flustered spiky-haired man continued his ramblings.

“I became a lawyer because I thought I could save people who were suffering and in pain…”

He made the mistake of glancing at Pearl at that moment, whose downcast eyes were welling up, and his voice broke then.

“But… When I look at this mess we’re in… I can’t even protect the person closest to me!” He regarded the prosecutor with anguished eyes, now brimming with unshed tears. “Even if I win the case, I – I still lose in the end! I just don’t know what to do!” 

Sensing the other man was a moment away from a complete emotional breakdown, Edgeworth spoke quickly, his voice gentle but firm.

“Wright. Would you get a hold of yourself? You have it all wrong.” Noting his rival’s utterly bewildered expression, Edgeworth lightly shook his shoulder, as though trying to jostle some sense into him. “We aren’t some sort of heroes. We’re only human, you and I. You want to save someone? That’s something easier said than done, wouldn’t you say?”

“Th –That’s…” Pearl’s little face crumpled at the bluntness of the words.

Edgeworth looked guiltily at the child for a moment, hating to upset her, but he had to make his point, so he pressed on.

“Wright, you are a defense lawyer. You can’t run away from that. You can only fight. That’s all you can do.”

This is really rich, coming from Edgeworth, Phoenix reflected bitterly. This is, after all, the same man who steamrolled all of his courtroom opposition by any means necessary in the past, in the identical manner of an honorary Von Karma! And now he’s urging me to fight? Why? 

“People like you and Franziska von Karma are always using all you have to pin me down. You fight to the very end, even when you know the truth is not with you.” The black-haired man shook his head stubbornly. “But I’m not like you. I can’t fight for a false verdict for a man I know to be guilty!”

Rather than seeming affronted by the sharp veracity, Edgeworth merely nodded his agreement to the statement. When he at last spoke, there was a look of repentance in his eyes that Phoenix had never seen before.

“Franziska… She fights for herself.” The prosecutor’s visage was a mask of sadness. The remorse in his tone was impossible to miss as he uttered the next words. “The only thing she fights for is her perfect win record. That’s all.”

Phoenix blinked, astounded at the lamenting tone of the normally composed other man. Edgeworth sounded flat-out pained as he regretfully acknowledged Franziska’s shortcomings. Almost as though it nearly broke his heart to say them out loud.

What exactly is going on with those two? He wondered, not for the first time. Who is Franziska Von Karma to Miles Edgeworth? No doubt they’ve been raised by the same monster of a father but…while I’ve been wrongfully blind to seeing the true nature of many things these last few days, I’m betting my attorney’s badge that this is much more than a case of mere sibling admonishment or professional sympathy to me!      

However, now was not the time to pry into Edgeworth’s affairs or matters of the heart. Not when there were more pressing matters to deal with. Besides, what position was Mr. Chooses Death in to point out the wrongdoings of others when he was no better?

“And!? Isn’t that the same as you!?” Phoenix retorted with a scowl. “Isn’t that why you ran away a year ago? Because your precious win record was destroyed!?”

The other man looked away then, and the blue attorney’s voice rose.

“To hell with your hypocrisy, Edgeworth! You are so goddamn petty!”

Rather than get defensive at the accusation, a look of understanding dawned on Edgeworth’s face then.

“I see. Now, at last, I understand why you despise me so.” The ghost of a smile played across his lips. “However, you are mistaken.”

Phoenix only eyed him skeptically.

Edgeworth simply laughed softly in response, his limpid grey eyes fixed on his friend.

“Thanks to you, when you sealed off my path to a perfect win record, I began to realize the error of my ways. I realized that things such as a perfect record were meaningless, in the grand scheme of things. And I realized that because of you.” 

Phoenix wasn’t sure his poor frayed nerves could handle another shock to his system – he thought he’d reached maximum capacity when he’d become enlightened to the true nature of his client. But this…this was too much! As much as he would have loved to have believed that he had had any influence over the man who had initially inspired him to pursue the legal path, his newfound knowledge about the darkness of humanity was making him question and doubt everything and anything now.

“I don’t believe you.” He ogled the DA incredulously. “Are you saying that’s why you left the Prosecutor’s Office?”

The prosecutor merely nodded.

“But then, why?” Phoenix struggled to understand. “Why are you here now?”

“The answer to that is something you will find out on your own.” The eyes that had been glowing with momentary warmth were immediately replaced by the typical shuttered ones as Edgeworth’s mask returned then, although his placid tone remained. “I have faith you will see it before the verdict is read tomorrow. But if you can’t, then you will be powerless to change the ending of this story. The onus is entirely on you, Wright.”

Phoenix took a depth breath as he tried to absorb the enormity of everything he’d just heard. Unfortunately, he didn’t have too long to process things, as just then, his transceiver began to beep and they were again interrupted by De Killer on the radio.

Unable to hold back any longer, Phoenix demanded to know why De Killer wanted a murderer like Matt Engarde acquitted.  The assassin replied that it was part of his aftercare service.  He prided himself on the strong bond of trust between him and his clients, so having his client be convicted of murder would be a strike against his honor.

Just what I need. An assassin with a conscience!

Right before the transmission ended, though, Phoenix heard a familiar meow.

Suddenly, the final piece of the puzzle clicked into place.

Shoe! I’d know that meow anywhere! And that familiar bellboy from the hotel … that was the butler at the mansion! That’s Shelly De Killer! That madman is keeping Maya there at the Engarde Estate!

“Edgeworth!” He yelped. “You heard that sound too, didn’t you?”

The prosecutor eyed him strangely.

“You mean that cat in the background?”

“I think… I know where Shelly de Killer is holding Maya hostage!” Phoenix felt the adrenaline coursing through his veins. “Edgeworth! Have all police units head for the Engarde Mansion immediately!” He turned to Pearl then.  “Don’t lose hope yet, Pearls! The fight has only just begun!”

“Y-Yeah!” The little girl cheered, scampering behind the lawyer’s fleeting form as fast as her legs would carry her.

I’m coming for you, Maya! He thought frantically as he raced out the door.  Please, please, be alright!

Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth
Engarde Mansion, Living Room
March 22, 2018, 10:45 PM

The police had the place surrounded. Bursting into Engarde’s living room, the first thing Phoenix noted was the bear figurine sitting by the door with the pet flap he and Pearl had noticed off to the side.

Edgeworth grunted as he jiggled the doorknob. It didn’t budge.

“Umph! This door…It’s locked!”

Phoenix was completely undaunted.

“Well, I’m pretty used to breaking doors down by now! Let’s go, Edgeworth!”

The men ran at the door with all their might, using their broad, muscled shoulders as battering rams.

SLAM! SLAM! CRASH!

The door gave way, and the men raced down the stairs, with Pearl frantically calling out Maya’s name as they looked around a room that appeared to be some sort of a lounge.

The first thing the defense lawyer noted was the huge television and speakers.

I’m sure if Maya saw this, she’d say, “I would die a happy Samurai fan if I could see the Nickel Samurai on a TV like this!” Phoenix chuckled ruefully to himself. Yeah, that’s exactly what she’d say…Ack! I can’t believe I just made a joke like that about Maya, all things considered! Man, I totally suck!

They looked around some more but found nothing of any relevance, so they rushed to the wine cellar.

There was nobody there.  It seemed they were too late.

Edgeworth was extremely apologetic to report after a few moments that it appeared De Killer had somehow managed to slip away with Maya; they were nowhere to be found on the premises.

Phoenix barely bit back a curse at the news.

Maya! Where are you? Dammit, I was so close!

“And now… we’ve lost our only lead.” He hung his head dejectedly.

“Don’t give up yet,” Edgeworth advised kindly. He gestured to the saddened spirit medium next to them. “Besides, that little girl is looking to you to be her pillar.”

Pearl’s lower lip was trembling, her eyes once again filled with tears of disappointment.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Phoenix sighed as he pulled the tiny Fey over to his side in a quick hug. That was when he noticed the “With love, Celeste” photo on the ground. He picked it up, about to stash it for the court record in case it was a clue, when suddenly, Pearl gasped, reaching out and demanding to see that picture frame.

Dumbly, the lawyer obliged, confused about what was so special about the item, when Pearl told him that she was certain she’d seen writing on that back!

Pearl squinted at the letters in the dim lighting. “Maya!” She shouted. “Mystic Maya! She left us a message!”

“Wh-What!?” Phoenix snatched the photo back and quickly read aloud the letter in Maya’s beloved familiar hand.

I thought you’d come. I knew you would. Now listen up! You’d better get Engarde a guilty sentence ok? If you get that creepy slimebag a “not guilty,” I’ll never forgive you, ever! I’m fine, so you don’t need to worry. There’s so much I want to write, but I don’t think I have a lot of time left. Pearly, you’re there too, right? Make sure you help Nick, okay? Someone’s gotta watch out for that helpless lunk! Um… That’s it for now, Nick. I guess I’ll talk to you guys later.

Love,
Maya

“Nooooooooo!” Pearl wailed, burying her head against her cousin’s perceived Special Someone side and beginning to sob uncontrollably against him. “Mystic Mayaaaaaaa…”

The entire world seemed to vanish before the King of the Turnabout’s eyes at that moment. He remained rooted in place, completely frozen and only vaguely aware of his hand absently stroking the hysterical girl’s hair as he pulled her even tighter against him. On the outside, he was standing there in that dark cellar, staying strong for the child’s sake, while attempting to comfort her with his embrace.

On the inside though, he was a million miles away. He swayed slightly on his feet as a kaleidoscope of swirling emotions flooded his mind in that instant, the sheer, tidal force of them nearly knocking the breath from his lungs.

“Wright!” Edgeworth was alarmed by the dazed, faraway look in the other man’s eyes. Had he gone into shock?

Phoenix’s mind reeled at the revelation which, at last, his obdurate mind would not allow him to suppress any moment longer.

I’m in love with her.

The realization shouldn’t have shaken him to the core the way it did, but it had. Out of the million moments in the past couple of years, trying to understand just what it was that he felt, after countless efforts of trying to sweep his feelings under the rug, and after all the trite excuses he’d made about why he shouldn’t, wouldn’t, couldn’t feel this way… all it had taken was one little note to make him now clearly see what deep down, he’d always known. One slip of paper with penned cursive by the spirit medium whose safety was still in mortal peril, who had nevertheless used her last words to urge him to choose justice over her own life. That hastily scrawled message, in just a few sentences, had conveyed to him the beatific, noble, selfless purity of the soul behind the girl who’d written them, to at last make him recognize the irrefutable evidence his heart would no longer allow him to deny.

I’m in love with Maya Fey.

The realization had him rocking on his heels.

Phoenix Wright was utterly, hopelessly, insanely in love with this headstrong, boisterous, wonderful, maddening Burger Queen; the one who made his life worth living. The one made him so consistently, sublimely, incomparably happier than he’d ever been in his whole life.

Because of this woman child/zany girl, while they’d had moments of hardships, these last two years had been so incredibly, ecstatically, and unforgettably jubilant. He’d just never acknowledged it until now, not to himself or anyone else.

Holy granoly, she makes me so unbelievably exultant at times that I feel like I could erupt from it!

Buoyed by the spirit medium, Phoenix had been elevated to an otherwordly level of halcyon existence; the kind that lifted one from the typical milieu of normality. Maybe that was why his affection had grown for his assistant. She was so different from the others, splendidly so. Moreover, despite the all strife she’d suffered in her young life, she still had inner happiness, one utterly independent of the outside world. That contagious, effervescent beam always seemed like it would burst from within, instead of being worn like an obligation in the way others did. 

Happy is what I feel when the girl walks in the door when I know for the rest of the evening she’s all mine, even if we’re just vegging in front of the TV. It’s not that she even always wants me to be like her, all hyper and bubbly and chattering away like a chipmunk; she knows after work, I tend to prefer some quiet to unwind after a busy day. Nonetheless, simply being near her illuminate my insides while offering tranquility that I cannot achieve without her propinquity. It feels like I’m always waiting to exhale whenever she’s not around; like my intake of air isn’t fully complete and as if something is missing from my smile. Just sitting next to her on the sofa is my favorite place in the world. It’s Maya that keeps the fire burning inside me that creates warmth in my soul. She is the one who fills me full of love while igniting and maintaining that spark inside me. If that isn’t happiness, then I don’t know what is. Therefore, I’ll let it be my own definition, the one I keep with me always.

But now, the psychic wasn’t by his side. Hence, he was once again reduced to being completely lost without her, just like when she’d first gone back to Kurain.

Her joyous presence had been something else he’d taken for granted. She’d always been there and always would, right? That’s what he’d always thought. With his friend by his side, he’d always known everything was going to be alright because he had Maya and she had him. They were a team. They had been inseparable the last two years, and he’d always figured nobody could separate them, for better or worse. These last few nightmarish days, it struck him that something had just been removed from his life – his happiness. It was the springboard on which his whole life was based, it was the reason he could practice law, be a courtroom champion, and still have the energy and desire to run after two giddy, energetic young girls.

How was it he’d missed it all this time?

“Wright, what’s wrong?” Edgeworth’s concerned tone shattered his reverie and mental recriminations. “Why the blank stare?”

Because you’re a completely daft and blind idiot attorney, Phoenix Wright, that’s how!

The defense lawyer blinked and gave his head a hard shake.

“Oh, um, nothing.”

He could chew himself out later for his delayed reaction to the glaringly obvious! Right now, he had a trial to ‘win’ and the woman he loved to save!