76 Just The Way You Are

Oh, her eyes, her eyes make the stars look like they’re not shinin’
Her hair, her hair falls perfectly without her trying
She’s so beautiful and I tell her everyday
Yeah, I know, I know when I compliment her she won’t believe me
And it’s so, it’s so sad to think that she don’t see what I see
But every time she asks me “Do I look okay?”
I say

When I see your face
There’s not a thing that I would change ’cause you’re amazing
Just the way you are
And when you smile
The whole world stops and stares for a while
‘Cause girl you’re amazing
Just the way you are
Yeah

Her lips, her lips, I could kiss them all day if she’d let me
Her laugh, her laugh she hates but I think it’s so sexy
She’s so beautiful, and I tell her everyday

Oh you know, you know, you know I’d never ask you to change
If perfect’s what you’re searching for then just stay the same
So don’t even bother asking if you look okay, you know I’ll say

When I see your face
There’s not a thing that I would change
‘Cause you’re amazing
Just the way you are
And when you smile
The whole world stops and stares for a while
‘Cause, girl, you’re amazing
Just the way you are

The way you are
The way you are
Girl, you’re amazing
Just the way you are

When I see your face
There’s not a thing that I would change
‘Cause you’re amazing
Just the way you are
And when you smile
The whole world stops and stares for a while
‘Cause, girl, you’re amazing
Just the way you are

Since the fateful day of September 9, 2016, the rambunctious, burger-chomping, lover of Steel Samurai AKA Maya Fey, had become Phoenix’s new legal assistant at the new Wright & Co. Law Offices.

It was a divinely asserted choice the lawyer never once regretted, despite the hole in his wallet that stemmed from the spirit medium’s insatiable yen for the former.

Speaking of which, let’s not forget the pistol-sized chasm I am too often tempted to blow into my head, due to the relentless zeal that she holds for that blasted, brain-numbing children’s show!

From the seeds of obligation and mutual partnership, a deeply rooted companionship, one stemmed from mutual loss and suffering, blossomed between the two from that day onward, springing up into a friendship unlike any he’d ever known before, and soon came to value and cherish above all else.

Just as he’d predicted, yes, Phoenix had wound up taking care of Maya. She had no other family. If not for him, she would have had nowhere to turn, nowhere to go.

But moreover, Maya took care of him. He had nobody else left either. If not for her, he would have wound up in jail. Moreover, he’d have been nothing more than a lonely, sad shell of the man he used to be.

Somehow, amid unspeakable tragedy, two lost souls had found one another, and together, the healing process began. They were one another’s rock and support.

With Maya around, the pain of losing Mia was dulled somewhat, replaced by a bittersweetness that he couldn’t quite describe. But he knew she felt the same way when it came to him.

Words only got in the way, Phoenix assured himself on numerous occasions. They weren’t needed.

Until one day, shortly, they were.

Phoenix Wright 
Wright & Co. Law Offices
December 29, 2016, 5:02 AM

Phoenix woke up feeling like he’d gotten a boot to the head.

Ugh, my head hurts. I think I went a little bit overboard celebrating Edgeworth’s murder acquittal with Gumshoe and the gang…

His eyes felt gritty, his head felt like it’d been stuffed with cotton candy and his throat felt like it was full of cotton balls.

Huh? It’s still only 5:00. Maybe I should go back to sleep…Hmm? What’s this? A letter?

Even in his bleary-eyed, hungover state, Phoenix could make out Maya’s familiar, elegantly scrawled handwriting.

Good Morning Nick,

You were really impressive yesterday. Seeing you…It made me think about what I’m doing here. 
I’m a spirit medium… in training, of course. I wanted to help Mr. Edgeworth too. I wanted to help you.  
But I couldn’t. 
I was useless. 
So, I’ve decided to go back to my training. I’ll become a full-fledged spirit medium, for starters. 
I couldn’t say it to your face, so I left this letter.

Goodbye, Nick.

Phoenix’s heart leaped into his throat.

What?! She’s leaving?! No! She can’t! Not like this!

As he staggered out the door in desperate hopes of making it to the train station in time, Phoenix silently cursed himself for the umpteenth time for never giving the insecure teen the validation and reassurance she’d so desperately needed. This last case had hit Maya pretty hard, and for some godforsaken reason, when she’d been unable to channel Mia, she’d kept wailing at how useless she was to him.

He had no inkling where his assistant had gotten the stupid idea of how she meant nothing to him unless she could channel Mia, but obviously, he hadn’t done enough to dispel that ludicrous notion!

Phoenix’s client in this last case had been none other than his childhood friend, Miles Edgeworth, whom he knew wasn’t capable of even stealing a cookie from the jar even if no eyes were on him, never mind wiping out human life. It was the burden of proof that had been his challenge.

Well, that and getting the maddeningly obstinate, not to mention haughty, prosecutor to agree to let Phoenix defend him, after some heavy initial resistance!

This trial was fiercer than any he’d ever had against his favorite courtroom rival, as the opposing prosecutor was Edgeworth’s mentor, the legendary Manfred Von Karma, who boasted a  40-year perfect win record.

On top of that, Phoenix had hit a new level of bizarre with this case. He’d seriously cross-examined a parrot! As absurd as it’d sounded, that had been what had turned the whole thing around! Had it not been for his perceptive assistant asking the dumb bird, ‘Is there anything we’re forgetting Polly?’ and it hadn’t mentioned the DL-6 incident, the blue attorney would have lost his first case.

Then, during the trial, when hope had been all but lost, his headstrong, impetuous, act-first, think–later assistant caused a scene by vehemently objecting to key witness testimony, even though it’d resulted in her being held in contempt of court. (It turned out the grateful former Demon Prosecutor had paid the money to bail the girl out of prison, where she’d wound up yet again!)

Two instances where Maya, not Mia, Fey had saved the day, and still the girl couldn’t see her own worth to him!

When Phoenix had gotten his childhood chum declared not guilty, the German Dracula-impersonating prosecutor hadn’t looked too fazed, which had been most discerning.

The older man’s ulterior intentions were finally revealed when the defendant proceeded to shock them all by pleading his guilt to another crime – the murder of his own father, defense attorney Gregory Edgeworth, from the DL-6 incident, 15 years ago!

It had been at that moment that Phoenix had realized this had been the dastardly DA’s ultimate diabolical plan from the get-go! All this time, his goal had been to get his ward incarcerated for a crime that he hadn’t even committed!

Manfred was one twisted son of a bitch!

“I’m not very useful am I?” The teen had complained again for the millionth time that night.

“Don’t say that Maya, you’ve helped me with a lot of things,” Phoenix assured her.

“Oh yeah?” She countered. “Name one?”

Outside of court (and in some cases inside as well), the gift of articulation and ability to present evidence on command often appeared to leave the spiky-haired man entirely.

This was one of those times!

His mind suddenly inexplicably blank, he tried to bluff his way around the question by appearing to be in deep concentration as he frantically searched through the recesses of his suddenly traitorous memory.

“Gimme one second…well, there was… um uh… yeah…”

“See?!” The spirit medium wailed plaintively. “You can’t even come up with one thing!”

It wasn’t that Phoenix hadn’t cared enough to produce the proof of her worth; it was just at the time, the two had been focusing on finding more DL-6-related information in the filing room for the court records! At last, he found what he was looking for. Opening up the file, he found, to his relief that everything was still inside.

“What are you doing here? Who permitted you to enter?” A maniacal voice behind them suddenly shouted.

Turning around, the startled duo found themselves facing the scary, unnerving sight of Nosferatu himself, with a Taser gun, armed and ready.

“I believe you have something that belongs to me, hand it over now!” Von Karma demanded as he charged at the defense legist with his weapon.

“Nick! Run!” The girl screamed as she launched herself in front of her friend, taking the blow of the Taser in his stead.

In the blink of an eye, Maya was unconscious on the ground, completely unmoving. The defense attorney was terrified that she was dead. Taking advantage of his momentary distraction, Von Karma charged at Phoenix with the weapon, charging him with 600,000 electric volts, until he too, blacked out.

When he awoke, he found his assistant was still out cold and lying on the ground by his feet, a bag clutched in a death grip in her hands.

“Maya, Maya…wake up,” he pleaded as he shook the girl awake.

To his relief, she began to stir, and he inspected the item she was grasping. It was a bag with the coding DL-6 incident etched on it. Inside the bag was a bullet that was removed from the victim in the case, Gregory Edgeworth.

Maya! She must have grabbed this piece of evidence when she protected me from Von Karma.

The girl could have died trying to protect him with her hasty, steadfast loyalty. Why had she risked endangering herself so, the brave, wonderful fool?!

“Good job, Maya.” His whisper was heavy with emotion. “What would I ever do without you?”

Alas, his sentiment hadn’t been loud enough for his assistant to have heard him, though.

The bullet that he pulled out of his loyal aid’s clutches turned out to be the key to winning the trial. It put everything together and pulled out the real culprit, who had turned out to be the psychotic, vengeful Manfred, who had murdered Edgeworth’s father due to some petty, personal grudge against Gregory, and found this to have been his way of exacting revenge!

Considering all these factors of how important Maya had been in resolving the case, the spiky-haired man had honestly thought he’d stopped her ridiculous train of thoughts regarding her lack of usefulness, and convinced her how much she meant to him.

It was painfully evident he wasn’t as convincing in his personal life as he was in the courtroom.

In the last three months, Maya Fey had come to mean the world to him. He felt as though he’d known her for a lifetime. Sure, the ties that bound her to him stemmed from their mutual love of Mia, but his assistant had come to mean so much more to him than that.

After only a few short months, there became an implacable point where he couldn’t remember how he’d ever gotten by without her. A day without her irrepressible humor, her smiles, and vibrancy was a day without sunshine, which she brought back to his otherwise boring, monotonous, gloomy life.

She was warm and funny and kind. Supportive. He valued her for her. Her ever-present smile. Her companionship. She wasn’t just there to channel Mia for him…she was his partner. His friend. Possibly even…his best friend.

He needed to let her know that. If he wasn’t already too late…

Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey
Train Station, Los Angeles
December 29, 2016, 5:22 AM

Huffing from his winding sprint, Phoenix cast a frantic eye about him, wondering if he’d made it in time.

Is she already gone? He thought dejectedly, his shoulders slumping. I guess I’m too late…

“Nick?” Maya’s surprised voice sounded behind him.

He spun around to face her, his expression pleading.

“Maya…what the heck…?”

“Nick… I’m going back home. To Kurain Village.” She dropped her eyes, avoiding his questioning gaze.

“But Maya …Why?” He stared at her in disbelief.

“It’s hard being a spirit medium who can’t talk to spirits. And … I think you’ll do fine without me, Nick.” Big, tearful brown eyes raised to meet his, and he felt a lump forming in his throat. “Be good … OK?”

“Please,” he begged. “Don’t go.”

“I’m of no use here… and besides, I have been shirking my responsibilities as a medium. I need to go back and train to become the new master of the village. The position was supposed to be Mia’s but um, she’s gone…and I can’t channel her forever, right? So that makes me next in line!” Maya cracked a smile and attempted to sound like her old chipper self, yet was failing miserably.

“You’re wrong,” Phoenix insisted. “I never could have saved Edgeworth without your help…On the last day of the trial… I heard her. I heard Mia’s voice!”

Her dark eyes widened.

“You heard my sister…?”

He nodded vehemently.

“Yes… only her voice, but still…It was at the very end when I thought we’d lost everything.”

“Well, that’s my sister for you,” Maya mumbled glumly. “Detective Gumshoe helped, and Mr. Grossberg, and even Larry…I’m the only one who couldn’t help. I was useless, Nick.”

Phoenix felt himself temporarily sympathizing with Manfred’s insane need to thump his head repeatedly against a wall at that moment.

Maya is Mia’s sister, all right. Stubborn as a bull, this one!

“Of course you’re useful! I wouldn’t have been able to win this case without you!” Phoenix tried to encourage her, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the bag that contained the bullet she had wrestled away from Von Karma.

“What’s that? The bullet you used in court?”

Phoenix flashed a genuine grin at her.

“It’s something from the DL-6 incident … Something I found in your hands after Von Karma attacked us. Something you did that was the most useful thing ever.”

“I did that? I saved that from Von Karma?” She sounded amazed.

He smiled encouragingly and nodded.

“Yes you, Maya, not Mia. You saved the day. Without you, I would have never been able to finish this case. You saved both me and Edgeworth,” he pointed out. “Thank you, Maya Fey. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

He then held his breath, hoping he’d convinced her.

Maya regarded him with misty eyes.

“Thank you, Nick,” she whispered. “I promise you, I’m going to go back to Kurain Village to finish my training as a medium, then come back to you. This way I can help you more with your work, and I can be even more useful!”

“Y-you’re still leaving?” Phoenix spluttered, trying not to break down and beg her not to leave him. For some absurd reason, it felt as though Maya was abandoning him. He felt like an orphaned puppy.

“I’ll be back soon,” she promised, reaching over and giving him a quick hug.  “I’m going to complete my training, and come back.” She caught the sad look in his eyes and tears welled up in her own again. “I swear to you, I’ll come back to you, Nick.”

“I’ll be waiting.” He fought the urge to sniffle and cursed himself. Jeez, what was wrong with him?!

“Of course, you will!” Maya exclaimed, giggling. “You can’t run that office by yourself! You’re hopeless!”

Phoenix cracked a smile at that one and raised a brow at her. “Uh, I don’t know about that…”

Maya stepped onto the train then, flashing one final watery smile over her shoulder. “Bye, for now, Nick. And thanks!”

“Bye,” he whispered, standing rooted on that platform and waving until the train was completely out of sight, carrying the young girl who, within such a short time, had come to mean so much to him, who unknowingly was taking a piece of him with her.

Phoenix was unaware of it at that time, but that young girl, that priceless treasure, had been the Chief’s final gift to him.

Phoenix Wright
Wright & Co. Law Offices

In his assistant’s absence, Phoenix fell into a desolate slump and didn’t accept any cases. He just couldn’t drum up the gumption.

Prospective clients that he turned away looked at him oddly when they saw the poster of the Steel Samurai on the wall. He couldn’t have cared less what they thought.

Maya stuck it up here on the day she left.  He thought defensively. I didn’t have the heart to take it down.

Two months after she’d departed, the defense attorney agreed to take one very particular case. The desperate teenage scientist, who had been frantic to save her elder sister from execution, had reminded him of something, of someone, that he couldn’t quite place at the time, and he’d been compelled somehow to take her case.

Strangely, Phoenix found the girl’s presence semi-discomfiting, yet comforting, at the same time. Money wasn’t the factor – he’d agreed to take on the case of Ema and Lana Skye for an entirely different reason.

Although he fully didn’t understand at the time, the science lover helped ease the empty void in his heart that he’d never realized was there until then. But only partially. There was only one person who could bring him out of his slump, and it wouldn’t be anytime soon. Each day without her that passed by felt like a week. And each week felt like a month.

Phoenix’s thoughts were uncustomarily bleak those entire six months.

I never knew that missing someone could take over every fiber of your being, and wring you out like a wet sponge every day. It is a daily torment that I was wholly and completely unprepared for.

Bruno Mars – Just The Way You Are