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Chapter Text

It was a slow day in the Wright Anything Agency offices. Apollo and Trucy were out working on an investigation, but Apollo was pretty sure they could get a decent case in favor of the client by the end of the day and so, quite unusually, there wasn't a lot to stress about. Phoenix decided to waste time by reorganizing the bookshelves filled with old case files (and some of Trucy's magic books and high-school textbooks) and Athena was napping by her work desk, snoring loudly.

Suddenly, the ring of the office's doorbell jerked the younger lawyer wide awake.

"I'll take care of it, Athena!" Phoenix said, leaving the bookshelves a bigger mess then they were before.

The Wright Anything Agency didn't always have the most reliable reputation in the legal world, and right now Athena Cykes still looked sleepy due to her rude awakening; with bags under her eyes and messy hair and little remains of drool around her lips - Phoenix was probably the slightly-more-respectable-face to greet a possible new client. But, who he saw when he opened the door was not a new client, but rather...

"Edgeworth! He-llo!" Phoenix intoned happily at the sight of his boyfriend, "what brings the Chief Prosecutor to our little Agency?" He asked in a flirty manner and leaned over for a little 'welcome' smooch.

Edgeworth pushed Phoenix's lips away with his hand, his expression stern. "Wright," he said "please, I am here on business matters, this is not a personal meeting."

Phoenix stepped away, pouting in a comically exaggerated manner. "I just wanted to say hello to my boyfriend," he grumbled "last time I checked, that's you, right?"

"Correct," Edgeworth said, as serious as his opening statements in court "but we are both working right now" he continued as he entered the Agency "we need to both conduct ourselves in a professional manner, especially right in front of your subordinate." He gestured at Athena, who was struggling to comb her hair back to its regular state.

She waved hello to him awkwardly "Willkommen, Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth!"

"Welcome," Edgeworth said half-heartedly.

"Alright then," Phoenix said with a sigh, he really should be used to Edgeworth's ideas on 'impropriety' by now "so, what does bring the Chief Prosecutor to our little agency?"

"I have a few cases I wish to discuss with you." Edgeworth lifted up his briefcase slightly "And I need to cross-reference the information with your own clients' records. Let's go into your personal office, Wright, I would rather get started as soon as possible." He gestured toward what was once Mia Fey's office, the door that now has 'Phoenix Wright, Head of Law Division' written on it.

"Alright, sweetie" Phoenix said with a half-smile as Edgeworth entered the office.

"Jeez, boss," Athena whispered to him "sorry 'bout your boyfriend being all..." she winced a little as she struggled with the right words "it must suck to date a literal block of ice."

"Oh, Edgeworth's not that bad." Phoenix said, smiling, but defensive. He followed Edgeworth into his personal office, closing the door behind him.

"Alright, Edgeworth, it's boring legal documents time!" Phoenix rubbed his hands "hit me with your best shot."

"Certainly, Mr. Wright," Edgeworth said, drawing himself closer to Phoenix, a smirk on his face, "but first, I do believe I owe you a kiss."

Edgeworth wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and pulled him into a kiss, much longer and deeper then what Phoenix was planning at the door. Not that he was complaining.

"Oh, Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth," Phoenix said in a teasing tone when they pulled apart "whatever happened to professionalism?"

"Hm, professionalism only means we should refrain from public displays of affection," Edgeworth said. Their faces were still incredibly close, their noses lightly brushing against each other. "And last I checked, we are not in public right now."

"Well..." Phoenix eyed the office door for a second, but Edgeworth shut him up with a light kiss. Probably assuming he was going to make another dumb joke, not an unlikely assumption considering their history together.

"And you do look exceptionally endearing today," Edgeworth said with a light smile, "my business here is not urgent, we can spare some time for each other."

"Well, if you insist." Phoenix laughed and put his hands gently on Edgeworth's waist. He gazed into Edgeworth's eyes for a long moment. Some people would describe the eyes of their beloved as ones you can get lost, that's how Edgeworth describes Phoenix's eyes (Well, whenever he managed to articulate himself romantically, at least). But that's not how Phoenix would describe Edgeworth's eyes. Edgeworth's eyes were too clear, too direct, too piercing to get lost in, that's what made them so beautiful. They were a straight, clear path to his brilliant mind, lighted by silver starlight. Phoenix sighed dreamily, it was so dorky, and he didn't care.

Phoenix tightened his hands around Edgeworth's waist and pulled him into a kiss much more powerful than the previous ones. His hands leaving their previous position to slowly remove Edgeworth's bulky courtroom longcoat and ruffle up his hair. He pulled away with a cocky smile, everything about his body language conveying let's see you better.

As always, Edgeworth seemed to practically read Phoenix's mind and complied by kissing him back even harder and longer. His fingers gently unbuttoning Phoenix's waistcoat.

The kiss was so good neither of them noticed the office door getting slammed open and Apollo running in, panicking and clutching a mess of documents.

"Mr. Wright! Mr. Wright!" He shouted as he entered "We need your help! The case is going so bad! There's a new witness and they're saying that-" he stopped when he finally noticed his boss making out like crazy with the Chief Prosecutor. "GAHHHHHHH! MR. WRIGHT!" He yelled in surprise.

Now that got the older lawyers' attention, they broke apart from the kiss, Phoenix screaming in surprise back at Apollo and Edgeworth making a sound closer to "NGHOOOOOO!" The entire room was a cacophony of screams.

"I'm sorry! Mr. Wright! I'm so sorry!" Apollo shouted while covering his eyes with the case file in his hands. He was as red as his suit. "I didn't know you were... um, busy! I'm sorry!"

"It's alright, Apollo! It's really alright!" Phoenix blushed in embarrassment as he quickly buttoned up his waistcoat "I'm sorry, it's my fault. Me and Edgeworth... kinda got carried away."

For the first few moments, Edgeworth couldn't do anything but grumble incoherently as he tried to put his coat back on and recomb his ruffled hair without a comb at the same time. As startled and embarrassed as Phoenix and Apollo were, Edgeworth was the one who looked the most distraught about the whole affair.

"Mr. Wright, why didn't you lock the door?!" Apollo asked. Even with the two older lawyers now being fully-dressed and standing apart, he was still hiding his face and just barely peeking behind the case file.

"The lock on this door is busted" Phoenix admitted "It's been busted for, like... four years now? I really should have gotten it fixed already, I know." He chuckled in embracement "I keep postponing it." He sighed, looking at his boyfriend "I'm sorry, Edgeworth, I really should've told you. I wanted to, but then you, um, cut me off." He briefly bit his lip "and after that it... kinda slipped my mind. Sorry." He apologized sincerely.

"Well, yes, you should be, Wright." Said Edgeworth, grumpy. His hair was still kind of a mess "but also," he turned sharply toward Apollo, his arms crossed and his expression severe "Mr. Justice, you should have knocked. This is your superior's private office, is it not? Show some respect."

"I, um..." Apollo was pretty baffled by the Chief Prosecutor's reaction "Mr. Wright never..."

"Wright, don't tell me that you regularly allow your protégés to just burst into your office whenever they feel like it?!" Edgeworth said, exasperated.

"Alright, I won't tell you that!" Phoenix said with a stupid grin on his face.

"Honestly, Wright, what self-respecting head-of-office would-" Edgeworth stopped himself "hm. Well I guess I answered my own question." He said with the tiniest hint of a smile. The kind only Phoenix would ever notice.

"Yeah, yeah, you got me," Phoenix said and laughed, "Anyway, Apollo, what is it?"

"Oh, um..." Apollo suddenly remembered how bad his investigation was going and got even more panicked "There's a new witness! You know how I said that I think Mr. Fence is probably the culprit? Well, now the prosecution is calling the guy's wife to the stand and she's claiming that they were both on the other side of town on a date and we have no idea how to disprove that alibi! And Detective Skye says they found our client's fingerprints on-"

"Hmm..." Phoenix scratched his chin, thinking of a way one could wriggle their way out of that situation.

"I should probably excuse myself for a moment, Wright, Mr. Justice," Edgeworth said, slightly awkwardly "As the Chief Prosecutor, I should probably avoid overhearing the defense's strategy on any sort of case."

Phoenix nodded at him as he left the room and closed the door behind him.

In the main Agency office, Athena and Trucy were discussing the case. Apparently, the investigation took a sharp turn to the worse very suddenly and ''Polly is freaking out like crazy''. Athena is not Mr.-Wright-Level of Lawyer. Not yet, anyway. But she tried to give as much preceptive as she could while Apollo was asking the boss. It's apparently going really bad if it made everyone in Mr. Wright's office shout like this. Even Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth, I think. Suddenly, the office door opened, and the Chief Prosecutor exited the office. His hair was slightly unkempt, and he looked very tense.

"Hey, Mr. Edgeworth!" Trucy greeted him immediately with a bright smile and a friendly wave. She was sitting on Apollo's desk.

"Please get off from the desk, Trucy." Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth scolded her, not angry, simply stern. "It might break, it's dangerous."

"A true magician needs to be able to take risks!" Trucy jumped up to stand on the table, a big grin on her face.

Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth crossed his arms and frowned "Trucy, please, these tables are not very sturdy."

"Well, if you're gonna make such a sour face..." Trucy was obviously deflated, though she tried to hide it. She jumped off the table to the floor.

"Hey! Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth! Lasciala stare!!" Athena jumped angrily to Trucy's defense. She was just having fun, why did he have to be such a joy-killer? But a scary cold glare from the Chief Prosecutor shut her up  "Hey, um..." she tried to change the subject "What was all that screaming about earlier. I mean, I know Apollo can be loud and the case is going pretty bad, but..."

"Um..." the Chief Prosecutor's stoic and serious attitude was gone in an instant, leaving him looking… just kinda weird. Weird and panicky.

"Oh, I bet Polly walked on Daddy and Mr. Edgeworth being all affectionate and cute with each other," Trucy said confidently and nonchalantly.

"Pfft, yeah, très drôle, good one, Tru-" Athena started to say with an eye roll. The Chief Prosecutor? Affectionate? Yeah right. She thought, or at least until she turned her head and noticed Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth looking at Trucy with quiet panic and embarrassment in his eyes.

"Good deduction, Truce!" Mr. Wright suddenly popped out from his office "you're getting good at this!" He patted his daughter on the head.

"Okay, Trucy!" Apollo shouted as he ran out of Mr. Wright's office "Quick! We need to search the train station again! And we'll need one of your trained pigeons to-"

Trucy nodded and they ran out of the WAA offices, Apollo explaining Mr. Wright's new defense strategy on the way.

Athena moved her attention from her panicked co-workers to the nervous Chief Prosecutor still standing in the middle of the office.

She looked at Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth and then at her boss, then back at the Chief Prosecutor "I can't believe Trucy was right about you two being all cute." She said, more to herself than to anyone else.

"Ms. Cykes!" Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth tried to sound scolding and serious, but all Athena could hear was his embarrassment.

"Look, Athena, I'm sure we can all tell this subject is making Edgeworth uncomfortable," Mr. Wright said, quickly encouraging his boyfriend back into his office "we really should leave it at this, and never talk about it again."

They exchanged an understanding nod and Mr. Wright entered his office and closed his office door loudly.

There were a few minutes of silence, as Athena wondered whatever she should go back to sleep or work on those bookshelves the boss was supposed to sort out. And just as she decided on a nap, Mr. Wright popped back from his office.

"Oh, and next time any of you kids need my help," he said, "please knock first."

W-Why…? Oh, of course "You got it, boss!" Athena said with a suggestive wink.

"It's nothing like... um..." Mr. Wright half-chuckled "Edgeworth's been doing nothing but complain about how rude and improper it is to barge in without knocking for the last five minutes."

Athena heard the slight creak of Mr. Wright's office door opening. She looked up from the phone game she's being playing for at least an hour or so.

"And with that, I will be taking my leave." Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth said as he exited the room "Farewell, Wright." He wasn't panicky and stressed anymore. He seemed (and more importantly to Athena, sounded) as calm and collected as he usually is.

Mr. Wright leaned on the office's doorframe "See you soon, Edgeworth." He said with a smile.

"Thank you again," Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth said, his voice a little bit softer "you have been a great help to me today."

"Always glad to lend you a hand in improving our legal system." Mr. Wright's smiled widened.

As soon as the Chief Prosecutor left the Wright Anything Agency and closed the door behind him, Mr. Wright turned sharply to Athena. "So, you really couldn't believe me and Edgeworth were being cute in there?" He asked, his voice wasn't angry or offended - he mostly sounded curious, and… okay, maybe a little hurt.

"Oh, um..." Athena took a second to remember what she said an hour ago "...not...really...no, I really couldn't." she knew she pretty much stuck her foot in her mouth but decided it's probably better to just go through with it than to embarrass herself more by trying and failing to wriggle out of it.

Mr. Wright looked with a curious expression, urging her to continue.

"I mean, it's... it's Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth, pour l'amour de Dieu!" Athena said, "He's as far removed from cute as I can imagine!" He talks like if Mr. Spock swallowed a thesaurus, he's dressed up like a vampire 24\7 and he always act like everything fun is personally interrupting the stupid posh tea party he has in his head!

"Aren't you best friends with Prosecutor Blackquill?" Mr. Wright asked, hands on his hips. "The six-feet tall guy with the samurai sword collection and the trained attack-hawk?"

"Hey, at least Simon doesn't have the world's biggest stick up his butt!" Athena said, defensive of her friend "Simon knows how have fun!"

"At least Edgeworth never threatened to literally stab me with a literal sword." Mr. Wright said "Prosecutor Blackquill has that scary violent streak…"

"That's what makes 'im fun, boss!" Athena slammed her fist into her hand for emphasis "Simon's great!" And after a second of thought she added"…But I dunno how he'd be as someone's boyfriend. And you're basically dating a Simon with extra obnoxious-smug and none of the fun parts."

Mr. Wright seemed to think about her comment for a moment "Athena, my point is that people can be very different in public and behind closed doors," he said "that's why I brought up Prosecutor Blackquill. I mean, you're just about the one person who've seen his soft side."

"I guess that's true..." Athena fiddled with her earring "So I guess I'll just have to take your word on the 'Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth is super adorable' angle, boss." She shrugged, though if she ever actually got see him act like that, she'll probably flip out.

-Months Later-

Phoenix squinted as he looked at the document "It looks good enough to me?"

Edgeworth snatched the paper from his hands and looked it over himself, adjusting his glasses. "Mm..." he shook his head, frowning "Yes, you would think that it is 'good enough', now wouldn't you?" he said, his voice dripping with smugness. As he was gently stroking Phoenix's face, "I guess I should have expected that from you, Wright." He kissed Phoenix softly on the cheek before going over the document again.

"Heh," Phoenix half-laughed "have I ever told you you're totally adorable when you get like that?" He asked with a big goofy smile.

"I have no idea what on earth you're talking about, Wright." Edgeworth put his arm around Phoenix and drew himself closer. The cheap swivel chairs in Phoenix's office squeaked. "Nothing I ever do is 'adorable'" he said as he nuzzled his head into Phoenix's chest.

"Oh, you know... when you get like that." Phoenix gestured vaguely at Edgeworth with one hand while playing with his silvery hair with the other "when you suddenly get super abrasive and super cuddly at the same time."

"Hmph...I..." The power of Edgeworth's icy glare was significantly weakened by the warm red blush on his cheeks "I don't believe I ever asked for your opinion, Wright," he grumbled before kissing Phoenix softly on the neck.

Phoenix laughed and gently tagged at Edgeworth's cravat to pull him off his chair and into his lap. Edgeworth allowed his eyes to glaze over Phoenix for a moment before giving him a little peck on the cheek.

"I have never asked for your ridiculous opinion on anything," Edgeworth said, his voice soft and kind, while interlacing their fingers together "and yet here we are."

Phoenix chuckled "and yet here we are." He agreed, leaning his head closer to Edgeworth's, his eyelids suddenly feeling very heavy.

Their lips gently brushed against each other's, preparing for a sweet, soft kiss, when the office door suddenly flung open.

"Hey, boss," Athena said as she walked into the office, her head buried in a case file "I need you to take a look at this-" She raised her head to see her boss and his boyfriend sitting on his lap, almost kissing each other. "Oh, hello, Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth, didn't know you were here." She said, unfazed at the sight - which has become a lot more common since Apollo's incident a few months ago.

In a second, Edgeworth was gone from Phoenix's lap and back in his chair, sitting rigidly and looking absolutely freaked out.

Phoenix was unbothered as Athena, he got up from his chair to check out her file. "Well, you see," Phoenix stroked his chin "maybe we need to turn our thinking around, regarding-" he suddenly stopped, and his eyes went wide as he realized "oh, Edgeworth, you should probably leave for a sec, you being the Chief Prosecutor and all that... You know…"

Edgeworth was still sitting still by the desk, looking like he's just about to scream for three hours straight. Phoenix immediately realized what the matter is. Maybe he and the kids can get numb to the embarrassment of stumbling over him and Edgeworth being affectionate, but Edgeworth, stuffy old Edgeworth, can't. And the fact that he and Athena are being so nonchalant about it is just freaking him out even more. It probably just dawned on him how many times the kids saw us totally making out.

"Hey, Edgeworth," Phoenix said softly, gently touching Edgeworth's shoulder in a manner that he hoped was comforting and wouldn't stress him out more "It would probably be better if we just do our meetings in your office for a while and I promise I'm going to get this damn lock fixed as soon as possible, alright?"

"This is not the most important matter, Wright!" Edgeworth snapped suddenly, getting up from his chair "why can't your subordinates simply learn to knock on your office door once in a while? This is just utter disrespect!" He said in a huff.

"Edgeworth..." Phoenix sighed.

"Um, you know what, boss?" Athena said, backing out of the room "I could probably just ask Apollo, it's not that important anyway." She ran out of her boss' office and closed the door behind her. Sighing a sigh of relief as she avoided the upcoming marital spat.

Phoenix could tell Athena was expecting them to have some sort of long marital spat, but he and Edgeworth actually resolved their issues pretty quickly and went back to work, with only the occasional teasing (unfortunately, the whole debacle meant Edgeworth was no longer in the mood to cuddle and smooch). And, sadly, soon it was time for Edgeworth to leave.

"I really would have loved to stay, Wright." Edgeworth said, checking his watch "but I have some meetings to attend this afternoon." He signed "sends Trucy my congratulations for her upcoming televised performance."

"Sure thing, Edgeworth." Said Phoenix, smiling.

Edgeworth looked at Phoenix's smile, thought for a moment, and then gave him one light kiss on the lips to say goodbye. "As always, it's been a pleasure, Wright," he said before leaving the office.

Phoenix waved him goodbye with an idiotic dreamy look on his face.

Chapter Text

"... but I can't believe Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth is STILL hung up over this whole 'knocking on the door' thing!" Athena said, pounding on Apollo's desk with her fist for emphasis "I'm not 'disrespecting' Mr. Wright or whatever it is he thinks!"

"He's hung up about it?" Apollo said, disinterested "you're the one who's been talking about it non-stop since the Chief Prosecutor left"

"It's das Prinzip der Sache, Apollo!" Athena raised her voice "Mio Dio! I just can't believe our boss is dating such a thoughtless jerk!"

A quick clearing of the throat from behind Athena made both of the younger lawyers realize that Mr. Wright was standing right there, at the doorstep of his office.

"Mr. Wright!" Apollo and Athena shouted in unison, Athena being the more panicked of the two.

"Don't you two kids have a case to work on?" Mr. Wright asked, his voice uncharacteristically stern.

"Mr. Wright!" Apollo clutched a mess of documents to his chest "We still have a few things to look over in the café, but it's closed right now and Athena said-"

"Whoa, buddy!" Athena interjected "don't pin this down on me!"

The kids kept on arguing, not even noticing Phoenix scratching his chin, deep in thought.

-A Few Weeks Later-

"...and Truce? Is she doing okay since the trial?" Wright asked, slightly panicked, over the phone.

"Wright, it has barely been a day since the verdict," Miles leaned back in his office chair "and it's also the third time you asked me about it in this very conversation." Although he couldn't blame the man too much, the murder case revolving around his daughter's televised debut was quite a hectic one and he was worried about dear Trucy as well.

"Aurgh, sorry, I'm sorry, Edgeworth." Wright said.

"There's no reason to apologize, Wright," Miles said, trying to sound comforting "you have every reason to be worried about your daughter."

"I wish I wasn't stuck here in Khura'in..." Wright said, mostly to himself "it's not even about the trial, Apollo and Athena are smart kids, I knew they could do it. I just wanted..."

"You simply wish to be there to support your daughter, I understand." Miles sighed "Please just try to not get into any more troubles in Khura'in, alright? None of us need that kind of stress right now, especially not your daughter" he continued "I will... do my best to support Trucy though this difficult time. And I am sure Mr. Justice and Ms. Cykes will be there for her as well."

"Yeah..." Wright sounded a lot better now. "Hey, Edgeworth, speaking about you and the kids-"

"Wright, have you seriously not given up on that idiotic idea?" Miles interrupted him. For weeks now, Wright has been suggesting to Miles that he should let Mr. Justice and Ms. Cykes work under him in the Prosecutor's Office 'just for a while, just until I come back from Khura'in. Maybe like a week or something'. It's some sort of ridiculous attempt to help him bond with Wright's protégés. Out of the notion that they should not have such a low opinion of their employer's boyfriend. That whole affair was extremely foolish, Wright's desire to keep a familial atmosphere in his Agency was admirable, but this was going to utterly preposterous extremes.

"Oh, come on!" Wright grumbled "Why not?" There was a moment of silence and suddenly, Wright changed his tone "the defense request that the prosecution provides evidence supporting their argument!"

"Wright, we are not doing this right now," Miles said flatly "you know the Prosecutor's Office is in disarray currently. I am overloaded with work. I don't have the time to try and endear myself to your underlings!"

"Well, but that's the thing, Edgeworth!" Wright said, and Miles could hear the idiotic smug grin in the tone of his voice "You keep complaining about how understaffed the Prosecutor's Office is right now, right? Wouldn't Apollo and Athena make for great assistants now? They know their stuff, they'll be a great help to you!"

Miles didn't say a word.

"Plus, working under a Prosecutor would be a great opportunity for them to learn," Wright continued, excited "and, and if we both want to really clean up the Dark Age of the Law, we need to make sure defense attorneys and prosecutors both know that they need to work together, right? Well, what would be a better chance to teach that then sending my kids to work with you and other prosecutors?"

Miles was silent for another moment before sighing and slumping in his office chair in a rather undignified manner. "The prosecution concedes to the defense's arguments," he said quietly.

Chapter Text

Athena thought about Mr. Wright's phone call as she and Apollo took the train to the Prosecutor's Office. Working under Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth for a week, learning about law from the other side of the courtroom - that did sound really interesting, even if she didn't like the guy all that much. But Mr. Wright's heart sounded... disproportionately excited about the whole thing, is he really just that passionate about mentoring her and Apollo? Phone calls aren't ideals for listening to people's hearts, maybe it just means that the boss should finally replace that old brick of his? But... there could be more to it…

Still, working for a week in the Prosecutor's Office should be interesting! And best of all, it's a competition!

"Hey! Apollo!" Athena poked the lawyer next to her with her elbow.

"What is it, Athena?" Apollo asked, looking up from some article he was reading on his smartphone.

"So! I was thinking," Athena said, smiling "if we're competing to see who's the best-"

"It's not a competition, Athena!" Apollo's tone wasn't angry, but very loud. "Mr. Wright just warned us that Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth is going to evaluate our performance!"

"Yeah! And I bet I can get a better performance evaluation than you!" Athena said, enthusiastic.

Apollo sighed.

"I was just thinking, Apollo, you know more about Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth than I do," Athena said, "and that gives you an unfair advantage!"

"Athena, for the last time," Apollo said "I've only been in the Agency a year before you. I don't know-"

"Yeah, duh, but you're a giant nerd!" Athena grinned widely "you read all about the boss' old cases, haven't you? There was probably a lot of stuff about Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth there, right?"

"I... guess?" Apollo said, that was technically correct, even if he never thought about it before "what do you want me to do about it?"

"Well, to make it more fair, you should fill me up on all the details!" Athena punched her palm for emphasis "that way, we'll be even!"

"Alright... let's see..." Apollo leaned his forehead on his index finger "... Prosecutor Edgeworth and Mr. Wright met during... State vs. Fey." After a moment he added "um, the first one. 2016."

Athena nodded, urging him to go on.

"This was Mr. Wright's second-ever trial as a lead defense," Apollo explained.

"Cool!" Athena interjected.

"-because his mentor was just murdered." He finished.

Athena's expression changed to horrified. "No cool at all!"

"Oh No!" Widget added.

"That's Ms. Mia Fey, right?" Athena asked, connecting the dots in her mind "Pearly's older cousin? Mr. Wright keeps a picture of her in the office."

"Yeah, that's her," Apollo confirmed "apparently she's been investigating some company's shady dealings, a lot of blackmail was involved, and," he sighed "they murdered her and tried to frame her little sister, that's Ms. Maya Fey, for it."

"Whoa..." Athena was lost in thought for a moment "And Prosecutor Edgeworth worked on that case?"

"Yeah, he was a big deal even back then," Apollo said "He had a four-year perfect win record, and Mr. Wright was the one who broke it."

"Way to go, Mr. Wright!" Widget squeaked.

"Wait, isn't Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth the guy who always goes on and on about how prosecutors shouldn't care about win records?" Athena said, and then thought for a second, fiddling with her earring "…I guess Mr. Wright really left an impression on him...?"

"Well, this all happened about 10 years ago," Apollo said "...and, you know… people change." he added in a… curious tone.

"And what's that supposed to mean, Apollo?" Athena asked, attentive to the Discord she heard in Apollo's heart.

"Well… um… all the articles I read from back then make Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth look like a really shady character," Apollo said "but now-"

"Hmmm… Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth is a huge jerk… but wouldn't call him shady..." Athena said.

"Yeah, and Mr. Wright trusts him," Apollo added.

Athena nodded and, after a moment, suddenly added "so, do you think it was, like, love at first trial?"

"Athena!" Apollo's face reddened, he always felt awkward talking about anything related to his boss' love life "We shouldn't talk about these things in public!" He said way too loudly, a few train passengers turned around to see what all the yelling was about.

"Look, I'm just saying... Mr. Wright and the Chief Prosecutor have this 'worthy rival' thing going on, sí?" Athena said "So it makes sense! Maybe Prosecutor Edgeworth swore to give his heart to whoever beats him in a legal battle?" She struck an overdramatic pose as she talked.

"I-I-I don't know!" Apollo yelled, defensive "The newspapers didn't exactly cover that part of their relationship. I only found out about it from Mr. Wright himself!"

"Alright, alright, I was just thinking out loud" Athena said "go on, Apollo!"

"Well, after the Fey case, there was State vs. Powers. The Steel Samurai case." Apollo continued "Prosecutor Edgeworth was on that case too. I think he helped Mr. Wright out a bit, from what I heard."

Athena nodded, absent-mindedly playing with her earring. That didn't sound too out-of-the-ordinary for Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth.

"And then... man, that's a big one..." Apollo said, struggling to think about how to make this sound suitably dramatic "um, Mr. Wright defended Prosecutor Edgeworth himself from a murder accusation..."

"Woah, Prosecutor Edgeworth was accused of murder?!" Athena said, surprised "Hm… you'd think prosecutors that were framed for murder would be nicer to defendants, instead it seems like it always makes them meaner." But maybe that's why the Chief Prosecutor was so sympathetic to Simon?

Apollo nodded, but kinda half-heartedly. "...and to save Prosecutor Edgeworth, Mr. Wright had to go against… oh, um… Prosecutor von Karma-"

"Hold it! Apollo!" Athena jumped happily in her seat "Do you mean THE Prosecutor von Karma? Like... THE Franziska von Karma?!"

"No, no, actually..." Apollo recoiled back from her sudden excitement "this was Prosecutor von Karma's DAD, Manfred von Karma. He was also a prosecutor. Used to be a pretty deal back in the day, I think. He had, like, a 30 years perfect win record...? Maybe… maybe 40? Something like that, I don't remember."

"Until he met Mr. Wright?" Athena asked with a confident smirk.

Apollo nodded, it was weird to come back to just the things he read about Mr. Wright in the newspapers. That stuff that made him sound like some sort of God of Defense Attorneys, before he actually met him at in person and found out he's more... human. To put it diplomatically. "Mr. Wright broke this guy's perfect win record defending Prosecutor Edgeworth. That was also that case where Mr. Wright cross-examined a parrot, remember that I told you about that?"

"Yeah, but you never told me Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth was the defendant!" Athena said, then immediately changed her tone "Cross-examining a parrot for love? How romantic! Right, Apollo?"

"I... guess...?" Apollo simply said and then immediately got excited "But! But that wasn't actually where it ended. You see, after Mr. Wright got Prosecutor Edgeworth found Not Guilty-"

"Thanks to the parrot?" Athena suddenly interrupted.

"Yeah, after Mr. Wright got Prosecutor Edgeworth found Not Guilty thanks to the parrot…" Athena's comment didn't slow down Apollo's excitement about that case one bit "Prosecutor Edgeworth suddenly objected!"

"Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth objected to his own Not Guilty verdict?"

"Yeah, but it wasn't actually about that case!" Apollo said, totally invested in the story he was telling and more energetic than Athena ever saw him being "you see, Prosecutor Edgeworth's dad was murdered when he was a kid, and apparently he thought he accidentally shot him. Prosecutor Edgeworth tried to plead Guilty to that. Mr. Wright didn't let him, of course! He figured out Prosecutor Edgeworth's memory was faulty and the real culprit-" Apollo suddenly paused, remembering who he was talking too.

Athena was looking down at the cheap wall-to-wall carpet on the train's floor, her eyes were lost in thoughts and she was gently stroking Widget.

"Um. Sorry!" Apollo said very loudly "eh, really sorry... I should have warned you..." he added in a much quieter tone "I didn't really connect between... Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth's case and your..."

"It's alright, Apollo," Athena said in a distant voice and took a deep breath, trying to process this new piece of info. What was she supposed to do with this? She can't just start up a conversation with 'Hey, Chief Prosecutor Stick-Up-His-Buttworth! Guess what? I just figured out we both thought we killed our parent! Isn't that a wacky coincidence and a great conversation-starter?' And if he didn't even bring it up when he was prosecuting her case, he probably doesn't really want to talk about it... and she herself doesn't like talking about it either... but it feels like something she has to acknowledge. Somehow. Someday.

Maybe what she needs right now is a distraction.

"So! Apollo!" She suddenly perked up, smiling a smile that was only a little forced "what happened next? What about the culprit?"

"The culprit...?" Apollo flinched at the sudden mood change "Um, turns out it was Prosecutor von Karma's dad. Manfred von Karma killed Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth's dad."

"Oh, yeah... I remember an interview with Prosecutor von Karma where she talked about her father being a 'criminal who has failed the Von Karma creed'" Athena said "I guess this is what she was talking about. I had no idea Mr. Wright and Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth played a part in that too."

"He kept a bullet in his shoulder for fifteen years to avoid getting caught!" Apollo remembered something he read in the newspapers once "True story."

"So, Mr. Wright totally saved the Chief Prosecutor's life there..." Athena said to herself "... maybe they're into this kind of rescue fantasies..." she then turned to Apollo and asked more loudly and excitedly "Hey! Do you think Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth makes for a good damsel in distress?"

"W-why are you asking me these things?!" Apollo said, exasperated. He sighed and moved on "After that, they faced off in 'State vs. Skye-"

"HOLD IT!" Athena shouted, "does that means-"

"No, actually, it's not Detective Skye," Apollo said "the defendant was Lana Skye, she was the Chief Prosecutor at the time." Apollo paused, thought for a second and added "...maybe she's related to Detective Skye, I don't actually know..." Detective Skye DID tell him she met Mr. Wright during one of his old cases "maybe we should ask her next time we're both working on a case."

"Yeah," Athena agreed, seems like too much of a coincidence."

"The Lana Skye case is considered one of Mr. Wright's most challenging cases,"
Apollo returned to his explanation "the newspapers said it seemed doomed from the start, that there was no way Mr. Wright could win it."

"Pfft! I've heard THAT before!" Athena said confidently. Hopeless cases were the Agency's specialty, what made this one so special?

"Yeah, Prosecutor Edgeworth helped Mr. Wright win" Apollo said "and they both proved that the Chief of Police was the culprit, and they exposed all of his shady dealings. Apparently, he set up Lana Skye to take the fall." Apollo rubbed his forehead, trying to concentrate "Oh yeah, that trial was a very big deal to Prosecutor Edgeworth, it had strong connections to another trial he did years ago where he -um, unknowingly used falsified evidence. That whole trial caused one hell of a media circus, all the newspapers were talking about Prosecutor Edgeworth this and Prosecutor Edgeworth that..."

"Sounds exciting!" Athena said, "wish I was around to help the boss!"

"Athena, you were, like, 8 years old back then" Apollo said.

"Still!" Athena said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"And after that... and after that..." Apollo run through Mr. Wright's trials in his mind "After that they haven't been on the same case for a while, Mr. Wright faced off a couple of times against Prosecutor von Karma. Um, the real one this time. Franziska von Karma."

"The hot one!" Widget squeaked happily.

"Widget!" Athena exclaimed, blushing, covering her Mood Matrix with her hand in an attempt to make it shut up.

Apollo decided to pretend he didn't hear that.

Athena played with her hair in embarrassment and grinned "........do you think Prosecutor von Karma whipped Mr. Wright a lot?"

"Knowing Mr. Wright?" Apollo said, without even having to think about it "Yes."

"Lucky Him!" Widget squeaked again.

Athena blushed bright red, Apollo decided to pretend he didn't hear that either.

"Well, if you're such a big Franziska von Karma fan," he said "you probably know about the time she was shot-"

"In the shoulder!" Athena cut him off "by the notorious, world-famous assassin, Shelly de Killer!"

"Yeah, that," Apollo said "Well, Mr. Wright was the attorney she was supposed to face off against that day, and Prosecutor Edgeworth was the guy who volunteered to replace her."

Athena nodded in understanding.

"That was 'State vs. Engarde'" Apollo continued "And that was... Mr. Wright's first and only guilty verdict," he said "but Matt Engarde was actually guilty, so that's okay!"

"So, first Mr. Wright ruined Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth's perfect win record," Athena said "and then he ruined Mr. Wright's win record right back?" Okay, Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth apparently had a 4-years streak and the boss probably had, like… five-trial-streak – but still!

"Yeah, well, they worked together," Apollo said "Like I said, Matt Engarde WAS really guilty, and Mr. Wright wasn't going to let a guilty defendant to get away with-"

Athena suddenly cut him off "hey! Maybe Mr. Wright is the one who has some sort of 'only those who defeat me may, um… make out with me in my office during work hours' rule?" Her tone was very energetic "that would explain everything!"

Where does she get those ideas all the sudden?! Apollo thought to himself "...that doesn't sound like a rule Mr. Wright would have at all!" I can't believe you seriously made me think about this, Athena.

"I guess the answer lies elsewhere..." Athena mumbled to herself.

The answer?! What is she talking about?! Apollo decided to leave it for now and continue his story "After the Engarde case wrapped up, they didn't work on the same case for a while - until, eh, State vs. Iris, I think."

"And what happen in State vs. Iris?" Athena bounced on her train seat "how did the boss kick Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth's butt this time?"

"Prosecutor Edgeworth wasn't actually the prosecutor on that trial, he was..." Apollo tried to remember "Actually… I don't know what he did in that trial!"

"Apollo! You're supposed to be the Walking Mr. Wright Encyclopedia!" Athena said, pouting "what do you mean you don't know?!"

"Not a lot of info about State vs. Iris was disclosed to the public, I... know that the defendant was a nun in a temple connected with the Fey family, and that the victim was a children's book author, and... the real culprit was actually the prosecutor on the case... that might be why it's so secret?"

"The case with Prosecutor von Karma's dad didn't get that kind of treatment, did it?" Athena said, "You knew a lot about that one."

"Yeah, I don't know..." Apollo said in an uncharacteristically quiet tone "I don't know what was going on with State vs. Iris."

"Just think about it, Apollo!" Athena's voice was very dramatic "Mr. Wright might have cross-examined another animal and we don't even know about it!" She said, "Ugh, we'll have to ask someone who was there..."

"Um, Mr. Wright, of course, Ms. Maya Fey, maybe Ms. Pearl Fey? The detective in charge of all of Mr. Wright's pre-disbarment cases, Detective...  Gumshoe, I think?" Apollo listed everyone he remembered was mentioned in the articles about the case "and Prosecutor von Karma and Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth."

"Prosecutor von Karma was on this case too?!" Athena asked, surprised.

He nodded. "The newspapers talked about how the two of them, Prosecutor Edgeworth and Prosecutor von Karma, helped with the investigation," Apollo explained "But they don't specify how. Mr. Wright said in interviews that they really helped the resolution of the case, but that's about it."

"And that's all you've got about this case." Athena said in a tone that was half-questioning.

"That's all I got about this case," Apollo confirmed "And after that... Mr. Wright's next trial was the Gramarye case, the one that got him disbarred. Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth had nothing to do with that, of course - but he gave a lot of interviews to the media when Mr. Wright lost his badge," he said "he always talked in favor of Mr. Wright, said that there's no way any of the evidence on the cases they worked was also forged, and he shouldn't have been disbarred, that it's a disgrace to the legal system, you know..." Apollo gestured vaguely.

"The sort of stuff a good boyfriend would say?" Athena offered.

"That had nothing to do with him being Mr. Wright's boyfriend!" Apollo shouted "That's just...  that's just professional respect! I mean, if Prosecutor Gavin was accused of forging evidence, I would say the same thing! Doesn't mean there's anything romantic going on between us!"

"Oh, yeah, of course," Athena held back a chuckle. It's not that Apollo was making a bad point, just that he... wasn't using the best example. Maybe she was looking at it from the wrong angle...?

"What is it with you and romantic stuff all the sudden, Athena?" Apollo asked, huffy.

"I'm just..." She sighed dramatically "I just can't understand it, Apollo!" Athena slumped in her seat in frustration "I can't figure out why Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth and Mr. Wright are together! I thought that maybe if I knew a little more about their history, it'll be obvious! But I'm trying to look at it from every angle I can find, but I don't get it!" She crossed her arms and grumbled "I just don't get what Mr. Wright SEES in him!"

"Um..." Apollo said "Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth is the highest-ranking Prosecutor in our entire district, he's like... a super decorated rich genius prosecutor guy. Shouldn't we ask what he sees in Mr. Wright?!"

"Apollo! I'm not taking about Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth as a court rival or a coworker or something!" Athena rolled her eyes "I'm talking about relationships! Matters of La Amour!" She said "you don't pick a romantic partner based on how good they are in being a lawyer! It's about feelings, and as expert on feelings," she gestured proudly at her Mood Matrix pendent "I can tell you that the Boss is much more of a catch then that cold-hearted, stick-in-the-mud jerk!"

"Well, Mr. Wright seems..." Apollo blushed in embarrassment "um...pretty into him."

"I know, Apollo! I know! And I don't get it! I'm supposed to be the expert on emotions and I just don't get it." Athena gestured wildly "I was thinking I could find a thread or something in all the things you told me, but NOPE!"

"Well, most of my information is pretty dry, but we're going to be working for this guy for a week. Maybe you can figure something the-" Apollo suddenly realized what he was saying "OR WE CAN NOT THINK ABOUT THIS EVER!!"

Chapter Text

"But don't you think it's a little strange?" Athena asked Apollo as the two lawyers walked the hallways of the Prosecutor's Office on their way to the room of their new (temporary) boss. "Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth's office is on the second floor! You would think the Chief Prosecutor's Office would be on the highest floor, to show how important he is!"

"...maybe they didn't have rooms on the top floor left?" Apollo offered.

"He’s Chief Prosecutor, Apollo! He could have any office he wanted!” Athena said as she opened the office door “If I was Chief Prosecutor, I would get myself a room on the highest floor! With a big, big window I could see the entire city from! And I would- “

As soon as they entered the office, a silence fell on the both of them. There was simply... something in its atmosphere that made them want to be quiet. Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth’s office was certainly different than the offices of the Wright Anything Agency. First, it was much bigger. Whatever possible modesty (???) made the Chief Prosecutor choose an office on the second floor apparently didn’t extend to when it came to the size of the office. At first glance, Athena thought the office looked awfully empty, but it was simply... well organized. She suddenly realized how messy the Agency really is, it was just so weird to see clean tables without a mess of papers on each and every one of them and so, so much shiny-clean, empty floor. But the Agency was also so... lively. There was something comforting about the mess of the Agency, it was the sort of colorful, fun mess that was created by the fact that people basically live there. And unless literally everyone were away, there was always something happening; Trucy would be practicing a new trick, Apollo and Mr. Wright would be discussing defense strategy, or maybe someone would just be playing video games very loudly. But here... at the other end of the room, in front of a big impressive window (which would probably be more impressive on the top floor) Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth was looking over a document, quietly, he didn’t even seem to notice that they came in.

They waited for a second to see if he’ll notice them standing in the doorstep. When they still got no reaction out of him, Apollo awkwardly cleared his throat.

Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth finally raised his head to look at the two young lawyers. “Mr. Justice, Ms. Cykes,” he simply said, “you’re late.”

“Oh! Sorry about that, Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth!” Apollo shouted way too loudly.

“We don’t come to the Prosecutor's Office that often... and the train...” Athena said at the same time “It’s the train’s fault!”

The Chief Prosecutor gave them an icy glare that shut them both up. “I have very low tolerance for unprofessionalism, remember that,” he said, then let his harsh voice soften just a little “but as it is your first day working under me, I’m going to ‘let you off the hook’, as the kids say, with only a minor cut in a pay.”

At the sound of that, Athena and Apollo flinched in shock.

“A cut in pay?” Apollo’s face paled.

“But... Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth!” Athena said aggressively “Mr. Wright would never cut our pay!”

“Well, I’m not Wright, now am I?” The Chief Prosecutor said with a smirk that looked awfully cruel to the young lawyers “If you’re going to work under me, I expect you to follow my rules. Not Wright’s.”

“…Yes, Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth.” Athena and Apollo grumbled in unison.

The Chief Prosecutor nodded, his face smug “And stop standing in the doorway like a pair of gormless buffoons,” he said, “please sit here.” He gestured at a pair of dark pink, expensive-looking sofas arranged around a small, expensive-looking, coffee table.

Apollo and Athena sat on one sofa, the Chief Prosecutor sat on the other - Athena thought it was a somewhat amusing sight - the color of the sofas matched exactly with Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth’s jacket, and made him look like some sort of green screen effect mess-up or a very flamboyant chameleon. She struggled to keep a straight face, and after a second of thought covered up Widget as well, hoping he’s not going to let out a laugh.

Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth glanced at her nervous hand as it covered her Mood Matrix pendant and raised his eyebrow. But he said nothing about it and simply moved his gaze to both lawyers. “Mr. Justice, Ms. Cykes; welcome to the Prosecutor’s Office,” he said “you will be helping me mostly with paperwork and administrative work. Of course, I cannot allow you to be privy to anything related to the cases the Wright Anything Agency works on or worked on in the past - but considering how few cases the Agency takes in a year...” he shook his head in light disapproval “I feel like this would hardly be an issue. I hope this experience could help you widen your horizons about the law, and I will give a performance evaluation to Wright at the end of the week, Understood?”

Athena and Apollo nodded at him automatically.

“And I am fully aware of how woefully unprofessional your regular superior can be,” he continued “but as I said, I am not Wright. I expect to stand to my standards of professionalism, and if you don’t...”

“You’ll cut our pay again, Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth?” Apollo asked weakly.

“Quite possibly, Mr. Justice,” the Chief Prosecutor said, and after a second added “and one more thing, since I am your employer for the week,” he continued “You do not have to keep calling me ‘Chief Prosecutor’, simply ‘Mr. Edgeworth’ would suffice.” After another pause he said, “I dislike needless formalities.”

And that was it, the straw that broke the camel’s back, and Widget burst into squeaky, electronic laughter.

The hours after Widget’s little outburst felt very tense for Athena. Chief Prosec…Mr. Edgeworth always had that look on his face like he’s giving everyone the evil eye, but those glares he gave her felt even more evil than usual.

Apollo seemed to be getting along better, he was always the guy at the office you could rely on for paperwork, and it seemed that he took to Mr. Edgeworth’s serious attitude like a fish to water.

“Mr. Justice?” Mr. Edgeworth asked in a quiet but commending voice. Both of the young defense attorneys had just finished re-organizing some paperwork (and struggling against Mr. Edgeworth's overcomplicated filing system) and were taking a short break on the fancy pink sofas.

“Yes, Mr. Edgeworth?” Apollo said, turning his head toward his temporary boss. He looked alert and nervous, like some sort of a giant red bunny. He immediately noticed the huge pile of papers on the desk, it towered over almost everything in the room, save for the bookshelves, maybe.

Mr. Edgeworth noticed Apollo’s response “Indeed,” he said with a slight nod “it’s quite the mess. And I need all of these papers delivered to Prosecutor Debeste’s office, posthaste.” Mr. Edgeworth glanced at the early evening sky seen through the large window behind his desk “I was honestly hoping we would not have to work late today, but sadly the Dark Age of the Law always has other plans” he said in a tone that seemed mostly meant to himself.

Apollo nodded, picked himself off the sofa and grabbed a bunch of files from the top of the pile.

“Prosecutor Debeste’s office is down this hallway, room 284,” Mr. Edgeworth said, glancing out his window again.

When Apollo left the Chief Prosecutor Office, Athena leaped to Mr. Edgeworth’s desk. “Hey! Mr. Edgeworth!” She said with a grin “if we’re so stressed on time, I should help Apollo out!” And before Mr. Edgeworth even had time to react, Athena grabbed a pile of papers, slightly larger than Apollo's and went out the door after him.

Miles watched as Ms. Cykes ran out of his office in a manic burst of energy, managing to keep the files she was holding steady only by luck and her impressive reflexes. He wondered for a second what is that all about.

“They must be quite eager to finish work.” Miles said to himself as he was left alone in his office.

Chapter Text

Okay, sure, Room 284 was ‘down this hallway’, but it was still pretty far away from Mr. Edgeworth’s office. The many thick files weren’t an issue for Apollo at first, but now his arms were kinda starting to hurt. He probably shouldn’t have taken so many at once.

“Hey! Hey! Apollo!” He heard Athena’s voice calling out from somewhere behind him “having troubles?” She teased as she quickly walked past him, holding an even bigger pile of documents than Apollo's.

Apollo grumbled to himself and tried to pick up his pace, but only found himself panting in exhaustion.

“How are you carrying so much?!” Apollo asked, trying to catch up.

“Exercise, Apollo! Exercise and Orange Juice” Athena said back at him “Maybe if you did more morning workouts, you’d be able to catch up to me!” She grinned.

“I do...*huff* morning exercises too, you know!” Apollo said.

“Yeah, vocal exercises,” Athena said in a somewhat-mocking tone “I’m sure that if you just scream at those papers hard enough, they’ll just walk up to Room 284 on their own!” Athena picked up her pace even more.

"Yeah, yeah, it's not *huff* such a big deal" Apollo said, although he didn't 100% believe that himself "it's not like it's an actual competition"

"I'm gonna get a good performance evaluation from Mr. Edgeworth!" Athena teased in a sing-song manner "and you're just gonna get a pay-cut!" she was almost at the office door.

“Oh, that’s it!” Apollo grumbled, mostly to himself, since Athena was so far ahead of him “It’s on!!!” That last part was probably loud enough that Athena heard him, and the rest of the floor too.

Prosecutor Sebastian Debeste and Detective Kay Faraday were busy arguing about petty, childish things in the former’s office when they suddenly heard a strange yell.

“Hmmmm...” Kay rubbed her chin in an exaggerated manner “My Detective Senses are telling me someone is yelling in the hallway.”

“You don’t need ‘Detective Senses’ for that!” Sebastian said, pouting “Even I heard that!”

“Well- “

Kay’s retort was cut off by the sound of someone kicking the door open. A yellow-clad girl with red hair, holding an impressive pile of files, entered the room and dropped the pile off on Sebastian’s desk with a triumphant smile. Kay, who was sitting on the desk, jumped to the floor in surprise.

“Special delivery from Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth!” The girl said before heading out the door “I’m, um, one of his new assistants!”

“Assistant?” Kay said with a questioning sorta-frown, her hands on her hips.

Sebastian looked blankly at the documents before he remembered “Oh, that’s right! Those are all the old case files Mr. Edgeworth wanted to look over!” He said, not noticing that Kay is not listening and that the strange girl already left the room “It was because, um, some people in Criminal Affairs were exposed for…for…“ it took him a moment to remember the word "for forging evidence in favor of the prosecution, so we wanted to make sure none of my cases were built on false evidence." He looked at the files again "But I think there should be more of them? I thought tha-"

Sebastian’s train of thoughts was derailed by someone else entering the office, a young man, about Sebastian’s age more or less (maybe a little younger?). He was wearing red and holding more case files. The young man was panting due to their weight and was noticeably relieved when he slammed them on the desk.

“Hey! That desk is made of real expensive wood, you know!” Sebastian said, waving his baton in what he hoped was an intimidating manner (but wasn't really).

The red-wearing guy didn’t pay attention to him, and just ran (or at least tried to run) out the door. “Hey! Wait for me!” He yelled after, presumably, the yellow-wearing girl.

“And who was that guy?” Kay asked with a pout.

“Well, that girl said she was one of Mr. Edgeworth’s new assistants,” Sebastian said, fiddling with his baton “so I’m guessing that was another assistant? That’s a… Prosecutor’s Deduction!” He added with a little smarmy smile.

“Did you notice they were wearing Defense Attorney Badges?” Kay asked.

“No, no I didn’t!” Sebastian exclaimed, accidentally slapping himself with his baton in surprise “How did you notice?”

“Detective Senses!” Kay said with a prideful grin.

When Ms. Cykes had burst back into Miles’ office, she was wearing a manic grin on her face. Miles was about to chastise her for slamming doors, but before he could open his mouth, she ran toward the desk and tried to pick up all of the files at once.

Ms. Cykes is an exceptionally athletic person, but even she visibly struggled under the weight, wobbling in place as she tried to find her balance.

Miles took a deep sigh and rose from his chair “Ms. Cykes,” he said in a disapproving tone and took a few papers off her hands, intending to slowly take the load off her “I understand you must be anxious to finish the work day, but- “

But Ms. Cykes was already heading toward the door, slightly more balanced, but still waddling in a rather ridiculous manner. “It’s okay, Mr. Edgeworth!” She called to him “Athena Cykes can do anything, for DUTY!” She tried to sound enthusiastic, although her voice was audibly straining. Still, she made it out the door before Miles could finish saying what he wanted.

“Hrmph...” Miles mumbled to himself.

It was then that Mr. Justice came running into the office, he looked extremely exhausted.

“Athena...” he managed to say between heavy breaths. He looked at Miles’ empty desk with panicked eyes, but his gaze quickly shifted to the small pile of papers Miles still held in his hands.

“Mr. Edgeworth! I’ll take care of that!” He managed to say and snatched the files off Edgeworth’s hands.

“Mr. Justice… are you alright?” Miles asked, extremely concerned.

“I’m FINE!” Mr. Justice screamed in retort as he headed out the door.

And it was in that moment that it all clicked into place for Miles. Mr. Justice and Ms. Cykes were not simply trying to finish work as quickly as possible, they were having a competition. A petty, childish competition that’s bound to end badly. He and Franziska used to do it all the time as children, although usually not with challenges of brute strength like this one. Still, he recognized the pattern well.

Miles made sure he finished up everything he had to finish in his office and headed after them. This could only end in disaster.

This time, Apollo managed to catch up with Athena. Mostly because she was so weighted down by all the papers she was holding.

“You are carrying way too much!” He told her, his concern overriding his competitiveness.

“What’s wrong, Apollo?” She said between breaths “Afraid you’d lose? Athena Cykes will NEVER compromise!”

“You can barely move!” Apollo said, though, admittedly, he couldn’t feel his legs anymore “I’m going to get to Room 284 first!”

“In your dreams, Apollo!” Athena said, wobbling a bit in an attempt to regain her balance. “Slow and steady wins the race!”

Apollo was about to note that nothing about Athena right now looked 'steady' when he noticed how close they both were to Room 284’s doorstep.

Athena tried to pick up her pace in a sudden burst of energy, and, not wanting to lose to her so suddenly, Apollo started running too. Then, with almost perfect synchronization, they both lost their balance and fell to the floor, right on Persecutor Debeste’s doorstep, their papers and files flying all over the room and the hallway.

“Tsk. I knew this was bound to end like this” they suddenly heard Mr. Edgeworth’s voice, cold and disapproving. They turned around, still on the floor, and saw him standing right behind them, looking even angrier than usual. “I hope your ridiculous competition was worth it”

Apollo and Athena squirmed under his gaze.

“Mr. Edgeworth! Hey! Mr. Edgeworth!” a voice came from inside Room 284. The young man and woman who were inside the room, presumably Prosecutor Debeste and his detective partner, ran toward the Chief Prosecutor.

“Are those two…” the woman, probably the detective, gestured vaguely with one hand, while her other hand was on her hips.

“Buffons?” the young man, probably Prosecutor Debeste (Since he was wearing a Prosecutor Badge), offered in a cheery helpful tone.

“Are those two really your new assistants?” the detective asked. "You've really let your standards slip, Mr. Edgeworth!" She pouted at him.

Mr. Edgeworth seemed to consider his words “It’s a temporary arrangement, I assure you. They are not really mine, they’re…” Mr. Edgeworth huffed as he gestured at Apollo and Athena “They’re Wright’s”

“Ooooooooh!” Prosecutor Debeste and the Detective said in unison, nodding in understanding.

“So basically, you’re…um, um…” Prosecutor Debeste said, fiddling with a baton in his hand “babysitting?”

“Babysitting for your boooooyfriiieeeend?” asked the detective with a wide, teasing smile.

Mr. Edgeworth gazed back at the two defense attorneys picking themselves off the floor. “Yes, I think ‘Babysitting’ is the appropriate word here, Prosecutor Debeste.”

Apollo and Athena were standing now, but when Mr. Edgeworth looked at them, they felt like they were growing smaller and smaller by the second.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Edgeworth!” Apollo shouted.

“It's all my fault, okay?" Athena said, half apologetic-half defensive "I just thought it’d be fun to...em…” She pulled a stray piece of paper that somehow got stuck in her ponytail “add a bit of challenge to it?”

Mr. Edgeworth sighed, and adjusted his glasses. “Sebastian, Kay,” he turned to Prosecutor Debeste and the detective “It’s getting awfully late, you should head home. No reason you two should be stuck in here all night.”

The detective and the prosecutor looked at Mr. Edgeworth, then looked at Apollo and Athena, then back at Mr. Edgeworth. “Y-you’re probably right, Mr. Edgeworth…” Prosecutor Debeste said.

“Yeah, I’m gonna miss Movie Night with Ema.” the detective checked the time on her phone. “Come on, Sebastian!” she grabbed Prosecutor Debeste by the collar of his suit and the two disappeared down the hall, in the direction of the elevators.

Mr. Edgeworth turned his attention back into Apollo and Athena “Sadly, you have to remain here and clean up this horrendous mess,” he said, looking around him at the papers that were strewed everywhere “and as the one responsible for you, I must stay here to supervise you.”

“Yes, Mr. Edgeworth…” Apollo said with a long sigh, and he and Athena got to work. Back on the floor, gathering up all the papers and organizing them back on Prosecutor Debeste's desk.

“...hey, Apollo…” Athena whispered to him “...wanna have a competition over who can- “

“No.” Apollo said sharply.

“Yeah…” Athena sighed “Me neither.”

Mr. Edgeworth watched them. The two of them were utilizing Apollo’s experience with boring paperwork and Athena's strength to try and sort the mess they made as quickly as they could. After a few minutes, his stern expression changed to an awfully glum one. He turned to look at the night sky through the windows of Prosecutor Debeste’s office and sighed sadly. Mr. Edgeworth took out his phone and made a call. For a moment, Apollo was worried he’d call Mr. Wright. He was worried that, after he impressed him so much in Trucy's Trial, Mr. Edgeworth is going to tell him he and Athena acted like idiots and children and all of this respect he just earned is going down the drain.

“Hello? Trucy? Trucy, my dear? This is Mr. Edgeworth speaking.”

But this was somehow even worse

“I… I must apologize, Trucy, it seems like I’m going to have to remain in the Prosecutor’s Office until much later tonight… Yes, indeed, it seems like I cannot take you out for ice cream this evening.”

Much, much worse.

“Again, I apologize, I always intend to keep my promises, but…” Mr. Edgeworth glanced at the two young defense attorneys trying to patch together scattered files “...a matter requiring my attention has come up at the Prosecutor’s Office. I’m the Chief Prosecutor, those things do happen sometimes.” Mr. Edgeworth nodded as he listened to Trucy on the other end of the line “Yes, cleaning up the Dark Age of the Law is hard work, but so is magic, from what I hear… Yes, let’s hope nothing springs up tomorrow… yes… I love you too, Trucy, dear. Good night.”

Mr. Edgeworth hung up his phone, and for a long moment - there was nothing but awful awkward silence in the room. Athena and Apollo did their best to avoid eye contact with the Chief Prosecutor.

Mr. Edgeworth walked toward Prosecutor Debeste's desk and idly examined it, suddenly noticing the mark left when Apollo slammed a pile of files into the desks. “That desk is made of very expensive wood, you know,” he said in a disapproving tone.

Chapter Text

Miles was long since used to working ridiculously late hours, especially lately, with half of his subordinates fired or under investigation for corruption. But it was clear Wright’s young protégés were not. It was not surprising, really. He knew the Wright Anything Agency closes on 6 PM on the dot, if there's no investigation going on, Wright wouldn’t think to work a second more. Even on days Miles actually finishes work when he’s supposed to, Wright is always already at home waiting for him. And it would be inconceivable that Wright would make ‘the kids’, as he calls them, work longer than he does. Mr. Justice and Ms. Cykes looked extremely exhausted by the late hour, not to mention that ludicrous competition that led to all of this mess in the first place.

But it seems that the two young attorneys picked up Wright’s stubborn streak, and eventually Miles was looking at a nicely organized stack of files, sitting on Sebastian’s desk.

“Well done, Mr. Justice, Ms. Cykes,” he said, examining the files with more care “you have done impressive work.”

“So that means we’re off the hook, right?!” Ms. Cykes asked, in a burst of relived happiness.

“Hrmph” Miles said with his arms crossed “that is not how it works, Ms. Cykes.” He sent a cold glare toward her “You two have acted in an absolutely unacceptable manner which resulted in a terrible mess that held all three of us in this office much longer than we should've." Although he did his best to prevent it from impairing his judgement, Miles still felt horrible about failing to take dear Trucy out for ice cream. "And you have also taken care of this mess with admirable efficiency and teamwork. Both of these facts are true, but they do not cancel each other out. Both of those things are going on my report to Wright.”

Ms. Cykes thought for a moment before speaking “Close enough for me!” She tried to sound enthusiastic and energetic, but she was clearly drained.

Both of them looked quite tired, in fact. He suddenly remembered that they still need to take the train back home. He felt a tinge of sympathy when he thought about those two poor, exhausted things having to struggle through the public transit system so late at night.

“... it is getting awfully late…” he simply said, turning to look at the night sky again “Are you two okay with having to take the train back to your places of residence?”

Uncharacteristically, neither of them screamed in his face about being ‘fine’. “What other option is there?” Mr. Justice said with a defeated shrug.

Miles has made up his mind. “Well, if you want,” he said, “I might be able to give you a ride.”

Mr. Justice and Ms. Cykes blinked at him, dumbfounded.

“I’m quite serious,” Miles said “You two are in no shape to brave public transportation, and you still need a full eight hours of sleep” that was, admittedly, slightly hypocritical considering the many hours of sleep Miles have missed over the years. But he has always found that it was easier to worry about other people rather than himself “and I still expect you to be here on time tomorrow.”

“...oh yeah… of course…” Ms. Cykes muttered.

On their way to the parking lot, Mr. Justice and Ms. Cykes told Miles their addresses - and once they made their way into Miles’ car, the two younger lawyers practically fell into the backseat, sighing as if they just realized how tired they are.

“Please don’t forget to wear your seatbelts,” Miles said as he turned on the engine.

They were barely out of the parking lot when Ms. Cykes fell asleep and started snoring loudly.

“She can fall asleep anywhere,” Mr. Justice said, as if trying to justify his coworker for some reason “...she’s, eh, pretty proud of that.”

“Well, at least she’s getting some much-needed rest,” Miles said.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Mr. Justice spoke again “...You mean you’re not mad? You're not gonna… like… write an angry report about it to Mr. Wright?”

What a ridiculous notion! Miles huffed “Why on earth would I be mad about that, Mr. Justice?”

The young attorney went silent again before replaying “I don’t know…” he said, “you’re just the guy who’s mad about everything, aren’t you?”

Miles decided to not dignify that statement with a replay. He knew this would happen. Wright’s plan was obviously doomed from the start. Wright actually thought that if he’d just make Mr. Justice and Ms. Cykes spend more time with Miles, they would see what a wonderful and likable person he is. Of course it was doomed from the start. Miles was not a wonderful or likable person, he has long since accepted that about himself. It was a fact he could live with, he did not need to be wonderful or likable to enact positive change or reveal the truth, and he was more than happy with his small, but precious, circle of friends and loved ones. But Wright just had to go ahead and try… something to make his subordinates like Miles, he really did think the issue was simply that they didn’t know him well enough.

Utter foolishness Miles thought to himself Yet...somehow also utterly sweet. Just like everything else about that man, I suppose.

“Hey! Mr. Edgeworth!” Mr. Justice’s loud voice snapped Miles back into reality “You need to turn left here if you want to get to Athena’s place!”

“Oh yes, quite… of course…” Miles mumbled, rather automatically. He must stop musing over Wright while he’s driving; his thoughts always end up wandering away from the road - especially lately.

Ms. Cykes proved to be a very deep sleeper, but Mr. Justice’s 'Chords of Steel' also proven themselves to be quite useful for the situation. Mr. Justice helped the still-sleepy Ms. Cykes into her apartment while Miles waited in his car, trying to not get completely lost in thoughts about how foolish and ridiculous and loving and wonderful and warm Phoenix Wright is.

And then Mr. Justice returned and they both drove off in awkward silence.

A few minutes later, Mr. Justice spoke again “...You have a really nice car, Mr. Edgeworth…” he said “I… I like the color.”

“Thank you,” Miles said, emotionless and distant “this is a model I am rather found of…”
And then they both sunk into silence again, the only noises in the car were the subtle sound of the engine and Mr. Justice fiddling with his cell phone.

And then Mr. Justice left too, and Miles was left alone as he drove back to his house.

Even on days Miles actually finishes work when he’s supposed to, Wright is always already at home waiting for him.

Always.

Always, save for right now. Miles considered that fact as he entered his quiet, dark house.

Trucy already got home by taxi long before he and the young lawyers even left the Prosecutor’s Office. He discussed it with her over the phone. She was probably fast asleep by now (or at least Miles hoped she’s not staying up all night watching magic tutorial videos on a school night again).

It was strange, really. Miles had lived in this house for years before the Wrights moved in with him, has it always felt so… large and empty as it did this night?

“Maybe it’s about time I’ll get myself a new dog,” Miles muttered to himself in the silent living room.

Chapter Text

“Good morning, Mr. Edgeworth!” Athena shouted enthusiastically as she and Apollo opened the doors to the Chief Prosecutor's Office.

“Good morning, Ms. Cykes, Mr. Justice,” Mr. Edgeworth said, as stoic as ever. At least he didn't seem mad today.

“Did you see?” She said with a huge, satisfied grin on her face “We totally made it on time today!”

“Indeed you have,” Mr. Edgeworth said “I hope you are not expecting some sort of reward for doing the basics required of you.”

"I’m not-" Athena almost pounded her fists into the doorframe but stopped herself “have you ever heard of ‘positive reinforcement’, Mr. Edgeworth?!” her tone was still pretty pissed-off.

“Ms. Cykes,” he said with a sigh “I would prefer if you’d refrain from criticizing my management skills until after you have worked at least a week under my employment.”

Athena was about to say something else to Mr. Edgeworth’s stupid punchable face when Apollo cut her off. “Anything you need us to do this morning, Mr. Edgeworth?” He asked very, very loudly.

“Right now, there’s nothing urgent. I’m happy to see that you and Ms. Cykes are so energetic. Considering the events of yesterday.” Although there was nothing about the Chief Prosecutor’s expression or (more importantly for Athena) his voice that expressed anything but disinterested professionalism “But it seems like today might be a quiet day. I’m sure you two will appreciate it.”

Apollo and Athena nodded idly as they stepped into Mr. Edgeworth’s office, even after having a whole day to get used to it, the stuffy, serious-yet-gaudy atmosphere of the room was still odd to them.

“I do have files that need sorting.” Mr. Edgeworth gestured at a modest collection of case files sitting on his desk “But it’s not an urgent matter.”

“Right! I’m on it!” Apollo said, running toward the desk.

“Hey!” Athena ran after him “Don’t forget me! I’m on it too!”

“Your enthusiasm is endearing.” Mr. Edgeworth crossed his arms “but this better not end the same way as your little race yesterday did. Otherwise, things might look very grim in my report to Wright and, more importantly, your salary evaluation. Are we clear?”

“Yeah…” Apollo said, losing a lot of the energy he had a second ago.

“...kristallklar…” Athena was also noticeably deflated.

“Hmmm…” Mr. Edgeworth muttered as he took a quick look through a folder Apollo reorganized “very nicely done, Mr. Justice. Very impressive filing job.”

“Thanks, Mr. Edgeworth!” Apollo said with a prideful grin. Filing paperwork was one of his most underappreciated skills, at least in the Agency.

Mr. Edgeworth checked his watch “I’ll be taking my morning tea break,” he said, “Mr. Justice, Ms. Cykes, I trust that you two will be alright without my supervision,” He said in a tone that really did not convey a lot of trust “farewell.”

Apollo and Athena continued to work in silence for a couple of minutes before Apollo said something.

“You know… this isn’t that terrible…”

Athena gave him a suspicious glare “...you’re kidding me, right?” she asked, although she knew he wasn’t kidding.

“Well, Mr. Wright never compliments my folder-sorting skills,” Apollo explained “You know, like… the Agency always looks like a mess…”

Athena turned her head for a second to look at the perfectly-organized and perfectly-clean Chief Prosecutor Office.

“And you know! When we told the receptionist downstairs we’re ‘Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth’s new assistants’ she was actually impressed!” Apollo’s voice was excited, and then quickly turned quiet (or at least what counted as quiet for him) “nobody’s never that impressed with the Agency.”

“Oh, come on, Apollo! Plenty of people are… impressed with the Agency!” Athena smiled, but her lack of confidence was clear “We’re famous! Mr. Wright is famous!” but it wasn't the same thing, and she knew it.

“I know Mr. Wright is a great lawyer and we do important work in the Agency, but…” Apollo paused to consider his words “but a lot of other people don't see it. Even after everything we did, after everything Mr. Wright did, the Agency is still kind of a joke. But being 'Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth's Assistants'? Everyone knows that he's someone you respect, and everyone finds that impressive. Even if the actual work we do is a lot less important than what we do in the Agency.” He sorted another file into its place on Mr. Edgeworth's bookshelf.

“But- but we shouldn't care what those people think! And… and Mr. Edgeworth is a jerk!” Athena said, slamming the papers she was holding on the desk in anger.

“...Yeah, I don’t like him that much, either,” Apollo agreed “but you don’t always have to be best friends with your boss.”

“Well, being friends with your boss never hurt anyone either!” Athena retorted, Widget turning red with her frustration.

Apollo stopped to think before he answered her “Oh, yeah… you only ever worked under Mr. Wright.”

Athena raised her eyebrows in curiosity, not only has Apollo never mentioned working under someone other than Mr. Wright (at least not to her), there was a highly unusual amount of discord in his voice as he said that.

Apollo didn't seem happy with Athena's curious expression “You know what, forget I said anything! Just forget it, okay?” he said, his voice getting louder, the way it usually does when he was stressed.

“Who did you work for other than Mr. Wright?” Athena blurted out.

“...Trucy...”

“Nah uh! That doesn’t count!” Athena put her hands on her hips “I ‘worked under’ her too!”

“I- “

“I think you should let it go, Ms. Cykes,” they suddenly heard that familiar serious voice behind them “A person’s past is their own business and theirs only.” They turned around to see Mr. Edgeworth standing at the doorframe, his arms crossed “unless they are under investigation, of course.” He entered the room wearing a small satisfied smirk, apparently proud of his what-passes-for-a-joke-with-that-guy.

“Mr. Edgeworth!” Apollo yelled in surprise.

“Um… how much of that did you hear?” Athena asked.

“There’s no need to worry, Ms. Cykes,” Mr. Edgeworth was still smirking smugly, as if he was beating Mr. Wright in court “As Mr. Justice said, ‘you don’t always have to be best friends with your boss.’ Especially if he is a 'jerk'.”

Athena nodded, still feeling embarrassed.

“Now,” Mr. Edgeworth went to his desk and pulled out a few folders “I have a several files I need you to transfer to the offices of prosecutors working in this building, I believe you are familiar with some of them.” He lifted up two folders labeled ‘Blackquill, Simon’ and ‘Gavin, Klavier’ “While usually I wouldn’t stand for idle chatter - remember that one of the reasons you’re here is to strengthen the relationship between defense attorneys and prosecutors. So, this time, and I do want to emphasize this is an exception from the norm, you may- “

“We can take our time to hang out with Simon and Prosecutor Gavin?” Athena interjected, excited. She’s been waiting for an excuse to hang out with Simon.

“...yes, more or less,” Mr. Edgeworth agreed “don’t let it consume too much of your time, you’re still at- “

But Athena was barely listening to him anymore, she grabbed all the files off Mr. Edgeworth’s hands, dragged Apollo by his collar with her other hand and ran out the door.

“You really haven’t seen Prosecutor Blackquill’s office yet?” Apollo asked as the elevator door opened on Simon’s floor “you two hang out all the time!”

“We’re not going to hang out at work, Apollo!” Athena said as she exited the elevator alongside her coworker “It’s not like I bring Simon to hang out at the Agency or something!”

“I always thought that was just because Mr. Wright is afraid of him…” Apollo said, mostly to himself.

“I wish Mr. Edgeworth was afraid of me…” Athena mumbled quietly before knocking on Simon’s office door.

At first, it seemed like there was no response to the knocking, Apollo wanted to just go ahead and open the door himself, but Athena stopped him. A second after that, a familiar, yet muffled sound of a hawk's cry was heard from behind the door. And quickly after that, the door itself opened with the sound of bird screeches and talon scratches.

As Apollo and Athena entered the room, Taka quickly flew away from the doorknob he had struggled to open and back to his post by Simon’s desk.

The room was… more normal than both defense attorneys expected; meaning it still had a desk and some chairs and bookcases full of case files and paperwork. Although it was also choke-full of samurai memorabilia and bird-themed motivational posters, with a few swords hanging on the wall for decoration. Simon Blackquill was sitting with his legs on the desk, staring at the ceiling. Seemed like he didn’t notice who exactly Taka welcomed into the office.

“Hey! Simon!” Athena waved cheerfully “I see Taka finally got the hang of that door opening trick!”

“Athena? Justice-dono?” In spite of the prosecutor’s intimidating appearance, he was clearly surprised “What on earth are you doing here?”

“We’re Mr. Edgeworth’s new assistants!” Athena said “Um, for like a week." She quickly added "The boss- I mean Mr. Wright, got us this gig.”

“Mr. Wright wants us to learn about the law from the other side of the courtroom,” Apollo said “and he and Mr. Edgeworth are, um, you know… close…”

Simon nodded and let out a tiny chuckle “I’d say those two are as close as you can get.”

"Yeah…" Apollo was blushing red with embarrassment again "So that's how he got us to be Mr. Edgeworth's assistants for a week."

“We have some files to deliver to you!” Athena waved the folder above her head “And we have official permission from the boss - I mean Mr. Edgeworth, to stay and chat.”

“Hmph, very well.” Simon took his legs off the table and leaned forward in his chair “Let’s see if you have what it takes to fulfill the Chief Prosecutor’s tasks,” he said with what Athena knew was a playful smile, but most people will interpret as just a really scary murder-smirk.

“TAKE THAT!” Athena shouted and threw the folder across the room, Simon caught it in mid-air.

“Heh, you’re getting better… Cykes-dono,” Simon said as he took a quick look at the folder, before throwing it offhandedly on the desk.

“I like what you’ve done with the place!” Athena run into the office and sat on a small bookcase, looking at one of the more impressive-looking swords hanging on the wall next to her “are you and Taka getting used to working from an office?”

“Well, it’s better than a dingy, cold jail cell in a prison full of prosecutor-hating criminals, if that’s what you mean.” Simon scratched Taka affectionately “but this place still needs some redecorating to be a true samurai's stronghold,” he said, gesturing at the bookcases “far too much sunlight,” he added in disgust, as he once again leaned back and put his legs on the table.

“I see…” Apollo said, mostly because he felt kinda left out of the conversation “... hey, is Mr. Edgeworth okay with you putting your legs on the table like that?"

“Heh…” Simon chuckled “the Chief Prosecutor isn’t here right now, is he?”

“Yeah!” Athena jumped up to stand on the bookcase “and we’re not gonna tell him, right, Apollo?”

“Right, Justice-dono?” Simon's smile disappeared, and he gave Apollo a scary grimace.

“I…” Apollo crossed his arms defensively “... this is peer-pressure...” He grumbled

Athena and Simon both laughed.

“This is exactly why I like you, Simon!” Athena leaned on the wall, still standing on that small bookcase “I can’t believe Mr. Wright thinks everyone should like Mr. Edgeworth better than you…”

“Wright-dono is a dull fool” Simon said “it's only natural that these two old birds will flock together…”

Athena considered her prosecutor friend “Hey, Simon,” she jumped back to the floor, her face turning serious “what do you think about Mr. Edgeworth?”

Simon looked at her in surprise. After a moment, his expression changed into a thoughtful one, he took his legs off the table and sat in a slightly more professional manner “I will always be in debt to the Chief Prosecutor, after everything he did to help me achieve my revenge on the phantom,” he said “why, without his connections, I’d probably be rotting six feet under.” He chuckled.

“... how can you even joke about it…” Apollo said to himself.

“Simon…” Athena said, also slightly uncomfortable with the remark “that’s not really an answer…At least, not the answer I was looking for.”

Simon looked at her for a second before replaying “No one could ever be my mentor in the way your mother was, Athena…” he said in an honest tone “but the Chief Prosecutor is as close as anyone will ever get. I really do owe a lot to him.” Taka, sensing his owner is getting upset, went to him for some neck scratches “I actually used to really look up to him back when I was starting out.”

“Wait, really?!” Athena said.

“Not a lot of people think about it now, but the Chief Prosecutor used to have a pretty bad reputation, years ago. But then he cleaned up his act and became an honorable symbol of justice and truth,” Simon continued, suddenly looking vulnerable “Being young and naive, I thought this was admirable. Not to mention, he exposed two international conspiracies in the span of less than a month just around the time I had really started my hunt against the phantom. I thought of his work as an example to me.”

“Um, no offense, Prosecutor Blackquill,” Apollo said suddenly, trying to be careful with his words toward the guy he thinks is 'scary' “it's kind of hard to imagine you and Mr. Edgeworth having that much in common.”

“Justice-dono…” it seems that Simon had briefly forgotten that he was also in the room, but he quickly tried to hide it with a smug chuckle “Neither of you know the Chief Prosecutor very well. He didn’t take down the Cohdopian Smuggling Ring by huffing about tea and obeying the rules blindly.” Simon watched in amusement as the two defense attorneys’ brows shot up with surprise “he always used to go around talking about the importance of the truth, and how nothing will stop him from bring it to light. And sometimes it meant testing his blade against the legal system itself, against its rules and its corruption. Especially during the height of the Dark Age of the Law”

Athena and Apollo stared at him blankly for a silent moment. “A-are you sure you’re talking about Mr. Edgeworth?!” Apollo asked, “I’ve never read anything about that.”

"Yeah!" Athena added "This is the guy who wrinkles his nose anything someone deviates from a proper case-filing system!"

“Hmph… you’re a little Wright-dono fanboy, aren’t you?" Simon said to Apollo "That stuff didn’t really happen when he was around. I think… When those two lovebirds are working together, it's Wright-dono’s job to bend the rules for both of them.” Simon looked at Apollo and saw he wasn’t convinced “... a lot of that stuff wasn’t released to the press; the Chief Prosecutor was a hero after he successfully convicted that smuggling ring leader - nobody needed to know that he bent investigative rights rules like rubber to do so. But inside the Prosecutor’s Office, the Chief Prosecutor was a pariah for a long time. Because he didn’t just play around with the higher ups’ corruption, and because he kept on hanging out with scoundrels like Wright-dono and myself. A forger and a murderer… not the best look for a prosecutor.”

“So what happened?” Apollo asked.

“Well, he got older, older and boring, I bet” Athena suggested.

Simon nodded his head negatively, condescending “He got promoted, Athena,” he said “he’s no longer a lone samurai, he is a general now. It’s his duty to set example to us all, he can’t play rebel anymore. Especially if he’s supposed to be the man who ended the Dark Age of the Law.”

“Hmmm….” Athena fiddled with her earring for a moment “So, what you’re saying is that… if you were made Chief Prosecutor tomorrow, you’d also become a boring loser like Mr. Edgeworth?”

“No, I’m saying is that I could never become Chief Prosecutor” Simon leaned back in his chair, once again taking a more relaxed pose “The Chief Prosecutor… Edgeworth-dono, always had a stick in his arse. Now it’s just a matter of not being allowed to take it out.”

“Va bene, I guess that make sense…” Athena said “but do you guys… like, get along? As co-workers?”

Simon paused for a long moment before he answered. “The Chief Prosecutor and I are… very similar in some ways. Too similar. People can’t get along too well with people who remind them of themselves,” he said matter-of-fact “we all just see our worse traits in them." He sighed quietly and gave Taka more neck-scratches "There's a reason why the Chief Prosecutor fell in love specifically with your blathering buffoon of a boss. Birds of a feather might flock together, but the man with the monogramed tea set could only really flock with the guy who drinks soda out of a used coffee mug." Oh yeah, I told him about that Athena remembered "So, by those metrics, the Chief Prosecutor and I are getting along as well as we could ever be."

“Alright, I see what you’re getting at.” Athena nodded.

“Plus… have you seen that statue on his desk?” Simon asked, more serious than he's been during the entire visit “that shiny Silver Samurai decorating his office?”

Apollo and Athena blinked at him blankly. There was a statue of what Athena was pretty sure was some old kid’s show hero in Mr. Edgeworth’s office, somewhere between the fancy flower vase and the fancy chess board, but… “but… isn’t that just a present from, like…” Athena suddenly realized that she doesn’t have a good explanation for why the statue was there. If it was a present for solving a case related to the show or something like that, they wouldn't give him a giant toy, now would they? Who would ever think to give Mr. Edgeworth a present like that? And since when do people give presents to prosecutors? They've got enough money anyway!

“Heh, the Chief Prosecutor is dabbling in some expert psychological manipulation and he doesn’t even realize it” Simon tapped on his forehead with a smug look in his eyes “this is a masterful act of ‘hiding in plain sight’”

“What do you mean?” Apollo was still thinking about it.

“IT MEANS MR. EDGEWORTH IS A CHILDREN’S SHOW NERD, APOLLO!” Shouted Athena, grabbing Apollo by his lapels. She just figured it out.

“He’s a huge fan of the Samurai Expended Universe,” Simon said, “I don’t think I have ever met a more passionate fan than him.”

“Are you trying to say that as a bad thing? Like that's something that's gonna stop you two from getting along?” Athena said, recovering from the initial shock “that’s pretty hypocritical of you, Simon!”

“Of course that's not what I'm saying,” Simon said, defensive “It’s simply that… he is one of those infuriating early-series-purists,” he sneered “only a fool thinks 'the Steel Samurai' had a better storyline then 'the Nickel Samurai'! They both have an equal amount of clumsy retcons, he is simply soft on 'Steel' due to it being the first and because of his infatuation with Will Powers! Any attempts to discuss it with him simply ends in disaster, yet another reason why we just can't get along,” he shook his head.

“That’s what I thought,” Athena said with a grin.

Chapter Text

“Okay, bye, Simon! We’ll see you later!” Athena waved goodbye to Prosecutor Blackquill as they left his office.

“Hmph…” Prosecutor Blackquill had that scary look in his eyes.

“Oh! Of course!” Athena laughed lightly “I mean, bye, Simon and Taka!”

“... Farewell, Athena and Justice-dono.” Prosecutor Blackquill said quietly, but he didn't sound hostile.

Athena waved goodbye one last time before Taka closed the office door behind them.

“That was fun!” Athena said as they walked down the hallway, checking out the other files in her hand.

“Yeah…” Apollo said, half-heartily, his head buried in his phone.

“What’s wron-" Athena started to say before it quickly dawned on her “Oh… oh, I see. You were feeling left out back there, with me and Simon, weren’t you?”

“Well, Yeah!” Apollo said “Prosecutor Blackquill is your friend, not mine.” And while those two chatted away about their lives, about that children show that apparently Prosecutor Blackquill and Mr. Edgeworth love, about various forms of fighting and psychology, all Apollo could do is watch and mentally note how often he had issues telling the various topics apart.

“Sorry about that, Apollo! It's not like we didn't-” Athena said, still looking through the files when she suddenly remembered something and started looking more frantically “Hey! How about we make things even! We can visit Prosecutor Gavin next!” She pulled out the relevant folder.

Apollo didn’t react as enthusiastically as Athena probably expected “Prosecutor Gavin?” He asked, apprehensive, with a raised eyebrow “I mean, he’s nice, I… I guess? And I appreciate his skills as a prosecutor, but we’re not exactly friends outside of court like you and Prosecutor Blackquill are.”

“Well…either way, we have to get to him eventually...” Athena said, sounding a bit embarrassed about something “I just think you boys could really get along, if you just-”

Apollo wasn't really listening to Athena, he was thinking about something, and he just came to a realization “Okay, Athena, you know what?” he said “Let’s go see Prosecutor Gavin. I have… some things I want to talk with him.”

“Alright! Great!! Großartig!" Athena jumped in place “Let’s do this!” she shouted as she run towards the elevator, dragging a stumbling Apollo after her.

“So, basically, what you’re telling me,” Prosecutor Gavin said, smiling an infuriatingly smug smile “is that your Herr Wright sent you here to get some quality time with his boyfriend?”

“That’s not what we’re saying at all!” shouted Apollo “This is just a professional internship! Mr. Wright just wants us to learn a bit about what it means to be a prosecutor! And Mr. Edgeworth just… happens to be his closest… connection in the Prosecutor's Office.”

“It’s not a contradiction, Herr Forehead,” Prosecutor Gavin said “My belief is that it’s always possible to combine personal matters with business” he winked in that cheesy rock star manner.

Apollo rolled his eyes, trying to ignore the heat in his cheeks “there’s no way Mr. Wright could have roped Mr. Edgeworth into something that stupid…” he said, “I mean, Mr. Edgeworth actually cares about keeping things professional.”

“Ja, you’re right” Prosecutor Gavin said. Apollo couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. “there’s no way our dear, stuffy, boring Herr Edgeworth would go with that idea.” After some thought he said to Apollo “sounds like you two are getting along, ja?”

“Oh, ja!” Athena agreed “Apollo is getting along great with Mr. Edgeworth, but for me it’s a nightmare! He’s such a jerk!”

“I’ve had my clashes with Herr Edgeworth in the past,” Prosecutor Gavin reminisced with an amused tone “I guess we’re both just too free-spirited for such a stick in the mud, right, fräulein?”

Apollo was deep in thoughts again, wondering what’s the best way to approach the subject. “Hey, Athena,” he said suddenly “can I have a moment alone with Prosecutor Gavin?" He turned toward him "I… need to talk with you about something, and… and it’s kinda private.”

Both Prosecutor Gavin’s and Athena’s eyebrows basically shot up to the ceiling at that remark, and Apollo realized that it probably came out all wrong. His cheeks were getting warm again.

“Alright, Apollo!” Athena’s expression quickly changed from surprised to cheerful “I’ll let you and Prosecutor Gavin have your private talk,” she said as she ran out of the office “and I’ll just be… waiting outside!” And she closed the door on them before Apollo could explain himself better.

“So… what is it you wanted to tell me, Herr Forehead?” Prosecutor Gavin was wearing a grin that Apollo could only interpret as 'mocking'

“It’s about Mr. Edgeworth,” Apollo said simply, better to tackle the subject directly than to run around in circles and make a fool of himself even more.

“Oh…”

“...and,” Apollo continued “about your brother…”

The grin was completely gone from Klavier’s face, his expression was serious “You sure know how to kill the mood, Herr Forhead,” he said in a bitter voice.

“Like Athena said, she’s really having a hard time working under Mr. Edgeworth,” Apollo told the Prosecutor “but I’m getting along fine, and I… I just realized that it’s because…”

“Because it reminds you of working under my bother?” Prosecutor Gavin offered.

Apollo could only nod slowly in response.

“Ja, I see.” Prosecutor Gavin said, “and I understand.” And Apollo believed him, he had a warm, wise look in his eyes.

“It just… sorta dawned on me,” Apollo said, “I felt… comfortable working for Mr. Edgeworth because he's calm and professional and…" the words The Coolest Defense in the West floated around in his head "And he's got that big, expensive office that's… so much nicer than the Agency's and… people respect him and treat him seriously." He finished off quietly "I don’t know what to do with this information…” he buried his face in his hands “I want to trust Mr. Edgeworth like Mr. Wright does, but even being reminded that Kristoph Gavin exist makes me paranoid!”

Prosecutor Gavin could only nod in response “Ja,” And after a pause he added “but if you want assurance that Herr Edgeworth is not like my brother, why would you ever come to me?” He was smiling again, but Apollo could practically taste the bitterness in his voice. Maybe, even after almost two years, it was a bad idea to bring up Prosecutor Gavin’s brother. But…

“But, who else could I come too?” Apollo said “Athena barely knows who he is and doesn’t even know I used to work somewhere other than the Agency, Trucy only really seen him in person, like, two times and Mr. Edgeworth- “

“Herr Edgeworth knows a lot about my brother,” Prosecutor Gavin cut him off “he was Herr Wright’s only ally in the legal world back then, so of course he got involved in… all of that nasty business…” he gestured vaguely “... he tried to confront me about my brother a couple of times and I always dismissed him.” Prosecutor Gavin sighed “I told him he couldn’t judge me if he still blindly trusted Herr Wright like he did.” He slumped down, suddenly looking so tired and sad and vulnerable compared to his usual cheerful and cool self “Herr Edgeworth, Herr Wright, even Trucy knew the kind of person my brother is more than I ever did. And as for Athena… she’s a smart Fräulein, I’d trust her judgment about who is trustworthy over mine.”

“Well… I can’t ask Mr. Edgeworth whatever I can trust Mr. Edgeworth.” Apollo wasn’t really thinking about what he was saying, it just kinda came out of him. He's been keeping some of this inside for far too long, “I can’t tell Mr. Wright his boyfriend reminds me of the man who ruined his life, and Trucy… has enough on her plate right now. And as for you? I think you’re being too hard on yourself, Prosecutor Gavin.”

Prosecutor Gavin stared at him blankly for a moment, as if he couldn't believe what he just heard, before a smile appeared on his face. It looked so different than the smarmy grins that were his default expression.  “Well, Herr Forehead, if you think my opinion is worth anything.” He shifted again into a more serious, honest tone “Herr Edgeworth is someone you can trust.”

Apollo nodded seriously, urging him to continue, even just hearing that made him feel a bit relived.

“I… know how you feel, Herr Forehead. I, too, had my reservations about Herr Edgeworth at first,” he sighed deeply “when he became Chief Prosecutor, it wasn’t long after the Misham trial. I was on edge about… a lot of people.”

“...you could have fooled me…” Apollo said blankly, Prosecutor Gavin always looks so cool and on top of things.

“Ja, I’m good at that.” He smiled and played with his hair, but there was no happiness in his eyes. “I also felt what you felt, that Herr Edgeworth is like my brother in way. Not to mention he also had a… rather dark reputation once upon a time.”

“Yeah, ‘the Demon Prosecutor’” Apollo said “he really worked hard to clean up his act, but- “

“But how could we be sure if he really had a change of heart,” Prosecutor Gavin said, in sync with Apollo’s thoughts “or if being ‘a moral, truth-seeking prosecutor’ just happened to be better look for the man. A better opportunity.”

Apollo nodded quietly

“And I tried to be… as aware as I could possibly be about any warning signs,” Prosecutor Gavin lowered his gaze “to make sure I’m not missing anything I missed with my brother. And…”

“And you didn’t find anything suspicious?” Apollo offered.

Prosecutor Gavin shook his head “Nein, I think that Herr Edgeworth and my brother have almost nothing in common.”

That made Apollo’s eyes widen with curiosity. He expected Prosecutor Gavin to call Mr. Edgeworth better than Kristoph Gavin or that he's 'Kristoph Gavin without the bad bits'. ‘Nothing in common’ seemed a bit much.

“It seems strange, Herr Forehead, I know,” Prosecutor Gavin smiled at the sight of Apollo's surprise, before turning grim again “but listen, my brother? He was… hollow inside.” He knocked on his speaker-repurposed-as-table to emphasis.

“Hollow?”

“Ja, all image, no substance. Good for a band, not that good for a person,” Prosecutor Gavin said “all my brother ever did, everything he ever wanted… that was all about the image. It was all about how other people saw him.”

Apollo nodded.

“He worked hard to become a first-rate defense attorney because he just wanted people to see him as a first-rate defense attorney.” Apollo didn’t need Athena’s super hearing to know Prosecutor Gavin’s voice and heart were full of disgust, and guilt, and pity “he didn’t act like a sophisticated professional because that’s the person he was, he just wanted people to think of him as that kind of person.” Prosecutor Gavin sighed “Like I said, hollow.” Prosecutor Gavin knocked on the speaker again. He crosses his arms and looked away, staring at nothing in particular “When you and Herr Wright exposed my brother, the first time, that is, he used his connections… myself included, to get himself that luxurious prison suite. And the way he talked about it with me…" He shook his head in disbelief, like he was still processing the idea himself "It wasn’t really about having high-quality furniture, good books and nice food - he didn’t care about the content or the flavor as much as he cared about the fact that one day Herr Wright is going to pay him a visit and see him be more rich and well-off than he could ever be, even behind bars.” Prosecutor Gavin turned back to look at Apollo “kinda taking the idea of ‘the best revenge is living well’ too far, Ja, Forehead?”

Apollo nodded again, but didn't say anything. They were quiet for a while, the specter of Kristoph Gavin hanging in the room before Apollo spoke again “and Mr. Edgeworth?”

“Herr Edgeworth is nothing like my brother, he has substance under the surface, he’s like…” Prosecutor Gavin struggled to think of a word “he’s like a real person. A real person who’s a stuffy, professional stick in the mud who acts ‘sophisticated’ because that’s just the actual person he is.”

“Hmm-mm,” Apollo hummed in understanding.

“And do you know why I think that, Forehead?” the prosecutor said “Did you see that giant toy he keeps in his office? That, um-”

“Steel Samurai,” Apollo said “we, eh, we were just talking about this with Prosecutor Blackquill. Mr. Edgeworth apparently really likes this franchise. It, um, it seems pretty weird...”

“Ja, it does. Because liking a kid’s show about men in goofy suits hitting each other with swords doesn’t seem to sit with this image of Herr Edgeworth as this sophisticated, intelligent and incredibly dull man.” Prosecutor Gavin leaned in closer to Apollo, speaking in a whisper-tone like it was some sort of secret. “But it’s still there, in his office, even if it’s not something that helps cultivate his persona - because Herr Edgeworth just likes it. And that’s not something my brother would have ever done.”

Apollo nodded.

“Herr Edgeworth… likes things, he likes ridiculously expensive tea, and chess and classical music and also stuff like children's shows and that one awful shade of magenta and… Herr Wright.” Prosecutor Gavin’s eyes momentarily focused on Apollo’s eyes “I go into that man’s office and it feels like the room of a person, not just an empty mold of what ‘respected and sophisticated’ means.”

“I see,” Apollo almost got up from his chair when he saw Prosecutor Gavin still looked lost in thought, a distant cry from his usual cool self. Apollo sat back down, slowly. “Prosecutor Gavin?” He said quietly, softly.

“... I don’t think I ever really knew the kind of person my brother was, and I don’t think anyone will ever know, really. He’s all image, like I said.” Prosecutor Gavin buried his head in his hand, took a deep breath, and then lifted his head to look at Apollo again “but I do think I know who Herr Edgeworth is, and I think he’s a trustworthy man. At least as far as my opinion in the matter is worth anything.”

“Thanks, Prosecutor Gavin,” Apollo found himself, without thinking, putting his hand gently on Prosecutor Gavin’s “and for what it’s worth, I think your opinion is worth a lot.”

Klavier smiled at Apollo, a smile much wider and sincerer than of the ones he made since Apollo brought up Kristoph Gavin. A smile possibly wider and sincerer than he has ever seen from the Prosecutor. “Thank you,” He said, “that means a lot coming from you, Apollo.”

Apollo smiled back, slightly abashed “N-no problem, Klavier.”

Chapter Text

Whatever it was Apollo and Prosecutor Gavin talked about, Apollo refused to tell Athena about it. His heart gave out a whole clutter of different emotions, so it seems like it wasn’t as simple as Apollo just finally realizing Prosecutor Gavin thinks he’s cute - but Apollo seemed to be in a better mood following their visit to the Rock Star Prosecutor’s room. After that, they delivered some files to prosecutors they didn’t know. Athena noted that look of respect on their faces when they told them they worked for Mr. Edgeworth. That respect Apollo was talking about earlier. Though, she was happy to note, some of them were also impressed when they heard that they were from the Wright Anything Agency. And whenever Athena or Apollo assured a prosecutor that it was actually pretty cool that they looked up to a defense attorney like Mr. Wright, Athena felt proud, about how this tiny little act can help fight against the Dark Age of the Law. But there was one folder… one folder that they avoided delivering. Postponing it until it was the only folder left in their hands.

'Debeste, Sebastian'

'Room 284'

It was just yesterday when ‘Prosecutor Debeste’ and his friend saw them make complete idiots of themselves right in front of their new boss, and neither Apollo or Athena wanted to go through that again, but…

“There’s no way we can ask Mr. Edgeworth to skip this one, is there?” Apollo asked as they passed by his office door on their way to Room 284.

“Oh, there’s no chance in hell he’d let us get away with that!” Athena replied. "We'd be lucky he if he won't cut our pay just cause even suggesting it was completely preposterous." Athena slipped into a high-class English accent that didn't actually resemble Mr. Edgeworth's as much as she thought it would.

“Yeah…” Apollo said with a sigh.

“Vi…” Athena joined him with a sigh of her own.

And with that resigned mood, the two lawyers entered the room of Prosecutor Debeste.

They were there for hours last night, technically, but they didn't really get to pay attention to what the office actually looked like. It was… fairly normal, at least when compared to the offices of Simon, Gavin or some of the other quirky prosecutors they met today. It had a similar sophisticated and dignified (or, as Athena would put it, ‘snobby’) look as Mr. Edgeworth’s office, minus the overuse of that very specific shade of pink. The most remarkable thing about it was the rack of what looked like conductor batons on the table, and, of course, the actual prosecutor sitting by the desk. That young-looking guy with the permanent dumbfounded expression on his face and the question-mark-hair-antenna.

“Hello there!” He said in a friendly tone, he didn't seem to recognize them. "What are you doing in my office?"

“Um…” Athena said as she and Apollo approached the desk, folder in hand “This is from Mr. Edgeworth.” She threw the folder on the desk like it suddenly grew spikes.

“Oh…” Prosecutor Debeste stared blankly at the document, and then at the two attorneys already trying to leave. "Hold it!” In spite of the guy’s rather uncommanding voice, it did make Apollo and Athena stop on their tracks and turn their heads toward Debeste. Prosecutor Debeste closed one eye and framed both attorneys’ faces with his hands. “Oh!” Understanding dawned on his face “It’s you! You’re Mr. Wright’s kids!”

“Um…” that was all that Apollo managed to say. "We're not, like…"

Prosecutor Debeste ran, rather excitedly, toward the window. He opened it and shouted to the outside “Hey! Hey! Kay! Kay, guess what? Mr. Wright’s children are here again!”

Before Apollo and Athena could ask him what he was doing, a woman with a long black hair tied up in a ponytail climbed out of the window. It took Apollo and Athena a second to remember that this was the woman that was in Prosecutor Debeste’s room yesterday.

“Would you look at that!” She said with a huge grin “those really are Mr. Wright’s kids! Hello!"

“Hold it, hold on!” Apollo said, slightly uncomfortable “we’re not like… we’re not Mr. Wright’s kids, we’re his understudies. He’s not… my dad or something.”

“Oh! sorry… you see, I just thought...” the Prosecutor looked sheepish, he took a baton off the rack just so he could fiddle with it nervously.

“Pfft,” the woman said with a shrug “same difference.”

That seemed to cheer up Prosecutor Debeste, his expression changing to a smirk “Yeah, what Kay said! Same difference.” He glanced at the somewhat-annoyed faces of the two attorneys. “Oh, I’m Prosecutor Sebastian Debeste, a pleasure to meet you.”

“And I’m Detective Kay Faraday!” The woman said, “But you can just call me Kay, kay?” She winked “Sebastian is kinda like my sidekick!”

“Umm…. since I’m the prosecutor and you're the detective,” Prosecutor Debeste said “aren’t you my sidekick?”

Kay thought it over “we’re each other’s sidekick!” She said, patting him on the shoulder “Anyway, what about you two?” Her eyes were big and full of curiosity.

It took Apollo and Athena a moment to response “I’m Apollo Justice!” Apollo said loudly and awkwardly shook hands with the prosecutor and the detective.

“And I’m Athena Cykes!” Athena said, trying to match Apollo’s loudness.

“That’s great!” Prosecutor Debeste said “I always wondered when we’ll meet one of Mr. Wright, um, understudies.”

“Wait, so you know Mr. Wright?” Athena asked.

“What? Of course, we do!” Prosecutor Debeste said, gesturing with his baton.

“We’re really good friends with Mr. Edgeworth!” Kay added “so of course we know all about that man.” Kay and Prosecutor Debeste then started both giggling about what was apparently a hilarious in-joke of theirs.

“You know, before Mr. Wright got his badge back, he used to help Mr. Edgeworth on investigations unofficially,” Prosecutor Debeste said “So we met him a couple of time then. You see, I’m kinda like Mr. Edgeworth’s understudy myself. And Kay here, she was Mr. Edgeworth’s sidekick!”

“No, I wasn’t!” Kay crossed her arms and pouted “I was his mentor, in the art of thievery!”

Athena opened her mouth to say something about that, but Prosecutor Debeste interjected first, waving his baton frantically “Um! Ignore everything she says about being a thief! She’s just joking around!”

“No, I’m not!” Most people would consider Kay’s tone as ‘offended’ but Athena could hear that her heart was playful.

“Yes, you are!” Prosecutor Debeste shouted back. "Ignore her, please! She's not a thief, she's a detective!"

"I'm a Great Thief!" Kay wasn't even hiding her jokiness now, she was smiling very widely "Being a 'Police Detective' is just my secret identity!"

"No, it's not!"

"Yes, it is!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

For a few minutes, Apollo and Athena just watched the childish argument unfold in front of them, thinking about how, before they walked into this office, they were worried about whatever or not these clowns would respect them. When Detective Kay Faraday’s debate strategy started devolving into blowing raspberries, Apollo decided to try and get this conversation back on track.

“So, you’re both good friends with Mr. Edgeworth?” Apollo said, trying and only semi-succeeding to sound professional.

I didn’t even think Mr. Edgeworth HAD any friends, Athena thought to herself. probably shouldn't say it to their faces. Guess it makes sense, he can’t just have the boss and Trucy in his life… can he?

Prosecutor Debeste and Kay both nodded. "I've known Mr. Edgeworth for, um, eight years now," the prosecutor said, "He's just so… inspirational!” he then quickly turned his head toward his detective partner “Hey, is ‘inspirational’ the right word?”

Kay seemed to frown at Sebastian's gushing “Yeah, for what you’re trying to say, yeah,” She answered in an honest voice.

Prosecutor Debeste cleared his throat “Mr. Edgeworth is so inspirational!” He said looking excited and even younger than he usually look. For some reason, Athena found it much sillier than when Simon claimed Mr. Edgeworth inspired him. “he’s so smart, and… logical! And… and… good at prosecuting, and nice! And cool, and…”

“Mr. Edgeworth is a huge nerd,” Kay suddenly cut him off “and he needs to get shoved in a locker.” She paused for a moment, seemingly deep in thought “Hey, Athena! You seem pretty buff!” She grinned widely once again, seems it was her favorite expression “could you shove Mr. Edgeworth into a locker for me? Please?”

Maybe out of sheer instinct, or because the idea did seem tempting, Athena seriously considered it “... well, if I do that, Mr. Edgeworth will probably cut my pay again.”

“He’s scary and mean!” Widget added.

 “...Mr. Edgeworth isn’t mean! Or scary!” Prosecutor Debeste suddenly said, defensive “Mr. Edgeworth is great!” He seemed to be almost tearing up, before he quickly gathered himself “Maybe he seems -Um, Kay, is ‘threatening’ the right word here?”

“Yeah, don’t worry!” Kay gave him an encouraging thumbs-up.

“Maybe he seems threatening to people who don’t know him very well,” Prosecutor Debeste’s expression started shifting into a smug smirk. Maybe he was Mr. Edgeworth's 'understudy' in the art of having a punchable face. Athena mentally joked to herself “or people who just don’t know how to judge others, but- “

"Woah, slow down, Sebastian," Kay said, snatching the baton out of his hand in a swift motion. That made Debeste deflate a bit "You know I love Mr. Edgeworth too, but… he does like cutting people's pay. That's… that's fair." She looked at Apollo and Athena "I know he can look all scary and stuff, with that spooky glare of his!” Kay scrounged up her face into a goofy imitation of Mr. Edgeworth’s seemingly permanent frown “and with all his posturing in the courtroom but… he’s just a big silly nerd inside! As long as you don't do anything 'unprofessional' he's just a big, old dog!” Kay's voice was filled with excitement.

Apollo and Athena were quiet, they looked on the prosecutor and detective with disbelieving eyes (and pretty offended that Prosecutor Debeste assumes that they can’t read people well). It seems that at least Kay picked up on that.

“I swear I'm not pranking you or anything,” Kay said, “I make up way better pranks than that…" Kay added with a whisper "he really is just a harmless nerd!”

“All bark and no bite!” Prosecutor Debeste offered. “Right, Kay?”

“Well, that’s not entirely accurate,” Kay quickly corrected him “Like… if he threatens to cut someone’s pay, he’d probably do it. He’s got some bite there.”

“Awww, you’re right…” Prosecutor Debeste deflated for a moment before he perked up again "but other than that, he’s a really nice and kind person! Mr. Edgeworth is great, and you shouldn’t just call him mean for no reason!" He ended his little speech with a huge, undignified pout, getting all up in Apollo and Athena's face.

"Woah there!" Athena laughed awkwardly and backed away a bit "Look, I do get where you two are coming from. I'm a very good friend of a nerd that people say is scary and mean." Simon did tell me that he and Mr. Edgeworth are kinda similar. But it's only now that Athena realized that he might actually be right. "But… but people like that don't care if they come off as scary and mean, they cultivate that image 'cause they like it. They want people to be scared of them."

Kay looked at Athena and rolled her eyes “That's going too far. We're still talking about Mr. Edgeworth, right?" she said “How can anyone be really scared of that loser who wears a frilly napkin around his neck, and make all of these stupid weird noises at the tiniest thing that knock him off his feet? He’s a loser, and he’s our loser!”

"I think it makes Mr. Edgeworth even more… " he struggled to remember the word "… inspirational, that's it! You know? Knowing that he's… well, what Kay calls a 'loser'… but I think it makes him inspirational! His 'loserness', his Steel Samurai obsession and his moments of social, urm-"  

 “Incompetence,” Kay suggested, almost automatically.

“Yeah! His moments of social incompetence,” the prosecutor continued “it makes him more human, and that's… urm… good… it’s really good when your idols are human, because it means you really can be like them one day!” He sounded really excited at that idea.

“That’s a…” Apollo paused to think “Well, that’s a pretty interesting outlook, Prosecutor,” he set down on a chair in the office, like he was suddenly tired “I guess that beats being disappointed by them or… something like that.” Athena noted there might be a little bit of jealousy in Apollo’s heart.

“Usually, I wouldn’t care about it. If Mr. Edgeworth can’t get other people to like him, it’s his fault, not theirs,” Kay said, she suddenly seemed much more mature “But, you’re protégés of his boooyfriend.” This last word was intoned in her usual, more childish tone “you should know what kind of person Mr. Edgeworth really is.”

Well, that's… certainly a reason. What sort of person cares if I don't know the "Real Mr. Edgeworth" just cause Mr. Wright's my boss! Jeez!

“Hey, since you’re Mr. Wright’s understudies, and I was Mr. Edgeworth’s understudy!” Sebastian said suddenly “that makes us like… cousins or something. Um, Right, Kay?”

Kay pondered for a moment “wouldn’t it make them more like our step-siblings?”

“I-I guess that makes more sense that way,” Prosecutor Debeste said “but… I don’t know them well enough for them to be my siblings!”

“Protégés are not the same thing as children…” Apollo mumbled to himself, Athena was probably the only one who heard him.

"So! If you need to know anything about Mr. Edgeworth, you can come to me!" Kay said, confident "I am the biggest Mr. Edgeworth expert out there! Well, save for Mr. Wright, I guess. Oh! And Gummy, of course! And his sister!" Mr. Edgeworth's got a sister? Huh. "Well…" she laughed "None of them are here right now, so I guess I stole the position of expert from them!"

Apollo didn't seem to find Kay's antics that amusing, and he just asked her calmly and seriously "Okay… so how would you explain to us who Mr. Edgeworth 'really' is?"

"…Mr. Edgeworth keeps that giant Steel Samurai statue right in the middle of his very-serious-dignified-Mister-Chief-Prosecutor-Office, right? You've seen it, right? I mean, you're his 'assistants', after all!” Kay said “and yet he’s always super-surprised when someone notices he’s a ‘Samurai’ fan. Like anyone could miss it! Especially when the Prosecutor’s Office- “

“It’s an Office full of Prosecutors!” Prosecutor Debeste said, very proud of his observation “people who work hard all their life to investigate and spot contractions.”

Athena and Apollo exchanged glances awkwardly, probably best to not mention that they needed Simon to point that statue out for them.

“He’s clueless sometimes, that my issue with the whole 'scary and mean people want to be seen as scary and mean' thing" Kay looked at Athena "Mr. Edgeworth never has any idea how he comes across to people, he doesn't do any of this stuff intentionally," Kay crossed her arms and shrugged “and that makes him hilarious!”

“Hilarious?” Athena repeated blankly.

“Yes! That's who Mr. Edgeworth really is! Mr. Edgeworth is a riot.” She smiled a wide smile. “You know how he likes to drink his stupid expensive tea on every occasion or…”

“How he super-loves that stupid shade of pink so much…” Athena said, contemplative, “…that he color-matches his jacket and the sofa in his room…”

“Yeah! See? Mr. Edgeworth is a RIOT!” Kay was getting excited. Well, more excited than before. “And don’t forget that his curtains are the exact same color! AND all the tools in his toolbox!

“Really?” Athena said, suddenly starting to smile.

“Totally!” Kay said, jumping on Debeste’s desk and bouncing with energy “One time, I broke into his car to burrow a screwdriver and it was pink! The exact same color as his suit!”

“Oh man, yesterday, when I noticed how well his suit blends with the coach,” Athena chuckled “It made poor Widget laugh out loud.” she touched the little gadget around her neck affectionately.

“...Yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Prosecutor Debeste said “What is that thing?” he gestured with his baton at Widget, as if trying to poke it from a distant.

"Well, that's…" Oh man, who do I explain this? Athena thought to herself.

Her train of thought was cut off by the sound of a familiar, stern voice from behind them.

“Tsk, it seems I’m interrupting something.”

Chapter Text

Athena, Apollo, Kay and Prosecutor Debeste all turned around at once. Mr. Edgeworth was standing at the doorstep, holding his suitcase, looking at them with a neutral, stoic expression.

“Mr. Edgeworth!” Apollo shouted.

“Mr. Edgeworth!" Athena shouted at the same time "…How long have you being listening…” She asked.

Kay and Prosecutor Debeste looked surprised too, but considerably less nervous than the defense attorneys. In fact, the two of them seemed happy to see Mr. Edgeworth.

“It’s not something that should concern you, Ms. Cykes.” Mr. Edgeworth shot her a cold look “I'm here because I have some matters I need to discuss with Prosecutor Debeste, but it is not terribly urgent. I think you should explain what your Gadget does to Kay and Sebastian, I'm sure they would find it enlightening.”

Kay and Sebastian Athena noted not ‘Detective Faraday’ or ‘Prosecutor Debeste’, I guess they really are good friends. “Oh, um,” Athena took a moment to snap out of her thoughts “...its name is ‘Widget’ and…”

Mr. Edgeworth sighed impatiently “Ms. Cykes here is an expert on analytical psychology and a pioneer in using it as part of her courtroom strategy.”

“Yeah!” Athena got back on her horse “I believe that applying the basics of psychology and therapy in the courtroom can really help us to engage with witnesses and add to our understanding of the case!”

"Neeeerd!" Kay shouted, but her tone wasn't mean.

Prosecutor Debeste looked fascinated, but Mr. Edgeworth still looked unimpressed.

“Well, I think the word 'believe' was unnecessary here, Ms. Cykes” Mr. Edgeworth said, “Your skills have more than proven themselves to be immensely useful, or have you already forgotten your contribution to the resolution of the phantom case? I think your ideas about psychology and the law deserve more than an 'I believe'.”

“Um… merci beaucoup …” Athena said, bitterly. Getting complimented by Mr. Edgeworth was strange enough. but did he have to sound like he’s scolding her while he does it? Jerk “Widget here helps me do it, you see…” she paused for dramatic effect and put her hands on her hips “I have very sensitive ears, I can tell what emotion a person is feeling just by the subtleties in their voices,” she said, with a huge cocky grin.

"WOAH!" Kay and Prosecutor Debeste looked suitably impressed, in the corner of her eye, Athena saw Mr. Edgeworth relax and smirk.

“That’s awesome! It's like you have Super-Hearing!” Kay said, excited “Athena! Athena! Tell me what emotions I’m feeling right now!”

“You’re excited!”

“Whoa!” Kay's eyes widened in amazement.

“Wow…” Prosecutor Debeste said, excited “And what about me?”

“And you, Prosecutor Debeste…” Athena pretended to think it over “Are also excited!”

“Wow, she’s good…” Prosecutor Debeste whispered not-very-softly to Kay.

“But that’s all intuition and personal experience,” Athena explained “Widget here includes a program that can do this in a more scientific way!” She gently presses on the computer around her neck “Widget, show ‘em what you’ve got! Let's do this!”

Widget's holographic screen opened, causing some sounds of surprise and amazement from the younger prosecutor and detective.

“How do you use this thing?” Prosecutor Debeste tried to poke at the screen with his baton, it went right through it.

“Well, you need a glove like mine,” Athena adjusted her glove for emphasis “Now check this out!” In a few swift hand motions, she fired up the Mood Matrix program and had it analyze Prosecutor Debeste’s question. “See?” She gestured the yellow lights blinking on her screen “This shows you were confused!”

“That it very….” Prosecutor Debeste seemed to think over his words “incredible, and useful for cases! Right, Mr. Edgeworth?”

Mr. Edgeworth nodded from his corner of the room.

“Like! Like… if a dude talks about the murder and you can hear he’s secretly happy about it…” Kay said, “that means he’s probably the culprit, right?”

“Well, yes… technically…” Athena said, “though usually our cases are a lot less straightforward than that.”

“Yeah,” Apollo said in bitter agreement.

“But that’s what Widget does,” Athena closed the hologram screen “and when it’s not analyzing someone else’s heart, it, eh… it’s kinda analyzing mine.”

“Hello, everyone!” Widget shined with a bright green light, indicating Athena's happiness.

“It sucks that not all defense attorneys are that awesome,” Kay said to herself.

“One could say the Wright Anything Agency specializes in… unconventional methods of case investigations,” Mr. Edgeworth suddenly said “you all remember Wright, correct? And, Mr. Justice…” he turned to Apollo “would you care to demonstrate that…” Mr. Edgeworth considered how to put it “that trick bracelet of yours.”

Apollo jumped out of his chair “Oh, um…” he considered the bracelet on his arm “okay, Mr. Edgeworth!”

“No way! Does Mr. Justice have a Widget too?” Prosecutor Debeste said, with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

“Well, sort of, it’s not really as showy as Athena, but…” Apollo lifted his arm to show off the bulky bracelet “My bracelet can… um… help me to see when someone is lying.”

“Really?!” Kay said “well, I… I’m a giant pink elephant!” She shouted with a manic grin on her face and then drew closer to Apollo “So… could this thing tell I was lying?” She pocked the bracelet.

“Wha-no, no, it doesn’t work like that…” Apollo pulled away, since Kay was getting way too close to his personal space “it helps me detected nervous habits in people, which usually happens when they’re lying or hiding something. You weren’t afraid of getting caught or anything!”

“Hmmm,” Mr. Edgeworth crossed his arms and turned toward the detective “Kay, do you know what happened to the chocolates I left in the Cafeteria’s mini-fridge last Thursday?”

Apollo turned his eyes toward Kay, hand gently resting on his bracelet, already ready to detect something from Kay Faraday.

“Of course I do!” Kay smiled “I ate them!”

Mr. Edgeworth and Apollo both sighed deeply, almost in unison.

“Kay, that is not what I…" Mr. Edgeworth started saying.

“Hey, if it makes you feel any better,” Kay said with a shrug “they weren’t that tasty anyway.”

“Well, it’s harder to demonstrate than Athena’s Mood Matrix,” Apollo said defensively “but… just trust me, it works. I'm just… naturally good at picking up nervous habits, at least when I really really pay attention." He shrugged, felling a bit stressed "I don't really know why. And this bracelet twitches sometimes when someone displays a nervous habit, telling me to look carefully so I could detect it."

“Oh, that’s pretty impressive,” Prosecutor Debeste said “But I’m not sure… I’m not sure you can use it as evidence in court, right, Mr. Edgeworth?”

“You are correct, Sebastian.” Mr. Edgeworth said “it would not count as valid evidence in a court of law. But I've been informed that it could be quite useful regardless, correct, Mr. Justice?”

“Y-yes! It can be a very useful clue,” Apollo explained “knowing that someone has a tic, and sometimes, what the tic is, can help deduce stuff about the witness – usually stuff that leads to actual evidence we can use in court."

"Mr. Justice's trick bracelet was also vital in the resolution of the phantom case," Mr. Edgeworth noted. "As well as the cases that led to Wright being cleared of forgery charges."

“Man, you have super-hearing,” Kay said, pointing at Athena “and that guy has super-eyes,” she pointed at Apollo “you guys are like… superheroes!”

"Yeah!" Athena pumped her fists.

"Yeah!" Widget blipped in agreement.

"I wish I could show it to you guys," Apollo looked down at his bracelet and spun it around his arm idly.

“Hrrrrm,” Kay did what seemed like a cartoonish parody of Mr. Edgeworth’s thinking pose “So your thing is not lie-specific, right? It just notices that someone is nervous and usually it’s because they’re lying, right?”

“... right…” Apollo agreed, confused.

“So, all we need to do is just get Mr. Edgeworth to do a sincere emotional response!” Kay said, “And then Apollo we’ll have all the nervous habits he could ever hope for!”

“…. Kay, please, please stop being ridiculous,” Mr. Edgeworth tried to sound scolding and serious, but his nervousness was clearly audible to Athena’s ears.

And judging from way Apollo was suddenly staring at the Chief Prosecutor’s face, the nervousness was also clearly visible to Apollo’s eyes. “Hey, Mr. Edgeworth? Your eyes keep darting to the side,” he said quietly, “Is this about Detective Faraday's joke? ... are you uncomfortable with…um… ‘Sincere emotional responses’?” His tone was automatic, like he was interrogating yet another witness and not talking about emotions.

“Hmph!” Mr. Edgeworth looked uncomfortable in a way Apollo and Athena were not quite used to him looking. He wasn’t even the panicked disheveled thing they sometimes met in the boss’ office, when they walked on them being all affectionate. It's like he suddenly closed in on himself, building up walls.

And that was all for a moment, and then he took a deep breath, probably to calm himself.

“That is quite enough,” Mr. Edgeworth said very coldly, trying his best to sound collected “Mr. Justice and Ms. Cykes are not toys.” he gently pushed the detective and the young prosecutor away from Apollo and Athena “They’re… well... they’re Wright’s. And you can't just poke at his protégé's 'special features' all day."

"You know, I don't actually mind-" Athena started to say. She's been far too used to people looking down on her theories about psychology in the courtroom and having someone find it so cool was actually a really welcome change.

Mr. Edgeworth shot an icy glare at Athena and then pretended not to hear her “Now, it’s enough delays, I do have some important things to discuss with Prosecutor Debeste and Detective Faraday.”

Mr. Edgeworth stepped next to Prosecutor Debeste’s desk. And, almost automatically, Apollo and Athena found themselves backing into the doorstep.

“And, Mr. Justice,” Mr. Edgeworth said “I would prefer if you would refrain from psychoanalyzing me. This is not in your job.” After a pause to think he added “that goes for you too, Ms. Cykes, regardless of your expertise.”

And then Apollo and Athena were outside the office, Mr. Edgeworth went to close the door on them, but then Prosecutor Debeste stopped him “Wait, Mr. Edgeworth,” He said “I-I still have a question I wanna ask Mr. Justice,” he squashed and stretched his baton in nervousness.

“Hmph,” Mr. Edgeworth considered the smaller, younger prosecutor in front of him “What is it?”

“UM… I really like your hair!” Prosecutor Debeste shouted at Apollo “What kind of hair gell do you use?”

Chapter Text

The rest of the work day moved on better than yesterday, there was indeed a lot less stuff to do. Although they still avoided talking with Mr. Edgeworth as much as they could, only interacting the bare minimum they needed to do work. Mr. Edgeworth quickly settled back into his regular self, cold though not hostile, but it just felt… awkward. After that weird thing with Prosecutor Sebastian Debeste and Detective Kay Faraday.

“Hm…” Mr. Edgeworth mumbled to himself, looking up from his computer and turning to look at the setting sun through his office window “Mr. Justice, Ms. Cykes,” he called out, quietly.

“Yeah?” They both said in unison, Athena dropped the files she was trying to sort.

“Are you close to done?” Mr. Edgeworth asked

“Almost!” Athena shouted “I just need to…” She grumbled as she went to pick up the folder, only for it to slip out of her hands again.

“Once you are done,” Mr. Edgeworth said, “please come by my desk, I have something to discuss with you.” He tried to keep a calm tone, but Athena could hear the tiniest hint of discord in his voice.

Slightly uneased, Athena basically shoved the files into their probably-intended place and ran with Apollo to Mr. Edgeworth’s desk. “What is it?” She said, probably giving her uneasiness away considering she slammed the desk as she said it.

“You have done a fine job today, Mr. Justice, Ms. Cykes,” he said, “And it seems like we can all finish work relatively early today.”

“Really?” Apollo and Athena were both smiling, although Athena was still slightly troubled. There was something off about his voice.

“And I was simply considering,” Mr. Edgeworth’s eyes suddenly darted away from Apollo and Athena and apparently decided the flower vase was absolutely fascinating “if it would not be too much of a bother for you…”

Mr. Edgeworth’s voice was suddenly full of stress and uncertainty, no matter how calm he tried to present himself. And judging from the way Apollo was looking at his bracelet, at the corner of Athena’s eye, he was probably displaying a nervous tick or two or two billion.

Mr. Edgeworth’s eyes slowly moved away from the flower vase, flickered over Widget and Apollo’s bracelet, then looked directly at the attorneys’ faces. He sighed, for a brief moment, his face took on an expression that Athena couldn’t quite place: Pain? Disgust? Weariness? Resignation?

Whatever it was, it disappeared quickly, Mr. Edgeworth took a deep breath and returned to his confident, professional demeanor “I am planning to take Trucy out for ice cream tonight,” he said, still a bit struggling to keep eye contact “I thought you two might want to join us.”

“Go out with you for ice cream?” Apollo asked, eyebrow raised.

“I know we do not get along well,” Mr. Edgeworth said, solemn “I am fine with it.” He finally looked directly at Apollo and Athena again “but this is for Trucy’s sake, and I think she would enjoy your company.”

“She has gone through a lot lately,” Athena said, fiddling with her earring “and she probably misses having us around in the Agency.”

“Exactly my thoughts,” Mr. Edgeworth said “And, of course, the ice cream will be on me.”

“Hey!” Athena shouted, “You don’t need to bribe us to hang out with Trucy, Mr. Edgeworth!”

“Though, the free ice cream doesn’t hurt,” Apollo noted.

And so, once again, they found themselves in the backseat of Mr. Edgeworth's ridiculous bright red sports car. Do they not have that model in pink? Thought Athena, but decided it was probably not a great idea to say it out loud. Quickly they settled into an awkward silence: Mr. Edgeworth kept his eyes on the road, Apollo was alternating between playing on his phone and staring out the window and Athena texted Junie - catching her up on the events of the last two days. None of them minded the silence, they were all aware how quickly small-talk can lead to another clash between Athena and Mr. Edgeworth. And they couldn’t have that, especially when Trucy is involved.

“Still, it must be interesting, right?” Junie wrote to her “Do you feel like you’re learning a lot? Meeting interesting people?”

“Nicht wirklich. Right now we’re mostly learning about paperwork” Athena texted, and then added a little “):”

“That’s still pretty different from how Mr. Wright did things, right?” Junie texted “I mean, from what you told me…"

“Yeah, paperwork was Apollo’s department >: )” Athena texted “and even then it was never that bad.”

Athena looked up from her phone, for a second taking in the silence of the car fully.

“I did meet two people today that seemed fun,” Athena texted, burying her head back in her phone “a prosecutor and a detective.”

“That’s great, Thena :)” Junie wrote.

“But after what happened with them and Mr. Edgeworth today,” Athena wrote back “Maybe he won’t allow us to chat again. Maybe he’ll put an electric fence around their office or something idk.”

“What happened???” Junie asked, probably pretty distressed considering all of those question marks.

Athena was about to write all about what happened with Prosecutor Debeste and Kay, when she felt the car stop. She raised her head from the phone automatically.

“We’re here,” Mr. Edgeworth said quietly.

Looking outside the car window, Athena and Apollo saw they were indeed just outside the Penrose Theater. Trucy, dressed in half her familiar stage outfit and half in casual wear, came running toward the car, holding a bag of props that looked just a bit too big and heavy for her to lift.

“Mr. Edgeworth! Mr. Edgeworth!” She called out, waving hello.

“Good evening, dear Trucy, I hope I am not too late.” Mr. Edgeworth said, in a voice much more pleasant than what Athena was used from that guy.

Trucy checked the time on her phone "You're here right on time, don't worry." She did a little bounce of excitement "Are you ready for ice cream, Mr. Edgeworth?"

"Indeed I am," Mr. Edgeworth said, “I also brought with me some guests, I hope you don’t mind.”

Trucy looked into the car and saw the two lawyers in the backseat “Polly! Athena!” She said as her smile brightened even more “you’re coming with us too?”

“I thought you might enjoy spending time with all three of us,” Mr. Edgeworth said, even his usual smugness felt less cold, he was just that satisfied that he managed to make Trucy’s day a bit happier. Also, Athena was pretty weirded out by the idea that she, Apollo and Mr. Edgeworth were a three of us “plus, it probably saved them a train ticket back home.”

“Thank you, Mr. Edgeworth!” Trucy said excitedly as she ran to put her prop bag in the trunk and quickly sat in the seat next to the driver “thank you! Thank you!” She gave him a tight hug, but she had to let go so he could drive safely.

Driving with Trucy in the car was a much more pleasant experience. There was no moment of awkward silence with her. All the way to the ice cream place she talked and talked about her new plans for a magic show, about helping Bonnie and Betty, and about some brilliant new idea she got watching some YouTube tutorial last night. It was fun, so fun that Athena kept forgetting about the big magenta elephant in the room (or rather, driving the car) – she kept getting a bit surprised whenever she heard his voice, usually saying something encouraging but vague to Trucy. This is already shaping up to be a very weird evening.

The ‘ice cream place’ actually called itself an ‘ice cream boutique’, according to the sign. Even just going past it in the car, Athena thought it looked like a very fancy place.

Makes sense for the man with the napkins around his neck Athena thought, although she didn’t expect Trucy to be so excited something like that too. Probably a good sign, that it’s not all fancy-pants posturing and no actual quality.

As he exited the car, Mr. Edgeworth decided to leave his pink longcoat behind. It’s weird seeing Mr. Edgeworth so causal Athena thought, but suddenly added What am I thinking? ‘casual’? Dude still has a waistcoat on, not to mention that frilly cravat. This barely counts as ‘business casual’, much less ‘casual’ Athena contemplated for a while, watching Mr. Edgeworth chuckling awkwardly at one of Trucy's jokes I guess ‘casual’ is a relative term.

After actually entering the ‘boutique’, two facts had struck Apollo and Athena. One, the flavor selection was absolutely enormous and was full of all kinds of obscure tastes, some of them they weren’t even sure could work as ice cream flavors - but Athena felt like she should at least applaud the ice cream people for their adventurousness. Second, oh thank god Mr. Edgeworth was paying for them, this was absolutely necessary. Who's going to pay so much for egg ice cream, what the heck?

“Can you really have a boutique for ice cream?” Apollo said, slightly mispronouncing the word, as he ate his small cup of ice cream “I thought boutiques were just for fancy clothes and things like that.”

“Well, ‘boutique’ is just French for ‘store’” Athena answered as she sat next to Apollo, a large cup of frozen yogurt in her hand “so I guess you can.”

“I think that’ll only work in France,” Apollo said, after a moment of consideration.

“Yeah…” Athena said off-handedly, she felt this line of discussion petering out, so she changed directions “what kind of flavors did you pick?”

“Um, this is ‘Belgian Chocolate 70%’” Apollo said “and ‘French Vanilla'”

“Are you seriously just having chocolate and vanilla? In a place like this?” Athena rolled her eyes “you’re so boring sometimes, Apollo.”

“I prefer to think of myself as a person who knows what they like. I mean, excuse me for not trying the ‘Halva and Raisin Rum’ or ‘Seaweed’ flavors” Apollo said “plus, YOU’RE the one eating frozen yogurt."

“Hey, buster, frozen yogurt is good!” Athena started eating more aggressively out of spite.

“So? do you like it?” Trucy asked as she sat down, she was holding an absolutely ridiculous ice cream bowl, with, like, five different scoops - mostly of the boutique’s variances on the idea of ‘chocolate with more chocolatey stuff in it’. And that’s not getting to the sprinkles and the fresh strawberries and the gummy bears. “I love this place! You can have pop rocks in your ice cream, and it’s really quality pop rocks too!” Trucy shoved a big spoonful into her mouth “... or at least that’s what Mr. Edgeworth says, I can’t really tell the difference.”

“It really is quite good,” Mr. Edgeworth said, sitting down next to Trucy. To Apollo and Athena’s surprise, he was carrying an ice cream bowl pretty similar to Trucy’s, only somehow even bigger and more ludicrous. He started eating his ice cream slowly, trying to keep on a dignified appearance in spite of the fact he was eating what looked like a sugar-crazy kid’s idea of a dream desert and contemplating the flavor of pop rocks inside of his Nutella with Cookies Ice Cream.

“Mon Dieu, Mr. Edgeworth…” Athena said without thinking “Did you leave any ice cream for anyone else in the store?” She let out a half-chuckle. Suddenly, she remembered who she was talking too “Um! I mean…” her voice was panicked “sorry! Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth! I-”

“Hmph,” Mr. Edgeworth looked like his usual grumpy self on the surface, but Athena could hear he was more amused than anything. It was weird hearing him find something funny, but it did stop Athena from panicking “I’m not quite as thin-skinned as you seem to think I am, Ms. Cykes.” Now Mr. Edgeworth was smirking “I’m quite used to hearing that stuff from Wright all the time.” On the surface, that sentence indicated irritation, but Athena could also hear the incredible amount of fondness that poured into his voice the second his boyfriend got brought up. For Athena’s ears, Mr. Edgeworth sounded almost like a completely different person, for just a moment. And also… there was the tiniest hint of discord. Was it… sadness? She’d probably need to fire up the Mood Matrix to properly analyze it and she doesn’t have the time.

For now, Chief Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth still looked incredibly ridiculous. Even in somewhat-business-causal mode, his stuffy aura clashed HARD with his sweet-tooth. “So, Mr. Edgeworth," Athena said, "you mean that I can tell you stuff like ‘and here I thought the only reason you’d like this place is because it's the only place that has like… the cardboard flavored ice cream that’s your favorite!'...and you won’t cut my pay?”

Mr. Edgeworth crossed his arms, he didn’t look particularly amused “Well, no, I won’t. Your salary depends on your work performance and your professional attitude, and since you are not working right now, your actions can't have any effect on your salary evaluation” he said, “but I will point out this joke is not very clever or original.” The way fondness bloomed in his voice by the end of that sentence made Athena think that it’s probably another thing Mr. Wright sometimes says.

Athena looked at Mr. Edgeworth eating his monument for chocolate and sugar for a few moments more when realization dawned on her. “Oh my god, Kay was right,” she said quietly “you are a riot!”

Mr. Edgeworth rolled his eyes, but he didn’t say anything.

Chapter Text

Once everyone finished their frozen desserts, they noticed Trucy was nodding off, and she fell asleep soon after Mr. Edgeworth started driving.

“She always gets like this after a long day,” Mr. Edgeworth said sympathetically “she’ll have a little rest in the car, and she’ll be back to her usual energetic self by the time we get home.”

“Yeah, I think Mr. Wright told us that once,” Apollo said.

“Indeed…” Mr. Edgeworth said, but Athena could hear that he wasn't really listening.

They drove quietly for a while before Mr. Edgeworth spoke up again “Mr. Justice, Ms. Cykes, I have been thinking,” he said, “and I believe I owe you two an apology.”

Apology for what? Apollo and Athena could only look at his car seat in front of them, confused and still. Athena also kind of didn’t want to ask what the apology was for because Mr. Edgeworth might retract it.

Noticing the silence from the backseat of his car, Mr. Edgeworth continued “I owe you two an apology for my behavior earlier today in Prosecutor Debeste’s office,” he said quietly “I… I agreed to this arrangement with Wright so that you two can help foster positive relationships between defense attorneys and prosecutors" Why was there so much discord in his heart as he said it? "and I interfered with that simply due to…” Mr. Edgeworth struggled with his words “simply due to my own… private matters.”

“Private matters?” Apollo asked.

Mr. Edgeworth sighed deeply “I do want to emphasize that what you did, Mr. Justice, was stepping out of line.” His voice became distant and cold. “Like I told Ms. Cykes, I am not a thin-skinned man, but… my personal problems are not your business,” he said “Wright, Trucy, Kay, my sister - they are all people I know personally, they are allowed to have opinions about my… personality.” His voice turned a little bittersweet “Lord knows they sometimes know me better than myself.” Mr. Edgeworth paused for a moment before he continued. “But you are merely my subordinates, all that should interest you about me are my professional expectations, not anything regarding my inner world, understood?”

Kind of a weird thing to say when you’re driving us home after going out for ice cream Athena thought, but all she said was “…No hay problema…”, quietly. She was pretty distracted by all the pain and unexpected vulnerability in Mr. Edgeworth’s voice.

“Understood,” Apollo said “I’m sorry, Mr. Edgeworth. I've just… gotten so used to interrogating people using my bracelet.” He moved uncomfortably in his seat “I won’t do it again.”

“Apology accepted, Mr. Justice,” Mr. Edgeworth said, the emotions in his voice calming down back to his stoic baseline. “I appreciate it. These kinds of actions do not necessarily demonstrate a lack of professionalism and they… hardly show a lack of competence. I cannot in good conscience make it a factor in your salary reviews. However, this behavior will be in my report to Wright…" Discord in his heart again "And… well, mostly I am appealing to the goodness of your heart. Please do not do that again."

"Yeah, understood," Both Apollo and Athena said at the same time.

"Thank you." Mr. Edgeworth sighed "and I promise you my disgraceful behavior will not repeat either.”

Now Mr. Edgeworth’s self-flagellation was getting kinda awkward “Hey, I don’t think you, like, completely tainted our image for Kay and Prosecutor Debeste!” Athena said “...unless you said something really nasty to them after we left.”

“I absolutely did not!” Mr. Edgeworth said in an offended huff “but the level of damage actually done is not the only factor here; a particularly unjustifiable motive deserves serious scrutiny and people in positions of power should be held under a high level of responsibility for their actions. These are important professional beliefs of mine, and not only in regard to criminal law.” Mr. Edgeworth then added, in a quieter tone “And I should be long past doing stuff like that, that is an important personal belief of mine.”

As the atmosphere in the car dropped from ‘awkward silence’ to ‘depressing silence’, Athena felt she simply has to say something – but she had no idea how without breaking these 'professional boundaries' Mr. Edgeworth just set. She was about to open her mouth, when Mr. Edgeworth spoke again first, this time his tone was more pleasant “That actually reminds me, Ms. Cykes, Kay wants to meet with you tomorrow, between 2PM and 5PM in Prosecutor Debeste’s room,” he said “I believe she wants to show you her ‘Mr. Thief’.” After a pause he added “um, please forgive the name, Kay is…” he made a sound that was both non-committal and kind of fond.

“Yeah, we’ve seen that she’s a bit… unique,” Apollo said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

“It’s a tool that she and Sebastian use on their criminal investigations,” Mr. Edgeworth explained “I think she wants to compare it with your Gadget.”

“My name is Widget!” The little computer let out a blipy shout.

Mr. Edgeworth either didn’t hear that, or just chose to ignore it “Sebastian and Kay are quite experienced in the field of unconventional investigation methods, that’s why…” Mr. Edgeworth hesitated “that’s why I’m happy you were able to connect, that's why I think it was important. I think you’ll have much to learn from each other.” Another hesitation, Mr. Edgeworth’s voice became distant again “plus, I am rather fond of them, and you’re…”

“And we’re…?” Athena echoed, wondering again about the 'professional boundaries' rule. For someone who wants everyone to avoid personal discussions, suddenly he’s so bad at it she noted. It’s like as soon as he said it, his mouth became a flow of little personal details. I wonder if he notices, he sounds pretty distracted, after all...

“Well…” Mr. Edgeworth suddenly sounded a little embarrassed “well, you’re Wright’s.” His voice was quiet and stoic, but Athena could hear the affection and fondness he had for the boss.

“We’re not his property or kids or something,” Apollo grumbled.

“No,” Mr. Edgeworth agreed “you’re his protégés, and sometimes, you do remind me of him so.”

Apollo stopped to think before he asked, “is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“A good thing,” Mr. Edgeworth said, and Athena could hear that he's smiling “Always a good thing.”

Apollo probably couldn’t hear it, but the affection and fondness overflowed in his voice. It surprised Athena. It’s not that she thought Mr. Edgeworth didn’t love Mr. Wright; there was no reason to suspect he was, like, seducing him as a trick or anything. Plus, the boss was probably way too smart to ever fall for anything like that. But… there was a difference between knowing Yeah, he probably feels the same as all the gooey stupid thing Mr. Wright says about him sometimes - and between getting to actually hear all of that, in only about six words. Maybe some people will find all of the embarrassing kissing she and Apollo walked in on for months as the ‘proof’ as to what Mr. Edgeworth feels about Mr. Wright. But Athena… she needed to hear it, and now she has. It was kinda intense, but the same goes to Mr. Wright’s feeling about him. It’s good to know he does have heart. Somewhere deep down…

“Hey, Mr. Edgeworth,” She said “thanks, by the way.”

“Whatever for?”

“You did kinda hyped us up to Kay and Prosecutor Debeste,” Athena said “Analytical Psychology in the courtroom is still a pretty… controversial subject.” more like nobody ever takes me seriously or believes me “and having the Chief Prosecutor back it up like that… and then you got another prosecutor and a detective excited about it… it's… well… thank you.”

“There’s no need to thank me, Ms. Cykes,” Mr. Edgeworth said sternly “I did not hype you up, as it were.” His tone made it clear that he only had a vague understanding of what those words meant “all I did was to state I believe to be the truth, and if Kay and Sebastian find that impressive -it’s only because you and Mr. Justice truly are impressive people.”

Sheesh! why do I even bother with that guy? Athena thought, and grumbled quietly under her breath. If Mr. Edgeworth heard it, he didn’t do anything to indicate that he did. But as she thought about Mr. Edgeworth’s statement, Athena realized that there was something else she needed to say. “So, thanks,” she told him “for believing in us.”

Mr. Edgeworth sighed deeply “You really do remind me so much of Wright sometimes.” His voice had that fondness and affection in it, but also that discord she heard earlier. Now it was clear that it was sadness, and also maybe… yearning? Nostalgia?

Realization suddenly dawned on her, Mr. Edgeworth simply misses Mr. Wright. Probably misses him a lot. Athena thought about saying something about it but that 100% goes beyond our purely professional boundaries. And she's not gonna lose that performance evaluation competition to Apollo anytime soon.

The car was quiet again, but it felt a lot less awkward and a lot more pleasant than all the other times.

Chapter Text

“Thanks so much for brining Polly and Athena along, Mr. Edgeworth!” Trucy said as she exited the car, she was still slightly groggy from her nap, but her energy was quickly returning to her. “I had tons of fun!”

“Well,” Miles said, struggling to get the massive prop bag out of the trunk of his car “I am glad you had a good time.” He had to admit, this wasn’t nearly as unpleasant as he feared it might be. Mr. Justice and Ms. Cykes managed to more or less behave.

Returning to his home with Trucy by his side was a considerably less lonely experience, though he still felt the hole Wright left. No worn-down cheap suitcase to put his next to, no blue court suit-jacket thrown carelessly on the sofa to pick up and hung in its proper place while grumbling, the kitchen was left practically abandoned without anyone who wants to constantly eat at home ‘like a family should”.

“... I miss Daddy.” Trucy said suddenly, pulling Miles out of his thoughts.

“He’s hasn't been gone for long,” Miles said, doing his best to sound fatherly “and he’s going to be back very soon.” He patted Trucy on the head “and then you’ll get to see Auntie Maya again as well.”

“I wonder how much Pearly misses Auntie Maya, she's been away for a long time,” Trucy wondered out loud “... hey, Mr. Edgeworth,” she added in a slightly different tone.

“Yes, Trucy dear?” Miles said, sitting down on the sofa. It still smells like him, or perhaps it’s only my imagination. It’s been a while, after all.

“You know how I’m planning to go to that sleepover at Jinxie’s in two days?” Trucy said, her tone was hard to place, perhaps contemplative?

“Yes, of course,” Miles said, they set the dates weeks in advance - before anyone even knew that Wright is going to Khura’in. Because Miles was very insistent on having proper scheduling to all of Trucy’s activities, and Trucy, like a true professional entertainer, understood the importance of a good schedule perfectly. Meanwhile, Wright did things 'spontaneously'. That is to say, without any forward planning whatsoever. "You’ll be there at 8:35 PM, with a reasonable margin of error considering traffic, right after we go to-" Miles stopped talking as he realized Trucy was staring at him intently.

“Your eyes are darting around like crazy, Mr. Edgeworth,” Trucy said quietly “I don’t think you want me to go.”

“Trucy…” Miles massaged his temples. Why was he, of all people, cursed with a life full of living lie detectors? “It does not matter what I want, I’m not the one going to a sleepover with Jinxie Tenma.”

“Without me or Daddy here, you’re going to be all alone,” Trucy sounded sad, and a little guilty in way that pinched Miles’ heart. "Are you going to be okay, Mr. Edgeworth?”

“I’m grown man,” Miles averted his gaze, and felt as his voice became harsh. Much harsher than he ever wanted to be with dear Trucy. “I will survive on my own for two or three days.”

“Mr. Edgeworth!” Trucy said, frustrated “I can’t have fun with Jinxie if I know you’re all mopey alone at home without me!”

"Well, Trucy," Miles knew his tone was becoming more hurt and angry by the moment, but he struggled to control it “I cannot possibly accept that I stopped you from having fun with your friend simply because I’m…” he slumped on the sofa, suddenly feeling very… tired. Simply I'm apparently emotionally incapable of handling myself without Wright all the sudden. “I am an adult, Trucy dear, you shouldn’t feel obliged to take care of me.”

“Mr. Edgeworth…” Trucy said, in a near-whisper tone.

“Especially not after everything you went through last week…” Miles averted his gaze and reflexively grabbed his elbow. “I would feel worse than just having to live on my own for a couple of days."

Trucy sighed “Alright, Mr. Edgeworth, but you gotta promise me,” she put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder, Miles turned his face to look at her “Promise me to try and have some fun while I’m not here, okay? I don’t want you to be all sad here while me and Daddy are not around... Okay?”

“Very well, I promise,” Miles said. Maybe I’ll simply overwork myself until I become numb to the loneliness. It worked when I was younger. This is… close enough to what Trucy wants, right?

From the way Trucy was looking at him, seems like Miles just accidentally displayed another tell. But all she said was “Fine, Mr. Edgeworth I… I’m going to my room now.”

Miles got up from the sofa to kiss Trucy on the forehead “good night, dear Trucy,” he said as kindly and happily as he could manage. Perhaps it’s for the best if we were just to pretend this conversation never happened.

“Good night, Mr. Edgeworth,” Trucy said toward the floor, before she quickly disappeared up the stairs.

“And don’t stay up too late,” Miles called after her “tomorrow is a school day as well.”

Trucy didn’t answer. Miles settled down back on the sofa. He thought about maybe catching up on his reading before bed, but he found that he just couldn’t focus. At first, he thought it was because the Steel Samurai manga he planned on reading was recommended to him by Prosecutor Blackquill, who, although a gifted prosecutor, has absolutely abysmal tastes when it came to the Steel Samurai franchise. But Miles then found his favorite law books weren't grabbing his attention either.

There’s no shame in going to bed early. Miles thought as he headed up the stairs to bed with no one else to cuddle with and bicker over who stole the sheets.

Chapter Text

Athena arrived at the Prosecutor's Office really really early today. She was pretty proud of that, she found an alternative train route from her home that didn’t get her to the Prosecutor’s Office in just the last minute like yesterday.

Okay, maybe she did go a bit overboard, the receptionist in the lobby looked barely awake and super surprised anyone was here already but think of the look on Mr. Edgeworth’s face when he sees I'm not just punctual, but early. And, even better, imagine Apollo's face when he sees I'm totally gonna beat him in the performance evaluation competition! Das wird Spaß machen! Wanting some morning exercise, she decided to take the stairs. Well, going up to floor 2 barely counts as exercise.

I can’t believe Apollo insisted we take the elevator, he’s so weaksauce sometimes.

“Good morning, Ms. Cykes.” Athena heard a voice behind her “I see you are up early.”

Mr. Edgeworth passed by her on the stairs, all business-causal like yesterday evening; his court jacket was draped on his arm.

“Oh um, good morning, Mr. Edgeworth!” Athena said, trying to sound chipper “And yes, yes I am early! Athena Cykes is always ready for… um, prosecute! At any hour!” She pounded her fist into the inside of her palm for emphasis.

“Commendable” Mr. Edgeworth said quietly.

“You’re taking the stairs too?” Athena attempted small-talk, now that she thought about it… two days ago, when he gave them that ride, didn’t he basically shove the two exhausted attorneys into the elevator while he, presumably, took the stairs? That was kind of weird, wasn’t it? “Didn’t think you were into cardio, Mr. Edgeworth! No better way to start the day than with a little workout to get the blood pumping, right?”

“No, it is not… I am not particularly interested in exercise, Ms. Cykes,” he said, the voice of his heart sounded… really peculiar.

She couldn't help her curious expression, but, remembering everything that happened yesterday, she tried to hide and just said “I see.”

“A person’s past is their own business and theirs only.” Mr. Edgeworth said, defensive.

“I get it! I get it!” Athena said, half annoyed, half playful “No questions about that! Meine Lippen sind versiegelt!” She made a motion of zipping her lips shut.

“Good…” Mr. Edgeworth nodded. Then, after a thought, he added in a conversational tone “You know, before my promotion to Chief Prosecutor, my office used to be on the twelfth floor.”

“Really? well, I wouldn’t have minded climbing that every day!” Athena tried to keep the mood light “a good workout really fires up my brain in the morning! Makes me pumped up to do law!”

“Perhaps, but it also was a massive time-waste in the morning,” Mr. Edgeworth said, “it was only when I was promoted to the Chief Prosecutor position that I was able to get myself a more convenient office.”

“Me and Apollo wondered about that…” Athena said as she exited the stairwell, holding the door open for Mr. Edgeworth “I guess we got that mystery solved.”

“And there’s certainly no other important matters that you could have spent that brainpower on,” Mr. Edgeworth snarked.

Athena could hear he was… having fun with the ribbing, so she decided to continue, carefully. “Sorry, Mr. Edgeworth, I should have said we ‘helped bring this truth to light’ right?”

Mr. Edgeworth let out a tiny smile, though he tried to hide it.

Chapter Text

“Dark skies of evening, when no other bird dares take wing, one alone remains all seeing!” Detective Kay Faraday struck a dramatic pose “Now, witness the true power of a real, modern day Robin Hood!”

The device in Kay's hands beeped and Prosecutor Debeste’s office was suddenly bathed in green light. Athena found that she and Kay were all the sudden standing in a dark-green holographic loading area of an equally holographic roller-coaster. A blue figure was sitting, limp, in the front seat of the coaster, seemingly dead. A red figure was standing on the tracks, holding a bulky looking baseball bat. The hologram quality looked a lot more basic than stuff like Widget, but the scope was incredibly impressive. Athena whistled in appreciation. “Is this thing voice activated or something?” she leaned closer to look at the unassuming device in Kay’s hand “Was that your secret password?”

“Nope! Not at all!” Kay smiled a cheeky grin “I just love saying that line!” she leaned in closer and whispered, “Don’t tell Sebastian, ‘kay?”

Athena could tell from the detective’s tone that she was joking, but she nodded, playing along.

“This is a replica of the crime scene from the case Sebastian and I are working on right now,” Kay explained “It’s all based on the initial investigation notes,” she gestured at a pile of folders on the desk “that way we don’t have always have to come back to the crime scene if we want to check something out! Hell, we might not even have to shut down the ride unless we absolutely have to!”

For a moment, that sounded like a pretty sweet deal to Athena, but… “But wouldn’t that just make it harder for whoever you’re up against? You know, the defense attorney?” Athena fiddled with her earring “I mean, if the roller coaster is still active while they have to investigate?”

“I…” Kay started to say, then stopped to think with a troubled expression on her face “I… didn’t think about that, that’s a good point, Athena!”

Athena's mood quickly switched from worried to happy. “That’s why I’m here!” she said proudly “...I mean, literally, that’s one of the reasons Mr. Wright and Mr. Edgeworth wanted us here.” Athena tried to lean on a nonexistent holographic wall and stumbled, almost losing her balance. Kay chuckled at that. “This thing really is cool!” Athena moved her hand through the holographic wall “Wish we had something like that in the Agency… you know, a defense attorney would probably have more use for it. We’re the ones who keep getting kicked out of investigations all the time.”

"Well, you're the ones with superpowers." Kay gestured dramatically to emphasize her point "Plus, it’s not like prosecutors and detectives can waltz in to whatever crime scene they like either!" Kay pouted “We have our boring bureaucracy and corruption and junk too! We always have rich and powerful suspects that try and stop us from investigating!” Kay thought for a moment “... though ever since Mr. Edgeworth became Chief Prosecutor… that’s not such a big a deal anymore, me and Sebastian have connections now.”

“Alrighty, then,” Athena said, “life’s not all that peachy for the prosecution either, but there’s a difference between red tape and rich people being méchants and us having to sweet-talk detectives into even letting us investigate at all!” She crossed her arms “I have a prosecutor friend, we compare our investigation notes all the time.”

“... that’s a good point, Athena.” Kay sounded really different when she was being serious. She’s like, eight years older than me, Athena suddenly remembered “Little Thief is mine though! You can’t have it!” She returned to her playful, childish tone - but Athena could hear some real emotion under there. Little Thief was more than just a cool toy to her.

“I get it, Kay,” Athena said sympathetically “I wouldn’t ever give away Widget either. Even if it was more help to a prosecutor.” She touched the little computer around her neck “it’s really important to me too.”

"How…" Kay looked surprised for a moment before realization settled on her face “Oh wow…” she laughed, amused and embarrassed “you really do have super powers!”

Suddenly a door opened from the middle of the dark green roller coaster, Prosecutor Debeste returned to his office, holding a cardboard holder with three cups in it. “Oh! Kay!” He said, after a long moment of confusion “you’re showing Ms. Cykes the Ryde case?”

“Mostly I’m just showing off Little Thief!” Kay said, throwing the device from one hand to another in a showy way “Also, Athena is Magic, and she can read my mind!”

“Well, I knew that,” Sebastian pouted “Um, here’s your coffee, Kay” he handed the detective one of the cups “and orange juice to Ms. Cykes,” he handed another cup to Athena “and hot cocoa for me!” He said happily before taking a big sip from the one remaining cup.

Athena took another look around the simulation as she was drinking her juice. The red figure was most likely the culprit (or simply the suspect Her defense attorney instincts reminded her), and the blue one was probably the victim. Seemed simple enough. Well, at least in first glance. “Hey, how is the red guy supposed to murder the blue guy, anyway? I don't think the baseball bat has enough range.”

Prosecutor Debeste and Kay sighed in frustration and exhaustion “That’s what we’re trying to find out!” Kay said, she pressed a couple of buttons on Little Thief and the red figure blinked between several alternative locations near the coaster “This case isn’t even going to trial before we can figure out where the hell this guy stood!”

Prosecutor Debeste nodded “Mr. Edgeworth always says that we should investigate the case as thoroughly as we can before we even arrest the suspect,” he said “we should be… well, at least kinda sure that we have the right guy and… and! We should have a solid case against the defense.”

“Yeah…” Athena examined the simulation closely, right now, the red figure was sitting next to the blue figure on the coaster, but the position seemed really awkward for murder with such a bulky baseball bat. “If you can’t figure out how the murder was done, a good defense attorney will just grab on to it and milk it for all it’s worth.” As she took a sip of her orange juice, she looked around the simulated crime scene “Are you absolutely sure the murder couldn’t have happened anywhere else?”

Both Kay and Sebastian pondered that question for a moment “I mean… we don't have any evidence the body was moved… and the thing I was thinking is…” Sebastian looked very sheepish all the sudden, and he was a bit teary “Why would someone deliberately move the body to a place like this?” He pulled a retractable baton from his suit pocket and pointed at the roller coaster “that seems like a rather… umm…”

“Eccentric?” Kay offered with a shrug.

“Yeah, it’s a rather eccentric decision,” Prosecutor Debeste said “I just can’t figure out a motive for anyone to move the body there.”

“Well, but the idea that he was killed on the coaster seems like a total dead end from a physics point of view, right?” Athena said, “I think it’s best to consider alternative murder locations, maybe the answer will turn up then.”

“Hmmm…” Prosecutor Debeste mumbled and started looking through his investigation notes “Man, you really are just like Mr. Wright…” he said, smiling.

“Yeah! Whenever he helped Mr. Edgeworth on a case, he always questioned everything Mr. Edgeworth deduced and drove him crazy!” Kay sighed, nostalgic. "He was real fun to be around.”

“Kay!” Prosecutor Debeste shouted “We don’t have enough notes to replicate any part of the amusement park save for where the body was found, right?”

“No, not yet.” Kay turned off the re-creation and they all returned to Prosecutor Debeste’s fancy-pants office. “Should I get an investigation team ready?”

“Yes! Yes, please!” Prosecutor Debeste took out a map from the case file and started poking at several locations on it with his baton “If we’ll find a good plausible location for the murder, outside of the rollercoaster, I mean… I can start working on my case for court! I bet that’ll really impress Justine! I-I mean, that we already thought about alternative crime scenes.”

“Oooh! I bet that’ll really throw the defense off!” Kay got so excited that she jumped on the desk, a giant mischievous grin on her face “they’re gonna go into court still thinking you’re going to say that the dude was killed ON the rollercoaster! We can even set up a trap for them! We could…”

Prosecutor Debeste and Kay both stopped and looked at Athena, suddenly remembering she’s in the room.

“Um, sorry, Ms. Cykes,” Prosecutor Debeste said sheepishly “You’ll have to go now, we need to work about this and… um… I'm not sure you're allowed to hear that… being a defense attorney and all.”

“Bye, Athena!” Kay waved goodbye “it was fun to hang out! Also, thanks for your help!”

“Yeah, you helped us a lot!” Prosecutor Debeste said, changing from a sheepish pout to a smug grin.

As Athena left the room, she could hear the detective and prosecutor still excitedly discussing different prosecution strategies and ways to screw with whatever poor defense attorney is gonna be up against Prosecutor Debeste. She took a long sip from her orange juice.

What she did… that was also a good thing, wasn’t it? Against the Dark Age of the Law? She’s bonding with people on the prosecution side and helping them, like, think like a defense attorney. Prosecutor Debeste seems like a good guy and he idolizes Mr. Edgeworth, so he probably wants to catch the real culprit, not just get a guilty verdict. And every little bit that’ll help them get close to the truth would be a good thing for everyone. But…

But… man, it got weird by the end. Maybe it was just Athena's competitive streak… No, it wasn't just her competitive streak! It friggin’ sucks when you're a defense attorney and you get suckered by the prosecution like that!

But on the other hand, it’s not like she can tell them to stop, right? It’s not like she’s doesn’t really really enjoy the idea of tripping up the prosecution either. Even Mr. Wright and Mr. Edgeworth, who are so adamant about prosecutors and defense attorneys having to work together and find the truth, also seem to enjoy this sort of crap.

(Granted she wasn’t super-focused on them the one time she saw them battle in court [for obvious reasons], but that seemed to be what was going on.)

It’s some real weird business, these prosecution-defense relationships, once you really think about that. Athena contemplated it as she took a big final sip of her orange juice and threw the empty plastic cup in the trash.

Chapter Text

The atmosphere in Mr. Edgeworth’s office was always quiet. Apollo and Athena could small-talk to fill the void, but it just felt weird to do it in this office. Not to mention Mr. Edgeworth will probably glare at them so hard he’ll drill holes through their skulls. And then drill through their salaries for good measure. So, they just worked, silently, for now.

A sudden phone ring broke the silence, it was Mr. Edgeworth’s.

“Yes, hello, this is Miles Edgeworth speaking,” he said as he answered the phone, then he went quiet for a long time, only letting out a faint “hmm-mmm” every so often. Athena noticed that there was something… affectionate about his murmuring. Who was he talking to? “Yes, that sounds lovely,” Mr. Edgeworth said to the other person on the line “I have some errands to do on the weekend, we shall do it then. Is that alright with you? Yes, that would be great. I will see you soon, take care.”

Mr. Edgeworth closed the phone, and apparently noticed the questioning looks on Apollo and Athena’s faces “It was dear Trucy,” he explained “I believe she is trying to organize an official ‘Lovely Assistant’ outfit for Mr. Justice here.”

Mr. Edgeworth gestured at Apollo, who buried his head in his palm and groaned with embarrassment.

“Trucy’s performances are quite an impressive achievement, Mr. Justice,” Mr. Edgeworth said, stern, his arms crossed “You should be proud that you are playing a part in it.” Taking another look at Apollo’s tired face, Mr. Edgeworth’s tone softened ever so slightly “If you are afraid the costume might not… be for your liking, discuss that with her,” he said, “you are the performer, I am sure she’ll make considerations for what you would prefer to wear.”

Apollo wasn’t super-cheered-up by that, but he looked less desperate and more grumpy “… that's not really the problem, Mr. Edgeworth... what I’m really worried about is all the dangerous tricks she’s making me do lately!” he admitted “and getting an ‘official’ costume basically means I’m stuck doing all those cannon throws and knife junk…Until it kills me or something!”

“Yes, Trucy’s magic act has been getting more… elaborate lately, that is true” Mr. Edgeoworth agreed, he sounded just a little worried “But she's a professional, you… you of all people, Mr. Justice, knows that dear Trucy take the outmost care to make sure all of her magic tricks are perfectly safe. Plus…" he gestured vaguely as his tone turned more vague "…Wright and I believe this is just puberty.”

“Puberty?” Apollo asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, once the hormones settle down, she’ll return to card tricks and hyperdimensional underclothes,” Mr. Edgeworth said “...Hopefully.”

“Hopefully?” Apollo repeated in suspicious tone.

“Hopefully,” Mr. Edgeworth simply said.

There was silence again. Apollo and Athena wondered if the conversation has officially ended and if they should get back to work, when Mr. Edgeworth spoke again.

“Yesterday evening, I believe we exchanged some apologies and thanks,” he said, his voice sounding… unsure. Like he was suddenly afraid that he misinterpreted the whole thing or that it was a weird hallucination or something “But I believe… there was something I had yet to thank the two of you for.”

Apollo and Athena exchanged confused looks. “Pour quoi?” Athena asked without thinking.

“For saving Trucy, of course. In that trial just a few days ago” Mr. Edgeworth said with a tiny smile and a sad voice “I simply don't know if I can convey how grateful I am.”

It’s fine Athena thought I can hear it loud and clear, but…but… “But, I know you care about Trucy…” she blurted out, again, without thinking. Her tone was conformational “Why… wasn't there something you could have done to help us…Chief Prosecutor?”

“ATHENA!” Apollo shouted, panicked.

Athena felt her face pale as the implications of what she just said dawned on her. That must be how it feels to be Widget. “I mean- sorry! Mr. Edgeworth!” she said “That’s not… that’s too personal…”

“It’s quite alright, Ms. Cykes,” Mr. Edgeworth said, calm and quiet, but also very glum “it is technically a professional question and maybe…” and now there was a bit of pain in his voice “maybe I can use it to help you understand what we do here in the Prosecutor's Office.”

Apollo and Athena nodded, although still a bit leery. They sat down on the chairs by Mr. Edgeworth's desk.

Just as they set down, Mr. Edgeworth picked himself up. He paced around the room before he spoke “Wright and I, we are in quite a peculiar situation as far as public opinion in concerned” he said “We are considered to be the ‘Men Who Ended the Dark Age of the Law’ and yet… we are also a prosecutor and defense attorney in a romantic relationship…” he sighed “living together… raising his daughter together…”

“But you’ll never let something like that get in the way of doing your job properly!” Apollo said immediately “right, Mr. Edgeworth?”

"Correct,” Mr. Edgeworth said swiftly, although his heart wasn’t quite as sure as his words “and I need to make sure the public knows that as well as you do, so if…” he seemed to consider his words “the daughter of my partner gets in legal trouble, I cannot use my position to try and help her…” he sat down again, stared down at his desk for a long moment and adjusted his glasses “regardless of what I want to do.”

“Oh…” Apollo and Athena said quietly, in unison.

“The recent wave of layoffs in the Prosecutor’s Office was, thankfully, received rather well by the media and the public,” Mr. Edgeworth said “But it made me quite a few enemies in the political sphere. If I allowed my connections with Wright and Trucy get in the way of a proper trial, the media spin could’ve easily become that I’m just as corrupted as those who came before me. And that my attempts at a reform are actually me… attempting a takeover of the Prosecutor Office, simply replacing anyone who wouldn’t agree with my brand of corruption.”

“...Do you really think anyone would think that about you?” Athena asked “I mean… You’re Mr. Edgeworth! Mr. Stick-Up-His-Butt-Always-Follows-the-Rules Edgeworth!"

Before he answered, Mr. Edgeworth got up from his desk again and took a moment to look out the huge window behind it. “I suppose I should be happy that the younger generation thinks I always had a spotless reputation.” He chuckled, sounding both sincere and horribly bitter, he turned to look at Apollo and Athena.

Oh, that’s right Athena thought Apollo told me that Mr. Edgeworth used to have a really shady image before he met Mr. Wright.

“But some of the people of Los Angles have longer memories and they do not…” Mr. Edgeworth grabbed unto his elbow, seemingly on a reflex "… they do not forget easily. If I'm honest, I cannot blame them."

“Hrm…” that’s all that Athena could say.

“Perhaps, if you had failed…” Mr. Edgeworth averted his eyes and held on tighter to his coat sleeve, it's clear that he didn't want to consider that possibility “And dear Trucy’s case would have gone to a higher court, outside of my jurisdiction, I could have maybe done… something. At least about that ludicrous ‘contract’. But that shouldn’t have come to this...and it didn’t." Mr. Edgeworth took a deep breath and slowly let go of his elbow, making eye contact with the two other lawyers again "So once again, thank you. You have done impressive work against Prosecutor Sahdmadhi.”

“Y-you’re welcome, Mr. Edgeworth,” Apollo said, abashed.

“...And what about Prosecutor Sahdmadhi?” Athena asked, suddenly confrontational again. She realized Mr. Edgeworth's position, but the reminder of the prosecutor she had to face has set her off again.

“I had no say in having him assigned to the case, I tried to be as off-hands as possible with it.” Mr. Edgeworth said, calm “I assure you that if the public’s opinion wasn’t on the line, this case would have gone to someone like Blackquill or Debeste, or-”

“No! I mean…” Athena’s voice started getting more and more aggressive “Why is he even here?” She got up from her chair for emphasis, startling Apollo slightly.

“Where else would you find a prosecutor but a Prosecutor’s Office?” Asked Mr. Edgeworth, smirking and looking very, very punchable.

"You know what I mean, Mr. Edgeworth." Athena put her hands on her hips "You called him, an international prosecutor, into your specific Prosecutor's Office to prosecute cases!"

"And what exactly is the problem with that, Ms Cykes?" Mr. Edgeworth asked.

“Prosecutor Sahdmadhi is a JERK!” Athena lost her temper, jumping to get all up in Mr. Edgeworth’s face, her fists in a fighting position.

Mr. Edgeworth stepped back in surprise, but he tried to keep that stupid smirk on “Well, Ms. Cykes, I do believe you have previously labeled me as a 'jerk' as well,” he said, “and I hope you are not implying I shouldn’t be in the Prosecutor Office I am Chief of.”

“Alright, fine… tu ganas esta ronda…” Athena said, she was slowly letting go of her fighting stance, but she kept her angry face and tone “You’re a jerk, Mr. Edgeworth. Prosecutor Sahdmadhi is an asshole. There’s a difference.”

“Hmm?” Mr. Edgeworth’s face looked inquisitive.

“You’re… you’re not that bad, Mr. Edgeworth. I mean, your main two moods seem to be boring and grumpy or annoyingly smug,” especially right now “But I can at least see… why Mr. Wright and Trucy like you. And you’re one of the good guys. Prosecutor Sahdmadhi is…”

“He said me and Trucy were doomed to hell,” Apollo said quietly, there was a lot of discord in his voice that Athena couldn’t just write off as the stressful memories of a bad trial day, but she also didn't have time to fully explore them.

“Yeah! That’s what I mean… It’s…” Athena took a deep breath to calm herself down, so she could explain herself better “We can handle rude prosecutors, we're tough, we know how it goes. But Prosecutor Sahdmadhi… you keep telling us that we need to think about prosecutors as our allies, but then you go and hire a prosecutor who literally views us defense attorneys as criminals and sinners?”

“...You are… you are correct. Prosecutor Sahdmadhi’s worldview is indeed…. an issue,” Mr. Edgeworth admitted “I am not happy about that either, Ms. Cykes. But-”

“But what?” Athena asked, she was getting angry again “Even if the Prosecutor’s Office is understaffed, can’t you just get a different international prosecutor? One that at least don't think we're all hell-bound?!”

“Well, I believe the expression is ‘beggars can’t be choosers’” Mr. Edgeworth crossed his arms and looked away “The Los Angeles Prosecutor’s Office does not have the best reputation worldwide. Many International Prosecutors refuse to work here simply because it might tarnish their good name.”

“They… WHAT?" Athena jumped in surprise "That’s horrible!” she said, “If they care more about ruining their good name by working in a ‘bad city’ than about helping you clean up that city, then they probably don’t deserve having a good name in the first place.”

“...Heh…” Mr. Edgeworth made a tiny amused noise. Barely a laugh. Like, an eighth of a laugh. “sadly, that’s not a sentiment I can openly express in my position.”

Mr. Edgeworth’s small smile threw Athena’s off for a second, but her surprised expression was quickly replaced by a wide grin “Do you want me to express it to them for you, boss?” She punched her palm for emphasis.

“...boss…?” Mr. Edgeworth said to himself, very quietly. After a moment of contemplation his serious, boring expression returned. He sat down by his desk again and gestured at Athena to sit down “... and for all of his… well… questionable legal philosophy, Prosecutor Sahdmadhi is not one to put his personal reputation above upholding the law, and his investigative skills are… impressive at the very least. Without him, this case would not have been investigated as a murder at all.” Mr. Edgeworth sighed "Even if he did… get the wrong culprit at first. Which was indeed unfortunate… very unfortunate."

It wasn’t an answer that Athena was 100% happy with, but it was an answer she could at least understand. Which is more than she expected “...Fine…” she said in what she had to admit was kind of a childish huff. “... I guess I get it…” Plus she could hear that he was getting distressed again, probably from remembering Trucy’s trial. And he really does care about her a lot, this much is clear.

Apollo saw that Athena’s conversation with Mr. Edgeworth was petering out, but he wanted to make sure it diverts far, far away from the subject of the trial. It was making Mr. Edgeworth kinda stressed and fidgety. And I really don’t want to think or talk about Nahyuta right about now.

“You know, Mr. Edgeworth,” he said, trying to sound casual “I never knew the Prosecutor’s Office was so tied with Public Relation stuff.”

Mr. Edgeworth suddenly perked up, probably also eager for a chance to change the subject. “An accurate observation, Mr. Justice,” he said “it is simply a matter of…” he let out a tiny sigh “the Prosecutor’s Office works for the public. This is an important fact you two must understand if you were to ‘get’ - as the kids say today- how we work here.”

“You mean like the fact that you guys' work so closely with the police?” Apollo asked.

“Well… I know you two are not well-accustomed to the professional way we conduct business here,” Mr. Edgeworth said, obviously sympathetic in spite of the glare “especially Ms. Cykes.”

He eyed Athena, who was trying to play it off in good humor, but Apollo saw she was a bit nervous.

“The Wright Anything Agency is a private business,” Mr. Edgeworth continued “your duty is to the Wrights, and they are not very… demanding bosses, are they?” He looked at Apollo and Athena like he was expecting them to make some sort of retort. Why would they? That was pretty clearly the truth. “But here, we are supposed to serve the public. The people of Los Angeles. We have a duty to them to be as respectable and responsible as we can, so that they can know we can be trusted.” Mr. Edgeworth contemplated something for a minute and sighed “If Wright wishes to conduct his law office like an unprofessional buffoon, that is his right, his clients know what they are getting into when they chose to hire him. But the people of Los Angeles cannot choose a different Prosecutor’s Office - unless they move away, at is” Mr. Edgeworth smirked a very subtle smirk “And so I must make sure my subordinates, all of my subordinates, are aware of the responsibilities of their jobs and conduct themselves properly.”

Apollo listened intently. He learned by now that Mr. Edgeworth has two main modes; serious and commanding, or nervous and fidgety and setting off a million tells while trying to pretend to still be serious and commanding. Right now, he was all the first mode, but on the same time- he didn’t need to have Athena’s super-hearing to hear the genuine emotions in his voice as he talked about responsibility. Apollo remembered all that Prosecutor Gavin told him the other day. Kristoph Gavin and Mr. Edgeworth have nothing in common…

“I really can tolerate people acting unprofessional in my vicinity,” Mr. Edgeworth said, and when Athena raised an eyebrow in a mocking manner, he added “I honestly do, Ms. Cykes. I share my house with Phoenix Wright, for heaven’s sake. And you know how he is, he’s ridiculous!”

Athena pouted and made a little angry noise, in defense of Mr. Wright.

“He is a pretty ridiculous…” Apollo said to her with a tiny shrug of his shoulder.

“And generally, I find it rather… endearing,” okay, now there was a nervous tick - but considering he was also blushing at the same time, Apollo could probably figure out what was up with it. He remembered Detective Faraday's crack about Mr. Edgeworth and sincere emotional responses. “As long as he is not currently my subordinate, it is not a problem to me. But, like I said- “

“Mr. Edgeworth! Is this gonna take long?” A somewhat-familiar voice suddenly came from behind them, from the direction of the door.

“...Kay?” Mr. Edgeworth said in surprise.

Detective Faraday was indeed leaning on the doorway, holding a few folders “Sebastian wants you to double-check his new investigation into the Ryde case,” she gestured with the folder “but I came here and, well, you were obviously having fun speechifying.” she smiled, teasing “I was going to wait ‘till you're done, but jeez, this was getting kinda long.” Detective Faraday pretended to check her watch even though she wasn’t wearing one “You’re gonna bore those two poor kids to death!”

“Speechifying…?” Mr. Edgeworth blinked a few times with a blank look on his face. Apollo couldn’t remember if he ever saw him so baffled. That expression seemed even stranger on his face then any smile could ever be. “Was I Speechifying?” He asked Apollo and Athena.

Detective Faraday answered before they could even think about a possible answer “You were so speechifying, Mr. Edgeworth!” Kay rolled her eyes in an exaggerated, goofy manner.

Apollo gave Mr. Edgeworth a questioning look, gesturing toward the detective.

It took just a moment for Mr. Edgeworth to understand what Apollo was getting at “Well, I said I try and make sure all of my subordinates are respectable and professional,” he said “The keyword here is try. Some cases, like Kay, have proven to be quite difficult.” He nodded his head ruefully, but fondly.

As a response, Detective Faraday only grinned proudly and made a finger guns gesture at Mr. Edgeworth.

He sighed back at her, but Apollo noticed that he was struggling against smiling fondly at her. “Well, Detective Faraday, I suppose it’s time to review the progress you and Prosecutor Debeste made,” he turned to Apollo and Athena “Mr. Justice, Ms. Cykes, you should return to your work. I apologize for wasting your time with my speechying” he said that word like he was still not convinced that that’s what he was doing. Somehow.

“I-I didn’t mind the speech!” Apollo said, probably a bit too loudly, he was trying to watch his tone in Mr. Edgeworth's office, but it never seemed to work “It was very interesting, I thought. I was… important. Very important.”

Detective Faraday leaned in and looked at Apollo, examining him like a piece of evidence she didn’t quite understand “Yeah,” she said, “Athena told me you were boring.”

Chapter Text

Miles heard the careful footsteps descending down the stairs before Trucy spoke up “…Mr. Edgeworth?”

He lifted his head to look at her, still halfway through from the second floor to the living room, where Miles was sitting on the sofa. “What is it, Trucy dear?”

“Are you busy right now?” She asked, not as boisterous or confident as she appears ‘in front of the audience’, as she’d put it.

Miles looked at the book he was holding. He was staring at the same page, unfocused and lost in thought, for almost fifteen minutes now. He laid it carefully on the coffee table. “No, not practically, no.” Wright was correct. Mr. Justice and Ms. Cykes' presence in the Prosecutor’s Office has, if nothing else, removed quite a bit of my workload “Do you have homework you need help with?”

“... No, that’s not it.”

“Are you going out with friends tonight?” Miles asked, “Do you need me to give you some spending money?” He automatically started searching for his wallet. Where did he put his briefcase when he came back home today?

“... Mr. Edgeworth!” Trucy said, louder. Miles stopped his searches for his wallet and turned to look at her again. “I don't want money either! I…I just thought that since there's you're home early today and there's still sometime before bedtime… I thought, maybe we could watch… something together. Like a movie. Or something.”

“I… of course, Trucy. That sounds lovely” Miles said, slowly putting his briefcase back where it belongs.

With considerably more energy then she seemed to have previously, Trucy ran down the remaining stairs and sat on the living room sofa next to Miles “So, what do you wanna watch, Mr. Edgeworth?” She asked with a big smile on her face.

Hmmm… Miles thought, there were many things he was wanted to watch, but he was waiting to watch them with Wright. He can’t very well watch their shows without him. “How about something with the ‘Steel Samurai’? Would that be okay?” he asked. He did plan to use Wright’s absence as an excuse to do a rewatch of his favorite episodes, without his partner's unneeded and constant snarky commentary. But his plans seemed to have… somehow fallen by the wayside.

“A 'Steel Samurai' thingy?” Trucy thought for a long time "That sounds fun!" She bounced lightly where she sat.

Getting up from the sofa, Miles went to examine his extensive collection of ‘Samurai’ franchise Blu-Rays. He wanted to make sure he got just the right one to entertain Trucy. “How about the TV Movie ‘Ballad of the Evil Magistrate’?” Miles pulled out the box to show it to Trucy. “I am… quite fond of that one.” It was his favorite, actually. “It is one of the best depictions of how complex the Evil Magistrate's character can be under the right hands, and is seminal to some of my ‘head-canons’” he was pretty sure that was the right term, “regarding his-” Miles stopped himself and chuckled “I apologize, Trucy, I know you do not care for these things,” he said “still, it is a fine episode and due to the copyright issues surrounding the TV Movies from that era, you probably haven’t seen it before.” Miles was more than okay with rewatching the same episodes over and over again. But he knew the Wrights took more issue with it.

Trucy has seen that "Ballad of the Evil Magistrate" before, a couple of time, actually. She wasn’t a big ‘Steel Samurai’ fan, but the show still played a large part in her childhood. It was kinda stupid, but it was the kind of stupid she associated with the fun of Auntie Maya and Pearly’s visits, or with the excitement of Mr. Edgeworth’s visits.

Back then, Mr. Edgeworth’s visits were pretty rare and really special. She reminisced about them as Mr. Edgeworth put the disk in and settled back on the couch next to her. Daddy always tried to pretend like these visits weren’t such a big deal, but she was always an expert in body language, and she could tell he was excited, and so she got excited too along with him. Mr. Edgeworth would always come smelling like some faraway place or an airport, and he always brought with him a suitcase full of goodies and presents. Little tacky souvenirs and postcards for Daddy, and for ‘Trucy Dear’, new toys and foreign candy and chocolates. Then Mr. Edgeworth and Daddy would talk for hours while Trucy played in her room. Sometimes those conversations ended in a terrible argument and doors slamming and Mr. Edgeworth left without saying a word. And Daddy tried to pretend that wasn’t such a big deal either, but Trucy could feel he was hurting. But sometimes… and more and more often as the years rolled by, there was no argument, and Mr. Edgeworth stayed with them all night long. Then they all watched some ‘Steel Samurai’ episodes or a movie together, usually that one they’re watching right now, since it’s Mr. Edgeworth’s favorite. And he’ll start making weird smarty-pants comments about it and Daddy would snark at him and she would fall asleep on Daddy’s lap and by the time she woke up it was tomorrow morning and Mr. Edgeworth was already gone and she and Daddy returned to their routine.

“I really do adore the Mise-en-scène of this shot,” Mr. Edgeworth said suddenly, he was looking at the screen, but his voice was distant, and his eyes looked lost in thought. “it feels quite unlike anything I have ever seen in any other 'Samurai' thing. And this scene as whole… has some fascinating visual symbolism regarding the Super Hyper Billion Sakura Petals Mirror…”

“Heh. You’re such a nerd, Mr. Edgeworth!” Trucy said with a little smile and laid her head on Mr. Edgeworth’s lap. She suddenly felt sleepy.

Please don’t disappear again, Mr. Edgeworth

I just want everything to go back to routine.

Chapter Text

Athena was so bored that she started running circles in Mr. Edgeworth’s office. He and Apollo left a while ago, said that they’ll be back soon, that Athena needs to keep watch of the office. If there’s a phone call or someone comes, she has to find Mr. Edgeworth immediately. But when she asked if he’s waiting for someone to come visit, he only said ‘perhaps…’ in a… really weird and unsure tone.

She stopped running, that should be enough for an energizing morning workout. I can’t believe they’re not back yet, she thought as she looked around the room, searching for a good way to pass the time. She’d probably get a pay cut if she tries to play something on Mr. Edgeworth’s computer, or like… even if she breathes on it the wrong way. Chess? Yeah, no. I'm not quite at the bored-enough levels to start playing chess. Especially chess against myself. She faked-shuddered in disgust for emphasis. Also, why does Mr. Edgeworth have a jacket framed and hanged on the wall like it was some sort of painting? What the heck?

Before she could wonder about it any further, she heard a knocking on the door. Athena jolted toward it, just happy that she has something to do.

“Hey! Mr. Edgeworth isn’t here-" Athena started to recite automatically as she opened the door, but she stopped suddenly when she saw who was on the other side.

That short, light-blue hair was unmistakable. As was that haughty, cool look in her eyes and, of course, the whip.

“Is this Miles Edgeworth’s office?” Prosecutor Franziska von Karma asked, double checking the number on the door and eyeing Athena with suspicion.

Athena was a huge fan of Prosecutor von Karma. All throughout her teenaged years, Europe was buzzing about her. All the cases she solved with Interpol, how dedicated she was to bring the guilty to justice, and how she apparently decided to do that with a literal whip (And, if you ask Athena, that was the best part! It’s so cool!).

Starstruck, Athena's brain went into a shutdown. “You’re Franziska von Karma!” That’s the most coherent thing she could say.

“Yes, I am Franziska von Karma,” the Prosecutor said, annoyed “Now, is this not Miles Edgeworth’s office? What are you - a defense attorney,” she eyed Athena’s badge “doing here?”

“I-I-I…” How is she supposed to explain that to Franziska von Karma?? “OH MY GOD! I can't believe you're here! I'm such a huge fan, you don't even understand how much… Can you sign my law book for me?” And of course, her brain didn’t seem really bothered with explaining anything as much as fangirling.

“If you continue wasting my time…” Prosecutor von Karma readied her whip in a threatening manner, it looked even cooler in real life “the only signature you will get is the mark my whip will make on your foolish, thick, defense-attorney skull!”

“Franziska!” Mr. Edgeworth’s voice suddenly came from the hallway.

“Miles Edgeworth!” Prosecutor von Karma said as she turned around dramatically to face the Chief Prosecutor. “Why is there some foolish incoherent defense attorney-” she suddenly noticed Apollo standing beside Mr. Edgeworth, looking incredibly confused, “why are there two foolish defense attorneys in your office?!”

Apollo blinked, baffled by what’s happening around him “...this is Prosecutor von Karma…” he said blankly.

“Yes, an astute observation, Mr. Justice,” Mr. Edgeworth snarked “Franziska,” He said to Prosecutor von Karma in a softer, more familiar tone “These are Mr. Apollo Justice,” Mr. Edgeworth gestured at the lawyer standing beside him “and Ms. Athena Cykes,” he gestured at the lawyer still standing in the doorway “They’re, well, they’re Wright’s. You must have heard about them.”

“...Phoenix Wright’s protégés?” Prosecutor von Karma’s voice had a hint of… apprehension in it “Yes, I should have guessed. They do look extraordinarily foolish, even for defense attorneys.”

Mr. Edgeworth didn’t react to the insult indirectly targeting his boyfriend, but simply directed the prosecutor and the two lawyers into his office. “While Wright is away in Khura’in, Mr. Justice and Ms. Cykes are helping me in the office,” he told Prosecutor von Karma “it’s an opportunity for them to expand their knowledge of the law, and to help my subordinates to see defense attorneys as allies.”

After a second of contemplation, Prosecutor von Karma said, “I cannot believe that fool talked you into this.”

“Wright did not talk me into anything,” Mr. Edgeworth huffed, defensive “We both came into this agreement together.”

No, you didn’t, you liar! Athena thought, not with that much discord in your voice.

Prosecutor von Karma also didn’t seem to take his statement very seriously, only responding with a shrug and a little unsatisfied “Hmph!”

Why would Mr. Edgeworth lie about that? Does he not want to admit this was all Mr. Wright's idea and he had to be convinced? Is that it? It’s just pride? Athena thought and then remembered I guess we promised Mr. Edgeworth to not get into this sort of stuff with him, I should… I should think about something else! “Okay! So, you explained what we’re doing here!” She said “But… but why is Prosecutor von Karma here in California?” Athena tried her best to not sound starstruck and failed “I mean… Oh mein Gott! I never thought that I’m gonna really meet you!”

“Well, Ms. Cykes, it's all thanks to you." Mr. Edgeworth said.

"All thanks to me?"

"I believe that just yesterday we were discussing the quality of the international prosecutors I’ve enlisted to help us in the office,” Mr. Edgeworth answered, "I think you've made some fair points, Ms. Cykes. And so, following this conversation, I’ve decided to try and reach out to an international prosecutor I know I can trust.” His tone was full of fondness “I did not expect you to arrive quite so soon, Franziska” he said, turning toward Prosecutor Von Karma, with a mix of disapproval and thankfulness.

Prosecutor von Karma sneered “You are as foolish as ever, Miles Edgeworth,” she said “I am a responsible Big Sister. Did you expect me to not come to the aid of my Little Brother when he needs me?” She smirked, condescending.

Apollo and Athena blinked in surprise for a few seconds while they processed what Prosecutor von Karma just said.

“...little brother…?” Athena finally said.

"…big sister…?" Apollo joined.

Mr. Edgeworth made a tiny sigh. Prosecutor von Karma merely widened her smirk “Yes, Apollo Justice and Athena Cykes,” She said, “I am the Big Sister of this fool.” She patted Mr. Edgeworth's shoulder condescendingly.

“But… But how does that work?!” Athena asked without thinking.

And now the smirk was completely gone off Prosecutor von Karma's face. She and Mr. Edgeworth exchanged looks “Miles Edgeworth!” von Karma whipped the air in a threatening manner. “explain the situation to these two! Right now!” In spite of how commanding her voice sounded on the surface, Athena could hear there was a hint of worry in it. Worry about what, though?

Mr. Edgeworth took a deep breath. “Franziska’s father was my old mentor. She is like a sister to me. That is all. That is all you need to know.” He said quickly, very obviously struggling to hide a whole mess of emotions from his voice. He was glaring, but it was directly in the vague direction of his desk, he didn’t look at Apollo and Athena directly.

“But, wait… Prosecutor von Karma’s Dad… isn’t he?” Oh… Athena could feel her face pale.

That’s what she was worried about, duh!

Goddammit, what am I doing? Asking if he was raised and mentored by the dude who killed his dad would definitely break all of Mr. Edgeworth’s stupid professional boundaries!

“Um,” Athena realized that she stopped mid-sentence “Prosecutor von Karma’s Dad… wasn’t he a really bad guy?” She said, “I remember...reading it in an interview with Prosecutor von Karma…” Good, keep the conversation off Mr. Edgeworth and his past.

Prosecutor von Karma gave Athena a stern look, as did Mr. Edgeworth, but at least he was looking at them again. “It was a long time ago,” he said, his voice a mess of regret and guilt and disgust “neither me nor Franziska condone his actions anymore, if that was what you were insinuating.” A tiny, tiny bit of relief was in his voice as he said that last part. Probably just glad Athena didn’t actually go there, into the whole dad-killing thing. She made the right choice. As much as she could make a right choice in this situation. For someone so emotionally restrained, it sure is hard not to trip into his emotional issues so suddenly.

“The actions of my papa do not matter anymore,” Prosecutor von Karma nodded in agreement with her brother (man, that’s still kinda weird to think about it), she sounded calm, although her heart betrayed the same emotions Mr. Edgeworth was feeling “he failed to fulfill the Von Karma creed, and was unworthy of carrying the name, but none of that matters now.” Prosecutor von Karma huffed, she really is related to the Chief Prosecutor. “The Von Karma Legacy lives on in myself, my Little Brother, my wife and in my niece, Trucy Wright.”

“... Trucy is technically not my daughter.” Mr. Edgeworth said quietly, mildly uncomfortable.

Prosecutor von Karma rolled her eyes and grinned “Save me this foolishness, Miles,” she said, “we all know that one day you will inevitably marry Phoenix Wright, and then you will be Trucy Wright’s papa and that will make her my niece.”

Mr. Edgeworth blushed as pink as his suit and looked extremely uncomfortable with that statement, in a way the two defense attorneys haven’t seen in a long time.

Heck, you're already kinda her dad already, Mr. Edgeworth! You sure act like one, anyway. I mean, you share a house with her and Mr. Wright, is that really that much of a difference? What is with this weird aversion to fatherhood? Is it related to- No! Bad Athena! No psychoanalyzing Mr. Edgeworth!

“You agree with me, Athena Cykes and Apollo Justice, correct?” Prosecutor von Karma asked. Maybe something about Athena's expression gave her internal monologue away “you are Phoenix Wright’s protégés, you must understand.”

“I…I guess I haven’t thought of that!!” Apollo said, flustered.

"…Y-yeah…" Athena said in the most convincing manner she could "Mr. Edgeworth's just our boss, we don't really think about that stuff."

Prosecutor von Karma gave Mr. Edgeworth an odd look and then sneered “Useless, all of you.”

Mr. Edgeworth took a deep breath “Franziska, I should get you the paperwork,” his voice sounded calmer, but his cheeks were still pink “we cannot waste our precious time on small talk.”

Franziska von Karma nodded, and Mr. Edgeworth dived into his paperwork before Apollo and Athena could ask if they could get it for him.

“That fool just needs an excuse to avoid the conversation,” Prosecutor von Karma said suddenly “my poor Little Brother got embarrassed again.” She huffed, but her voice had more fondness and affection in it.

There was a moment of silence, the prosecutor simply looked at them, looking extremely intimidating – which was notable considering Athena would probably be taller than her if not for those heels. What was she waiting for?

“So, um…” Apollo scratched his head, embarrassed “you know Mr. Wright and Trucy?”

“Of course I do!” Prosecutor von Karma whipped the air “Have I not said that I’m Miles Edgeworth’s sister?!”

Apollo jumped back, startled “A-and you went against Mr. Wright in court, I know that!” He said, more than a bit out-of-sorts because of the whip, “Sorry, I was just making small talk.”

Prosecutor von Karma looked at him for a moment, then put her whip down on Mr. Edgeworth’s desk and smiled “Trucy Wright is a lovely girl, her dedication to her craft is… truly admirable,” she said, “I was really proud of her recent television debut.”

“You know,” Athena jumped into the conversation, putting a friendly arm around the other defense attorney “Apollo here was actually Trucy’s lovely assistant on that show!”

“Athena…” Apollo started to grumble.

“That’s good.” Prosecutor von Karma nodded with a serious expression. “Trucy Wright's shows are an impressive demonstration of her hard work and skills, you should feel proud, Apollo Justice.”

“…Yeah, Mr. Edgeworth told me something like that too…"

Prosecutor von Karma nodded with a peculiar expression on her face “And as for your foolhardy, foolishly foolish fool of a mentor…” she said “he was a formidable enemy in court, and he keeps my Little Brother… happy. I can at least say that about him.”

This was all still pretty weird for Athena, she sometimes liked to imagine what meeting with the famed and totally cool Prosecutor von Karma would be like, but this was completely off script. Kay and Sebastian said that we’re kinda like their cousins… or step-siblings or something. Is the Franziska von Karma kinda like my aunt? That’s weird! But I guess kind of cool too! I mean, she's right here in front of me! Oh god! What do I say to her?

“Athena Cykes!” A shout and a whip-crack straight to the face knocked Athena out of her train of thoughts and almost off her feet “What is it with this foolishly foolish fool's grin on your face?!” She cracked her whip again, this time hitting Apollo. "Cease this at once! If you are really a lawyer, you need to stay sharp at all time!" She kept her whip readied while the two lawyers recovered.

"I didn't even do anything, Prosecutor von Karma!" Apollo shouted, defensive.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Athena's apology was more directed at her co-worker than at the prosecutor. "I'm just… I'm just…" Athena felt her cheek heat up, she started playing with her hair nervously "I'm just a… really big fan. A really, really big fan! You're probably the coolest prosecutor I ever heard about!" She chuckled nervously.

Prosecutor von Karma crossed her arms, her expression was serious. “I’m always happy to meet a fan,” she said, although not clear on the surface, Athena could hear that she was sincere. “but you are more than just another fan. Apollo Justice and Athena Cykes, you are the heirs of Phoenix Wright.”

“Um,” Apollo blinked “heir?”. His voice was apprehensive.

“The two of you are the protégés of one of my toughest opponents, and that means you have a legacy to live up to,” Prosecutor von Karma said, her tone becoming more and more harsh and dramatic “I cannot allow you to stand around with your guard down while I, a prosecutor, stands against you! Much less smiling like a fool!" She whipped the air for emphasis. Apollo flinched from the noise. "One day we might face each other in court, Athena Cykes, and you need to be sharp! What would happen if Phoenix Wright's heirs were to battle against me without giving me a proper challenge? Even if I will most likely crash you under my heels, you need to at least give me a proper fight first.” Her expression shifted into a smug smirk.

"Look, Prosecutor Von karma," Apollo said, trying to sound diplomatic "I-I think I get what you're saying but I don't think Mr. Wright cares abou-"

Prosecutor von Karma shut him up by whipping him, the blow hitting Athena as well. "Fools! Do you think I care about what Phoenix Wright thinks? This has nothing to do with what that fool thinks!"   

The blow from the whip knocked Apollo to the ground, where he grumbled something incompressible and grumpy. Athena, however, recovered quickly, she pumped her fists enthusiastically “Yeah!” She shouted, “I can kick your butt! I can kick your butt just like Mr. Wright did! Whatever he likes it or not!”

“You might,” Prosecutor von Karma, she still looked haughty, but something about her tone of voice made Athena think she was impressed. Or maybe it was wishful thinking. “But if you wish to stand a chance against me, you need to stay focused, Athena Cykes! If you stare at me like a foolishly starstruck fool, you are only going to fall victim to my whip!”

“Oh yeah?” Athena got so excited that she punched Mr. Edgeworth's desk “I’m sharp! I’m the sharpest ever!”

"Hmmm… is that so? Because my whip says otherwise."

"Hey, you just caught me unprepared, Prosecutor von Karma," Athena shouted in a defensive manner "How much do you want to bet I could totally dodge that thing?"

Apollo started backing away slowly, as Athena readied herself to dodge Prosecutor von Karma's whip only to end up knocked back on the floor. He backed away until he suddenly bumped into Mr. Edgeworth, holding what was probably the necessary paperwork to let Von Karma work with the LA Prosecutor’s Office.

“Is everything alright, Mr. Justice?” Mr. Edgeworth asked.

“... Athena and Prosecutor von Karma are kinda scaring me…” Apollo admitted in what he probably thought was a whisper but came out way too loud.

Mr. Edgeworth sighed deeply and adjusted his glasses “Yes, I should have known this would happen.” He frowned at the direction of Prosecutor von Karma and Athena, who were still shouting and punching and whipping with great enthusiasm.

Chapter Text

In spite of Franziska’s surprise early visit, the paperwork was rather light. Franziska worked here before, after all, and that sped up the integration process considerably compared to Prosecutor Sahdmadi. Miles led her to her temporary office, which was also easy to arrange, right now the Prosecutor’s Office was not exactly lacking in empty rooms. Satisfied with how smoothly it all went (He only got whipped once), Miles returned to his office, only to hear the voices of Wright’s underlings arguing from inside it.

“But it’s weird! You don’t think it’s weird, Apollo?”

“Maybe, but why are you asking me? Just ask Mr. Edgeworth!”

“Yeah… but what if he thinks it’s a personal question and gives me that nasty glare of his…”

“You’re not afraid of Mr. Edgeworth, are you?”

“Hey! Watch what you say, buster! I’m just… what if he cuts my salary again.”

“...Yeah, okay, fair.”

Miles rolled his eyes at that last statement. “What are you two blubbering about?” He said as he entered his office.

Mr. Justice and Ms. Cykes stared at him in surprise. Gadget let out a tiny electronic “Gah!”

“Oh! Mr. Edgeworth!” Ms. Cykes said with an embarrassed grin “I just…” she stopped suddenly, apparently thinking about something “Hey, Mr. Edgeworth, can I ask you something?”

Miles wondered for a moment about the content of the argument he overheard “Well, you are here in order to learn,” he crossed his arms “If this is about the Prosecutor’s Office, you may ask as you please.”

“Well, I guess it’s not really about the Prosecutor’s Office,” Ms. Cykes grinned as she played with her hair “It’s more about a prosecutor’s office.” Miles gave her a glare, she stopped for just a second before blurting out “Why do you have a jacket framed in your office?” She pointed at the direction of Miles' old court jacket on the wall “That’s weird!”

For a moment, Miles was about to get angry at her, that jacket held within it a lot of personal memories – many of them quite painful. Ms. Cykes, I believe I made it very clear. You and Mr. Justice do not get to ask me anything of this sort, he planned on saying. But… he didn’t really made that clear, did he? There is nothing about the jacket itself that would indicate to them the emotional weight it carries with it. It is something he put in his office, that makes it part of his professional sphere - and therefore questions about its inclusion are professional questions. And Mr. Justice and Ms. Cykes do deserve an answer to that.

He huffed, mostly to try and hide a sigh “This jacket was a gift from my old mentor,” he struggled to keep his voice as unemotional as possible, but even he could hear it isn’t working. His eyes avoided Ms. Cykes and Mr. Justice’s faces. Her Gadget and his Trick Bracelet were most definitely picking up on the emotions he was trying to hide. The very thought made him uncomfortable. “I cannot bring myself to wear, nor to throw it,” he finally managed to look at the faces of Wright’s protégés, they looked… troubled. Understandable, from their interaction with Franziska earlier, they have heard what sort of person Manfred von Karma was. Probably from Wright. “I want to keep it in my office, as a…” he considered his words “a reminder.”

“But why…” Ms. Cykes played with her earring “that still doesn’t explain why it’s framed like a painting.”

“Oh, that,” Miles felt slightly embarrassed, but mostly relived “Well, I… I didn’t know what else to do with it…” he shrugged lightly “I couldn’t very well just put a clothing rack in the middle of my office.”

“Heh,” Ms. Cykes said, “and here I thought it was going to be, like, a symbolic reminder that sometimes people…” she stopped for dramatic effect “are framed for their crimes!” Ms. Cykes gave a wide smile that indicated that she was somehow proud of that terrible pun.

He gave her a cold glare, as did Mr. Justice. Although if he was honest with himself, that joke (as bad as it was) was a welcome bit of levity. Not that he’s going to say that out loud.

There was a moment of silence before Mr. Justice spoke up “Hey, Mr. Edgeworth,” He said, “I also have a professional question, and I promise this one isn’t just a set up for a pun.” He exchanged looks with Ms. Cykes, who pouted in response.

“Ask away, Mr. Justice."

“So… why don’t prosecutors wear their badges on their lapels like we do?” Mr. Justice gestured at the little golden badge on his waistcoat, as if he thought Miles would forget it “You keep yours in your pocket, right?”

“Indeed, Mr. Justice,” Miles instinctively reached to the badge in his coat pocket “but not all defense attorneys carry their badges openly as you do, and not all prosecutors keep theirs in their pockets.”

“Prosecutor Debeste wears a badge on his suit!” Ms. Cykes correctly noted.

“Well, Okay,” Mr. Justice leaned on a wall “but it’s still most prosecutors and most defense attorneys, right?”

Miles nodded in agreement “it’s simply that,” he said “our badges are not simply aesthetic, their purpose is to identify someone as a defense attorney or a prosecutor. We can’t allow just anyone to just wander into crime scenes or interview detainees, now can we?”

Ms. Cykes and Mr. Justice nodded, somewhat hesitant.

“And so, defense attorneys tend to carry their badges openly so that people such as detectives and officers would immediately know that they are involved with the case,” Miles continued “Meanwhile, we prosecutors are state-appointed and work quite closely with the police. There’s simply less of a need for immediate identification.”

“Yeah, your look is kinda… unmistakable, Mr. Edgeworth!” Ms. Cykes said with a grin. She’s spending far too much time with Kay.

“So… it’s less of a case of why you don’t wear one,” Mr. Justice noted “just why we do wear one.”

“Doesn’t seem like that good a reason to me!” Ms. Cykes said, “Why not wear your badge? It’s cool!”

Miles thought for a moment “For prosecutors, wearing a badge openly like that seems…” he gestured in the air “Tacky and classless. Maybe even a bit disrespectful.”

The look of understanding on Mr. Justice’s face faded and was replaced by slight irritation “Wait… what does that mean about defense attorneys!?”

“There’s no need to worry, Mr. Justice,” Miles smirked “We already see you as classless and disrespectful.”

“Mr. Edgeworth!” Mr. Justice pounded on the desk, angry, his voice defensive.

Oh dear, thought Miles, he did not expect the young Mr. Justice to take that remark so seriously. “Well, perhaps not every defense attorney,” he corrected himself, “Definitely Wright, though.” That sort of lighthearted non-serious insult was acceptable with Wright, but evidently, not with his understudy.

That statement got Mr. Justice to chuckle a little. Masterful job defusing the situation, Miles, If Wright really was here, he would have been impressed. He thought, not entirely serious.

Ms. Cykes, however, seemed deep in thought as she lifted her head and said “Alright, Mr. Edgeworth, I’ve also got another question, a serious question.”

“Well then, what is it, Ms. Cykes?” Miles was slightly on edge due to her tone of voice.

“Alright, so, you and Mr. Wright always talk about how defense attorneys and prosecutors should work together, that we're allies, that court isn't a competition, Athena, please don't threaten to beat up Prosecutor Payne in the parking lot after the trial's done,” she said in a mocking voice, probably meant to imitate Wright “But, but… you and Mr. Wright are, like, the rivaliest lawyers out there! What that even means for us to work together?! Because you two aren’t exactly setting an example.”

“She has a point,” Mr. Justice added “you and Mr. Wright really have a reputation of being really competitive in court.”

What sort of ridiculous question is that? “...It’s simply how our legal system is structured. Every person deserves a fair trial in which their innocence or guilt is discussed thoroughly,” Miles said, “you surely don’t expect me to just completely acquit anyone that Wright represents!” He huffed “If Wright convinces me without a shadow of a doubt that his client is not the guilty party, I will help him. But I can’t blindly rely on his trust in people!” After a pause to think, he added “at least not in court.”

“That’s not what I meant!” Ms. Cykes looked frustrated “You and the Boss and… pretty much any other lawyer I know… You talk and talk about working together and being a team. But… but…We don’t really act like that, do we? You and Mr. Wright spend most of your time in court trying to one up and trick and humiliate each other! Not just trying to 'convince' one another! How is this ‘working together to uncover the truth’?”

"…I must say, Ms. Cykes," Miles said "You are not the person I expected to have an issue with the way me and Wright conduct trials."

"Hey, if you want it to be a competition, I'm all on-board!" Ms. Cykes was defensive. "I love competition! I am super competitive, and definitely more competitive than Apollo!"

"Hey!"

"So, if you and Mr. Wright want me to act like you, I could," Ms. Cykes said, "that's just… not what I thought you wanted from me! You said we're here to show to prosecutors how to work together and I just… I just don't know what that means anymore!"

“Oh, is that it?” Miles blinked in surprise “Oh that’s simply…it’s more fun that way.”’

“...Fun?” Ms. Cykes repeated in confusion, as if she has never heard the word before.

“Why, Yes. Fun.” Miles crossed his arms “We are cooperating, but there’s nothing wrong in indulging in some good-natured competition while we work together.” He shrugged half-heartedly “If, while Wright is trying to convince me of his client's innocence, I happen to, urm, show-off my superior investigative skills or lead him to revealing his own buffoonery…well, that's is simply… a fun addition to the job,”

“Wait…” Ms. Cykes said “But, like…”

“What's wrong, Ms. Cykes?”

“Well, I just thought… well…" Ms. Cykes looked nervous "I thought you hate fun!"

Good god, just what sort of impression I’ve been leaving on these two? “I’m only human, Ms Cykes,” Miles simply said.

Ms. Cykes recovered quickly. "Alright, yeah, I guess even a dull grandpa like you knows how to have some fun!” Ms. Cykes gave Miles an awkward, light ‘friendly bump’ with her fist “especially with that totally-cool sister of yours! Right, Mr. Edgeworth?”

“I suppose?” Miles replied, “are the two of you done with questions?”

Wright’s protégés considered it, “Well, ora che me lo dici,” Ms. Cykes said “I was actually really curious about that one thing…”

That gleam in her eyes was… worrying, but nevertheless, Miles asked “Yes?” He still promised to educate them, after all. And their two previous questions were… fairly professional and informative.

“So, Apollo was telling me… about some of the boss’s old cases,” as Ms. Cykes talked, Mr. Justice’s expression changed from one of confusion to one of realization “and there was that one case that was really mysterious...”

“...State vs. Iris,” Mr. Justice added “Almost nothing about it was told to the press. And I was…” he suddenly got very abashed “I was collecting a lot of news stories about Mr. Wright back then, I would know.”

“But we do know you were there!” Ms. Cykes looked really enthusiastic about it “Right, Mr. Edgeworth?”

Oh, dear god, why? Why, out of all the ludicrous cases Wright has been a part of, they had to bring up State vs. Iris? “Why, Yes, I was there.” Miles tried to keep his panic internal.

“Any chance you could tell us what happened there?” Ms. Cykes asked, “We’re not press! We won't tell anyone!”

“Our lips are sealed!” Gadget added, ever-so-helpful.

“I’m kinda curious about that too…” Mr. Justice said, “We really do know almost nothing about it. Mr. Wright is our boss, it feels like we have the right to know about this.”

Perhaps he is correct, Miles sighed “State vs. Iris was a case that was heavily involved in the politics and tradition of the Fey Family, including Spirit Channeling,” he said as directly as he could “These matters… do not tend to sit well with the general public. How is one supposed to explain to the press that the culprit only murdered the victim because she was currently channeling the spirit of his attempted murderer.”

“If we were in Khura’in, it’ll probably go through a lot better,” noted Mr. Justice, mostly talking to himself.

“Yes, quite probably,” Miles wasn’t that knowledgeable about Khura’in, so he didn’t want to make such a statement sound like a fact, but it did seem to match with what he did know “... but this is not Khura’in, and so, the reason for the case’s secrecy.”

“Oh, that’s all?” Ms. Cykes sounded disappointed. Miles would have thought a case so heavily involved in spirit channeling would be enticing enough, but then again, maybe not when you’re regularly working with Wright.

“Yes,” Miles replied, stoic, “that’s all.”

“...No, it’s not.” Mr. Justice said, looking at that thrice-dammed bracelet of his, then rising his head to give Miles a distrustful glare.

“Lo sapevo! I knew there was more to it!” Ms. Cykes added. Did she hear my distress? “So, what was it? What was it? You gotta tell us now!”

Miles hesitated, the truth was that there were many unorthodox things about that case, not just his own involvement - perhaps it’s possible to mention them without setting off that horrible bracelet again.

Mr. Justice still looked at him suspiciously “Look, if you don’t want to tell us…” he said “we know Prosecutor von Karma was also involved in that case. We’ll just ask her.”

Miles sighed, you two are driven, I’ll give you that. And it is probably better for me to explain it over Franziska “Indeed, there were several reasons why this case was so secretive,” he said “Among them, there was…” oh lord, how do I word this in a way that doesn’t make me sound like a lovesick buffoon? “Right around the time of the murder, Wright actually got himself injured trying to pull off some moronically heroic stunt, and he had to spend a day in the hospital” even after all these years, talking about that event made his voice shake slightly “And yet… he still took a personal interest in the case. Not to mention that the defendant, a nun in Hazakura Temple, probably did not have the personal funds to afford an actual attorney who regularly charges for his services,” he tried to smirk at his light dig at Wright, but it wasn’t enough to calm his nerves and his face quickly returned to a frown “and so, Wright had the idea to…” oh damn it all, even trying to emphasize the point that it was all Wright’s ridiculous idea didn’t make him feel like less of a clown for agreeing to it “He gave me his Attorney’s Badge and asked me to… pretend to be Ms. Iris’ defense attorney until he could step in and… I… I agreed.”

Ms. Cykes and Mr. Justice just looked at him, speechless and dumbfounded and judgmental. Mr. Justice fiddled with his bracelet, probably expecting this to be a lie.

“I am serious.” Miles glared at them angrily, an old defense mechanism of his. “I used my connections to assign Franziska as a temporary prosecutor on the case, knowing that she will be willing to play along with my little charade."

“Ooookay…” Ms. Cykes said with a voice full of reservations. “But why?”

“Like I said, this case was of great personal importance to Wright, and he wanted to investigate as soon as possible,” Miles said, “And I don’t believe he knew any other defense attorneys - any other lawyers, who would do that sort of favor for him.” With a dismissive hand gesture, he added “Wright has always been horrible with networking.”

“...and yet he somehow ended up dating the Chief Prosecutor?” Ms. Cykes sounded equal time amused and confused.

“Just another one of his ridiculous lucky strokes, nothing more,” Miles said, “believe me, none of this was by intention.”

“...It still doesn’t make sense to me,” Mr. Justice said “It still seems like too much risk. I mean, you can lose your badge over something like that, right?”

“Indeed, it was a risk for the both of us.” Miles nodded in agreement. Mr. Justice always seemed to him like a very reasonable young man. “But, well, Wright is incredibly careless, and he… well, he said he could not trust anyone else with this,” it was always so hard to keep a professional tone when talking about that meeting in the hospital “And… he was not in good health at the time, it might have simply been the fever talking.”

“Alright…” Mr. Justice still sounded quite uncertain “but that doesn’t explain why you went along with it.”

Miles flinched. There were many answers he could give them; he could tell them that once he looked into the case, he found himself intrigued by its contradictions and wanted to investigate it out of intellectual curiosity. He could tell them that he found the chance to ‘play’ defense attorney a good opportunity to broaden his horizons, much in the same way the two of them are doing now. He could tell them that his desire for the truth is simply that strong. That he felt bad for Sister Iris, this young woman stuck in such a horrible situation. That Wright dragged him into this mess against his will. There were a million things he could say, there must be, after years of practicing making excuses for this - the most ridiculous thing he has ever done.

But… what is the point, really? What is the point giving excuses to those two? They’ll surely detect his lies in heartbeat and then they’ll just press him even more for answers - or worse, ask Franziska. It might be better to simply… be truthful with them.

“...Because Wright pinned that badge to my lapel, looked at me with those vibrant eyes of his and told me that there is no one else in the world that he trusts more than me.” Miles averted his eyes and grabbed unto his elbow. “And I am nothing more than a sentimental, romantic fool.”

A horrible silence fell on the office for a moment.

“Simon was right!” Gadget suddenly squeaked, breaking that silence in the worst possible way “You really do have a wild side!”

“Widget! Nien!” Ms. Cykes shouted in a scolding tone, after a second, she added “I’m really sorry, Mr. Edgeworth, we… we shouldn’t have pressed you on that.”

No, no you shouldn’t have! “You two had no way of knowing this was a personal manner,” Miles said, still unable to look at them “You have a right to be curious about Wright’s old cases.”

“I… guess we did learn some interesting things,” Mr. Justice added “I mean, all the things you told me about the badges… and with this…” his tone sounded contemplative, and he had every right to be: State vs. Iris does basically put his entire story about the usefulness of badges into question.

Miles huffed, finally managing to release the grip on his elbow and look at the two defense attorneys directly “I think this discussion is done for the day.” He walked toward the desk and looked through his documents, searching for something that could keep Wright's underlings busy. “Here, please take care of this,” Miles said as he handed some papers to Mr. Justice and Ms. Cykes, he needed to be alone for a while.

After receiving a cold glare from Miles, the two lawyers ran off immediately, almost speechless save for one, rather inane comment from Ms. Cykes- that he overhead just before they closed his office door.

“Aw, and I never got the chance to ask him why the hell he takes off his glasses when he's in court!"

Chapter Text

“Hey, Apollo, did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

Apollo and Athena finally finished with that (admittedly kinda pointless?) errand Mr. Edgeworth gave them and were just about to go back to his office - when Athena suddenly stopped in the middle of the hallway, an alert look on her face.

“Shhh! Apollo! You’re always too loud!” Athena whisper-shouted, frustrated “Come on!”

She grabbed Apollo by the arm and dragged him near the wall by Mr. Edgeworth’s office. The door was, unusually, slightly open.

Okay, now he could hear it.

A whip crack in the air, heeled boots stomping angrily on Mr. Edgeworth’s marble floor, and then, Prosecutor von Karma’s angry voice.

“That fool is your responsibility, Miles Edgeworth! His foolish behavior is also your fault! It is Your Foolishness!”

Another whip crack, and a small shout of pain “I am Wright’s partner, not his parent, not his caretaker… I mean, for heaven's sake...” That was Mr. Edgeworth’s voice “it’s not like he ever does what I tell him either way.”

More stomping. “You should have at least warned him about Khura’in’s legal system! I cannot believe you allowed Phoenix Wright to walk into the Court of Resignation unprepared!”

Mr. Edgeworth sighed “This was supposed to be a simple vacation, just sight-seeing and other inane tourist pastimes. Neither of us even considered that he will end up in court.”

Another whip-crack. “You are a fool, Miles Edgeworth - but I refuse to believe you are that as foolish as you try and foolishly paint yourself! This is Phoenix Wright we are talking about! Of course he ended up in court! This man is a magnet for troubles!” She ended her little rant with a huff.

“Franziska,” Mr. Edgeworth’s voice was a bit quieter now “Are you concerned about Wright?”

“Of course I am!” That whip crack was so intense that it made Apollo flinch. “Miles, I am your sister! I know how important he is to you! And now he on vacation…" That word was said with a sneer "…in a country where he can get executed for being a defense attorney! If he won’t upturn the entire legal system first!”

“Franziska…”

“Some of us do keep track of what’s going on in the rest of the world, Miles Edgeworth. Phoenix Wright’s little Not Guilty verdict is causing quite a stir in Khura’in. This country is a pressure cooker just waiting to explode, and that foolish Phoenix Wright is caught right in the middle of it.”

“Franziska… I…” Mr. Edgeworth grumbled “Now that Wright knows about the Defense Culpability Act, he can lay low and avoid trouble until he and Maya return to California safety and-"

“Yeah, like you believe that…” Athena whispered sarcastically while Mr. Edgeworth continued talking.

Apollo nodded “You don’t exactly need super-ears to hear that,” he whispered back “Mr. Edgeworth is a terrible bluffer.”

Their discussion was cut by the sound of a flurry of whipping and then big angry steps that were getting stronger. It seems that Prosecutor von Karma didn't buy it either.

“Eep!” Athena immediately jumped up and dragged the still-shocked Apollo away from the wall. When Prosecutor von Karma opened up the office door to leave, it looked like the two Defense Attorneys just got here.

“Oh! Hello, Prosecutor von Karma!” Athena said in a friendly tone, waving.

“...Hello, Apollo Justice, Athena Cykes…” she said quietly, in a voice full of barely controlled anger, before quickly and wordlessly disappearing down the hallway.

They looked at her go for a moment before they turned their attention back to the office.

“Mr. Edgeworth?” Athena opened the door in a slow, careful manner - as if she was afraid a second Prosecutor von Karma was hiding just out of view “Wir sind zurück …?”

Mr. Edgeworth was sitting by his desk, trying to keep a professional poise, in spite of the clear signs of emotional exhaustion and whipping on his face. “I assume you have finished with you task, Ms. Cykes, Mr. Justice?” he said quietly. His head was lowered, barely looking at them.

Apollo and Athena nodded as they walked slowly and carefully into the office, almost like they were sneaking in. Mr. Edgeworth just kept looking down at the table. What was going on in his head?

“...Mr. Justice, Ms. Cykes…” his voice was quiet and weirdly unsure. In a sudden motion; he lifted his head to look at them directly “… Trucy and I have been planning to go to the circus tonight and…”

“And you want us to come too?” Athena asked, suddenly a lot perkier then she was earlier.

“No, it is not about what I want, Ms. Cykes.” Mr. Edgeworth snapped. He made a dismissive motion with his hand as he talked “It’s simply…” he averted his head to the side, one hand grabbed at his elbow. “Trucy greatly enjoyed your company two days ago, ergo, I thought it’ll be a good idea to invite you again. For Trucy's sake. It has nothing to do with what I want.”

Athena gave him a little offended frown “…Yeah, fine, Kumpel, I don’t wanna hang out with you either...” she grumbled to herself.

Apollo sighed “Sure, it’ll be great to hang out with Trucy again.” He tried to put on a friendly face, please don’t say anything rush, Athena.

Athena still looked kinda hurt, she put her hands on her hips and asked, “You’re paying, right?”

Mr. Edgeworth considered her for a moment “of course, Ms. Cykes.”

Chapter Text

Athena loved the circus, and it’s been a long time since she had an opportunity to go to one - not to mention this was another chance to cheer up Trucy. It’s just… why did Mr. Edgeworth had to be such a rude jerk and make a big deal of the fact that, oh, he doesn’t to spend time near her and Apollo - perish the thought. I get it, dude, everything is business with you and you don’t care about us as people, no need to shove it in our faces 24\7.

But it was hard to stay mad for too long, especially after Trucy entered the car and started excitedly talking about how the Big Berry Circus has been known for its high-quality magic acts ever since they signed in Maximillion Galactica in the early 2010’s. She jokingly said that she’s going to the circus to survey out her competition and do some “industrial espionage”, emphasizing her point by putting on a pair of comically large sunglasses.

Mr. Edgeworth simply said that this does not actually fall under the legal definition of industrial espionage and that she shouldn’t wear sunglasses when it’s dark, but Athena could tell he was amused - and from Trucy’s jovial response, she knew that too.

“You know, Mr. Wright defended a magician in this circus once.” Apollo said, probably just for the sake of small-talk.

“Indeed, and it was the aforementioned Maximillion Galactica, as well,” Mr. Edgeworth noted, “Franziska was the prosecutor on the case.”

“Oh, that’s right!” Trucy said, lightly bouncing in the car seat “I think Daddy and Aunt Franzy told me about it! That was during that time you faked your own death, right Mr. Edgeworth?”

“You did what?!” Apollo blinked in surprise.

“Mr. Justice, please, I thought we came to an agreement about this,” Mr. Edgeworth said. In spite of the use of the ‘please’, there was nothing requesting about his tone - it was a demand. After a moment he added “Wright will never let it go, now would he?” To himself, in a tone he probably thought was too quiet for any of them to hear.

The show was also pretty good, although the ringmaster told some really corny jokes. Trucy claimed that was "part of his gimmick”. Bad jokes, used knowingly, can have their own appeal and can punctuate really funny moments with the right showmanship. Or at least that’s what Trucy said. As far as Athena was concerned, they were just bad. After the show itself ended they hung out by the cotton candy and silly hats and carnival games stands just outside the Big Top, as Trucy explained her opinion on the various performers and Athena tried and failed repeatedly to hit an adorable wooden duck with a ball.

“I appreciate Max Galactic's aesthetic sense, I guess,” Trucy said in that strangely professional tone she sometimes uses to talk about stage magic “but personally, I think he’s got too much ‘style’ and not enough ‘substanc- ‘“

“Oh! come on!” Athena shouted as she once again missed the duck, whose cartoon smile looked more and more mocking by the second “This game is rigged!” She slammed her hands on the stand in frustration.

“Quite possibly,” Mr. Edgeworth said stoically “Should we move on, then?”. He checked his wristwatch as he asked that.

“No! I can beat it!” Athena said with a fiercely determined look on her face “I just need one more try!” She started rummaging in her jacket pockets for more quarters.

Mr. Edgeworth sighed “Of course,” he pulled out a 100$ bill from his wallet “Just give her as many tries as this is worth,” he told the man running the stand “it’ll make things faster for all of us.”

“So, what I wanted to say is,” Trucy raised her voice to be heard over Athena’s repeated muttering of curse words in various languages “Max has great showmanship, but I don’t think he’s got as much skills, I mean this flying trick? It's just based purely on props. Apollo could do it if he had the budget,” she said, “Showmanship is important, you have to know how to sell your stuff!” She emphasized that point by doing a little twirl in place “But I prefer a magician who combines this showmanship with some real impressive skills!” She continued, “Do you know what I mean?”

“I… I guess,” Apollo said, probably hoping that this hasn't given Trucy an idea about flying tricks.

“Hmmm…It is a bit like practicing law, in a way” Mr. Edgeworth said, “You must have some amount of charisma to stand in court, but you need to have at least an ounce of actual intelligence and legal skill to do so as well. Otherwise, all of your posturing and dramatics will be for naught.”

“Um, thanks, Mr. Edgeworth,” Apollo said, obviously feeling very awkward “but I think got it when Trucy explained it.”

“Oh, yes…” Mr. Edgeworth’s was suddenly very flustered “o-of course, Mr. Justice.”

Did he really say that to explain Trucy's point to Apollo? Athena thought, trying to throw that godamm ball as strongly as she could. Or was he explaining things to himself? Oh, dammit, Athena! Stop psychoanalyzing him! She scolded herself as she missed again, her worst throw yet.

“I think Mr. Edgeworth is just trying to say the court is like a circus!” Trucy happily offered.

“Merde!” Athena yelled, strong enough to startle her three companions, as the ball bounced off the duck and hit her in the face, leaving a little mark.

Mr. Edgeworth turned his attention back to Athena and the stand. He took a good look at the various plushies decorating it, offered as prizes “Tsk, surely you aren’t that interested in such shoddy craftsmanship, Ms. Cykes,” he said to her “and if you are, there are better ways to acquire them.” His hand started reaching for his wallet again.

“This isn’t about some stupid dolls, boss!” Athena yelled, throwing more and more balls in a rapid rate “This is about winning!” A ball whooshed just past the duck, causing Athena to scream in frustration.

“Yes, I can see that,” Mr. Edgeworth snarked.

Athena was too busy being angry about this stupid duck to be angry at Mr. Edgeworth’s dismissive comment “I’m stubborn! I'm determined! Just like Mr. Wright!” Another miss. “A true defense attorney never gives up! Not until the bitter end!” She exclaimed proudly with a manic grin on her face. “Also, it’s good workout for my pointing hand!”

“Oh, you are so much worse than Wright, somehow.” Mr. Edgeworth’s voice didn’t have any meanness in it. In fact, his tone was somewhat fond.

Another miss. Another miss. Another miss.

“Trucy, are you feeling hungry?” Mr. Edgeworth said suddenly “how about you, Mr. Justice and I will go and stand in some overly long and surely quite uncouth line to buy some cheap, unhealthy carnival food?” He shrugged lightly “To pass the time while Ms. Cykes is… occupied.”

Another miss, another miss, “Hey! Get me some cotton candy, okay?!” Athena shouted at them as they left her field of view. Another miss, another miss, another miss.

"Okay!"

“Sure thing, Athena!”

“Of course, Ms. Cykes”

Another miss, another miss, another miss. One part of Athena’s brain recognized that she was getting mad and tired and that was just making her aim worse, but the rest of Athena refused to listen to it; throwing ball after ball. Another miss, another miss, another miss.

“Sorry, honey,” the man running the stand said suddenly, pulling away the basket of balls when Athena reached out her hand for it “you’re out of tries.”

“OBJECTION!” Athena slammed her hands on the stand, powerfully enough to make the man flinch backwards “I had like a billion tries, t-they couldn’t have run out already!”

The man shrugged “Yeah, your dad bought you, like, 400 tries,” he said, “but now you’ve ran out, pay up or go home.”

“That’s impossible!” Athena didn’t even pay attention to the fact the dude apparently thinks Mr. Edgeworth is her dad “I… nobody can waste 400 turns that fast.” Although, she did kinda lose her sense of time at some point – she admitted to herself.

“What is this ruckus about, Ms. Cykes?”

Athena turned around to see that Apollo, Trucy and Mr. Edgeworth have returned. Trucy was munching on a huge bag of sweet popcorn, Apollo was eating a hot dog, although he didn’t seem to like it very much, and Mr. Edgeworth was awkwardly holding Athena’s cotton candy in one hand and a soft drink for himself in the other.

“This guy’s trying to tell me that I already ran out of tries!” Athena put her hands on her hips “But it's just not possible, there wasn’t enough time to waste all of these turns! Right, Mr. Edgeworth?”

Mr. Edgeworth, Apollo and Trucy all looked at each other. “Well,” Mr. Edgeworth said, “we were held up in line for quite a while.”

"But-" Athena started to say.

“Ms. Cykes, please,” Mr. Edgeworth said, all stoic and confident in that super-annoying way “We simply cannot stay here all night.”

Athena grumbled angrily, but backed away from the stand, Mr. Edgeworth handed her the cotton candy and she snatched it away from his hand. “Are you in a rush, Mr. Edgeworth?” She munched the cotton candy aggressively. Need to get rid of us quickly?

“Well, first of all, Trucy has a sleepover tonight with Ms. Jinxie Tenma,” He said.

“Yeah!” Trucy added excitedly.

“Tenma Town is not far from here, so I thought it would be best to drive her there on the way back from the circus,” he continued, then checked his watch “and it’s getting rather close to Trucy’s bedtime.”

“It’s a sleepover, Mr. Edgeworth,” Athena said after a dramatic sigh, “the whole point is to stay past bedtime!” But she kept on walking with the rest of the group toward the exit.

“In addition, we still have all of our regular work duties tomorrow,” Mr. Edgeworth said, giving Apollo and Athena a nasty glare “and I have special matters to attend to at the District Court in the morning.”

“Oh?” Apollo finished his hot dog and looked noticeably relieved “Do you need us to, um, come with you?”

“Hmmm, I doubt that’ll be necessary,” Mr. Edgeworth answered, “I am merely going to watch a trial, hardly something that requires assistance and I’m sure the both of you have seen more than your fair share of trials under Wright’s tutelage.” He drank his soft drink and did his best to look dignified as he did so.

“So… is there anything special about this trial?” Athena asked, curious. Something in Mr. Edgeworth's tone was… interesting.

“No, not particularly so,” Mr. Edgeworth seemed to consider Athena for a moment before he continued “It's simply… This is likely to be the final trial day of Prosecutor Debeste’s current case-“

“The ‘Ryde’ case, right?” Athena cut him off without thinking “Kay showed me a bit of their investigation!”

“Why, yes.” Mr. Edgeworth said, “That case was been quite a struggle for poor Sebastian, we've been discussing his difficulties with the investigation quite often for the last few days” His voice was suddenly a lot less cold, and a lot friendlier and… more affectionate? “I simply wish to oversee his trial so I can evaluate his performance.” Athena listened carefully, it wasn’t quite the tone he used to talk about Mr. Wright, that’ll be weird “I’m sure he’ll do fine, his skill and conduct as a prosecutor have improved considerably over the last few years, I must say.” It was more… it was more like the tone he uses to talk about Trucy. It was the tone people use when they say ‘Oh, they grow up so fast’.

"Heh, you really care about Prosecutor Debeste, don't you, Mr. Edgeworth?” Athena smiled, it was kinda cute. It kinda reminded her of Mr. Wright. It reminded her a lot of Mr. Wright. “You're-"

Mr. Edgeworth didn’t take it quite so well “Ms.  Cykes!” His voice was embarrassed, but his face said, ‘I am going to develop heat vision and burn through your skull by the power of my glare alone, and then cut your pay' “Please stop right there!" He took a deep breath, which didn't seem to really calm him very much "I am trying to… not be uncharitable here. I was willing to overlook the two of you breaking our agreement when it seem to be done out of ignorance. But this… this is seriously pushing the limits of my patience, Ms. Cykes. Remember, our interactions are supposed to be on a purely professional basis.”

“R-right!” Now it was Athena’s turn to be embarrassed “Sorry, Mr. Edgeworth, it’s just… This is…”

“THIS IS STUPID!” Widget suddenly blurted out.

For a second, they were all frozen and silent, even Mr. Edgeworth looked more surprised than offended. “S-Sorry, Mr. Edgeworth!” Athena let out an awkward chuckle in an attempt to defuse the situation “Widget is just…” suddenly she stopped, her expression changing. “No! Widget is right! This is stupid!”

Mr. Edgeworth’s face was momentarily shocked, but quickly shifted to ‘coldly intimidating’. “Tread carefully, Ms. Cykes,” he said quietly “For the time being, I am your employer.”

“Are you though?” Athena crossed her arms and tried to copy Mr. Edgeworth’s scary expression, although she didn’t quite manage it “You tell us that we should see you as just the boss, that we shouldn’t care about your personal stuff at all, but,” she started gesturing wildly to emphasis her point “but, then you take us to a fun day in the circus with your basically-daughter and talk to us about your friends and family and you expect us to just ignore it and see you like some sort of emotionless professional husk?! That’s stupid! I can’t do it!”

“T-this isn’t about me, Ms. Cykes,” Mr. Edgeworth’s hasn’t changed his expression, but he did slightly avert his head and Athena could hear how the cold confidence in his voice was wavering “I have invited you here to keep Trucy company, that’s all.”

“You’re still there!” Athena shouted loud enough to make people around them turn their heads to see what the fuss is about “I can’t just pretend you don’t exist where you’re there and you talk with us and drive us and pay for our stuff! You bought me cotton candy!” Athena took a big bite off the pink sugary sweet in her hand and chewed it aggressively, to emphasize her point.

“Athena's right. We’re used to the way Mr. Wright does things,” Apollo said as he stepped next to Athena “And it’s okay if you want to keep it strictly business, but you have to choose, Mr. Edgeworth!”

“I…Hmph…” Mr. Edgeworth sounded conflicted, and more than a bit panicked. Suddenly he sighed and said in a much calmer voice “You are quite correct, Ms. Cykes. I am afraid I have… been unfair to you and Mr. Justice.”

Athena stepped back in surprise, she didn’t expect it to work.

“I have been acting hypocritical and... selfish, perhaps.” Mr. Edgeworth grabbed unto his elbow again, but at least he was looking at their faces “rest assured, this ends now.” his voice became icy-cold and calm again “This is the last time I will be putting you into a social situation such as this.” He finished his drink and threw it into the trash can dismissively “...Right after we get dear Trucy to Tenma Town and you two back to Los Angeles,” he added, slightly more awkward and less intimidating “I cannot simply abandon you here, after all.”

Apollo and Athena nodded, and they continued walking in the direction of Mr. Edgeworth's car. Quietly.

Chapter Text

Nobody said anything through the drive to Tenma Town, not even Trucy. She probably didn’t want to make things more awkward for the rest of them. Only when the car stopped by the Tenmas' house, she spoke up “...Good night, Mr. Edgeworth…” she said as she gave the prosecutor a little hug. Athena thought her heart sounded way too sad for someone who’s just going to a sleepover “Good night, Apollo and Athena!” After some hesitation she added “I had a lot of fun today, thank you.”

“... please, don’t mention it…” Mr. Edgeworth said toward the steering wheel.

Trucy sighed “I still miss Daddy,” she said in a really, really quiet voice.

“He’ll be back in a couple of days,” Mr. Edgeworth told her kindly, and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead “everything we’ll be alright.”

Trucy just… looked at him for a moment, before nodding slowly and running toward the house. Mr. Edgeworth checked that she entered it safely before he drove away.

Athena was already gearing up for more awkward silent driving on the way back to LA, when Mr. Edgeworth suddenly spoke.

“I miss Wright too,” he said, his voice distant and quiet “I miss him dearly.”

Athena exchanged quick looks with Apollo, who also looked like he had no idea what to do.

“And it is not just that I miss him,” Mr. Edgeworth continued, did he forget that Apollo and Athena were in the car with him? “It’s that I’m… worried, so very, very worried.” He let out a deep sigh “Franziska is right, Khura’in is an incredibly dangerous place for Wright to be in.” He paused for a moment “does she thinks I am not aware? That I’m not thinking about it? Constantly?” He raised his voice ever-so-slightly, as hurt and frustration filled his voice “That I am not constantly worried that one morning I will read the international news and find out that I… that I lost him? That he couldn’t possibly win two trials in the Court of Resignation? That his ridiculous luck has finally ran out?” and then he added, as a grumble under his breath “And soon he’s going to be there with Ms. Maya Fey!” He huffed “Each of them alone is already a magnet for bad luck, and the two of them together are a vortex to which troubles are attracted from lightyears away! This simply has to end badly…”

Apollo and Athena should say something… shouldn’t they? They just finished calling him out for doing that sort of stuff. The psychologist within Athena knew it was better for him to let it out than to bottle it in like he's been evidently doing for the last week or so – but he shouldn't be letting it out on 'just his subordinates'! And yet… and yet Mr. Edgeworth just sounded so much more afraid and vulnerable than normal, it was hard to get mad at him like that.

Mr. Edgeworth continued “I can’t… I can’t talk to Trucy about this, the poor dear has already gone through so much, I don’t want her to…" he winced "…be afraid of losing a father all over again. She doesn’t deserve this. I can’t talk about this with anyone.” He sighed again, it sounded sad and painful, but also with a hint of relief in it. Like finally managing to take a massive load off your hands or ripping off a nasty old band-aid. And Apollo and Athena were sure they didn't want to call him out anymore.

After that, he was quiet again for a few long minutes. Enough time for Apollo and Athena to assume that maybe now he finished talking. When he spoke again, he sounded calmer and more professional. More like the Mr. Edgeworth they were used to. “I’m sorry, Mr. Justice, Ms. Cykes,” he shook his head “We were just talking about how I should not… burden you with my own sentimentality. I assured you that this will not happen again, and yet, here I am…”

“Es ist in Ordnung, Mr. Edgeworth,” Athena said as kindly as she could “technically what we said is that you should pick between being all business and cold and being personal and friendly!”

“I… Yes,” Mr. Edgeworth sounded surprised “once again, you are quite correct, Ms. Cykes. That was the point of contention.” By the end of that sentence, it sounded like he was smiling slightly. He was quiet for a moment before he added "So, Ms. Cykes, before my… well… previously, you inquired about my association with Prosecu… about my bond with Sebastian, correct?"

Chapter Text

“In the name of the Goddess of Law, I hereby declare the defendant,” Justine readied her gavel “Not Guilty!” After two gavel pounds, she bowed her head, still a figure of divine respectability in spite of the confetti falling on her head “The court is adjourned.” She pounded her gavel again.

The second Sebastian made it out of the courtroom, he felt that his eyes were getting teary. Losing in court always made him wanna cry. Yeah, Mr. Edgeworth keeps telling him that victories isn’t really what matters 'as long as the verdict is truthful - but a truthful Not Guilty verdict still meant he didn’t get the right suspect in his initial investigation, and that still made him feel weepy. Nowadays, he at least manages to keep it in while he’s behind the bench. Especially today, when Mr. Edgeworth was watching the trial. Gotta act professional in court when Mr. Edgeworth is watching. But once he’s back at the lobby, the tears always start flowing out. He wiped his wet cheek with his sleeve.

“Prosecutor Debeste, please,” he heard a little sigh “have my handkerchief.”

Sebastian turned around to the source of the voice “Oh, Mr. Edgeworth!” He probably shouldn’t be that surprised, he knew he was gonna be in the audience today. Why wouldn't he go check on Sebastian in the Prosecution Lobby afterward? What did and should have surprised him are the two people who standing next to Mr. Edgeworth “Mr. Justice! Ms. Cykes! Did...did Mr. Edgeworth invite you to watch the trial too?” He asked as he snatched the handkerchief from Mr. Edgeworth's hand and used it to dry up his face.

“Well,” Mr. Edgeworth huffed “it’s more like they invited themselves.”

“Actually,” Mr. Justice said, “it’s more like Athena invited us.”

“Certo! I sure did!” Ms. Cykes said with a smile “After what Kay showed me, I wanted to see how the trial turned up!”

“Well, um…” Sebastian fiddled with his baton nervously “I lost.”

“Perhaps, but that is not the most important matter,” Mr. Edgeworth said in the strict-but-supportive tone he uses when Sebastian is getting to hard on himself.

“I know, I know,” Sebastian dried his face with the handkerchief again “We found the true culprit, and this is what’s really important,” he recited.

Mr. Edgeworth nodded, and opened up a small organizer he had in his coat pocket “And regardless of the trial’s outcome, your conduct was extremely professional, the contradictions in your logic were few and not glaring,” he thumbed down through his notes “Save for one unfortunate incident, you did not let the defense get away with any examples of faulty logic or baseless conjecture and most importantly, of course, you behaved in accordance to the Prosecutor's Office rules and moral code and contributed to the process of getting a truthful Not-Guilty verdict.” Mr. Edgeworth closed the organizer and smiled a tiny smile “The exact sort of performance I expect of my subordinates.”

Now Sebastian was teary again, but not because of the loss, he wiped his face with Mr. Edgeworth’s handkerchief again.

“Woo! Way to go, Prosecutor Debeste!” Ms. Cykes cheered.

“Congratulations!” Mr. Justice offered a supportive smile.

When Sebastian's eyes were free from tears again, he saw that the two defense attorneys looked… kinda anxious. Like they were waiting for something.

“So, like…” Ms. Cykes’ eyes darted around the Prosecution Lobby “What do you guys do after a trial?”

Sebastian looked at Mr. Edgeworth, who raised a curious eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. “Um,” he said as he fiddled with his baton “What do you mean?”

“Oh, well…” Ms. Cykes played idly (that's what that adverb means, right?) with her moon-shaped earring “in the Wright Anything Agency, when we finish a case- especially a big messy case like that,” messy is right, Ms. Cykes, I still can’t believe the body was moved three times and by three different people and none of them was the culprit! “We would always go out, the entire Agency, to celebrate with a big lunch together!” She punctuated her last point by pounding the palm of her hand with her fist.

“Ah! Oh… we don’t…we don’t really do stuff like that in the Prosecutor’s Office.” Sebastian instinctively looked at Mr. Edgeworth again, maybe on some level he was afraid that they do do something like that and he just forgot.

“No,” Mr. Edgeworth agreed “I think it will be rather ridiculous.”

“Athena, remember,” Mr. Justice laid down a friendly hand on his co-worker’s shoulder “the Agency takes up a lot less cases than even one prosecutor. If they went out to celebrate after every one that ended well, they wouldn’t have time to get anything else done.”

“Well, no, I’m not talking about just another speeding ticket case” Ms. Cykes sounded defensive “But this was kind of a big deal! That was one hell of a murder case! I mean, when Sebastian and Kay proved how the killer tried to disguise the murder method, I nearly lost my breath!” She smiled again “You know? It just feels like a cause for celebration!”

That still felt wrong for Sebastian, and his brain was working as hard as it could to figure out why “I think I… I think I get it, Ms. Cykes,” he perked up, trying to feel more confident “but you guys celebrate winning AND saving an innocent person from prison! We don’t really get that!” He pouted “I still… lost this case, so we can't celebrate that… and I don’t want to celebrate when someone goes to jail, either! Even if they are a… a really bad guy!”

Ms. Cykes looked surprised “Well, that’s what Simon does, but I guess he’s an outlier,” she shrugged lightly “I mean, even if you got a guilty verdict you still technically ‘saved’ some other murder suspects from being falsely accused!”

"That's… that's the whole point, right?" Mr. Justice added, looking at Mr. Edgeworth "Defense attorneys and prosecutors work together because we're not so different at the end, right? We're both just aiming to find the truth. So there's no real difference in who win or loses."

“Hmmm,” Mr. Edgeworth crossed his arms and tapped his finger “interesting observations,” he simply said.

“Mr. Edgeworth?” Sebastian asked in a whisper-tone “Who’s ‘Simon’?”

“Prosecutor Simon Blackquill, Sebastian,” Mr. Edgeworth answered in a normal tone, “He is a good personal friend with Ms. Cykes.”

Sebastian recoiled backwards and hit himself with his baton “Prosecutor Blackquill?!” Great, now he was tearing up from pain, and maybe a little fear, too “The tall scary guy with the sword?!”

“Yep!” Ms. Cykes smiled widely, she suddenly seemed a lot more intimidating “Sometimes, after he wins a big trial, we go out to have a celebratory lunch! I guess he’s the exception, huh?”

Of course he's an exception! Oh jeez, I hope you don’t think all prosecutors are just scary bird-obsessed weirdos like Prosecutor Blackquill! “It doesn’t matter anyway! I-I lost…” Sebastian said, deflating “Do you celebrate cases that you lost?”

Mr. Justice and Ms. Cykes thought for a moment “Well, you see,” Mr. Justice said, abashed “I’m not sure...”

“Cause we never lost a case!” Ms. Cykes cut him off with a prideful tone.

“Woah!” Sebastian accidentally hit himself with his baton again, he didn’t notice what he was doing, he was so impressed.

“Prosecutor Debeste, please remember,” Mr. Edgeworth said seriously “victories in court aren't what's important. And as defense attorneys, they take on fewer cases then you do. And especially at the Wright Anything Agency, which I believe takes on… five cases a year? On average, of course.”

The two defense attorneys grumbled at Mr. Edgeworth’s comment, Sebastian thought he heard Ms. Cykes mumble “party pooper” under her breath. If he was honest, he thought that was still a pretty impressive win-ratio.

“For what it’s worth,” Mr. Edgeworth said, “the one time I defeated Wright in court, he did celebrate it with a dinner… although I suppose the circumstances surrounding that case were rather unique- “

“HOLD IT!” Sebastian tried to shout, but it didn’t come out as very impressive “Mr. Edgeworth! Did Mr. Wright really only defeat you in court once?!” He asked in disbelief.

“Hmph, well,” Mr. Edgeworth huffed and averted his eyes “A victory in court doesn’t matter that much anyway…” He said, defensive.

“Alright, Prosecutor Debeste, you just need to take a deep breath,” Mr. Justice demonstrated “and then shout it all out!”

“Alright, watch this, Apollo! I'm really going to do this thing justice,” Sebastian said, smug. He waved his baton around as if he was conducting himself and let out a scream “I’m Sebastian Debeste and I’m FIIIINNNNEEEeeeeee!” His voice got very noticeably strained by the end of it.

“Well… it’s a good start, Prosecutor Debeste!” Mr. Justice gave Sebastian an awkward pat on the shoulder and a supportive smile “You just need to work on it a bit!”

“Yeah!” Ms. Cykes pumped her fists in the air “you just need training, and you’ll be shouting Wright-Anything-Agency-Quality ‘Objections’ in no time!”

Miles sighed quietly and rubbed his temples. It’s not that he regretted Mr. Justice and Ms. Cykes' offer to visit the Agency's regular noodle place for lunch, and it's not like he wasn’t happy Sebastian was bonding with Wright’s protégés, and it’s not like he didn’t appreciate a good, loud ‘Objection!’, It’s simply that…

“Alright, check it out, Prosecutor Debeste… OBJECTION!”

Perhaps he was getting too old for this.

“Hey? Hey! Mr. Edgeworth!” Ms. Cykes’ voice cut off his train of thoughts “You’re walking the wrong way!”

“...Pardon?” Miles said blankly.

“Eldoon Noodles is just over there!” She gestured at a street Miles was just about to walk past “Come on!”

“Oh, thank you, Ms. Cykes,” Miles said as he changed his course.

“I still can’t believe you’ve never been to Eldoon’s Noodle stand, Mr. Edgeworth!” Ms. Cykes said, “Mr. Wright really never took you there?!”

“Well, Ms. Cykes, Wright and I came to an understanding a long time ago. Whenever we go out, it is my duty and privilege to pick a restaurant,” Wright is simply incredibly indifferent when it comes to culinary matters “Plus, pardon me for saying, but this doesn’t look like a proper establishment for date night.” Or a family dinner with both Wrights. Miles gestured at the noodle cart and the harmonica-playing man ahead on the road.

“Oh! Hey, Mr. Eldoon!” Ms. Cykes waved wildly and started running toward the cart “Hey, Apollo! I bet I’m gonna get there first!”

“That isn’t fair, you started before me!” Mr. Justice protested, but still ran after her.

Miles felt Sebastian’s baton poking him on the shoulder. He turned and saw Sebastian looking at him nervously.

“If you wish to,” Miles said, gesturing at the racing lawyers “do as you please.”

Sebastian gave him a tiny nod and quickly ran after the two defense attorneys. Miles looked at the "race" as he walked behind them. Trying to catch up to Ms. Cykes is probably a worthless endeavor, not only did she get a head start, but she was considerably more athletic than the two other young lawyers. And as Ms. Cykes reached the finish line with the two other competitors barely halfway there, Miles kept on walking in a stable, peaceful pace - hoping the bickering about the ‘fairness’ of that foolish race will be done by the time he caught up with them.

“Hey, Apollo! I bet you five bucks I can drink two bowls of noodles in a row!”

Oh, thank god. This is also sounded extremely foolish, but at least it was a different breed of foolishness.

“Athena, I think that might be, like, legitimately dangerous for your health,” Mr. Justice said, half joking, probably, “I don’t want to go to jail for assisted suicide!”

“I… I think it might also count as,” Sebastian struggled to remember the term for a moment “Criminally negligent manslaughter...um, right, Mr. Edgeworth?” He turned to Miles, who was now only a few steps behind them.

“That might be more accurate than Mr. Justice’s assertion,” Miles said, considering the stand in front of him “however, if a business is selling a dish with such a severe health risk - I think they are the ones in risk of a court case against them.”

“Well, that’s just a great thing to hear from a new customer,” the man at the stand, presumably 'Mr. Eldoon', said in a bitter tone “Think you’re too good and fancy-pants for my noodles, Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth?”

"Hmm-" that was all Miles managed to say before Mr. Eldoon cut him off again.

“That’s right, I know who you are, Mr. Fancy-Pants!” Miles never thought you can pour broth in an aggressive manner “Your face is all over the newspapers… plus, your husband and daughter are here all the time and neither of them can shut the hell up about you.”

“...Wright and I are not married…” Miles said, rather unauthoritative.

Mr. Eldoon shrugged, indifferent “Same difference, buddy” he said, “Point is, he comes here all the time, he’s like my best regular.”

“Yeah! That’s exactly why I was surprised the boss never took you here!” Ms. Cykes said, “I know it’s not exactly dinner material, but he loves this place.”

“I have no idea why…” Mr. Justice mumbled under his breath, looking over the rather small menu. Sebastian peeked over his shoulder to look at it as well.

Loves this place? “Oh, is that so?” Miles asked curiously “Did Wright say that?”

Ms. Cykes looked momentarily surprised “Well… he never said that it’s his favorite place,” she crossed her arms “But he eats here almost every day, it’s got to be at least in his top five?”

“A compelling assumption, Ms. Cykes,” Miles said “But- “

“Buuut an assumption is worthless until you consider all other possible explanation!” Sebastian blurted out, proudly. Repeating the words Miles told him on many, many occasions.

“Indeed, Prosecutor Debeste,” Miles said and nodded “There are other factors in Wright’s frequency in this establishment Ms. Cykes should have considered. Such as, its proximity to the Agency’s offices or the… ludicrously low prices.” He passed a glance at the menu and frowned.

“... is there a point to this outside of annoying me?” Ms. Cykes frowned “or insulting Mr. Eldoon?” She gestured at the man behind the stand, who played a short, screeching note on his harmonica and gave a matching frown.

“That was not my intention, Ms. Cykes. it’s simply that,” Miles said “I seem to recall Wright complaining about this place, a long time ago. He said that Maya was ‘dragging’ him there, if I recall.”

“Huh…” Mr. Justice and Ms. Cykes said in unison.

“I didn’t know that about Mr. Wright,” the yellow defense attorney added.

“...Sometimes, I feel like I don't know anything about Mr. Wright…” Mr. Justice said, uncharacteristically quiet.

For a moment, Miles looked at the glum red lawyer, unsure what to do. He exchanged a brief glance with Sebastian and decided to put his hand on Mr. Justice’s shoulder and gave him his best attempt at a kind, sympathetic look “I understand the feeling,” he said.

Mr. Justice looked unconvinced “Really? I mean, but you’re his…um, not-husband” the young lawyer’s face started reddening “and you’ve known Mr. Wright for so long!”

“I’m his boyfriend, yes and I have known him for many years, and many more years than most people.” Then again, the latter is also is true of Larry “but Wright is as complicated as any human being, and like every human, sometimes he refuses to share certain emotions or traits of his with others. Even those he cares about the most.” Those who live in glass houses, Miles... “...Wright looks so… simple on the outside, it’s part of his appeal. So, when one discovers how much there’s under the surface with him, it can feel… disheartening. Like it did to you, Mr. Justice. It can feel like you've never knew the real him.” Miles sighed “But Wright is just a person, it’s not that he’s deceiving anyone, he’s simply… multifaceted.”

“I... I guess,” Mr. Justice shrugged, but he looked less disheartened. Good.

“Even today, some aspects of Wright can surprise me” Miles added “That doesn’t mean I do not know him very well. After all, regardless of the reason, I had no idea he frequents this establishment to this level. Perhaps he changed his mind after all these years. Perhaps this place is an… acquired taste." Mr. Eldoon gave him another frown at that remark. "Perhaps...” he shrugged “Wright is… incredibly sentimental, ridiculously so sometimes. Maybe he likes this place simply because it brings back good memories of Maya. She has been away for a while and he miss her dearly, I can see him frequenting this establishment just because it recreates a little bit of what he misses,” as Miles talked, he looked again at Wright’s protégés and suddenly felt a wave of embarrassment wash over him. Wright’s protégés, who resemble him so much, who he kept dragging with him to social situations even when he told them – and himself- that he does not want any social connection with them, who are… to put it simply, Wright's. Once again, Miles, glass houses “…even if it means suffering through some subpar cuisine.” He finished his sentence weakly and slightly unfocused. Being needlessly abrasive helped him keep his bearing.

That is, until a loud, screeching harmonica sound startled him, causing Miles to almost lose his balance for a moment. “Hey, buddy, if you’re done insultin’ my noodles before you even tasted them…” Mr. Eldoon knocked impatiently on the counter with his harmonica “…are you going to order something?”

“Oh, um, but of course!” Miles said, not really thinking “…what does the chef recommend?” It came out by instinct, and Miles immediately realized how idiotic he sounded. He could hear Ms. Cykes and Gadget chuckling together, and even Mr. Justice let out an uncontrolled snort. Mile huffed at them, desperate to retain at least a bit of self-respect.

“Well, buddy,” Mr. Eldoon gave him a snarky, amused smile “I’ve got ramen, salty ramen and really salty ramen.” He shrugged “if you ask me, I’ll go with the really salty ramen, the ‘saltier, the better’, that’s what I always say.” He emphasized his last statement by playing his harmonica.

“Very well.” Miles took a deep breath “I would like a dish of your saltiest ramen, if you may, good sir.”

Mr. Eldoon raised his eyebrows, then chuckled “Whatever you say, Mr. Fancy-Pants.” He turned to Sebastian, Mr. Justice and Ms. Cykes “What about you, kiddos?”

“Um, I’ll have what Mr. Edgeworth is having!” Sebastian fiddled with his baton nervously but wore a confident smirk on his face.

Mr. Justice half-heartedly threw his menu back on the counter “Can I please get the least salty ramen you have?”

Mr. Eldoon chuckled. “You know there's nothing like that in my lexicon, kid!”

Mr. Justice’s only response was a little resigned sigh. He didn’t seem surprised.

“Oh! And for me!” Ms. Cykes pounded the table with a huge smile on her face “give me two bowls of ramen! I’m on a bet here!”

“No, you’re not, Athena!” Mr. Justice shouted at her. "I didn't agree to anyth-"

“Oh! Ms. Cykes! Wait!” Sebastian said all the sudden. After a second of looking through his briefcase, he pulled out his wallet “I bet you 20 dollars you couldn’t eat three bowls in a row!”

Ms. Cykes’ grin grew even wider “Oh, it’s so on, Prosecutor Debeste!”

Chapter Text

Apollo considered the board for a moment, and then moved one of his Knights.

“Very interesting, Mr. Justice,” Mr. Edgeworth said as he thought about his next move “I must say, it’s been a long time since I got to enjoy such a riveting game of chess.”

“Really?” Apollo moved, slightly uncomfortable, in his chair. Even if interacting with the prosecutor got a lot less awkward over time, there was always something kinda weird with just how clean and organized the office around them was. “You and Mr. Wright don’t…”

“Hmph, Wright…” Mr. Edgeworth said “Wright doesn’t even know the basic rules of chess. he says he’s… ‘more of a checkers guy’, if I recall correctly.” he continued as he moved his Queen.

“Oh, really?” Apollo said as he moved a Pawn.

“Well, at least among games of this nature,” Mr. Edgeworth crossed his arms and shrugged “His absolutely favorite game is Poker, as I’m sure you’re aware…” He moved his Queen again.

Apollo sighed and nodded in response, moving a pawn half-heartedly.

“And I don’t know how to play that abysmal game,” Mr. Edgeworth continued, he leaned back to look at the ceiling of his office for a moment, before moving his gaze back to Apollo “...You know, I once suggested to Wright that I could teach him to play Chess. He told me he’d only do it if I agree to learn how to play Poker from him.”

Apollo nodded at him to continue. He wasn’t really sure where it was going.

“Well, Wright assumes that I only wish to teach him Chess so I could defeat him in a game,” Mr. Edgeworth said, before smugly capturing one of Apollo’s Rooks “So he plans to ‘get back at me’ by defeating me in a game he is extremely skilled at, and that I will probably be… quite a subpar player of.”

“Oh, jeez.” Yeah, that sounds like the sort of crap Mr. Wright likes to pull sometimes. "I can't believe he actually thinks that about you, Mr. Edgeworth. It's so childish!" He moved his other Knight.

There was an awkward moment of pause. “I mean, if I must be honest…” Mr. Edgeworth said nonchalantly “he is not wrong.” He captured Apollo's Knight, equally nonchalant.

Apollo had no idea how to respond to that, save for a little frustrated groan. Look, Justice, he’s still Mr. Wright’s boyfriend, it makes sense he rubbed off him like that.

Or maybe Mr. Edgeworth was always like that?

“Mr. Justice,” Mr. Edgeworth's voice cut off Apollo’s thoughts “it’s your turn.”

“Oh, that’s right!” Apollo quickly scanned the board before moving a piece to capture one of Mr. Edgeworth’s pawns “Ha! TAKE THAT!” He shouted, partly out of habit.

“Hmmm, nicely done, Mr. Justice,” Mr. Edgeworth was carefully thinking about his next move “but please keep your voice down, this is chess, not the courtroom.” He took a closer look at the board “Tsk, you rattled the pieces.”

“R-right, Sorry,” Apollo grinned in embarrassment, then something came to mind “... Hey, Mr. Edgeworth? I have a question… "

"Yes, Mr. Justice?" Mr. Edgeworth said, still carefully moving the pieces back to their position.

"Do you think being in court… you know, being a lawyer, is kinda like chess?”

“Hmm…” Mr. Edgeworth raised his eyebrows “Perhaps. I would say that there are some similarities, but we must be careful to not conflate the two too much.”

Apollo nodded in understanding.

“My experiences with chess help me plan a court strategy, it helps me anticipate the defense’s moves” Mr. Edgeworth lifted his Queen and examined it “It is about knowing when it's better to go on the offensive or when is it time to let things take their course.” He put the Queen back in its proper place and moved a Pawn. “However, it’s not a direct comparison and… one should not fool himself into thinking so. Chess is a game of competition; the sole goal is to defeat a rival - we mustn’t think of court in the same way.”

“Yeah, Yeah, of course.” Defense attorneys and prosecutors work together, we’ve been over this a lot. Especially recently. Apollo moved a Bishop.

“I think… Wright would say the same of Poker,” Mr. Edgeworth moved one of his own Bishops as well. “That it resembles his own courtroom… 'technique'.”

Apollo couldn't help but grin a little by the way Mr. Edgeworth emphasized that last word. “No matter how bad of a hand you’re dealt,” Apollo said, quoting Mr. Wright “you can still win if you keep bluffing and always keep your eyes on every possible weakness in your opponent…”

“Exactly, Mr. Justice,” Mr. Edgeworth said “But Poker also lacks the cooperative aspects of court, I’m sure Wright will agree with me on this. There are many things one can compare to the courtroom, but none will be quite the same."

“I See…” Apollo said as he moved his remaining Knight, capturing Mr. Edgeworth's Bishop.

"Hm, good move, Mr. Justice" Mr. Edgeworth said with a tiny smirk "Such strategical skills would be quite useful in the courtroom."

What? "Um," Apollo looked down, slightly uncomfortable "I… I kinda assumed that you want me do it in the Mr. Wright Way, right? Don't I kinda have to?”

Mr. Edgeworth raised his eyebrows and examined Apollo curiously “Whatever makes you say that, Mr. Justice?” He moved his pawn as he spoke, but he wasn't looking at the board.

Isn’t it friggin’ obvious? “Well, Mr. Wright is… my mentor, right? He taught me a lot about being lawyer,” Apollo picked up one of his blue, spiky Pawns and examined half-heartedly. The resemblance to Mr. Wright couldn’t possibly be a coincidence, could it? Probably why Mr. Edgeworth insisted Apollo needs to be Blue, even though he really wanted to be Red. He likes Red. “So, I’m going to take after him, whatever I want to or not. As a lawyer, I mean.” He moves his pawn, kinda disinterested.

“Hmm…” Mr. Edgeworth didn’t seem to be paying much attention to the board “Is this the sort of lawyer you want to be, Mr. Justice?”

“Well…” Apollo honestly didn’t know anymore. He obviously was no longer the guy who wanted nothing more than to be considered ‘the Next Phoenix Wright’, but he also was past the point of just wanting nothing to do with him. Mr. Wright was a very good defense attorney, there's no denying that, but his style also didn’t earn him a lot of respect - not in the same way Mr. Edgeworth was respected. But on the other hand… “Do I really have a choice?” Being the 'Next Phoenix Wright' is not the worst thing I could be. There are much worse options. I’m not going to be like Kristoph Gavin… Or Dhurke…

Mr. Edgeworth seemed to consider him for a long moment before he turned his head “I believe Ms. Cykes once inquired as to why I keep this coat framed on my wall.” He gestured at the frilly, expensive-looking coat that was, pretty strangely, framed on the wall like a painting.

“Y-Yeah,” Apollo wasn’t quite sure what was up with this sudden change in topics “it’s, eh… a really bold choice of decor, Mr. Edgeworth.”

Mr. Edgeworth nodded “it was originally a gift by my old mentor, Manfred von Karma.”

“O-oh, that’s right…” Apollo said, he felt his face going pale. They… pretty much agreed that they can talk about personal and emotional stuff with Mr. Edgeworth after last night, but talking about Prosecutor von Karma's dad – the man who killed Mr. Edgeworth's father and framed him for the murder and also mentored and raised him apparently? That was some really heavy stuff.

“He bought it to congratulate me for earning my Prosecutor's Badge, I was so… proud of it at time.” he turned back to Apollo, he had tight smirk on his face, but his eyes were dark and sad “I used to look up to… Manfred von Karma, I craved his approval, I did everything to be more like him.” He sneered, presumably at his past self “and so I wore this coat, proudly, whenever I had business even remotely related to prosecuting.”

Apollo nodded, he felt frozen in place.

“Then…” Mr. Edgeworth sighed “came my first trial, the second ‘State vs. Fawles’". He said "Have you heard of the tragedy of State vs. Fawles, Mr. Justice? You strike me as quite a learned individual.”

“Oh! Um…” abashed, Apollo tried to remember “Maybe? Sorry, Mr. Edgeworth, I-I mostly collected stories about Mr. Wright, and…”

“Fair enough,” Mr. Edgeworth said stoically, “Wright is quite a magnet for interesting court cases.” he smirked lightly when he mentioned his partner, but his face quickly turned serious “let’s simply say it was quite a tragedy. A verdict was never reached, due to the defendant’s sudden suicide on the witness’ stand.”

Apollo’s face paled even more after hearing this.

“Indeed, it was quite a nightmare,” Mr. Edgeworth said, noticeably struggling to keep his voice calm “and even as the foolish, self-righteous youngster that I was - I could not shake off the feeling I was partly responsible for what happened. That had I not tried to copy Mr. von Karma’s methods so closely, maybe things would have ended differently.” He sighed and averted his eyes “I decided to never wear this coat again, both because of the bad memories associated with it, and because I wished to establish myself as more than simply the 'Next Manfred von Karma'. And yet I still wanted to keep it since… I still wished to honor Mr. von Karma as my teacher and mentor, even as I was looking for my own path.”

"And when was that?" Apollo asked.

“Four years before my own trial, when Wright exposed…” Mr. Edgeworth’s calm exterior was gone in a moment, he clutched his elbow with one hand and stared angrily at his bookcases – the opposite direction of where the jacket was “... everything that Manfred von Karma has done. After I was released from the detention center, when I first returned to my old office…” Apollo became hyper-aware of the jacket lurking in the edges of his field of view. How can a piece of clothing lurk like that? Especially something as gaudy and frilly as that jacket “I wanted to burn that jacket, I wanted to destroy anything that reminded me of how much I idolized the man who killed my father, but…” he finally managed to look in Apollo’s general direction, slowly letting go of his arm “but I could not bring myself to throw it away. The day in which I received that wretched thing is still one of my few truly happy moments under Manfred von Karma’s tutelage and those feelings… did not go away easily. Very few things do.” he adjusted his cravat “Even if I have it in my heart to get rid of this garish thing, it wouldn’t change the past, it wouldn't change the fact that Manfred von Karma was my mentor and he did… influence me, to say the least.” Mr. Edgeworth adjustd his cravat again and lowered his gaze back to the board “And yet… and yet…” for just a second, Mr. Edgeworth hesitated. But he quickly straightened up, looking Apollo straight in the eyes. The perfect image of self-assured confidence “you would not call me the Next Manfred von Karma, now would you, Mr. Justice?”

Apollo shook his head “Of course not!”

“Nowadays, I like to think of this coat as a reminder of the person I once was.” Mr. Edgeworth turned his head to look at the frame. “both as a warning to myself, to not strain from the path I am on now. And as a way to show myself just how much I’ve come since those days.” He looked at Apollo with a tiny smile on his face “there is no way to truly escape the influence of one’s mentors, but that does not mean you are doomed to simply follow in their footsteps. I am not… Manfred von Karma, or my father, or my sister, or Wright, nor anyone else I have ever looked up to. I have taken the lessons they have given me and built something of my own with them. And it is the same for everyone, I believe. Sebastian is not going to be the same kind of Prosecutor as I am, Wright is not the same lawyer as Ms. Mia Fey was,” Mr. Edgeworth crossed his arm and his confident smirk widened “And you will not be the same lawyer as Wright, Mr. Justice. You will not be the same as any of your mentors, you will build something of your own. I am sure of this;”

Apollo considered Mr. Edgeworth’s words for a moment. “I… I guess you’re right, Mr. Edgeworth.” He sighed and smiled “Thank you.”

“Always glad to give advice, Mr. Justice,” Mr. Edgeworth turned his gaze back to the board, “but for now,” he picked up a piece and moved it with a sly smirk “it’s checkmate.”

Chapter Text

It was a question that’s been low-key bothering Athena for almost a year, it seemed like kind of a stupid thing to dwell on - but it stuck with her for some reason. And maybe it was stupid, but right now she was in the same room with Mr. Edgeworth, and now he’s cool with asking personal questions. Why not just get it out of the way?

Screw it, I’m asking him. Ask questions first, think about what they mean later. That’s what Mr. Wright always does, right?

She quickly filed that thing Mr. Edgeworth wanted her to file and ran toward his desk, ignoring the baffled looks from him and Apollo.

“Mr. Edgeworth!” She said before slamming the desk.

“What is it, Ms. Cykes?” Mr. Edgeworth only raised his eyebrows in response. “Do you need anything?”

“I have a question. It’s about the boss, I mean, Mr. Wright." Athena put one hand on her hip "And about you."

Now Mr. Edgeworth had both of his eyebrows raised. "What is it?"

“Why do you call him ‘Wright’?”

“... That's his name.” Mr. Edgeworth sounded and looked like he didn’t understand the question “do you not call him ‘Mr. Wright’?”

“Well, duh, we’re his employees,” Athena said, “You’re his boyfriend, why do you call him ‘Wright’?”

“Athena…” She heard Apollo sigh behind her.

“It’s alright, Mr. Justice,” Mr. Edgeworth said and then stopped to think for a moment “I could call him ‘Phoenix’, if I wished to.” His voice was natural and comfortable as he said Mr. Wright’s first name, maybe it was dumb of Athena to assume it wouldn't be “But at this point this is how I express affection.” Okay, I understand what you're saying. It's still kinda funny that you're saying it with your permanent grouchy-face. “it’s merely an old schoolyard habit neither of us ever grew out of.” He ended with a little quarter-of-a-chuckle.

“Schoolyard habit?” Athena repeated, utterly confused by the implications.

“If you must know, then yes,” Mr. Edgeworth said, matter-of-fact “I’ve been referred to as simply ‘Edgeworth’ since I was a child. My classmates insisted it suited me more than ‘Miles’, for some reason.” He made a little exasperated sigh, with just a hint of confusion. “I thought it was ridiculous, so I started calling Phoenix simply ‘Wright’ to prove a point. Phoenix did not mind it, and I suppose the names st-”

Finally, Athena managed to blurt out what was on her mind “warte einen Moment! You went to school with Mr. Wright?!”

“Oh, has Wright never told you two this story?” Mr. Edgeworth asked calmly.

“Does that mean you two are, like, the same age?” Athena continued “You grew up with him?”

“If I must be technical, I only went to 4th grade with him. Although,” he sighed, and a tiny fond smile appeared on his face “sometimes I do feel like I’ve known Wright for all of those 26 years.”

“You’re only 35?!” The words came out of Athena before she could stop herself.

Mr. Edgeworth still looked confused "Why yes, that is also Wright’s age after-" mid-way through the sentence, his expression changed to a cold glare “... Ms. Cykes, how old did you think I was?” he asked in a quiet, scary voice.

“Oh, that’s not why…” Athena played with her hair as she tried to wriggle her way out of it.

“40-something!” Widget squeaked out as it quickly dragged her back to the hole she has dug for herself.

Mr. Edgeworth looked like he wanted to say something, but nothing came out. His face became red with anger. Now his face is color-matched with that stupid jacket too. “Ms. Cykes!” he finally managed to say, “where do you get such preposterous ideas?!”

“Actually,” Apollo said sheepishly “I kinda thought the same?”

And Mr. Edgeworth was once again speechless.

“It’s, well… it’s the hair…” Apollo rubbed the back of his head “and, um, the… lines…”

Mr. Edgeworth was once again left speechless for a moment “This is a completely normal amount of wrinkles for a man in his mid-30’s!” He said in a huff, slamming his desk on reflex “it is not my fault Wright’s face is practically wrinkle-proof!”

“Hmmm, I wouldn’t say it’s the wrinkles.” Athena found she was having way too much fun with Mr. Edgeworth’s ridiculous face and tone “it’s more about the attitude.”

Mr. Edgeworth got up with a sudden motion “Mr. Justice! Ms. Cykes!”

And that was the last thing he managed to say before the earthquake hit.

Chapter Text

It wasn’t a particularly strong earthquake, or a very long one. A short, yet sudden shake of the earth - of the kind Apollo and Athena have gotten used to when living over the San Andreas Fault. Once it was over and they gathered themselves a bit, they thought they were back to their previous topic of conversation. (That is, making fun of Mr. Edgeworth for looking old).

But then they realized Mr. Edgeworth is not sitting at his desk.

And then they noticed the soft sounds of crying and whimpering coming from under it.

“M-Mr. Edgeworth?” Apollo asked in a confused tone, as softly as he could possibly manage as he and Athena reached to look behind the desk.

Mr. Edgeworth was lying there, curled up on himself in the fetal position, shaking.

“Mr. Edgeworth?” Apollo repeated.

Mr. Edgeworth didn’t even seem to notice they were there.

Apollo's emotion quickly shifted from confusion to panic, looking at his pained, helpless-looking sorta-boss on the floor “Athena! Do something!” he shouted at her.

“W-what? What do you want me to do?!” Athena shouted back.

“I don't know! I don't know! B-but you’re the psychologist!” Apollo said “and, look, Mr. Edgeworth clearly needs some psychological help!”

Athena took another look at Mr. Edgeworth. Despite the loud tone of their conversation, he still didn't react to them being there. “Alright! Widget! Hagamos lo nuestro!” Athena activated the Mood Matrix with a smile that looked a lot less confident then she would have wanted.

Apollo nodded “I-I’ll call Mr. Wright!” He wasn’t sure what time it was in Khura’in, but he had to do something.

“Alright, Mr. Edgeworth, can you hear me?” Apollo heard Athena say as she sat down on the floor near the prosecutor and he moved to another part of the room to make his call.

The second he pulled out his phone, it started ringing, it was Mr. Wright.

“Hello!?” Apollo said as he answered.

“FRANZISKA CALLED ME AND TOLD ME YOU JUST HAD AN EARTHQUAKE!” Mr. Wright sounded panicked and sleepy. It must be the middle of the night or something. “HOW’S-how’s Edgeworth? Is he okay?”

“I DON’T KNOW?!” Apollo was doing his best to stay calm considering the circumstances, but now Mr. Wright was just making him more stressed “He’s lying on the floor crying? I don’t think that’s okay?!”

“Well, at least he’s conscious this time, that’s… good… I think that’s good…” Mr. Wright mumbled to himself “goddammit, goddammit, goddammit. First Trucy, now this… I shouldn’t have left the country… I shouldn’t have left the country…” he took a deep breath “Apollo, first things first you need you to make sure Edgeworth has breathing room. You can’t let him feel like he’s closed up, give him space, give him air.”

Apollo turned his face to Athena, who was staring helplessly at the amount of discord the Mood Matrix detected in Mr. Edgeworth’s whimpering voice, “Athena!” he shouted at her “Mr. Wright says we need to get Mr. Edgeworth out from under that desk, we need to get him some air!”

“And don’t shout,” Mr. Wright whisper-shouted over the phone “Apollo, try and keep your voice down. Edgeworth is stressed enough as it is, he needs a quiet atmosphere,” he took a deep breath and paused to demonstrate “try and sound calm, okay? Calm and comforting.”

“Athena!” Apollo shouted, “MR. WRIGHT SAYS WE NEED TO BE QUIE-” he stopped himself “Um, sorry,” he said into the phone, before turning back to Athena “Mr. Wright says we need to be quie-”

“Yeah, I got it!” Athena whisper-shouted back “Now help me pick Mr. Edgeworth up!”

“Yeah, right, okay,” Apollo said, then turned to his phone again “I’ll be right back,” he told Mr. Wright, and didn’t hang up the call.

Apollo grunted as he tried to help Mr. Edgeworth up “I didn’t think you needed any help carrying people around, Athena.” He said.

“Klugscheißer… Look, if you want me to suplex Mr. Edgeworth to the other side of the room, that’s your problem,” Athena helped Apollo as carefully as she could “But I’m actually trying to be gentle here.”

Apollo and Athena helped Mr. Edgeworth to the one of the fancy magenta sofas. They hoped they could get him to sit, but he just dropped, limp and unfocused, on it. His eyes moved around frantically, as if he didn’t know where he was.

“Mr. Wright!” Apollo pulled up his phone again “What now? What do you usually do now?”

“Well, um…” Mr. Wright chuckled “If I was here, I would hold him close and kiss him a bunch and tell him I love him but-”

“Yeah, Yeah, of course we’re not gonna do that!” Apollo whisper-shouted, his face going red. “How about you talk to him?” He leaned in a bit closer to Mr. Edgeworth, trying to still give him air like Mr. Wright told him “I… have a call for you,” he said in the nicest, calmest voice he could master “It’s Mr. Wright.”

Mr. Edgeworth’s confused eyes went into focus and he snatched the phone from Apollo’s hands as quickly as possible. “Phoenix? Phoenix?” He asked into the phone.

Apollo and Athena allowed themselves a sigh of relief, they couldn’t hear what Mr. Wright was saying, but it was already making Mr. Edgeworth calmer.

“Phoenix…” Mr. Edgeworth said between heavy breaths “Wright… where are you?” And suddenly, that brief moment of calm was over. The panic returned to his face and all the distress to his voice. “Phoenix, where are you?! It’s-it’s not safe! You know it is not safe!” Ugly tears started flowing for his eyes “I want you back home! I need you to be safe! It’s not safe, Phoenix! Y-you complete and utter buffoon! You careless fool! YOU ARE GOING TO GET YOURSELF KILLED, YOU IMBICILE, YOU-”

“Okay, that’s enough.” Athena snatched the phone from Mr. Edgeworth’s hand “Mr. Wright, I’m sure you usually do a great job of calming down these panic attacks, but right now I think you’re just another HUGE source of stress for him.” She paused, probably listening to Mr. Wright’s answer “Duh! Of course this is about Khura’in! Look! Boss, me and are Apollo are actually there, we’ll take care of it this time, okay? Entspannen Sie Sich, I am the psychologist here, after all!” She grinned, more confident than before and hang up without letting Mr. Wright time to answer. "¡Hasta luego, boss!"

“Alright, Mr. Edgeworth,” Athena sat down, her legs crossed, on the sofa opposite to Mr. Edgeworth “do you wanna try it again?”

Mr. Edgeworth’s tiny, scared-looking eyes focused on Athena for a moment. If nothing else, maybe Mr. Wright did help him out a bit. At least to figure out where he is. “Phoenix… Phoenix… Phoenix…” or maybe not “First my father, and now him. Who else- who else do I have left to lose?”

“You haven’t lost Mr. Wright,” Athena said, calmly “he’s… not here right now, but he’ll be back very soon. And then everything will be fine, right?”

It took Mr. Edgeworth a lot of time to answer “...I suppose…”

"That's what you told, Trucy, right?" Athena asked.

"… Yes, yes, it is."

“And until he comes back - because he is going to come back,” Athena quickly added “You still have a lot of other great people here who care for you. You know that, right, Mr. Edgeworth?”

This time Mr. Edgeworth didn’t react, but he wasn’t breathing so heavily and frantically anymore.

“You have Prosecutor Debeste and Detective Kay,” Athena counted them on her hand “and…”

“And Prosecutor von Karma, your sister,” Apollo offered "...right?” He didn’t really have enough time to get used to the idea “and…”

“...Detective Gumshoe…” Mr. Edgeworth said. His voice was weak, but he at least spoke.

Athena immediately perked up, opening the Mood Matrix again “Well, I don’t really know who that is but I’m gonna trust your judgment about this.” She smiled widely “Look, you have even more friends than we thought you had. Mr. Edgeworth, you’re golden!”

Mr. Edgeworth flinched slightly at Athena’s slightly-higher-than-normal tone.

“Alright, sorry, sorry…” Athena lowered her voice again “And, look, you’ve got us.” She put a friendly arm around Apollo and nudged him until he tried to smile as widely as she was smiling “I know we’re not much, but we’re here and everything is going to be alright.” Apollo nodded in agreement with her last statement.  

The only thing they heard from Mr. Edgeworth was a little whimper.

Athena and Apollo exchanged looks before Athena continued “Just try and breathe, okay, Mr. Edgeworth?” She demonstrated it to him “Breathe, it’s so easy, you can do it in your sleep.”

Apollo rolled his eyes.

“Well, I thought it was funny!” Athena whisper-shouted back at him.

Before they could continue bickering, they noticed Mr. Edgeworth was indeed breathing deeply.

“Ye-Yeah!” Athena whisper-shouted “Good job, Mr. Edgeworth. Just breathe, breathe.”

“P-please refrain from condescending me...Y-you…” Mr. Edgeworth said, struggling and failing to make his voice sound harsh and commending.

“Well, you’re starting to sound like your regular self,” Athena said as she fiddled with some data-points on the Mood Matrix “that’s a good start. Keep it up, you’re okay.”

For a moment they just watched Mr. Edgeworth quietly breathe, with only Widget making a slow humming sound that Mr. Edgeworth could sync up his breathing too.

"Mr. Edgeworth?" Athena asked once Mr. Edgeworth's breathing returned to normal. After a long moment with no response, she tried again. "Mr. Edgeworth? Do you, um… do you recognize who I am?"

Mr. Edgeworth grumbled quietly “...Ms. Athena Cykes, and… Mr. Apollo Justice…” he took a very deep breath “...you’re… Phoenix’s kids…”

“We’re not his…” Apollo started to say “...oh, never mind.”

“I am in my office, correct?” Mr. Edgeworth said, looking around, eyes coming into focus again “The Prosecutor's Office, Room... 200?”

Athena and Apollo both nodded in agreement.

Mr. Edgeworth groaned and then slowly rose up to a sitting position, leaning forward, his head lowered “Everything really is...just fine.” His bangs were covering his face, Apollo suddenly got the suspicion he’d be seeing a nervous tick or three if they weren’t “There really is nothing wrong…” for a moment there was awkward silence. The only sound heard was a few small blips coming from the Mood Matrix “Ms. Cykes, will you shut down that infernal device of yours now? As you can see, I’m alright now.”

“You don’t sound alright, Mr. Edgeworth,” Athena said simply, putting one hand on her hip, still looking over the Prosecutor’s voice analyses.

“I suppose I do not…” Mr. Edgeworth said bitterly “Only minutes ago I was cowering on the floor like a foolish, frightened child, completely weak and ineffectual… useless… Making a fool of myself in front of my subordinates…. So please forgive me if I am not in the best of moods.”

“Making a fool of yourself?” Apollo repeated.

“I’ve been dealing with this… irrational fear for most of my life, I thought I have gotten quite good at handling it, controlling it,” Mr. Edgeworth was rambling, he might be losing sense of where he was again “...This was… an unusually rough one, I should be past it by now… I should be past this by now… why-”

“Look, trauma, panic attacks… those things aren’t so simple,” Athena suddenly went into expert mode and sounded a lot more professional then Apollo was used to from her “I, um, learned about that stuff. Sometimes a bad episode just happens, recovery can’t always be a straight line.”

Mr. Edgeworth huffed quietly before adding “...If only things could be that simple...”

“Heh, heh… if only” Athena laughed very awkwardly before snapping back to Serious Psychologist Mode “But, no, it can’t always be a straight line. You’ve been very busy with work lately, right, Mr. Edgeworth?”

“I…” Mr. Edgeworth considered her, and considered Apollo “Indeed, Ms. Cykes, fighting against the Dark Age of the Law is a stressful task…”

“And there is also, um-” Athena started saying before Apollo nudged her “Well, a lot of other stressful factors.” He’s not the psychology expert here but now it’s probably not the best time to remind Mr. Edgeworth Trucy got framed for murder or where Mr. Wright is right now.

“I am aware, I… know all of this,” Mr. Edgeworth said and sighed “I know why this is all happening, and I know that I’m perfectly safe and yet, and yet…”

“And yet identifying the problem doesn’t magically cure it,” Athena cut him off “It’s important because it tells us how to handle our problems, even if it's not gonna solve them all on its own. Solutions like… putting your Very Important Office on the friggin’ second floor so you could avoid elevators.”

“Hmmm…” that’s all what Mr. Edgeworth had to say about it. But his body language was relaxing.

“Look, Mr. Edgeworth, I can quote psychology 101 all damn day if I have too.” Athena’s tone became slightly confrontational “You’re just… you’re just…

“You’re just way too hard on yourself,” Apollo interjected.

“Yes,” Mr. Edgeworth lifted his head slightly, although his gaze was directed at the floor “...Wright often tells me that.”

“Maybe you should listen to him.” Athena smiled “Mr. Wright’s a smart guy, and he knows you very well.”

“Indeed,” Mr. Edgeworth smirked “Far too well sometimes.”

“And he doesn’t think you’re like a kid for having a panic attack, right?” Athena said, encouraging.

“... of course not…” Mr. Edgeworth said quietly.

“Well, neither do we!” Athena smiled widely and nudged Apollo to smile as well.

“I…” Mr. Edgeworth eyes moved up to look at them “Thank you,” he said seriously. "I think I do feel alright now."

Apollo didn’t see any tells. Athena nodded and turned off the holographic screen with a triumphant smile.

"And although… I really am I thankful for what you've just done…" Mr. Edgeworth was very audibly getting his bearing back. His voice slowly returning to his usual professional tone "I still feel a need to reprimand you for your actions before the earthquake."

"Oh, um, what?" These last few minutes were so intense, Apollo totally forgot what they did before it.

"Implying that your employer looks… old" Mr. Edgeworth huffed "Simply because of his entirely natural hair color and his completely unremarkable amount of wrinkles is completely, entirely unprofessional. This will look very bad in your salary review and my report to Wright."

Athena sighed dramatically "Well, it's good to have you back, boss."

Something about Athena's snarky comment seemed to have… stirred something inside of Mr. Edgeworth.

Just as they were about to pick themselves off the sofa, resigned to the fact that – in spite of everything – they're still in trouble, Mr. Edgeworth suddenly said “Wait.” His tone was quiet, perhaps slightly unsure “Mr. Justice, Ms. Cykes, I believe I have a… matter I want to discuss with you.”

They both sat back down and looked at him with curious expressions on their faces.

“I do highly appreciate your… assistance in regard to my situation,” he said in that oddly-cold and stiff tone of his “Ms. Cykes clearly shown her skills in the field of psychology and you both shown… dedication… and care…” he sighed a tiny sigh “I feel like I’m obliged to tell you about... a certain matter.”

Okay, now this was getting kinda weird again, Apollo might have started shouting if he didn’t remember Mr. Edgeworth's previous response to loud noises. The two defense attorneys looked at the prosecutor sitting in front of them, alert.

“As I said before, the reason why I wanted you to work under me for this week is because… I wanted to strengthen the relationship between prosecutors and attorneys, and, in addition, it is a chance for you to widen your horizons about the law.” Mr. Edgeworth moved his gaze from Apollo’s bracelet to Athena’s Widget, as if he was worried he’d have a tell. Like he was afraid he was lying to himself “But… Wright was the one who talked me into this.” Okay, not a big surprise there, actually “and his intentions were quite different…" Mr. Edgeworth sighed "He simply wanted us to spend time together, he wanted us to bond” Mr. Edgeworth half-chuckled “he was bothered by your low opinion of me and wanted to create an opportunity for you to know me better. In hopes that this will make you like me.”

It took Athena a second to process it “Wait, seriously?”

“Are you really that surprised?” Apollo groaned in frustration “I mean, I guess I didn’t see it coming either but… that does sound like something Mr. Wright would do.” He grumbled “Sometimes, he's just…”

“He is ridiculous.” Mr. Edgeworth said, getting up from the coach to put a sympathetic hand on Apollo’s shoulder “Infuriatingly so.”

“Yeah.” Apollo said toward the floor.

“And the worst part is,” Mr. Edgeworth said quietly “He is so often infuriatingly correct as well.”

“Yeah,” Apollo agreed, lifting his head and nodding at Mr. Edgeworth.

Chapter Text

Miles allowed himself a satisfied smirk as he captured one of Ms. Cykes' Knights.

Ms. Cykes grumbled for a second, then swallowed her pride and smiled a forced smile “...You’re really good at this game, Mr. Edgeworth.”

“Hm. Thank you, Ms. Cykes,” Miles said, to be polite.

“Argh, Chess isn’t really my game, you know…” Ms. Cykes looked at the board, she didn’t seem sure what move to make next “I’m more of a checkers gal!” She finally moved a pawn.

“Well,” Miles half-chuckled. His mind couldn't help but think about Wright. “At the very least, you know the game.” He captured said pawn, bringing a long, annoyed sigh from Ms. Cykes.

She was silent for a long while, just looking at the board, and then “Prosecutor Gavin and Apollo like each other,” Ms. Cykes said suddenly, off-handedly, as she moved another pawn.

“Mmmm,” Miles hummed as he examined the board, not fully registering what she said.

“I mean, like… they like-like each other,” Ms. Cykes said in a tone that was both whisper-like and far too loud “Trust me, I can tell,” she gestured proudly at her little Gadget “They’re so totally into each other.”

“I trust your judgement on the matter, Ms. Cykes,” Miles said, moving a Knight “I simply don’t see why I should take interest in gossiping about my subordinates. Regardless of whatever this information is accurate or not.”

“I just… I just want someone to talk about it with,” she said, “It sucks, but I can’t really talk about it with Apollo, you know?”

“Indeed,” Miles said.

“I don’t think Apollo even knows,” Ms. Cykes continued as she moved a bishop “I think he’s totally clueless!”

“Not everyone has such an understanding of others’ emotions as you have, Ms. Cykes,” Miles said, trying to stay stoic “or to their own emotions, sometimes that is the most difficult.” He moved his King.

Ms. Cykes nodded, but half-heartedly “Alright, alright.” She moved a Rook “But I’m clued-in, so I should tell them, right?” Her voice turned contemplative “I mean, if I know, I should let them know, right? I think they’ll be good for each other! Don't you, Mr. Edgeworth?”

"Well…" I cannot believe you are seriously making me contemplate Prosecutor Gavin's romantic life, Ms. Cykes "Perhaps. However-"

"'However' what?" she pouted.

“Ms. Cykes, if you’re asking for my opinion,” Miles said, “I think you should leave Mr. Justice and Prosecutor Gavin be.” He moved another Pawn.

“B-but…” Ms. Cykes looked meek “it’s stupid! I keep seeing these two dance around their feelings for each other and neither of them gets it on his own!” She grumbled, "it's REALLY frustrating!"

“Well, I think…” Miles pondered “If Prosecutor Gavin and Mr. Justice truly have… feelings for each other, it’s better to wait until they both naturally reach an understanding of their own emotions.”

Ms. Cykes moved a Pawn, not even looking at the board anymore. It's not as if I'm going to complain about an easy victory. “Do you think they’re, like, destined to work out eventually?”

“I do not believe in 'destiny', Ms. Cykes. But if this affection is genuine…” Miles moves a Knight and captured Ms. Cykes’ Pawn “I think it’s inevitable that they will both admit it sooner or later. It might take time, but people cannot… run from their own feelings forever. However, recklessly forcing it before both parties are ready for it would only cause unnecessary grief.”

“I would say that spending all that time waiting and running around in circles when both people like each other is unnecessary grief, too,” Ms. Cykes said “How long will this take? Weeks? Months?”

“Well, I think… I think even if it takes years sometimes, it’ll be worth it in the end.” Miles couldn't help but smile a small smile. “Perhaps one day they’ll look back and think themselves foolish for not realizing it sooner, maybe regret the time they spent simply pining for each other, but…” Miles considered himself and then shook his head “No, there’s no way to tell if it could have worked before they were ready, it is better to let these things happen naturally.”

“Uh-hah,” Ms. Cykes nodded with an idiotic grin on her face and moved her Queen “So are you actually talking about Apollo and Prosecutor Gavin right now or are you totally talking about yourself and Mr. Wright?” Miles could feel his face turning completely red, while Ms. Cykes widened her smile and said, “Because you are totally just talking about yourself and Mr. Wright!”

“Ms. Cykes! Please!” Miles managed to say, he moved one of his Knights. Now he wasn’t really paying attention to the board “Y-you asked me for advice, and I am simply doing the best I can to answer it!”

“Mr. Edgeworth, please.” Ms. Cykes rolled her eyes and moved a piece, Miles didn’t notice which “I can hear it, it’s fine.” She chuckled “It’s kinda cute, actually!”

“Will it be cute when I cut your pay for disrespecting your superior, Ms. Cykes?” Miles asked and glared at her. He moved one of his pawns.

Ms. Cykes looked annoyed for a moment before she smiled again “Well, first things first, Mr. Edgeworth," She moved her Queen "It would be totally worth it."

Miles moved his King, keeping his glare on her.

"Second of all, it doesn't matter anyway. Cause this goes under the 'Report to Mr. Wright' and not the 'Salary Cut' category." How can Ms. Cykes' grin grow even more cocky "And now we all know all Mr. Wright doesn't care about how 'respectful' we are, he just wanna know how our playdate is going on, oui?"

Miles huffed and move his Queen. "I do still think 'babysitting' is a much more appropriate term."

"Well, think what you want, Mr. Edgeworth," Ms. Cykes said, defensive "cause there's a third reason why I don't care." she moved her Queen triumphantly “it’s Checkmate!”

Whatever angry huffiness still lingered in Miles completely disappeared after hearing that one word. The chess board snapped back into focus, it really was checkmate. You have made some grave tactical errors, Miles, how could you let it happen? But despite his shame, Miles tried not to be a sour loser. "Masterful use of psychological manipulation, Ms. Cykes," he said "I'm sure Prosecutor Blackquill would be proud."

"Aww, thanks, Mr. Edgeworth." Ms. Cykes was obviously still reveling in her victory.

Miles looked back at the board, his brain going through a billion strategies he could have used to avoid Ms. Cykes' trap if it wasn't far too late. "I should have seen that ploy coming," he said, mostly to himself "Prosecutor Blackquill employed that on me when I faced off against him in a game of Go."

"But you didn't!" Ms. Cykes teased.

"Indeed," Miles said and sighed "I see why the two of you are such good friends. You are very much alike."

Ms. Cykes seemed… surprised by that comment, strangely enough. "Really?" She stopped to think for a moment "A few days ago, Simon told me that people who are too much alike can’t get along well. You and him for example."

"Really now?" Well, I never thought of that like that, I suppose me and Prosecutor Blackquill have a few similarities. His abysmal taste in Steel-Samurai related media is obviously not one of them, of course.

"You think Simon is wrong, Mr. Edgeworth?"

Well… "What do you think, Ms. Cykes? You're the emotional expert here, after all."

Ms. Cykes took a long pause to consider her words before she spoke. "I don't think Simon was totally wrong, but he was oversimplifying." She stretched back in her chair "He said you and Mr. Wright are together cause you're so totally different. But I don't think that's true, you two have a lot in common and you still get along great."

"Me and Wright?" This was something Miles never really considered. "Hm, I suppose you have a point, Ms. Cykes."

"Yep, that's me, the emotional expert," Ms. Cykes boasted "I've got you and the boss all pinned down."

"Wondeful, Ms. Cykes," Miles said – half snark, half sincere "would you like to celebrate with another round of chess-"

"Kein Glück, Mann!" Ms. Cykes rolled her eyes. "I know you're just hoping to beat me in the second round to make things a tie! But I won, and you're just gonna live with that, Mr. Edgeworth!"

In retort, Miles could do nothing but grumble. "You really are an emotional expert, aren't you, Ms. Cykes?"

Chapter Text

Apollo had no idea what the hell Athena and Mr. Edgeworth were doing before he got to the office, but whatever it was, it put Athena in a really good mood and Mr. Edgeworth in a worse mood in normal. While he was helping Mr. Edgeworth organize some files, suddenly someone started knocking frantically on the office door.

“Mr. Justice,” Mr. Edgeworth said “please open the door. I am expecting someone.”

With a quick nod, Apollo left the files and went toward the door. As soon as he opened just a crack, Prosecutor Sebastian Debeste came running in. He wasn’t panicked, just really excited.

“Bonjour, Sebastian!” Athena waved with a smile.

“Mr. Edgeworth! Mr. Edgeworth!” Prosecutor Debeste shouted, struggling with the amount of papers he was holding in his hands “I’ve got the stuff you wanted! It’s-it’s all here!” He ran toward Mr. Edgeworth’s desk and slammed them on it in a semi-organized mess.

“Well, thank you, Sebastian.” Mr. Edgeworth started quietly sorting the papers into a properly organized file “You may take your leave now, I will discuss matters with Mr. Justice and Ms. Cykes myself.”

“discuss what sort of matters with us?” Apollo asked before Prosecutor Debeste could even move away from the desk.

“You didn’t tell them, Mr. Edgeworth?” The younger Prosecutor pulled a baton out of his jacket pocket to fiddle with it “Um, should I? Or is it supposed to be a surprise?”

Mr. Edgeworth sighed “Prosecutor Debeste and I have made a little arrangement together.” He picked himself off his chair and started looking through the folders Prosecutor Debeste gave him “I want to allow the two of you to, well….” he stopped for a moment to consider his words “If you two are to learn what it means to be a prosecutor, you cannot do it by simply staying in my office and taking care of my paperwork. I feel like it would be necessary for you to truly see what a trial is like from the other side of the bench. By that I mean, investigating a case and taking it to court. As part of the prosecution."

“Yeah!” Prosecutor Debeste said, excited “Mr. Edgeworth and I agreed that once I'm finished with the Ryde case, he’s gonna take care of the next case I get assigned. Um, with you guys helping, of course.”

"I apologize for not notifying you of this earlier," Mr. Edgeworth said to Apollo and Athena "I wanted to be certain nothing has gone wrong before I told you."

“Gone wrong? Is this, um, not allowed?” Apollo asked, fiddling with his hair-horns nervously. Mr. Edgeworth is the Chief Prosecutor; this feels like it shouldn’t be allowed.

Mr. Edgeworth looked through the files while giving Apollo a quick shrug “It is rather unorthodox. I am not supposed to handle cases myself, save for emergencies. And this is not an emergency. But it is also not explicitly illegal, so it would probably won’t be an issue… as long as you two do not bring it up.” He shot a cold look at the direction of Apollo and Athena.

They both nodded. “And nobody else is gonna ask questions…?” Apollo asked “Like, is the detective on the case isn't going to have a problem with-”

“Mr. Justice,” Mr. Edgeworth said with wry smile “The detective partnered with Sebastian is Kay.”

“Where is the scene of the crime anyway, boss?” Athena asked, looking through the car window. She just remembered she and Apollo didn’t even have time to look the files before they all hopped into Mr. Edgeworth’s car. “Is it far?”

“Well, if it was close by, I probably wouldn’t be giving you a ride, now would I?” Mr. Edgeworth sniped at them from the driver’s seat. After a moment he said, “We’re going to the zoo.”

“The zoo?” Athena was excited “Oh! I haven’t been to the zoo in years! That’ll be fun! Ce sera amusant! Apollo!” She nudged her fellow attorney with her elbow “Wanna see me wrestle a giraffe?”

“Athena…” Apollo said and rolled his eyes.

“Ms. Cykes,” Mr. Edgeworth said, almost in unison with Apollo. After a moment he added “This is not a recreational visit, we are going to investigate. Remember, we are doing this so you two could enrich your knowledge of the law.”

“Really?” Athena leaned back in the backseat “I thought we were here cause your boyfriend wanted us to be the best of friends.”

"I-" Mr. Edgeworth grumbled “I don’t have to do what Wright tells me to do.”

“Uh huh. If ya say so, Boss,” Athena teased.

“Hey, Mr. Edgeworth, speaking of…um…” Apollo smiled awkwardly “Mr. Wright telling you what to do… you did serve as a defense attorney once, right?”

“I… Yes, Mr. Justice…” Mr. Edgeworth said, embarrassed “But…”

"I was just trying to ask-" Apollo said in a defensive tone, “you know what it’s like to be a prosecutor and a defense attorney, right?”

“I-I suppose…” Mr. Edgeworth answered quietly. "It was only one case, though…"

“I was wondering, what’s the difference?” Apollo asked, “what would you say is different about being a defense attorney versus being a prosecutor, Mr. Edgeworth?”

“Well…” Mr. Edgeworth let out a sigh “from my limited experience playing defense attorney, I would say that being a prosecutor is… less stressful, and yet, also harder.”

Both of the younger lawyers were quiet, silently asking the prosecutor to elaborate.

“Being a defense attorney means you must always argue against what the police and the prosecution have ruled to be the most likely suspect,” Mr. Edgeworth said “And that means arguing against fingerprinted murder weapons, seemingly bulletproof witness testimonies, solidly proven motives… it is quite nerve-wrecking. I don’t know how Wright manages it - or how you manage it either.”

Apollo let out that bashful chuckle he makes anyone so as much as vaguely compliments him.

“But it is also easier in that… that you have a thing you must be certain of,” Mr. Edgeworth continued “you are working from the base assumption that the defendant is not guilty and building all of your arguments from there. A defense attorney's trust in their client is a powerful thing, it is the rock around which all of your logic is built. Today, you’ll have to look at the murder scene without any base assumptions and still try and find the true culprit.” After a pause he added, sounding less certain “am I… being clear?”

Apollo and Athena answered with a few “Yeah” and “makes sense to me” and “sure thing, boss.”

“Good.” Mr. Edgeworth simply said “I also want to be clear that just because we are going to trial, that does not mean we shouldn’t do everything in our power to try and make sure the accused is the culprit. Not for the sake of 'winning', but for the sake of not inflicting the undeserved grief of arrest and trial on an innocent person. Defense attorneys don’t… shouldn’t exist to save prosecutors from their own shoddy investigations. Understood?”

“Understood.” The two defense attorneys said.

"Wonderful," Mr. Edgeworth said. For a moment, nobody in the car said anything, until Mr. Edgeworth spoke up again "And with regard to Ms. Cykes earlier statement…" He took a long pause to consider his words "If you wish, I could always take the two of you and dear Trucy to a day in the zoo, once we finish with the case."

Mr. Edgeworth told them more about the case on the way. It was a murder case (it “just so happened” to be Prosecutor Debeste’s newest case, Mr. Edgeworth insisted. According to him, they had about the same chance of getting a grand larceny case or a parking ticket dispute). Anna Condor, a snake-handler for the Los Angeles Zoo was found dead in the reptile exhibit. The autopsy report isn’t out yet, but the current assumption is that it happened late at night. The zoo was practically abandoned then, the police isn’t expecting many suspects.

Mr. Edgeworth parked his car at the almost-empty Zoo parking lot. Obviously, the place is closed for today because of the murder. Police officers were buzzing around the place, running in and out of the zoo frantically.

“I’ve never seen so many cops around a crime scene at once,” Apollo said to himself.

“Oh?” Mr. Edgeworth raised an eyebrow “oh, of course, you’re never around for the initial investigation.”

“Hey! Mr. Edgeworth!” A peppy voice was heard from above.

The three lawyers looked up and saw Detective Faraday, carefully balancing herself on the tall walls of the zoo. She waved at them again. “Mr. Edgeworth! Apollo! Athena! Good morning!” In an impressive display of acrobatics, she leaped to a nearby tree and from there to the ground “I’m so happy you guys came! I mean, no offense to Sebastian, but it’s been a while since we worked together, Mr. Edgeworth!”

“Are you always climbing something, Detective Faraday?” Apollo snarked “are you some sort of squirrel?”

“Excuse me, I am a crow!” Detective Faraday said in a faux-offended tone. She let out a playful snicker before her face turned serious “only four people were supposed to be here last night: the victim, her understudy Bob Stricter, Dr. Gina Raffe - she’s one of the zoo’s vets and Madeline Caw, the parrot-trainer.” She counted them on her fingers “Zoo security says there’s no chance of anyone breaking in that night. I’m just verifying it.” She shrugged with her arms crossed “if anyone could find a way to get past security, it’s the Great Thief Yatagarasu!”

“Good thinking, Kay.” Mr. Edgeworth moved his eyes across the zoo walls “If we could narrow down our suspects to just three people it would be ideal, but we must to make sure first.”

Kay nodded “Exactly, Mr. Edgeworth!” She smiled a wide grin “Now come on! I need to show you guys the dead body!”

A reptile enclosure is a usually dark and tepid place, but it’s been fully-lit for the sake of the investigation. All of the reptiles have been taken away for their own safety, both due to the strong, cold fluorescent lights flooding their enclosure and due to the fact that a bunch of the terrariums’ glass walls were broken during the time of the murder. The body of a middle-aged woman, obviously Anna Condor, was lying by the python terrarium (at least that's what the sign said it was).

“Oh…” Athena’s face paled “aren’t you supposed to take her  away to the morgue by now?”

“We’re ready to do it,” said one of the forensics guys “Ms.- I mean, Prosecutor- “

“No, just Ms.” Athena corrected him “Ms. Cykes”

“We’ve got the morgue boys ready to take the body to autopsy,” Kay quickly said “but I want Mr. Edgeworth to take a look before. Oh, and you guys too.”

“Hmmm…” Mr. Edgeworth’s eyes moved quickly over the body, centering on a large bloodstain in the chest area. “A stab wound?”

“We don’t see any other injuries right now,” Kay said, “maybe the autopsy will change it, but for the time being…” she shrugged “yeah, that seems like a safe bet.”

Mr. Edgeworth nodded and started jotting down something in his little black organizer "So the victim most likely died from a stab wound to the chest…"

“Hey, look at Ms. Condor’s hands!” Apollo said, leaning down close to the body “there’s signs of… abrasion. What could have caused something like that? Was...Ms. Condor holding very strongly unto something?”

“All of this smashed-up glass.” Athena looked around the room “there was definitely some sort of fight here. Do you think Ms. Condor was holding some sort of weapon to defend herself against her murderer?”

“That’s certainly a reasonable hypothesis, Ms. Cykes,” Mr. Edgeworth said, still writing as fast as he can. “Kay, did any of our suspects sustained any injuries last night?”

“The good news is ‘yes’” Kay said, “The bad news is ‘yes, all three of them.’ Mr. Stricter says he fell and bumped his head in the shock of discovering the body, Dr. Raffe said that she had a serious accident in her vet office - got a nasty blow on the head and twisted her own arm, and Ms. Caw claims she got in a fight with one of her own parrots, got some scratch marks.”

“Hmmm,” Mr. Edgeworth said “still useful info. And have you found the murder weapon yet?”

“Nah, we’re still looking,” Kay said, “There’s surprisingly lots of possible stabby things in a zoo.”

“Especially when the vet is one of the suspects, right?” Athena said.

"Yep!" Kay said, "the lab boys are basically flooding Dr. Raffe's office with Luminol as we speak!"

“And we think that happened… last night?” Apollo asked with a thumb buried in his forehead “there's a lot of time for someone to dispose of the murder weapon.”

“Yeah…” Athena suddenly thought of something “Oh man! Did the garbage truck got by today already?!”

“None of the zoo’s trash got taken away today, don’t worry!” Kay said, “you think the murder weapon might be there?”

“Wait! Are we going to have to search through the garbage?” Apollo realized “all for the chance the murder weapon might be there?!”

“I dunno!” Kay shrugged in an exaggerated manner “do you want to be a garbage man, Mr. Apollo?”

“What?” Apollo asked, confused.

“You’re working for the prosecution today, Mr. Justice.” Mr. Edgeworth put his hand on Apollo’s shoulder “Prosecutors can delegate.”

“I…” Apollo said, his eyes widening in understanding “Oh…”

“I already got a team running around trying to find the murder weapon.” Kay got her Walky-Talky out “I’ll just tell them to search through the garbage too.”

“And please tell them to keep an eye for another possible weapon the victim might have been wielding,” Mr. Edgeworth added “it could be vital evidence.”

“Oh, I getcha!” Kay said with a wink as Mr. Edgeworth rolled his eyes.

“Anything else, Kay?” He asked.

“Hmmm…” Kay crossed her arms as she thought “Hey, Athena, do you think you could wrestle a giraffe?”

Chapter Text

“Detective Faraday has officially determined that nobody could have broken in last night,” Mr. Edgeworth said, reading a text Kay just sent him. "Security is, reportedly, 'crazy tight'."

“So even if someone did manage to break in last night…” Apollo looked deep in thought “That’ll require a lot of decisive evidence in court, wouldn’t it? Nobody can just say that maybe some guy off the street broke in. They'll need some powerful proof as to how they got in when Detective Faraday couldn't.”

“Indeed,” Mr. Edgeworth agreed “In court, or during our investigation.”

“Oh, right, right…” Apollo scratched his head in embarrassment.

“Remember, at this stage nothing is certain,” Mr. Edgeworth said, “And it is our job to doubt everything.”

The three were walking from the scene of the crime to the management area. Where the suspects, a few of their co-workers and some higher ups were rounded-off to be interviewed.

“We can’t always count on the witnesses’ words to explain themselves,” Mr. Edgeworth said “we might have to question their colleagues in order to find a possible motive. And their employers might shed some light on why these four specific people were on the premises that night.”

Apollo and Athena nodded, the red lawyer then went to ask Mr. Edgeworth something - but Athena didn’t listen. Her hearing picked up something else.

“Someone’s crying!” Without thinking, Athena started running in the direction of the sound, not giving Mr. Edgeworth and Apollo time to catch up with her.

A young man – well, he looked around Athena's age, so more like an older teenager - was sitting by the door to the main management building. His was tall and lanky, and his safari-themed clothes indicated that he was one of the zoo employees, and he was crying his heart out. He seemed to notice Athena running towards him, he raised his head and wiped his face with his sleeves. Athena waved at him lightly, trying to look friendly and non-threatening.

“Hey, um, hey, guy,” She said as she got next to him “Are you doing okay?”

The man just looked at her for a moment, “...Are you another detective?” he asked in a quiet voice, filled with exhaustion “I already gave my statements to Detective Faraday.”

“I’m not a detective! I’m… an assistant for the prosecutor on this case.” Athena reflexively touched the lapel of her jacket, where her budge was supposed to be. Mr. Edgeworth asked them to not wear it on the investigation, he probably had a point “but that’s not what's important, I’m also a psychologist, and…" her voice shifted into a softer tone "…just someone who wants to help when they see someone crying. My name is Athena Cykes.”

The young guy took a moment before he answered “...Bob A. Stricter, I’m a snake handler… in training.” he scooted over to indicate that Athena can sit next to him.

Oh man, that’s Ms. Condor’s apprentice, isn’t it? Athena thought as she took her place by Bob.

“Are you really a psychologist? And a prosecutor's assistant?” Bob asked, “You’re so young!”

Usually that’s the kind of statement that makes Athena grumble and go on the defensive and maybe suplex someone, but there wasn’t any condescension or lack of belief in Bob’s voice, he simply sounded impressed. She nodded with a confident grin on her face. “I took a lot of extra courses, and finished school early.” And he doesn't even know I'm a defense attorney, too!

“Wow,” Bob sighed sadly “and all I’ve ever done with my life was play with snakes. On an apprentice level… Never even made it to the big league.”

“Working with snakes seems pretty cool to me?” Athena offered.

“It is…” Bob agreed weakly. “But it probably wouldn’t be the same without Anna…”

“You two were close?” Athena asked.

Bob nodded, not looking Athena in the eyes. “She wasn’t just my boss, she was my mentor…” tears started forming in his eyes “A-and, since my mom passed away, she was…” he started weeping again.

“It’s fine, it’s fine, Bob,” Athena said “Just let it all out. It’s healthy.”

"…I always loved snakes, ever since I was little," Bob said, teary "I used to go to the zoo as often as I could, just so I could hear Anna talk about snakes. She's… been there for me since my mother passed away." Bob managed to let out a tiny, sad smile between all the tears. "Everyone always thinks – thought" he tearfully corrected himself "Everyone always thought of her as this cold weirdo who liked snakes more than people, but I'm passionate about snakes too! I think… I think we connected because of that. Until… until…" he burst into incoherent sobbing.

Athena's heart clenched. The way he talks about Ms. Condor… she kinda sounds like… like my mom…. Just with snakes instead of robots….

She looked at Bob, his weeping and sobbing calming down to a soft cry again. Her memories of the days surrounding her mother's death were still quite fuzzy, even after the breakthrough she made at her own trials. But she remembered enough to know that she was once exactly in Bob's position.

If I can help anyone in this case, it should be you, Bob. Us Lonely Kids have to stick together.

“Athena!” her train of thought was cut by the sound of Apollo shouting, his voice mostly sounded confused.

“Ms Cykes!” Mr. Edgeworth sounded more scolding, but with a hint of confusion.

Looking up, Athena saw Mr. Edgeworth and Apollo finally caught up to her. “Oh, hey guys!” She said, sounding friendly to ty and defuse the situation.

“What in heavens was this mad dash about, Ms. Cykes?” Mr. Edgeworth said, frowning more even than usual.

“This dude was crying, Mr. Edgeworth! Ms. Condor was his mentor and she was just murdered!” Athena immediately got defensive “Someone has to help him! And we’re-”

“And we have a crime to investigate, Ms. Cykes.” Mr. Edgeworth looked as grumpy and strict as ever, but another look at the distraught young man sitting on the stairs and at Athena’s face softened his expression slightly “Your kindness is admirable, Ms. Cykes, but you shouldn’t have run off so suddenly. Especially since we were discussing important matters.”

“...Are you the prosecutor on this case?” Bob asked in a weak voice. His eyes were reddish, but he wasn't crying anymore.

“Indeed.” Mr. Edgeworth gave a bow that Athena thought was… more than a bit pompous.

“I’m Bob Stricter, I’m… a snake handler,” Bob said.

“Ah, yes, Ms. Condor’s protégé,” Mr. Edgeworth said “Mr. Stricter, I promise you that me and my assistants will bring the truth of this case to light.” After a pause he added “It is… not much, but this is what I can do to help you at such dire times.”

Bob looked at him for a moment before he answered “Thank you…”

“What the-?” Apollo shouted, reflexively touching his bracelet. “Mr. Stricter…” he gave him a suspicious glare.

But whatever Apollo wanted to ask him was cut short, by a sudden bone-chilling scream.

Panicked, the three lawyers turned around sharply, only to see a single colorful parrot perched on a little tree by the management building. It was a large parrot, but it looked rather ordinary otherwise. It opened its beak again and screamed out another horrifying scream.

“NGHHHH! Good heavens,” Mr. Edgeworth said, trying to get a hold of himself “Who in the world would train a parrot to make that sort of hellish noise?”

“That’s Meredith, she’s one of Ma’s parrots.” They heard Bob’s voice behind him, but their eyes were still focused on the bird “She… she always trains them to do the weirdest stuff.”

As if to demonstrate, Meredith the parrot started acting out what sounded like someone’s last gurgles of life before death.

“Who’s ‘Ma’?” Athena asked, to try and distract herself from the unnerving parrot.

“I think he means Madeline Caw.” Apollo snatched some files from Mr. Edgeworth and pulled out a profile of a moody-looking middle-aged woman “She’s the main parrot trainer in this zoo, and one of our suspects.”

“No! Please! Why are you doing that!?” The parrot kept on going, imitating someone who sounded like they were begging for mercy.

“Ma’s kind of a weird lady,” Bob said, clearly wincing. “But she’s, like, the best parrot trainer in the world - so nobody can tell her no.”

“NGHHHH! Good heavens!” Meredith said suddenly, in what was a pretty good impersonation of Mr. Edgeworth’s voice “NGHHHH! NGHHHH! NGHHHH! NGHHHH!”

Mr. Edgeworth crossed his arms and looked more than a bit offended that this bird was making fun of him.

As Athena looked at Meredith the parrot, at her claws hanging on the tree branch, and at her oversized, nasty-looking beak - a ridiculous thought passed through her mind. It sounded stupid, even just thinking about it, but she couldn’t ignore it, and when she turned her face to look at her current boss and fellow lawyer - it was clear they were thinking that too.

It was just a matter of who’s gonna voice it first. I suppose it’s gonna be me. “You know, we still have no idea what the murder weapon is, do we?” She said simply, eyeing the parrot.

“No,” Mr. Edgeworth checked his phone for new messages just to confirm “we do not.”

“I mean, the victim died from a stab wound, right?” Apollo said, thinking “This is a pretty big parrot, but I don’t think those claws are gonna lead to a stab wound.”

“...Wait, what are you saying?” Bob asked, confused.

“No, the bird itself couldn’t be the murder weapon,” Mr. Edgeworth said, tapping his forehead with his finger “However, it would surely be easier to hide the murder weapon if you had a trained feathered friend carrying out the murder for you.”

“Only Ms. Caw was not counting on her parrot’s love of mimicking stuff! Was für eine Handlung!” Athena pumped her fists as she talked, that did sound like an exciting tale “Thus bringing us the crucial clue we needed for the case!”

“Are-are you guys seriously suggesting that-?” Bob looked at the three lawyers like they all just fell from the sky and then started talking about murder-committing birds.

“It does sound preposterous, Mr. Stricter,” Mr. Edgeworth said “However, it is a possibility we cannot discredit until we properly investigate it.” He sighed “My experience taught me that just because a theory might sound unbelievable, it does not mean you should ignore it. It also taught me testimonies from parrots can be decisive.”

Bob looked at him blankly. Mr. Edgeworth huffed and turned around to look at the parrot, who was still sitting on the tree and switching between reenacting violet scenes and repeating the words the people around her said.

“This bird will have to be investigated,” Mr. Edgeworth said, slowly reaching toward Meredith "We’ll have to take this bird to Ms. Skye, to see if any evidence-" as his hand reached near her, Meredith the parrot squawked and flattered her wings in an intimidating manner.

“NGGHHHO!” Mr. Edgeworth yelled as he flinched back. Seeing how his two assistants were struggling to avoid laughing at his peril, he quickly tried to gather himself, straightening non-existent wrinkles in his vest and coat. “I should probably contact Detective Faraday to take care of this parrot,” Mr. Edgeworth said, mostly to himself “She always had an… affinity with birds.”

“I thought she was a crow.” Apollo noted.

Mr. Edgeworth huffed “Ms. Cykes, Mr. Justice,” He said “Come, I believe all we have some questions for Ms. Caw, right?”

Apollo started following after Mr. Edgeworth into the management building, but Athena stayed put “But what about Bob?” She asked.

“Everyone relating to this case will be interviewed, of course” Mr. Edgeworth said “I simply think Ms. Caw is our highest priority right now. We’ll return to Mr. Stricter after we find out more about our parrot theory.”

“No! I mean…” Athena took a deep breath to calm herself and then talked in a quieter voice “Bob is still super-distraught about Ms. Condor’s death. I can hear it. I don’t wanna leave him here, crying on the stairs.”

“Ms. Cykes!” Mr. Edgeworth clearly didn’t care about keeping a whisper tone. Isn’t he the guy who always says we shouldn’t yell in his office? “Like I said, your kindness is admirable, but we have an important job to do. A defense attorney's job is to help people, but right now, you are assisting a prosecutor-”

"And prosecutors aren't supposed to be good guys too?!" Okay, Athena, maybe you're getting a little too angry now.

"Of course prosecutors are good g-" Mr. Edgeworth quickly stopped and corrected himself "Of course prosecutors can help people, Ms. Cykes." He said, solemnly "But currently, the best way we have is by resolving the case properly and bringing the truth to light." Athena didn't react to Mr. Edgeworth words, she didn't know how to react "I truly sympathize with your wish to help Mr. Stricter, his situation is… pitiful." Mr. Edgeworth winced in a way that made it clear he also knew that was not the right word to use "But right now we must focus on what is important to the ca-"

“That’s… that’s important to the case, too!” Athena frowned. Okay, Athena, I’m sure you can find a reason. Just bluff, like Mr. Wright would “Look, Bob’s gonna be a witness in court anyway right? he’s the one who discovered the body.”

“Yeah, yeah he was!” Apollo said.

“Then I need to get him in good shape for the trial!” Athena smiled a cocky grin, happy that she found an angle to work from “You want him to be in a stable enough state to testify in court, right? Then let me do my thing!”

“Ms. Cykes…” Mr. Edgeworth sounded just as strict as he usually is.

“Boss! Please!” Athena threw her arms in exasperation. "I just…"

Mr. Edgeworth seemed to think for a moment “very well, Ms. Cykes,” he said “you’ve convinced me. You may stay here and…” he waved his hand, somewhat dismissive “...do your thing with Mr. Stricter. Make sure he is in a passable mental state for the trial tomorrow. Me and Mr. Justice will continue investigating Ms. Caw and the others.”

“A-Alright!” Athena said.

“But you will have to rejoin our investigation at some point,” Mr. Edgeworth continued “I think I have some uses for your Gadget.”

“My name is Widget” Widget blipped angrily.

Mr. Edgeworth either didn’t hear it or chose to ignore it “Farwell, Ms. Cykes, and good luck.”

Chapter Text

Athena waited until both Mr. Edgeworth and Apollo disappeared into the management building, before she sat down by Bob again, sighing in relief.

“Thank you, Athena,” Bob said.

“Um, for what?”

“For… for standing up to that prosecutor like that,” he said, “Your boss seems… really scary.”

“Mr. Edgeworth? Yeah, but he’s…” Athena shrugged “His bark is worse than his bite.”

“Could’ve fooled me.” Bob laughed nervously “But you obviously know him better than I do, so I guess I’ll have to trust you on that.”

“Well, I actually only really got to know him this week.” Athena admitted, Bob gave her a strange look “It’s a really short internship.” She explained.

“Yeah, don’t think she’s some Mr. Edgeworth Expert here, Bobby!” A playful voice suddenly said.

Looking up, they both saw Kay, as well as two lower-ranking forensics people - walking towards them. “Don’t mind me you two, I’m just here for the Case Changing Parrot!” She giggled.

Meredith reacted with her usual barrage of screams, including a loud “NNNGHHHO”.

“Huh, looks like someone met Mr. Edgeworth already!” Kay grinned as she climbed toward the parrot. The tree wasn’t that tall, she could probably reach with her hand from the ground, but she climbed anyway “Now, let’s take a look at y-”

“UNHAND ME, VILLAIN!” Meredith the parrot quoted at her, copying some unknown source. Kay flinched back in surprise, causing her to fall from the small tree.

“Alright, then…” She dusted herself off and pulled a pair of falconry gloves from her bag “Do you wanna get serious, birdy? Because I can always get serious!”. But before anyone could get serious, Kay’s Walkie-Talkie turned on. “Yeah, this is Detective Faraday” She said into the speaker, leaning on the management building wall “You found… you found WHAT?” her shout was loud enough to make everyone around her flinch. Bob was basically using Athena as cover “Hold on…” She turned to the other officers “you two, you two take care of that parrot, kay? I… I have to go check something!” She ran off, barely remembering to toss her falconry gloves toward her subordinates.

For a while, Bob and Athena watched as the officers struggled to capture Meredith, who was a very temperamental parrot, evidently. Yeah, I can see how she could’ve been involved in the murders. That theory was making more and more sense to Athena by the second. But eventually that got a bit repetitive, and the two decided to go to the other side of the building to have some peace and quiet.

After they settled down in the grass, Bob spoke up again “I suppose you want me to talk about Anna, right?” He rubbed the back of his head.

“Sure, if you want to!"

“I dunno, you’re the expert, Athena!” Bob shrugged “whatever’s gonna make feel better… whatever makes me get over this…”

“It’s not… look, Bob,” Athena said “I can’t make you ‘get over over’ Ms. Condor’s death. Grief is…. It’s hard, sometimes. I don’t think it ever seriously ‘goes away’. Not really.” she sighed, sadly “But…” hold it together, girl! He’s the one who needs help, not you! “But I think I can help you with some of the initial shock. It’s… it’s gonna help you in the long run. If you could handle it.”

“Yeah, and…” Bob said “I’ll have to testify in court anyway, right? It’s not…” tears formed in the corners of his eyes again “it’s not like I can escape that, right?”

“Look, you shouldn’t be thinking about that now, okay?” Athena said, “we’re not doing it for the trial, we’re not doing it for Mr. Edgeworth - we’re doing it cause this case messed you up.”

Bob nodded, half-heartedly.

“You can’t escape Ms. Condor’s death. That’s… that’s just not how it works,” Athena struggled to keep her voice from getting too emotional “Even if you try and not think about that night, she’s still gone, and I can tell that she was important to you. She’s gonna leave a hole in your life, that’s also part of the grieving process.”

“...You’re not really selling that to me, Athena.” Bob sounded like he was really hurting.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Athena waved her arms in panic. That's what I get for using personal experience over your psychology books, I guess. She thought, pushing down her memories of her mother again “It’s just… trying to run away from it will only make it worse, y’know?” She slumped down and focused on her own hands “Trying to just not think about it will just make it harder.”

Bob considered Athena for a moment, before he started speaking in a trembling voice “I-it was around 3AM, I went to… ask Anna something about reptile care…”

Athena quickly activated Widget’s Mood Matrix program, looking at the emotional analysis of Bob’s voice.

The young snake handler looked surprised at the holographic screen. He took a big breath before he continued talking “I opened the door to the reptile house, Anna said she’d be there all night, and…” his voice was seriously shaking right now, and tears were flowing from his eyes. Bob was really struggling to not burst into crying “...Anna was lying there...a-and there was blood… and shattered glass… and all of the snakes - they were all…” and he started weeping again “All of our snakes! And our reptiles! They were all dead!”

“Hey, hey, take it easy… take a deep breath!” Athena tried to be comforting, but she was kind of distressed too “You did… you did fine. Everything’s fine.”

For a moment, the young snake handler cried silently. Then, as per Athena’s request, Bob started breathing deeply, slowly calming down. “God, I still can’t…” he sighed and wiped his face with his sleeve “I can’t… even talk about it…”

“No, it’s fine! It’s… a good first step,” Athena said as she checked some things about the Mood Matrix’s analysis of Bob’s voice. Emotionally, of course she expected a lot of sadness and grief, and the guilty feelings were not exactly surprising either - but there was something about the content of what he said that was… strange to her “Wait, all of the reptiles in the reptile enclosure were dead?” She remembered a few broken terrariums, but she’s been told that the snakes and lizards have been relocated.

Bob stared at her for a few moments, thinking about her question. He took a deep breath again “N-n-no, that’s not what happened. There was just a bit of broken glass, I was just-” he rubbed his eyes “I guess I was just seeing things.”

Alright, but why? Athena thought over what Bob has told her “...You’re worried about them? The snakes?”

Bob considered her words for a moment before nodding “...Yes, I guess… I guess I am,” he said “...Anna… she worked so hard to keep our reptile exhibit afloat. People only care about penguins and giraffes and Ma Caw's parrot shows – but she always fought hard to make sure the reptile exhibit won't ever close down. And now… now we don’t have a snake handler anymore! I’m still in training!” he gestured toward himself “I’m afraid… now that Anna is gone, they’re gonna shut this all down, and all of our snakes…” he wiped his teary eyes again “Maybe it’s silly to worry about it when Anna is… dead. But… this was her life work! She-she cared so much about all of our snakes… and now…”

“I don’t think that’s a silly thing to worry about at all, Bob!” Athena patted Bob on the back. I can’t make him not-sad about Ms. Condor’s death, but if I help him through this - he’d at least feel better. Maybe better enough to deal with the memory of seeing Ms. Condor’s body “Look, even if Ms. Condor is… gone, does it really mean the zoo is going to close the reptile enclosure? It seemed like a pretty good reptile enclosure to me!”

“... Yeah, thanks to Anna. She campaigned to update the reptile house a few years ago,” Bob said “there’s nothing Anna was more passionate about then snakes. She always got in fights with Ma about that.”

“Are they’re not gonna hire a new snake handler?” Athena asked “Can’t… can’t you take over her role?”

Bob was quiet for a bit, he buried his head in his hands before speaking again “Maybe…? I’ve been studying under Anna for a few years now… I love snakes, and I think I'm… okay at taking care of them. But…” He stopped “Is there really a point… without her…”

Athena looked at him, and then, reflexively, touched Widget gently “You know,” she said, “My mom… she was a psychologist too.”

“Your mom?” Bob asked.

“She’s… She’s dead too…” Athena admitted “But I like studying psychology because when I do, it feels like I’m connecting with her, in a way.” She touched Widget again “Like I’m… continuing her ways somehow.”

Bob just looked at her, then lowered his gaze toward the ground.

“I dunno, maybe… maybe keeping on doing what Ms. Condor did will do you good,” Athena said, nudging him gently “Maybe it’ll make you feel like she’s still there with you, too.”

Bob didn’t respond to that either.

“That’s… that’s probably what she would’ve wanted… right?” Athena said “Her protégé keeping on the tradition? Taking care of the snakes she loved so much?” After a few seconds of yet more no-responses from Bob, Athena tried a different tactic “How about you tell me something about snakes? Like I’m a kid visiting the enclosure! Something Ms. Condor taught you.”

“Well, um…” Bob looked surprised “Did you know… did you know… snakes don’t have eyelids?”

"No, I didn't!" Athena first shook her head in a deliberately childlike manner and then nodded at him to continue.

“Also! Also! Did you know… the Brahminy Blind Snakes are all females and reproduce by parthenogenesis?” Bob said, already slightly perking up.

“Cool!” Athena pumped her fists in the air “Tell me more!”

Bob kept on telling Athena more and more of the snake facts Ms. Condor taught him, cheering up more and more as he told her stuff - this went on for about half an hour, until suddenly-

“Oh, there you are, Mr. Stricter, Ms. Cykes.” Athena heard Mr. Edgeworth’s voice.

Looking up, Mr. Edgeworth and Apollo were standing there, looking at Athena and Bob with… curious expressions on their faces. Apollo especially was glaring intently at Bob.

“Hey, Mr. Edgeworth! Hey Apollo!” Athena said with a smile “Good timing, I think I am about done with my therapy session with Mr. Stricter!” She turned off Widget’s holographic screen with a dramatic motion “So? Did you find any more leads on Ma Caw?”

“...No, I can’t say that we have, Ms. Cykes,” Mr. Edgeworth said, “In fact, I believe we a few… important questions to Mr. Stricter.”

Apollo nodded and immediately pulled out Mr. Edgeworth’s organizer “Mr. Stricter, you… you told the police you haven’t gone to the reptile enclosure until 3AM, when you discovered the body,” he said “But, Dr. Raffe says she saw you heading to that direction, at around… 2AM. Which fits around the time of the murder, according to the new autopsy report.”

"I...I..." Bob swallowed “Wait, what does ‘heading from that direction mean’? If Gina just saw me heading from this direction…" He gestured at the path leading from the zoo's entrance to the management area "I might have just gone to the bathroom by the main gate! There’s nothing that says I went to the reptile enclosure.”

While he was talking, Athena saw that Apollo was watching him intently and lightly touching his bracelet “You’re rubbing your head injury again, Mr. Stricter,” he said quietly “Just as you mentioned the reptile enclosure, is there a reason for that?”

“Woah, woah! HOLD IT!” Athena yelled, standing up between the two other lawyers and Bob “Are you really - Do you really think Bob did this? That he killed Ms. Condor?” As she said those words, her heart clenched as it did when Bob described his mentor to her.

Apollo and Mr. Edgeworth looked at each other for a moment “I am far from certain right now, Ms. Cykes,” Mr. Edgeworth said “But at this moment, he is our likeliest suspect. We just to clear up some things and-”

“What about Ma Caw? What about the parrot?” Athena asked. She was feeling panicked and stressed.

“Athena? Look at this,” Apollo handed her a bunch of stapled-together papers. The title said, ‘A Parrot Horror Show VII - Script’. “That’s the script for Ms. Caw’s newest parrot show.”

Is that a THING? Athena thought to herself as she looked through the script, which mostly involved a lot of blood and parrots… screaming as they get… fake-murdered…

Athena lifted her head to look at Apollo, they exchanged a look. “Are we… Are we sure that’s real?” She said, “How can we be sure that she didn’t make this up as a cover-up!?”

“What kind of a sloppy investigator do you take me for, Ms. Cykes?” Mr. Edgeworth huffed “We’ve asked several of Ms. Caw’s co-workers and they have confirmed that this very script was approved about three months ago.”

“Yeah, they even showed us all of the… fake blood they made for the show,” Apollo winced “It was… a lot of fake blood.”

“O-oh...” Athena said, slowly relaxing out of her previous combative pose.

“in addition, we’ve had Ema check all of the parrots under Ms. Caw’s care,” Mr. Edgeworth said, “One would assume that if any of these parrots went near the crime scene or simply came in touch with the murder weapon, there would be traces of blood somewhere on these birds' personage. However, the forensic investigation did not turn up anything of that nature.”

"There's also no feathers or claw marks found near the crime scene," Apollo added "Detective Faraday checked and the windows of the reptile enclosure are locked tight at all times."

“Well, do you have any better theories about the murder weapon?” Athena asked, still defensive. Even thinking about the fact poor Bob might be guilty made her… antsy, in a way she couldn't quite explain yet.

“We found the murder weapon, Athena.” Apollo said seriously.

“You found what?”

“Yes, it seems your instinct about it being thrown away was correct, Ms. Cykes,” Mr. Edgeworth took his organizer from Apollo and pulled out a picture, it looked like a half-bent surgical knife of some kind. It was dirty and there was clearly marks of… blood on its blade “Kay’s people found this in a garbage can near here, this is a possession of Dr. Gina Raffe. She has lost during the night of the murder. The good doctor didn't initially report it to Kay since she thought it will make her suspicious." He let out a dismissive huff "But her lies cracked quite quickly under the evidence, oh, and Mr. Justice's trick bracelet. Isn't that right?" He turned to Apollo.

"Yeah… yeah, I guess I helped." Apollo let out a sheepish chuckle before he quickly turned serious again "We had Ms. Skye take a look at this knife too, she confirmed this is the victim’s blood.” He paused for a moment before he continued. “she also confirmed something else. She found a couple of fingerprints on it. There’s Dr. Raffe - which make sense, since it’s her tool, the victim and ...Mr. Stricter. His fingerprints were on it too.”

“...Bob…” Athena’s faced paled as she turned around to look at the young snake handler, he looked teary-eyed and heartbroken and helpless and very, very afraid “Y-you can’t be serious!” She shouted as she turned back to Apollo and Mr. Edgeworth “It couldn’t have been Bob! I-I can’t…” She realized her breathing was turning heavy. Calm down, Athena. You can do this! You can handle this. Just breathe. “What the hell is his motive? Can you answer that, Mr. Edgeworth!?”

Mr. Edgeworth didn’t flinch at all to her outburst, he just crossed his arms and frowned. He probably thinks I'm just a stupid little girl now, a particularly annoying voice inside of Athena whispered to her. “Once again, what sort of a sloppy investigator do you take me for?” He said, “We’ve been looking into that as well, for all three of our suspects.”

“Ms. Caw and Ms. Condor were known rivals, we have a signed affidavit from one of their coworkers about all the nasty arguments,” Apollo said, Athena could tell that he was enjoying this way too much – which certainly did not help her pissed-off mood “We, eh… we haven’t found anything about Ms. Raffe, yet. But as for Mr. Stricter…” he pulled out a picture, it was of a python snake being gently and lovingly handled by Anna Condor “Do you recognize this snake, Mr. Stricter?”

“I…” Bob started to say, his eyes darting wildly, he rubbed the back of his head.

“...That’s what I thought…” Apollo said, gently touching his bracelet.

“I… of course I know this snake!” Bob tried to act confident, but Athena could hear fear and regret in his voice “Sir Hissface was Anna’s favorite snake! What is that supposed to prove? I work here!”

“Yes, ‘Mr. Hissface’ was Ms. Condor’s most beloved snake,” Mr. Edgeworth’s smug smile suddenly looked very foreboding and cruel “Until his tragic death a few months ago. We interviewed several of your co-workers and they testified that-”

“It WASN’T MY FAULT!” Bob shouted suddenly “IT...  IT WASN’T MY FAULT!”

“...Hmph…” Mr. Edgeworth tried to hide it, but he was kinda shaken by Bob's sudden outburst “Well, I believe I can’t be the judge of that, however… testimony from your colleagues indicate that at the very least, Ms. Condor considered this to be your fault.”

“That’s… That’s…” Bob struggled to speak.

Apolo eyed Bob suspiciously “Please, Mr. Stricter, don’t lie to me” he rested his hand on his bracelet again “It’s no use”.

Bob was breathing heavily; his eyes were darting wildly. Didn’t seem like he was going to answer any time soon.

“Hey! Bob!” Athena waved at him to grab his attention from the two other lawyers “Just relax, it’s going to be okay,” I mean, you’re innocent, we’re going to prove that eventually, right? Even if just by finding the real culprit like prosecution is supposed to do or whatever. Prosecutors help people by solving the case, that's what Mr. Edgeworth said. “Everything’s gonna be okay, we talked about that.”

Bob took a deep breath, and looked back at Apollo, staring straight at him “Yeah, Anna got really mad about it.” He winced a bit, probably at some bad memory “Dr. Raffe said it wasn’t my fault. E... Even Anna couldn’t have predicted that specific mouse will give him food poisoning, but… but Anna just didn’t listen.”

“Indeed, Ms. Condor took the death of Mr. Hissface quite hard,” Mr. Edgeworth said, “so hard that she tried to get you, Bob Stricter, fired by the zoo management.”

“We even got the paperwork to prove it,” Apollo added, waving a couple of papers around “Do you have anything to say to that, Mr. Stricter?”

Bob lowered his head “Just ‘cause Anna was screaming at people that I needed to get fired, doesn’t mean anyone took her seriously,” he said quietly “and that doesn’t mean I wanted to kill her. This job isn't worth Anna's life!” He sounded sincere; Athena could tell. He was 100% sincere.

“No, it doesn’t have to mean that.” Mr. Edgeworth crossed his arms “But it is a motive, in addition to your fingerprints being on the murder weapon, and you being seen at the vicinity of the crime scene around the time the murder occurred - Well, sadly, it makes you our most likely suspect.” Mr. Edgeworth didn't sound all that sad about it.

Could it be Bob? He wouldn’t! He said Anna Condor was like a mother to him, and he meant that, I could tell! He wouldn’t! Athena felt herself shaking and breathing heavily again, she closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. Jut breathe, just breathe. “Apollo!” She shouted as she dragged her coworker off to the side. Well, so much for calm, Athena. “I want to talk with you!”

“You really are taking the fact Mr. Stricter is guilt very hard, Athena” Apollo whisper-shouted at her once they were at a distance from Mr. Edgeworth and Bob.

“Apollo! Do you… do you really believe Mr. Edgeworth’s bullcrap?” Athena asked, distressed “Do you believe Bob is guilty too?”

“It doesn’t matter what I believe in.” Apollo looked serious “We just have to look at where the evidence points to. He has a motive and his fingerprints on the murder weapon, Athena.”

“Well, if Mr. Wright just decided anyone who had a motive and fingerprints on the murder weapon was automatically guilty, he’d never get anything done!” Athena pointed an accusing finger “He thinks outside the box, and so should we!”

At the mention of the boss, Apollo's confidence wavered. “Look…” he lowered his gaze “You have a point, but… if you want to discredit this sort of decisive evidence, you’ll need to pull one hell of a turnabout, Mr. Wright knew that too.”

“I never said we were arresting this young man right now, Ms. Cykes,” Mr. Edgeworth suddenly said, walking to stand by Apollo. “I was merely interested in asking Mr. Stricter a few questions, although now that I had…” he looked through his organizer, deep in thought.

Athena looked at Apollo and Mr. Edgeworth, at the way that they looked at her. She thought the look in their eyes looked dismissive. They probably think I'm a total idiot. “So that’s it, we’re going to have Bob arrested?” She glared at Mr. Edgeworth “We’re gonna have to prosecute him in court?”

“That depends, Ms. Cykes,” Mr. Edgeworth said, confident “Have you found a flaw in my logic?”

“Hrrrrrrm…” Athena growled at him.

“I am quite serious,” Mr. Edgeworth did nothing but raise his eyebrows “I really would like to avoid arresting an innocent person if I can. If you believe Mr. Stricter is innocent, I would like to hear where has my reasoning gone wrong.”

Athena lowered her gaze and played with her earring as she tried and think of something. If Bob ends up going to jail for a murder he didn’t do - that’ll mean the snake exhibition is going away too, and Ms. Condor’s legacy along with it.

“Athena…” she felt Apollo’s hand on her shoulder “You remember that trial, the… case in the Space Center, right? You told me I was a good friend because I tried to honestly make sure that I can really trust you, right?”

Athena nodded. Apollo dedicated a lot of time to investigate all the angles for her innocence and guilt, not to mention tried to go against Mr. Wright in court. It was a lot of effort and it was, in the end, all for her.

“You should be that same kind of friend for Mr. Stricter - I mean, Bob, Right?” Apollo didn’t really sound all that confident, but Athena thought it over.

“Well… then, then I’ll just have to go find some sort of contradiction in Mr. Edgeworth’s logic!” Athena perked up so suddenly that it made Apollo flinch a little “Bob couldn’t have done it, it… just doesn’t make sense,” she said, mostly to herself as she stormed away, determined to investigate “I’ll find something that pokes a hole in Mr. Edgeworth’s argument! I will!”

“Athena!” She heard Apollo’s voice calling for her, but she didn’t turn. “Mr. Edgeworth, I think she’s really serious about it.”

“Let her be, Mr. Justice,” Athena heard Mr. Edgeworth huff “If that’s the best way to get a thorough investigation out of you two, then so be it.”

Chapter Text

Athena was in a weird sort of mood through all of the investigation yesterday, first she was excited and combative about finding evidence to prove Mr. Stricter was innocent - and when Mr. Edgeworth officially decided to press charges against Mr. Stricter, she got really angry and bitter. And so, Apollo was happy to see she was her usual chipper self when he met her in the Prosecution Lobby that morning, before the trial.

“Hey, Apollo! Good morning!” She waved at him “Are you ready for our first trial as Mr. Edgeworth’s assistants?”

“You’re in a good mood today, Athena,” Apollo noted with a smile.

“Look, I was thinking last night…” Athena’s expression turned serious “Mr. Edgeworth says trials are where ‘the truth will be revealed’ right? If Bob really is innocent, it’s just a matter of time before his attorney will find out a way prove it! I don’t have anything to worry about!”

Well, if that's what makes you happy, then… “That’s the spirit, Athena!” Apollo smiled and crossed his arms.

“So, what about you, Apollo? Ready for court?” Athena asked with a cheeky smile.

Apollo took a deep breath and shouted, “I’M APOLLO JUSTICE AND I’M FINE!”

“I’M ATHENA CYKES AND I’M FINE!” Athena joined him, trying and failing to overpower the Chords of Steel.

“I’M APOLLO JUSTICE AND I’M FINE!” Apollo shouted again.

“Hmph, I should have guessed,” Apollo and Athena both stopped when they heard Mr. Edgeworth’s voice coming from the direction of the door “Good morning, Mr. Justice and Ms. Cykes” he said in a more pleasant tone.

“Oh, good morning, Mr. Edgeworth.” Apollo suddenly felt kinda embarrassed.

“Is this… exercise… a thing you do before every trial?” Mr. Edgeworth walked into the lobby and laid his briefcase on the table by the window. "No wonder Wright constantly comes home with headaches…" He grumbled under his breath.

“Yeah! It’s fun!” Athena said with a wide smile.

“Yeah, and it…” Apollo scratched his head, awkwardly “It helps release some of that pre-trial nervousness, you know…” he stopped himself “Do you get nervous before trials, Mr. Edgeworth?”

“I never get nervous.” He answered flatly.

“Hmmmm mmmm.” Athena hummed in a tone that made it clear that was a lie.

Mr. Edgeworth turned around to look at the two young lawyers, then averted his gaze for a second, then looked at them again. He closed his eyes took a deep breath and “...I’m Miles Edgeworth and I’m fineeeeee…” he said weakly. Apollo and Athena struggled not to chuckle at the sight.

Mr. Edgeworth sighed, and buried his head in his hands “That was embarrassing. If you two ever mention this again, expect it to reflect very badly in your salary evaluation.”

“Mr. Edgeworth, you do remember this is the last day we’re working for you, right?” Apollo asked. "Pretty soon, Mr. Wright is going to be responsible for our pay again." And I'm pretty sure Athena could set Mr. Wright on fire and he still wouldn't cut our pay.

“Oh… but of course,” Mr. Edgeworth said quietly “well, then. I request you do not mention this ever… out of the goodness of your heart.” After a moment he added “Please?”

“Sure thing, Mr. Edgeworth” Apollo said casually, with a light shrug of his shoulders.

“Tu peux compter sur nous!” Athena gave Mr. Edgeworth a friendly fist-bump on the arm. From Mr. Edgeworth’s reaction, it seems like it a bit more painful than she intended.

“Thank you,” Mr. Edgeworth said while lightly rubbing the place where Athena bumped him. His expression turned serious again “Now pay attention, there are some things I need to show you.” He gestured at his briefcase, and then opened it and took out a bunch of papers “These are all vital documents for the trial-”

“Oh man, MORE paperwork?!” Athena groaned and sighed. Apollo just looked at them with fascination.

“This is the Evidence List for the trial.” Mr. Edgeworth lifted up a printed chart “I just received it from Kay this morning. I already examined several times; you might want to do so as well. Make sure nothing has been left out.”

Athena considered it for a second and then snatched the paper from Mr. Edgeworth’s hand “Oh! Let me look!” She said with enthusiasm.

“Still doubting my deduction that Bob Stricter is the culprit?” Mr. Edgeworth asked stoically.

“HEY! YOU SAID-!” Athena started yelling, then took a deep breath and tried again in a much less aggressive tone “Hey! You’re the one who said that it’s a good thing that I don’t agree with you, right? Cause that way we examine the case as thoroughly as possible?” The smile she had on scared Apollo more than her angry expression before “I’m just doing what you wanted.”

“That’s true, I did say that,” Mr. Edgeworth said, although his voice didn’t sound very agreeable. He sighed and pulled out a brown folder from his briefcase “This is the casefile, I’m sure you and Ms. Cykes are quite familiar with such files after the last week. This should have all the information relevant for the case.” He handed the file over to Apollo, who started browsing through it.

“It still lists Prosecutor Debeste as the ‘Assigned Prosecutor’” Apollo said, it was the first thing that attracted his eye.

“Well, yes, he was the prosecutor initially assigned to the case, after all,” Mr. Edgeworth said, “if you care to look under ‘Prosecutor in Charge of the Investigation’ and ‘Acting Prosecutor in Court’, that’s where you’ll find my name.”

Yep, there it is. ‘Chief Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth’ and me and Athena are listed as ‘Prosecution Paralegal Assistants’, that’s still weird. And… wait…

“‘Defense Attorney’...” Apollo read out loud “‘Raymond Shields, Edgeworth Law Offices’?”

“Wait, What?” That grabbed Athena’s attention. In a quick motion she raised her head from the evidence list and eyed Mr. Edgeworth suspiciously “This can’t be a coincidence, can it?” She said, perfectly voicing Apollo’s thoughts.

“Awww, Miles, you never told the kids about their ol’ great uncle Ray? I'm crushed”

Apollo and Athena turned around; a man was standing casually in the doorway to the Prosecution Lobby. He seemed to be in his mid-to-late 40’s, wearing a shirt and tie. A fedora hat was sitting on top of his curly, graying hair.

“Mr. Shields, good morning,” Mr. Edgeworth said, as serious as ever, toward the man in the fedora “is there anything regarding this case you wish to discuss with me?”

‘Mr. Shields’? ‘Great Uncle Ray’? "So, this is Mr. Stricter's defense attorney, right?" Apollo said, "Where’s his Attorney’s Badge?". Was it weird that this was the first thing he wondered about?

“Come on, Miles!” Mr. Shields laughed as he approached the three other lawyers “You thought I was gonna miss a chance to finally meet the kids?”

Mr. Edgeworth sighed, rather dramatically. “Mr. Justice, Ms. Cykes, this is Mr. Raymond Shields.” he gestured toward the older man "He was the protégé of my late father, defense attorney Gregory Edgeworth, and is the current owner of his Law Offices.”

“Yeah, I never really got around to changing it.” Mr. Shields shrugged his shoulders, with a big grin on his face. Is that really all there is to it?

“I recommended Mr. Shields to our defendant yesterday,” Mr. Edgeworth explained “He is a very capable defense attorney, and I much rather have you see me in court facing against a defense attorney I can trust.”

“Well, I know that’s what passes for a compliment coming from you, so thanks, Miles,” Mr. Shields said, half-joking. It’s so weird hearing someone call Mr. Edgeworth by his first name. Not even Mr. Wright does that “But you know I only agreed so I can finally see your kids with my own eyes.”

“We’re not Mr. Edgeworth’s ‘kids’,” Apollo said without thinking “We’re Mr. Wright’s!” he stopped suddenly, realizing what he’s saying “NO WAIT! WE’RE NOT HIS KIDS EITHER!”

“Awww, look at that,” Mr. Shields smiled condescendingly at Apollo “this one even has your frown!”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Mr. Edgeworth crossed his arms “Mr. Justice and I look nothing alike.”

“Yeah,” Apollo agreed, crossing his arms and nodding.

Mr. Shields gave Apollo and Mr. Edgeworth a curious look, one that Apollo couldn’t quite figure it out “You’re seein’ this too, kiddo?” He whisper-not-very-softly toward Athena.

“I know, right?” Athena whisper-shouted back, then reached out her hand and smiled “I’m Athena Cykes, ravi de vous rencontrer!”

“Nice to meet you too, kid,” Mr. Shields grinned and shook her hand “You can call me ‘Mr. Shields’, like that stick-in-the-mud does" he gestured toward Mr. Edgeworth, who huffed in response "or ‘Ray’, or ‘Great Uncle Ray’, or just 'Uncle Ray'.”

Athena considered him “I think I’ll stick with 'Mr. Shields' for now.” She said, still friendly

“Suit yourself.” Mr. Shields shrugged “And you’re Apollo Justice, right, Tiny?” he reached his hand toward Apollo.

"Yes," Apollo started to say, ignoring the comment about his height and shaking his hand "it's great to meet-"

“So!" Athena cut him off suddenly "You’re Bob’s defense attorney, Mr. Shields?” she asked enthusiastically. “Are you ready to take on Mr. Edgeworth’s case? To kick his ass in court?!”

Mr. Stricter is probably guilty Apollo thought to himself does Mr. Shields knows this? Is there something we missed, and he knows about?

“I'm ready to defend Bobby, no matter what happens." Mr. Shields face turned serious "But as for beating Miles, well… we'll see…” A grin appeared on his face again “Your boss knows how to investigate a case thoroughly."

This wasn't the answer Athena was looking for, obviously, she gave him an odd look “...Don't you trust Bob?” She asked, careful.

"Of course I-" Mr. Shields expression turned serious again “Heh… I guess you two really are Phoenix’s kids too.” He then shrugged, his expression returning to its previous jovial state “Don’t worry, kiddo, you'll do your job and I'll take care of mine!”

Athena’s expression was still kinda suspicious. She grumbled at Mr. Shields but didn't say anything clear.

 In what was probably an attempt to lighten the mood, Mr. Shields said "Seriously, Athena sweetie, have some faith in your Grunkle Shield. Even Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth thinks I'm a good lawyer, and I heard this guy knows what he's talking about!" He gave her a light, careful pat on the shoulder.

“Mr. Shields, please” Mr. Edgeworth adjusted his glasses and sighed “leave them be.”

“No chance, Miles.” Mr. Shields chuckled “They’re your ‘kids’, and I have ‘annoying uncle’ duties to fulfil.” He emphasized his words with air quotes.

“As Mr. Justice said,” Mr. Edgeworth said defensively “they are not my ‘kids’, they’re Wright’s”.

“Yeah, yeah,” Mr. Shields said dismissively “Miles, you used to say that about Lil’ Trucy.”

Mr. Edgeworth opened his mouth to response, but he didn’t seem to know what to say. Thankfully, he was saved by another person entering the lobby.

“Mr. Edgeworth!” Detective Faraday called out “I’ve brought in Ms. Caw, Ms. Raff and Mr. O'Neill for witness preparation!” She noticed the older defense attorney standing beside her “Oh! Good morning, Mr. Shields!” She said, perky. "I should've known you'd be our defense today!"

“Hello there, my sweet Kay,” Mr. Shields said in an obviously joking manner “I guess this is my cue to leave, can’t have your ‘enemies’ hang around here while you plan your 'attack', right, Miles?”

“I suppose not,” Mr. Edgeworth simply said.

“Well, see ya, kids!” Mr. Shields waved goodbye “Sorry, I couldn’t chat more. Maybe after the trial, okay?”

Apollo and Athena both waved back at him, slightly uncertain.

“Um, okay.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Good luck with the trial, Mr. Shields.” Mr. Edgeworth sounded more pleasant than before.

“Same to you, Miles,” Mr. Shields said. After a second, he removed his hat - his expression turned more serious “Let’s both make your old man proud, shall we?”

“Indeed,” Mr. Edgeworth agreed, and Mr. Shields disappeared past the Prosecution Lobby door.

“See ya!” Detective Faraday shouted after him in a friendly tone “So! Who should I call in for preparation first? The scary parrot lady? That woman with the cast? The big boss?”

“Oh, hey…” Athena said, “What does ‘witness preparation’ means?”

“Yeah, I... I…” Apollo scratched the back of his head in embarrassment “I don’t really know much about it either.” He knew, in general, that prosecutors have some stuff to say to witnesses before they go on the stand - but Athena probably knew that part too. They just didn’t know any of the details.

Detective Faraday looked surprised for a moment “Oh that’s right, defense attorneys don’t really have to bother with that.”

“Since it’s the Prosecution’s responsibility to present witness testimony to back our case,” Mr. Edgeworth explained “It is our job to make sure the witnesses are capable of delivering a… half-decent testimony,” he winced slightly as he said that “As well as making sure they are informed about the general details of the case, making sure we - the prosecution - are aware of the details in the testimonies we are presenting, and so on and so forth. In basic terms, all witness testimonies should be focused, professional and relevant to the trial at hand.”

Athena made a strange grumbly sound. Apollo, Mr. Edgeworth and Detective Faraday all turned their heads toward here. “What is it, Ms. Cykes?” Mr. Edgeworth asked.

“Oh, no, it’s nothing…” Athena said, very aversive “Go on…”

“Nah ah! It’s something!” Detective Faraday stomped her foot “Cone on, Athena!”

Athena stopped to consider if she would say something, she looked at Mr. Edgeworth for a second - covering Widget with her hand as if it’ll stop him from blurting out her thoughts. “Well, it’s just… Mr. Wright always tells us that there’s no such thing as an irrelevant detail,” as she talked, she moved from being evasive and embarrassed to being excitable “And to always be extra vigilant whenever prosecutors insist that something is not related to the case!” She emphasized her words my pounding her fist into the palm of her hand “So why should we try and only keep the “relevant details”? Can’t it ruin all of our chances to ‘find the truth’ without even knowing? You know how trials work sometimes; the most random thing ever can end up being case-changing!”

Mr. Edgeworth didn’t even seem surprised by Athena’s argument “Ms. Cykes, Wright only ever experiences testimonies after they have already been prepared, you two have no idea what sort of details I had to ask to remove from a witness' testimony.” In a more lighthearted tone, he added “I had to deal with witnesses who insisted to talk on and on about what they ate for breakfast on the day of the murder. Multiple times.” He was slightly smirking by the end of that sentence.

“Well, who’s to say the breakfast CAN’T have anything to do with the case?” Athena asked, combative “Maybe the witness had a food poisoning and that means they actually missed some key moment of the case while they were on the toilet or something?"

“Well, if a foodborne disease happened to be related to the case,” Mr. Edgeworth argued “It is the defense’s duty to prove it related. Or at least present the prosecution, the three of us, with a plausible theory that will require the witness to testify about their breakfast to prove or disprove it. There is no reason to include it otherwise.” Mr. Edgeworth turned a nasty glare toward Athena “worrying about Mr. Stricter’s innocence is the defense’s, Mr. Shield’s, role - and I trust he can do his job well. For now, Ms. Cykes, we really should focus on our own role.”

Athena didn’t seem convinced “Yeah, I bet you think your glare is SUPER-SCARY, Mr. Edgeworth,” She said, sounding kinda like she’s trying to force her own emotions. Pretending to sound angry to mask the fact that she was feeling hurt. “But I bet I can look scarier than you!” She pumped her fists in the air in an exaggerated manner “Ya wanna try it!?”

Mr. Edgeworth looked at her, his face stoic. He didn't seem to take her threat that seriously. Apollo tried a friendlier approach “Hey, Athena,” He tried to force a smile “Maybe it’ll be better if you channeled more of that competitive spirit toward Mr. Shields and the… trial…” Apollo’s words tapered off when he saw the look in Athena’s eyes. She wasn’t close to the Mr. Edgeworth level of Scary-Glare, but it was still pretty scary.

“I think Athena just needs a hands-on demonstration,” Detective Faraday said, her arms crossed “I’m just gonna get Ms. Caw in here!” She ran toward the lobby door before anyone could say anything, calling Madeline Caw’s name.

“ALRIGHT! Alright, Detective, I’m coming! I’m here! Fine!” Ms. Caw, a grumpy middle-aged woman, shouted as she burst into the lobby. Spreading colorful parrot feathers everywhere as she gestured dramatically “Not that I know WHY I’m here!” She turned toward Apollo and pointed an accusing finger toward him, probably because he’s less intimidating then Mr. Edgeworth “I already told you two I have nothing to do with this STUPID murder! I thought I proved that after I showed you my script! Why am I being called to testify?!” She loomed menacingly above the red lawyer.

“Hey, BUSTER!” Athena’s protective instincts kicked in as she got all in Ms. Caw’s face “What do you mean ‘why are you here?’ you were one of the only three people around the scene of the crime, even if you have an “alibi”, the other people in court, Mr. Shields and His Honor, should be able to ask you about your alibi!” She said it like it was the most obvious thing she ever had to explain. Because it kinda was. Apollo had to admit he never had to deal with that sort of thing with witnesses in court, on the defense’s side.

“I-I guess so,” Ms. Caw looked surprised by Athena’s words “I didn’t think about it like that, makes sense. Thanks.”

As Athena calmed down, she looked at Ms. Caw, then at Detective Faraday, then at Apollo and Mr. Edgeworth “Okay, okay,” She mumbled toward the two other lawyers “We need to prepare the witnesses before the trial, I get your point.”

Detective Faraday smiled proudly “Some people just learn better from experience,” she said.

“So, you think… the defense might want to hear about my alibi?” Ms. Caw asked, trying to get their attention again.

“Most likely.” Mr. Edgeworth said “As Ms. Cykes noted, you were on the scene of the crime at the of the murder, and you have an easy-to-prove motive. Mr. Stricter’s lawyer would probably see you as a likely alternative suspect.”

“...Just 'cause I didn’t like Snake Weirdo’s stupid face doesn’t mean I wanted to kill her…” Ms. Caw mumbled under her breath.

Mr. Edgeworth considered Apollo and Athena “Ms. Caw, pretend that…” he stopped to consider his options “Mr. Justice here is Mr. Stricter’s defense attorney, and he will be cross-examining you about your alibi. What is your hypothetical testimony?”

“Um, well,” Ms. Caw seemed to be unnerved by something “I… I…” she took a deep breath “I was working all right? Just this - working?”

“HOLD IT!” Apollo yelled, it was almost automatic at this point “Working sounds awfully vague, what exactly where you working on, and where? And for how long?”

“And-” Athena joined in, she seemed to be enjoying it “Do you have any evidence that you can show to the court? Someone that can verify it? Are we supposed to just take your word that you were 'working'?”

“Um-” Ms. Caw’s eyes automatically darted toward Mr. Edgeworth, the authority figure in the room.

“These are the kind of basic details you need to include in your testimony, Ms. Caw,” Mr. Edgeworth said strictly “What you have delivered right now is a sloppy testimony, it’s no use for the Prosecution to establish a strong case and no use as a source of information to the defense.”

“Well, I’m sorry, Mr. Fancy-Pants Prosecutor!” Ms. Caw started waving her hands wildly again “I don’t have a lot of experience witnessing my coworkers' murders in court or whatever, and why do your two kids keep glaring at me at this creepy way? I thought you were the scary one!”

Aw, jeez, I didn’t even notice we were glaring at her Apollo thought Force of habit, I guess.

A smug smirk creeped up Mr. Edgeworth’s face, he walked until he stood right behind Apollo and Athena “Those two are, well, they’re defense attorneys.” Was that pride Apollo was hearing in Mr. Edgeworth’s voice, or just wishful thinking on his part? “They are working with me in an effort to expand their horizons about the law, among… other reasons. But they are already quite experienced in how to tear down a shoddily-constructed testimony.” He gently put his hands on the shoulders of the young lawyers “I think those two could give you quite a good practice in how to testify properly.”

“...Okay, so all of you lawyers are kinda spooky, no matter which side of the bench you're on… got it…” Ms. Caw said to herself, grumpy, but quiet.

Chapter Text

Mr. Shields’ visit, plus all of the arguments, meant that they didn’t have as much time to prepare the witnesses as Mr. Edgeworth would have liked - and they ended up splitting duties. Athena kept on helping Ma Caw’s testimony about her alibi, as well her statements about all of those dead-end parrots the police had to examine. Apollo talked with Dr. Raffe. She’s the one who actually saw Bob heading toward the scene of the crime, and the murder weapon technically belonged to her. He instructed her how to testify about what she witnessed and how, theoretically, Bob could have taken that knife. Mr. Edgeworth talked with Zachary Oliver O'Neill, the Zoo manger - he was there as a character witness (It was agreed that Ma Caw just sounded way too biased to be taken seriously by the court on that matter) and to explain Bob’s hypothetical motivation. Athena overheard them speaking.

“...I told Anna; Bob is good at his job. Gina said it was not his fault, but Anna kept insisting…” Mr. O'Neill said, meekly “I-I don’t think that’s something that’ll drive Bob to murder. B-but you probably don’t want that in the testimony, right, prosecutor?”

“Hmmm, if this is honestly what you think,” Mr. Edgeworth said, “I cannot make you remove it from your testimony.” His expression changed from a frown to a light smirk “Still, I believe it and the evidence we have gathered will convince the court, regardless of this opinion.”

“Hey! Hey, Yellow Girl!” Athena was distracted by Ma Caw’s voice. “So, what about my testimony, is it okay now? Finally?”

“OH! Yeah, yeah! I think we’re ready to go to court now!” Athena said and pumped her fist, then she paused, and considered the parrot trainer in front of her “Hey, Ma…” She said, quieter “Do you… do you think Bob Stricter’s guilty? That he killed Anna Condor?”

Ma thought for a long while before she answered her “Okay, I know you’re part of the prosecution and all but I… I never thought Bobby could do something like this to Anna. I mean, she was like a mother to him!” Ma said “But… That’s where the evidence leads, isn’t it? I mean, it can’t be anyone else - even if it’s hard to believe.”

“I see,” Athena said with a small sad smile, “Thank you.”

The Judge pounded his gavel “Court is now in session for the trial of Bob Stricter.” He said.

“The defense is ready, Your Honor.” Mr. Shields said. Even from all the way across the courtroom, Athena could see he had a smug grin on his face. Maybe he knows something that can help him win this case? Athena thought hopefully …Then again, Mr. Wright often looks totally confident in court even when he has no clue how to win.

“The prosecution is ready, Your Honor.” Mr. Edgeworth said.

“The…the… The prosecution’s assistant is also ready, Your Honor!” Apollo shouted out, probably purely out of nervousness.

“The prosecution’s other assistant is also ready, Your Honor!” Athena shouted and enjoyed the look of utter embarrassment on Apollo’s face.

His Honor, for what it was worth, looked utterly baffled “Mr. Justice? Ms. Cykes?” He said, blinking in confusion “What are you two doing at the Prosecution’s Bench? Are you lost? Are you sleepwalking?”

“We’re fine, Your Honor!” Apollo said.

“And fully awake!” Athena added.

“Your Honor, Mr. Justice and Ms. Cykes are assisting me for this trial,” Mr. Edgeworth said, strictly “It is part of an arrangement I have struck with Wright. To expand their horizons of how the law work, they should learn how to prosecute in a trial.”

“That sounds like a very… interesting idea, Mr. Edgeworth,” the Judge said, “But why wasn’t I informed of this?”

“Your Honor…” Mr. Edgeworth considered his words for a moment before he continued “I have sent you an Email regarding the matter yesterday.

His Honor looked baffled again “An… Eeee-Mail, Mr. Edgeworth?”

Mr. Edgeworth sighed and rubbed his temples “I apologize for not properly informing you, Your Honor.” His voice didn’t sound very apologetic.

“It’s fine, Mr. Edgeworth, at least everything is clear now,” The judge said “And, um… if Mr. Justice and Ms. Cykes are interested in learning more about the law… Do you think they might be interested in how a trial is like from behind my podium?” He asked, hopefully.

“Well, you’d have to ask Wright about that, Your Honor,” Mr. Edgeworth said, “Although I… highly doubt that he’ll agree.”

“Oh, very well…” His Honor pouted, disappointed “Oh, um, Mr. Edgeworth, your opening statement, please.”

“Mr. Justice,” Mr. Edgeworth said quietly “Would you mind reading the opening statement we prepared?”

“WHA-?” Apollo was startled for a moment “Oh, yeah! Of course, Mr. Edgeworth!” he took out the papers on which the prosecutor wrote down the opening statement, and cleared his throat “YESTERDAY, BETWEEN 1:30AM AND 2:30AM” He said, far too loudly, then he realized half of the courtroom were covering their ears “OH! UM, SORRY!” that was even louder “I mean, sorry” he said, finally in something resembling a normal register. He cleared his throat again “Yesterday, between 1:30AM and 2:30AM, Ms. Anna Condor was murdered in the Reptile Enclosure of the Los Angeles Zoo. This very late at night, only four people were present; the victim, as well as the parrot trainer, Ms. Madeline Caw, one of the zoo’s veterinarians, Dr. Gina Raffe and the defendant, Mr. Bob Stricter.” Athena could hear that Apollo was still nervous, but he was fighting through it pretty well “In this trial the Prosecution will present proof that out of these three suspects, only Bob Stricter could’ve committed this crime.”

“Nicely done, Mr. Justice,” The Judge said “Why, if I didn’t know you were actually a defense attorney-”

“Please don’t oversell it, Your Honor,” Mr. Edgeworth said, “Just try and behave as if this is a ordinary trial.”

“Yes, yes, of course.” The Judge’s nodded his head. "Just a normal trial."

“The Prosecution will now call its first witness to the stand,” Mr. Edgeworth said, as if that little conversation didn’t even happen “The detective in charge of the investigation, Detective Kay Faraday.”

Just as he said it, a smoke bomb exploded behind the witness stand, and when the smoke disappeared, Kay was standing there and striking a cool pose. “The Great Detective Kay Faraday is ready to testify in the name of TRUTH and LOVE, Mr. Edgeworth!” She struck another, different, cool pose.

Most of the gallery clapped, though a few people looked a bit troubled, maybe they still had bad memories from the courtroom bombing last year.

Mr. Edgeworth, however, was unfazed “Detective Faraday, what have I told you about using smoke bombs in the courtroom?”

Kay smiled "That it's totally cool and awesome?"

Edgeworth frowned at her severely, and then sighed “Please state your name and profession to the court.”

Kay blew a little raspberry while Mr. Edgeworth was looking at the file “Kay Faraday, I’m a detective, Criminal Affairs Department. If you want to do it the booooring way.”

“Yes, this is in fact how I want to do it, Detective.” Athena could hear how Mr. Edgeworth’s voice was a mix of annoyance and affection “Now if you may, testify to the court about the result of your investigation.”

“Yeah, sure thing, Mr. Edgeworth.” She rolled her eyes in a rather overdramatic fashion, and then suddenly, as if a switch has been flipped in her head - her attitude completely changed. Suddenly she was that totally professional and serious detective lady. Athena once again remembered that Kay is actually older than both her and Apollo “The murder happened in the Los Angeles Zoo Reptile Enclosure, where the body was found, there were clear signs of straggle within the enclosure. The cause of death was loss of blood as a result of a stab wound to the chest, and the autopsy report shows she might have stayed alive for a few minutes after the deadly stab. We currently think she might have tried to fight back against the culprit, especially since we also found signs of abrasion on the victim’s hands – probably some sort of weapon she was holding. Now, according to witness’ testimony…” a diagram of the zoo popped up on the courtroom’s screens, showing the movement of little circles labeled V, S, R and C.

Victim, Stricter, Raffe and Caw.

“All four of the people present after the zoo’s closure were in the employee area from about 17:00 to 21:00. At 21:00, the victim, Anna Condor, left from Dr. Raffe’s veterinarian office and went to the reptile enclosure. None of our suspects admitted to going to the reptile enclosure between 21:00 and 2:30AM, when the murder occurred. However, Dr. Raffe testified that she saw the defendant, Mr. Stricter, exiting the employee area and going up this path, which leads to the reptile enclosure. There’s no other eyewitness testimony of any other suspect heading toward the scene of the crime. At around 2:45AM, Mr. Stricter apparently returned to the employee area, as he was seen again by Ms. Caw. Then, at around 3:30AM, he returned to the reptile enclosure and claimed he has “discovered” the body. He called Ms. Caw and Dr. Raffe to look at the crime scene and then called the police. The murder weapon was not found until our investigation.”

The screen switched to the picture of the surgical knife.

“This knife belongs to Dr. Raffe, it disappeared from her office on the day of the murder and was found in a trash can near the employee area. The blade matches closely with the stab wound, although we could not get a 100% verification on that. We think the bent in the knife happened from the force with which the victim was stabbed. Forensics tests have shown that the blood is the victim’s blood, and we have identified the fingerprints of three people on it; Ms. Anna Condor, Dr. Gina Raffe and Mr. Stricter.”

“Thank you, Detective Faraday,” The Judge said “Mr. Justice-I MEAN Ms. Cykes I mean…”

“Mr. Shields, your honor,” the defense attorney corrected him, he mostly sounded amused by that whole situation.

“Yes, Mr. Shields, you may cross-examine the witness.” His honor pounded his gavel once for emphasis.

“So…” Mr. Shields leaned forward “Are we absolutely sure that only those four people were present at the Zoo after closing time?”

Pressing the detective for more details, yeah, that’s what the Boss would have done in that situation too. Mr. Shields know what he’s doing, relax.

Just breathe.

“Ms. Cykes,” Mr. Edgeworth’s voice cut off Athena’s train of thoughts “The defense has a question about our investigation, would you care to answer?”

Oh yeah, it's fine. We talked about that part. “Detective Faraday… Detective Faraday personally examined the Zoo’s security and couldn’t find any way to get in without being detected!” This isn’t so bad, it’s just arguing the other lawyer in court, it’s pretty much the same “So if you wanna claim someone got in, you gotta prove that they’re better at sneaking around than Kay here!” She gestured toward Kay, who was smiling a wide smile again.

“Heh, okay then, kiddo, just checking,” Mr. Shields said with a grin “Can never be too sure.”

“Indeed” Mr. Edgeworth agreed.

“And, hey, nobody actually saw my client going TO the scene of the crime, right?” Mr. Shields asked, gesturing toward a map of the zoo “As far as Dr. Raffe knows, Bobby could have gone to take a look at those gorillas sleeping over there. Isn't that right?”

Yeah, that's true. Bob said it himself yesterday.

"Hmmm… Would any of you mind answering Mr. Shields?” Mr. Edgeworth asked Apollo and Athena.

“Answer what?” Apollo said, distressed “Mr. Shields is totally right! This is the biggest hole in our case right now!” Athena nodded in agreement.

Mr. Edgeworth huffed, “Just think, you two,” he said “What would… Any of the prosecutors you have dealt with so far answer that kind of question from you?”

Athena’s mind was drawing a total blank at the moment. Well, not a TOTAL blank. But Mr. Edgeworth probably wouldn’t appreciate it if I shout, ‘I’m a stupid pedantic smug smartass and I think it’s irrelevant even though it's so totally obviously not!’.

Even if I really kinda want too.

“I-I AGREE WITH YOUR ASSESMENT MR. SHIELDS!” Apollo suddenly said, Athena didn’t need her acute hearing or her analytical phycology to know that he’s nervous. You could tell just by the volume “HOWEVER… however, you don't have any proof of anyone else going near the crime scene, d-do you?”

“No, no I don’t” Mr. Shields looks awfully calm for someone with no evidence.

“The facts right now are that Ms. Condor was killed in the Reptile Enclosure,” Apollo was becoming slightly more confident again “And that Mr. Stricter is the only person who was seen going at this direction the time of the murder.”

“Mr. Ed-I mean… Mr. Justice makes a good point,” The Judge said. "do you have anything to say, Mr. Shields?"

“No, not right now. But I have another question for the Prosecution,” Mr. Shields said, “Is there a reason why those specific people were staying in the zoo so late at night on the day of the murder anyway? Were they having a slumber party?”

“Well- you see-” Apollo started answering but was shut up when Mr. Edgeworth put his hand lightly on his shoulder.

“As the prosecutors and… prosecutor-adjacent on this case, this is not the time to simply answer the defense’s questions,” he said, quietly “our words are not the strongest weapons here, the strongest weapons are evidence and-”

“Witness testimony!” Both Apollo and Athena said in unison. They didn’t go through that headache of ‘preparing’ them for nothing, after all.

“The prosecution calls to the stand!” Athena said, excited. This is probably gonna be the only time I get to say something like that! I wonder if Simon knows about this trial? “The Zoo’s Manager, Mr. Zachary Oliver O'Neil! To, eh,” The excitement wore off enough that Athena remembered that she hadn't actually officially told the court WHY the prosecution is calling a witness “To answer Mr. Shields’ question as to why the defendant and the other witnesses were in the zoo on the night of the murder.”

Mr. O'Neil proved to be a pretty cooperative witness. He testified as to why everyone was there that night: There’s always a veterinarian on staff at all times at the zoo, and this just happened to be Dr. Raffe’s night shift that day, Ms. Caw has been rehearsing for weeks for the special show with her parrots - often well into the night, and both Ms. Condor and Bob… were not actually supposed to be there that night.

This is bad, Bob wasn't supposed to be there tonight. Mr. Edgeworth is gonna spin it into being part of his 'murder plan'. This is… this is the kind of thing that will make anyone think Bob totally did it! Athena could hear the murmuring in the audience all around her. It was starting to sound overpowering to her sensitive ears. The room started to darken. BREATHE, DAMMIT, BREATHE! Everything is fine, Athena! Bob is innocent, Simon is innocent, you’re innocent, everything is going to be fine. Bob’s got Mr. Shield to speak for him, you can hang back and help Mr. Edgeworth. It’s all fine.

Trust in the rival counsel, this is what it's all about. Mr. Edgeworth's gonna be so proud of me by the end of this trial.

And I could totally say 'I told you so' and gloat at his stupid smug face because I knew Bob was innocent.

The thought of showing off like that to both Mr. Edgeworth and Apollo is what finally calmed her down.

Mr. Shields, meanwhile, asked to confirm that Anna Condor wasn’t scheduled to be there several times. Mr. Edgeworth furrowed his brow.

“What are you thinkin’ about, boss?” Athena whispered to him.

“Well, you see, Mr. Shields is quite the different breed of defense attorney from Wright. That is too say…” a light amused smirk appeared on his face, prematurely amused by his own joke. What a dork “He might have an actual strategy in mind. And I am trying to figure out what it could be. If I can figure out what sort of attack he is planning, I can counter him and make him look foolish.” His smirk widened; it was kinda scary.

“Like chess?” Apollo asked excited

"Indeed, Mr. Justice. Like chess."

Chapter Text

“Do you think he’s trying to paint Ms. Caw as the culprit?” Apollo asked, digging his finger into his forehead “We can call her to the stand to establish her alibi.”

“I don’t think it’s Ms. Caw, Apollo" Athena said "I MEAN, if Bob didn’t do it, of course!” She quickly corrected herself and laughed nervously “Dr. Raffe is the only reason why we think Bob went near the scene of the crime, he might be looking to discredit her testimony completely.” At least that’s what I would have done.

“Hmmmm.” Mr. Edgeworth hummed, but didn't say anything.

“Dr. Raffe also doesn’t have any motive for killing Ms. Condor, Athena,” Apollo said “we looked into that already, remember? Ms. Caw and Ms. Condor were known rivals, if Mr. Shields want to present anyone else as a suspect, that would be the easiest solution!”

“Maybe there’s something you and Mr. Edgeworth don’t know about!” Athena shrugged in an over-dramatic manner “There’s always more to dig into a person’s psychology!”

“That’s not so easy to say without any evidence!” Apollo replied.

“We don’t know, maybe Mr. Shields has evidence we don’t have.” Athena looked over at Mr. Shields, who was discussing… something with Bob. He must have, right? He looks so calm. Either Mr. Shields is a bluff-master to the levels even Mr. Wright can't even dream of, or he has something up his sleeve.

“But-” Apollo groaned in frustration and then, suddenly, changed his strategy “Hey, Mr. Edgeworth, what do you think makes more sense? My theory or Athena's?”

“Yeah, Mr. Edgeworth!” Athena said cheerfully, “Tell Apollo that I’m right and he’s wrong!”

“Hmmmm,” Mr. Edgeworth said again, quietly, as he considered the two lawyers in front of him “I have an inkling of suspicion as to what Mr. Shields is doing, and I do not think either of you is correct.”

That was not the answer Athena wanted “So, WHAT? He’s gonna try and blame Mr. O'Neil now? He wasn’t even here at the time of the murder, I thought we at least proved that!” I know Mr. Wright always says, ‘There’s always a third person in the scene of the crime’, but I don’t think he meant that quite so literally!

“I agree with Athena!” Apollo shouted, “If Mr. Shields has some sort of strategy, then Ms. Caw and Dr. Raffe are the two most obvious targets!”

Mr. Edgeworth sighed “You two really are Wright’s protégés, aren’t you?” There was… the usual fondness that came whenever Mr. Edgeworth said something like that, but today it sounded more… condescending? Probably? Athena couldn't quite pin it down, but she knew she didn't like it.

“W-what is that supposed to mean?” Apollo asked, defensive.

“If my view of the board is correct,” Mr. Edgeworth said “You’ll figure it out in time. I have always preferred showing versus telling.” He let out a tiny barely-a-laughter.

Athena rolled her eyes, frustrated. What the hell does that even mean?!

Maybe Mr. Shields can prove that the time of murder is all wrong and so Mr. O'Neil could've killed him?

“So,” Mr. Shields slammed his hands on the Defense Bench, slowly and deliberately “The defense has another question for the prosecution.”

“Yes, Mr. Shields?” The Judge asked, as the Prosecution team turned their attention back to the attorney at the other side of the courtroom.

“You call this surgical knife, the one with the victim’s blood on it,” Mr. Shields gestured at the air “the ‘decisive evidence’, but didn’t your detective testify that you’ve identified the fingerprints of two people other than my client on it? Does that really count as 'decisive'?”

Mr. Edgeworth pondered for a moment “Indeed, we found the fingerprints of Mr. Stricter, as well as Ms. Condor and Dr. Raffe on it, however…” he slammed his hand on the bench “As Ms. Condor’s wound is inconsistent with a self-inflicted wound, I think this court can dismiss her fingerprints on the weapon as being most likely the signs of struggle against the culprit. And as for Dr. Raffe, this knife was originally her possession, it is only reasonable that her fingerprints will be on the murder weapon. Mr. Stricter’s fingerprints are the only ones who arise suspicion.”

“Well, whatever or not they ‘arise suspicion’ is one thing, Prosecutor Edgeworth,” Mr. Shields said. His voice was filled with confidence and smugness, this was probably his strategy. He's going after Gina Raffe! Ha! I was right! In your face, Apollo! “But the fact is, Dr. Raffe’s fingerprints are on the murder weapon. And it makes sense, right? If you murdered someone, the best way to hide the fingerprints is to hide them in plain sight,” He continued, addressing the crowd in the courtroom gallery “on something that would naturally have your fingerprints all over it, isn't that right, Prosecutor Edgeworth?”

The light murmuring that passed through the crowd indicated that Mr. Shields’ argument convinced more than a few of them.

“B-but, OBJECTION!” Apollo pounded the prosecution bench with his fists, making Mr. Edgeworth flinch a little “The prose- I mean, I mean, the defense’s theory still doesn’t account as to why the defendant’s fingerprints are on the murder weapon!”

“Indeed,” Mr. Edgeworth agreed “the prosecution concedes that it is possible for Dr. Raffe to have committed the crime, based on the knife's fingerprints. However, the defense will have to provide this court an explanation...” Mr. Edgeworth slammed the bench with his hand “As to why Mr. Stricter’s fingerprints are on this knife, if we are to believe Dr. Raffe was the one to wield the deadly blade.”

“Yeah!” Athena slammed the bench as well “What do you have to say about that, Mr. Shields?” She didn’t have anything to add, and kinda hoped Mr. Shields has something up his sleeve. But she was feeling left out, and slamming desks is fun.

Mr. Shields seemed to consider his options for a second before he answered, “I just think the court is lacking information about this knife, I feel like we need more details about it.”

“Hmmmm…” Mr. Edgeworth narrowed his eyes as he glared at Mr. Shields. Yeah, what IS he planning? “The Prosecution agrees, Ms. Cykes, will you do the honor?”

“Wha-!” Athena’s train of thoughts got derailed again “Oh! The prosecution calls to the stand Dr. Gina Raffe, the owner of the murder weapon!”

Gina Raffe, as per her name, was a tall, awkward-looking woman. She still had her arm in a cast from that injury on the day of the murder. She walked toward the witness stand nervously, clearly uncomfortable with all of those faces looking at her.

“So!” Athena said as Dr. Raffe settled behind the stand “Can you tell us mo-”

At the corner of her eye, she saw Mr. Edgeworth was glaring at her like crazy. What the hell is his problem now? Oh, oh yeah, of course.

Athena sighed “Please state your name and profession to the court,” she said in a disinterested tone.

“Dr. Gina Raffe,” the witness said quietly “I’m one of the veterinarians on stuff in the Los Angeles Zoo.”

“And can you tell as more about that knife, Dr. Raffe?” His Honor asked.

Dr. Raffe hesitated “Y-yes, Your Honor.”

“Very well.” The judge pounded his gavel “Please testify to the court about this knife, Dr. Raffe.”

Dr. Raffe took a deep breath and braced herself before she talked "This is, as the prosecution said, one of my knives. It’s only natural my fingerprints will be on there. Nobody but myself and the other veterinarians are supposed to touch those things, so the fact Bob’s fingerprints are on it is  very..." She sighed, and looked very sad “...it is very suspect, like Mr. Edgeworth says…” She turned her head to look at Bob sitting at the defendant’s chair “I’m sorry.” She said quietly.

Bob lowered his gaze and avoided looking at her in the eyes.

Dr. Raffe took a deep breath and continued her testimony “That knife was in my office all day.” The courtroom screens showed the location of the knife with a little round “K” symbol on the zoo map “Around… 19:30, is when I got myself injured like an idiot. Anna and Ma helped me with first aid.” She gestured toward the cast “We were in the infirmary for some time and then the two of them helped me back to my office. That was just around 20:45… Anna must’ve gone to the Reptile Enclosure right after that. A few minutes later, I noticed the knife was gone!”

“Very well,” The Judge said “Mr. Shields, you may begin your cross examination.”

“So, Doc…” Mr. Shields approached the witness stand, slouching, hands in pockets “You say the only reason your fingerprints are on the murder weapon is because you 'use it for your surgeries'?”

“Yes, well…” Dr. Raffe said “Yeah, you can put it like that.”

“HOLD IT!” Mr. Shields yelled. I was starting to think he didn’t have it in him! Athena thought “Don’t docs - and vets- usually operate while wearing gloves? You know, gloves? Those things that don’t make fingerprints? Or do you wanna confess your shoddy veterinarian practices to the court?”

“Of course I operate with gloves on! What sort of doctor do you think I am!” Dr. Raffe protested defensively “But look, sometimes… I… I reorganize my knifes when I’m bored. That’s when my fingerprints got on it. It…. eh, really drives all of my coworkers crazy”

Mr. Shield raised a curious eyebrow. Yeah, that really does sound suspicious. Way too convenient.

“If the Defense is not convinced,” Mr. Edgeworth said, “I have here a few testimonials from Dr. Raffe’s coworkers who confirm that this is a habit of hers and it does, in fact, ‘drive them crazy’. I could also call on them to the witness stand to testify about it, if the defense pleases.”

“Miles, I really wish you didn’t have to be such a show-off…” Mr. Shields muttered quietly.

Mr. Edgeworth grinned like he was enjoying this way too much. Or maybe he’s just enjoying just about the right amount? I have to admit, if it was someone I could be sure of was guilty, I’d probably get really into it! Why couldn’t Mr. Edgeworth press charges against someone more annoying and hateble? I would really enjoy feeling like I’m on the winning side for once.

Mr. Shields seemed bothered for just a second, before turning his attention to Dr. Raffe again. Apollo was the expert on facial expression, but as far as Athena could tell, he looked calmer than ever “I have just one more question for our witness,” he said “It’s about, well… the movement of the murder weapon, you could say. According to your testimony, when exactly did Mr. Stricter take the murder weapon?”

“Oh, um…” Dr. Raffe looked dumbfounded

“OBJECTION!” It was Apollo that shouted that, surprising Mr. Edgeworth. He tried to sound confident, but Athena could also hear panic in his heart “Clearly Mr. Stricter could’ve taken it while the witness was away in the infirmary! There’s no contradiction!”

“Actually, actually…” Dr. Raffe said meekly “Mr. Prosecutor? I’m pretty sure Anna locked the door of my office when I left.”

“Hey, I-I’m not a prosecutor! Mr. Edgeworth is the Prosecutor!” Apollo said quickly “Although, did...I sound kinda prosecotury there for a second?”

“Apollo! Focus on the question!” Athena elbowed him, probably harder than she intended too.

“Was there any window of time in which Mr. Stricter could have taken the knife from your office, Dr. Raffe?” Mr. Edgeworth asked.

“I’m thinking! I’m thinking!” Dr. Raffe said, panicked “I guess, I guess… Bob came to visit me around 15:30 that day. We talked for long time, mostly about Sir Hissface and Anna’s behavior. I guess he had a lot of chances to sneakily take the knife while I wasn’t looking. Maybe… maybe something I said to him back then triggered the idea in his head.” She shuddered at the thought.

“15:30?” Mr. Shields raised an eyebrow “The zoo wasn’t even closed back then. You said the knife was in your office all day. Isn't that a contradiction?”

“Well,” Dr. Raffe said “That’s the one time he came into my office that day.”

“And after that, was the knife gone?” Mr. Shields might have that cool relaxed thing going on, rather than Mr. Wright’s panicked flying-by-the-seat-of-his-pants attitude, but Athena Cykes can recognize a Defense Attorney who just got a sniff of a delicious, juicy contradiction. From the way Apollo was glaring at the witness’ stand, he recognized it too. Seems like we finally found Mr. Shields' plan of attack.

Meanwhile, Dr. Raffe was deep in thought “I think… I think it must've been, right?” She said “I don’t remember if it was gone by then, but I can’t say I’m sure that it was there either… But it must’ve been, right? That’s the only time Bob could have taken it.”

Mr. Shields started clapping sarcastically, Mr. Edgeworth tensed. “And now we come exactly to what I’m saying, Gina, Sweetie,” Mr. Shields said, “The defense argues that it was not possible for the defendant to have taken the knife at that time.”

“Explain yourself,” Mr. Edgeworth said. As her boss was getting more cornered, Athena started feeling more relieved. Thank you, Mr. Shields, knew I could count on you. I'm sure Bob is as good as freed!

“At 15:30, the zoo was still open for business. In fact, thanks to Mr. O'Neil, we have the schedule of what the defendant was doing right here.” The screen switched to show the schedule. 15:30 was around the time of his break and after that “...Do you expect this court to believe Mr. Stricter held ‘Snake Meet-Ups’ with the kiddies all while carrying a… rather large knife in his pocket? And had a meeting with the boss-man? Seems rather dangerous to me.”

“Hmmm… the defense makes a rather good argument,” the Judge said. "That seems like a rather large risk!"

“And after that, he hung out in the employee area with it until 2AM? And nobody noticed?” Mr. Shields shrugged “Hey, Miles, do you have any testimonies about how many people talked with Mr. Stricter before he went toward the Reptile Enclosure in that big briefcase of yours?”

“Hmph, I do, in fact,” Mr. Edgeworth huffed “Mr. Justice, would you mind reading this for me?”

“OH! Um, Ms. Caw said she saw him at 18:30” Apollo read at loud “Dr. Raffe at 22:30, 00:00 and at 00:45...”

“And at those times, you didn’t notice anything weird about Mr. Stricter? Like… that he was keeping a giant surgical knife in his pocket?” Mr. Shields asked, rather dramatically “it seems kinda big for the defendant's pockets.”

Mr. Edgeworth seemed ready to slam the desk, then stopped himself and turned to the two younger lawyers. “Is there anything the two of you would like to tell Mr. Shields?”

“OBJECTION!” Apollo yelled immediately “The defense is… grasping at circumstantial evidence and… clearly badgering the witness and… there’s no proof! Conjuncture!”

A silence hung over the crowd for a second.

“It… it always works for the real prosecutors we face against…” Apollo grumbled to himself.

“I thought it was a pretty good impression!” Athena tried to stop herself from laughing “I’d have and try and pull something like that off in front of Simon some day!”

“ATHENA!” Apollo whisper-shouted, angry and embarrassed.

“I believe what my assistants were trying to convey,” Miles quickly cut both of them off “Is that while it is rather suspicious, we have no way to confirm that the defendant was not simply carrying a knife on his personage all day and his coworkers did not notice it. It is not like this witness is sure one way or the other.”

“Sadly, yeah…” Dr. Raffe admitted “I wasn’t really paying attention to Bob’s pockets, y’know? I had no reason too.”

“Unless, of course,” Mr. Edgeworth narrowed his eyes and gave Mr. Shields a scary glare “The defense has some sort of reason to doubt the current theory regarding the murder weapon’s movement. Something backed with concrete evidence.”

Mr. Shields chuckled “Well, if you have to know, Prosecutor Edgeworth…” he headed behind the Defense bench and pulled something out. Athena couldn’t quite see what that thing was “What if I told the court, that this knife was not the only murder weapon on the scene?” He put the thing down on the bench with a small “thud”. It was a… spear? It was defiantly some kind of spear; its head didn’t look like it was made of metal - maybe hard plastic? And it was-

“Mr. Shields!” The judge’s shout cut off Athena’s train of thought “That thing on the tip of the spear, is this blood?!”

Everyone looked shocked, even Mr. Edgeworth- well, he looked less shocked and more like someone just punched him in the gut, but that’s probably just what his shocked face looks like. All around them, the audience murmured about this new development. Mr. Shields was positively beaming.

“The defense believes this is indeed blood, Your Honor,” he said.

“You believe? Does that mean you have not submitted this spear for forensic investigations?” The Judge asked in one of those rare occasions His Honor sounded like an actual authority figure.

“Well, this big fella here, I believe it’s a prop from Ms. Caw’s shows,” Mr. Shields explained “I found it while investigating, hidden in a very dingy corner of the Gorilla Enclosure.”

“And you chose to not report it to the police, not even for a forensic investigation -” Mr. Edgeworth cut him off, he didn’t look like he was punched in the gut anymore, but he was still very very tense and pissed off “Just for the chance you’ll catch the prosecution off guard?”

“Hey, I thought that’s how we all do things here, Prosecutor Edgeworth,” Mr. Shields said “Besides, I am submitting it for a forensic analysis right now. That’s what I’m doing.” And then he added in a more ‘lawyer-y’ sort of voice “the defense request that this trial is to be suspended until this potential second murder weapon is properly analyzed.”

Mr. Edgeworth sighed “We cannot allow a single piece of potential evidence go unexamined,” he said to Apollo and Athena, they nodded “The Prosecution concours. This spear must be properly examined before we resume the proceeding.”

“Very well,” The Judge said, “This trial is hereby suspended until this ‘possible alternative murder weapon’ is thoroughly examined.” He pounded is gavel “Court is now in recess.”

Chapter Text

“So, um, what did you think, Mr. Edgeworth?” Apollo asked, as quietly as he could “Did we… do well?”

Apollo and Athena were both sitting on the coach in the Prosecution Lobby, but Mr. Edgeworth was pacing back and forth like mad, looking extremely out of sorts. He didn’t even seem to hear Apollo’s question.

“Mr. Edgeworth?” Apollo asked to grab his attention “MR. EDGEWOTH?!”

Now that would grab anyone’s attention, Mr. Edgeworth turned his head sharply “Oh! um, Mr. Justice!” He blinked, looking confused “What seems to be the problem?”

“I was asking for your thoughts about the trial. Athena and me, did we do a good job?” Apollo asked, now annoyed “This is our first day in court on the prosecution’s side, after all.”

“Oh! Um…” For a second, Mr. Edgeworth looked like some frightened deer-in-the-headlights, before he got his bearings on and returned to his usual, stern appearance “Both of your performances were… adequate, I have some complaints, but it is your first attempt at a trial on the prosecution's side and…” Mr. Edgeworth’s words trailed off and ended with a sigh “I apologize, I’m rather distracted.” He huffed "It is not as if Wright cares about my performance evaluations, so..."

“Is this about Mr. Shields’ alternative murder weapon?” Apollo asked “Come on! I’m sure we can think of a counter to his theory! Just because he found something else with blood on it doesn’t totally discredit the fact that we still have a knife covered with the victim’s blood and Mr. Stricter’s fingerprints on it.”

“Well,” Athena interrupted him, she was kinda on-edge “That still doesn’t mean Mr. Edgeworth is totally in the clear. Mr. Wright has turned over cases on their heads with a lot less than a second murder weapon.”

“That’s true,” Apollo admitted.

“But that shouldn’t be a big deal either, right?” Athena continued “The important thing here is to ‘find the truth’, right? Worst case scenario, you just have to help Mr. Shields nail the person whose fingerprints are on that spear!”

There was a brief moment of awkward silence, as both Mr. Edgeworth and Apollo glared at her.

“I mean in the Worst-Case Scenario, Jeez! If Mr. Shields totally disprove our theories! I didn't mean like…” She shouted defensively “Augh! Forget it.”

“I guess I really should not be too worried,” Mr. Edgeworth said suddenly “It is entirely possible this will turn out to benefit our case more than ever. I apologize, I simply… have a great dislike for those kind of surprises from the defense. No matter how minor they may be.”

“That’s the downside of doing everything with a planned-out strategy, huh, Mr. Edgeworth?” Athena said.

“Yeah, I mean, if it’s like chess,” Apollo said, “it’s like if the other player could just push a new chess piece unto the board out of thin air…. Right, Mr. Edgeworth?” He added, less confident.

“Interesting comparison, Mr. Justice,” Mr. Edgeworth said as he settled to sit next to the two lawyers “Indeed, but those things are common in the courtroom. This is simply another reason why court is not quite the same thing as chess, or quite like any other thing in this world, either.”

The two other lawyers nodded in understanding.

“I simply wish that Mr. Shields had informed me of this finding.” Mr. Edgeworth’s voice was full of coldness and annoyance “It is not as if I want to prosecute someone based on partial information! And I…” He glanced for a moment at Athena and Apollo before he continued, quickly averting his gaze toward the floor “I simply dislike being caught off-guard in such a fashion. It feels… humiliating.”

For a moment, Apollo and Athena were silent, there was something they both kinda wanted to say, but neither was sure of how Mr. Edgeworth would react.

Oh, what the hell, Athena decided to go for it “Well, to be honest…” She said, “If I was in Mr. Shields situation, I would totally do that too.”

“Yeah, um, I…” Apollo admitted, embarrassed “I would do that too. And Trucy and Mr. Wright would agree with it too!” He added, defensive.

Mr. Edgeworth looked at them, raising his eyebrows, but he didn’t say anything.

“I mean, prosecutors do that to US all the time!” Athena added “We’re just leveling the playing field!”

“Well, that…” Mr. Edgeworth crossed his arms.

“If you wanted to, you could have totally shared with Mr. Shields all of the info we gathered about everyone’s alibis and why Dr. Raffe’s fingerprints are on the knife,” Athena said with a grin “probably would have saved everyone time with silly questions in court, but you chose not to - and let Mr. Shields embarrass himself!”

“I did not let him embarrass himself,’ Mr. Edgeworth huffed “It was just…”

“But you liked one-upping him, didn’t you?” Athena smiled broadly, self-satisfied “It’s fun, you said so yourself.”

Mr. Edgeworth scowled at her for a moment, but he could only keep this up for a short time before he started smirking again “Well, I suppose I should be happy you have been listening to what I tell you, Ms. Cykes. I was starting to get worried.” He allowed himself a light chuckle “Yes, I suppose you are right. There is no inherit problem with what Mr. Shields just did. It simply… not very fun when someone does it to you.”

“Yet another successful psychological analysis by Athena Cykes!” Athena’s smile turned wide and full of pride “You know, Mr. Edgeworth, you’re not that hard to read… at least once I got the hang of you.”

Mr. Edgeworth’s little smirk disappeared in an instance, he looked… kinda uncomfortable with what she just said “I… Well, thank you, Ms. Cykes.” Yeah, and he didn’t sound all that happy either. What did I say wrong? All I meant to say that he’s not the scary jerk I used to think he was. I thought we were kinda friends by now!

That awkward little moment was cut by Mr. Edgeworth’s phone making a little noise to indicate he received a text. Mr. Edgeworth picked it up, his expression returning to a business-professional neutral expressing. “Hmmm,” that’s all he said.

“What is it, Mr. Edgeworth?” Apollo asked.

“It’s from Ms. Skye - Ema - I requested that she’ll fill me in on the results of the forensic investigation as soon as she’s able to,” Mr. Edgeworth explained “She is not one of the investigators in charge of analyzing the spear itself, but she is still working in the same lab, and she was able to divulge some information for us.” Mr. Edgeworth took another look at his phone “Let’s see, well, it’s confirmed that the red substance on the tip of the spear is blood, and they have also found at least one set of fingerprints. The spear itself is made from a very solid sort of plastic.”

“That make sense, it is a prop,” Apollo said, thinking “Could this sort of prop even be used as a murder weapon?”

Mr. Edgeworth looked at Apollo, and then looked at Athena, then at Apollo again “I am… not sure,” he said “We never got a 100% match on the knife and the stab wound. There was always a chance that there was a second murder weapon. Still… a fatal stab wound from a plastic prop spear? What do you two think?”

“I guess…” Athena felt herself reflexively grabbing unto her elbow. She still had her lawyer-instincts in her after all, and she couldn’t ignore something like that. Even if she still believed in Bob, even if she still wants to believe in Bob. “It’s not… impossible, but it’s very unlikely.”

“If it was a blunt blow it might be more plausible,” Apollo said, “But it’s very hard for me to believe someone can get stabbed to death with a plastic prop.”

“I’m glad that we’re in agreement, Mr. Justice, Ms. Cykes,” Mr. Edgeworth said, giving Athena a meaningful look. “But of course, ‘Hard to Believe’ does not mean 'Impossible' - as Ms. Cykes noted. It will still be a good angle to attack the defense with, if indeed the victim’s blood and the fingerprints of someone other than the defendant are found on this thing - this should probably be the argument to bring before the court.”

“And if it’s not?” Apollo and Athena asked at the same time, although their tones were very different.

“Indeed, I prefer going into court having plans for every possible result of these test,” Mr. Edgeworth said, “Some of them might even be an advantage to the prosecution.” He allowed himself to smirk again.

After a long pause Apollo asked a question “Do you think Mr. Shields knows about this? He looked so calm during the trial,” he said “I’m sure that he thought about this ‘alternative murder weapon’ was gonna turn the entire case around. Does he know that this might not work?”

Before Mr. Edgeworth could answer, a knock was heard on the Prosecution Lobby’s door. “Hey, Miles, it’s me!” It was Mr. Shields, speak of the devil… “Are you discussing your super-secret prosecution strategy in there? Can I pop in for a family visit?”

Chapter Text

Mr. Edgeworth lifted himself off the sofa with a sigh and went to open the door to Mr. Shields, grumpy “As a matter of fact, we are in the middle of a discussion. And as the rival defense attorney, you know that you are not to be privy to any of our planning.”

“I asked because I wanted to make sure I wouldn’t accidently eavesdrop on you, Jeez, Miles,” Mr. Shields put up his hands in a defensive position, but soon he was grinning again “I guess that ace up my sleeve got you really rattled.”

That statement grabbed Apollo’s attention, he got up from the sofa and went to stand next to Mr. Edgeworth. Not wanting to feel left out, Athena got up quickly and followed him.

“What do you want, Mr. Shields?” Mr. Edgeworth crossed his arms and looked at the older defense attorney with an aloof expression.

Mr. Shields shrugged “I just felt like I didn’t get enough time to spend with your kids before the trial.” He gestured toward Apollo and Athena “I mean… it took me years until I got to have a decent chat with that boyfriend of yours, Miles.” His expression turned serious “I’m gonna take whatever chance I have to talk with these kiddos.”

Mr. Edgeworth looked around, apparently only now realizing that Athena and Apollo are next to him. “Would you mind to-?” He said, gesturing toward Mr. Shields.

“Ouais, bien sûr.” Athena shrugged.

“Hello, there!” Widget blipped.

“I…” Apollo was deep in thought “You know, I actually have something I wanna ask Mr. Shields.”

Everyone turned around to look at Apollo with curious eyes, for a moment it made him nervous, but he calmed himself down with a deep breath.

“You know,” Apollo said, his voice serious “That spear you found is made of plastic.”

“Of course I know, Kiddo, I carried that darn thing from the Zoo to here!” Mr. Shields chuckled.

“It’s… it’s very unlikely that someone could get killed from a plastic prop spear, and that still wouldn’t explain how the victim’s blood and the defendant’s fingerprints got on the knife…” Apollo lowered his head for a moment, before he returned his gaze to Mr. Shields and said what was on his mind “Mr. Stricter is probably guilty.”

From the corner of his eye, Apollo saw Mr. Edgeworth put a hand on Athena’s shoulder probably to indicate that she shouldn’t interfere.

“You’re a fast learner, I’ll give that to you, kid,” Mr. Shield said seriously “only half a trial behind the bench and you already sound like a prosecutor.” He smiled a thin, self-satisfied smile “But you know, it’s not over ‘till the fat man pounds his gavel.”

“But...but…” Apollo looked at him “You don’t even look worried! Aren’t you worried? Are you going to actually defend a guilty man?”

“Apollo!” Athena shouted, making Mr. Edgeworth’s hand flinch away from her shoulder “Grrrrrr! Mr. Shields is right! You do sound like a Prosecutor! Mr. Shields believes in Bob! Just like Mr. Wright would!”

“I’m not… look, Athena, this isn’t about defense attorneys or prosecutors! This is about evidence!” Apollo said back, loudly “I just… Yes, we should consider the idea that Mr. Stricter could be innocent, you’re right. But…" He lowered his voice as much as he could, whisper-shouting at Athena "Does Mr. Shields consider what is he going to do if Mr. Stricter IS guilty? Is he just gonna keep insisting and distracting even when it’s obvious that he did it?" Apollo always thought Mr. Wright's… unconventional methods were just fine, but the thought someone could use that kind of bluffing to weasel out of the truth… "I know Mr. Wright tells us that we should never give up, but what if that means a killer could go free? What if it means helping a criminal? I-"

It took his brain a second to register what he just said. He stared at Athena for a second, slack jawed. She obviously didn’t fully realize why he reacted to his own words in that way.

Did I… Did I totally sound like Nahyuta there for a second?

Then he turned his attention to Mr. Edgeworth and Mr. Shields, who were watching that little argument from the sidelines. They were looking at Apollo and Athena like they were friggin’ children.

Mr. Shields sighed when he noticed Apollo was looking at him “I see,” he said, “You two really are Phoenix’s kids, aren’t you?”

“They are… very much like him. In many senses of the word.” Like usual, Mr. Edgeworth was smiling fondly as he said that. But Apollo was still worried.

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” He asked.

“I have already told you this is a good thing, haven’t I? I don’t like repeating myself, Mr. Justice” Mr. Edgeworth said in a stern, scolding tone that Apollo couldn’t tell if it was joking or not “But it is… different, from Mr. Shields, that is all.”

“In what way?” Athena asked, hands on her hips.

“Well…” Mr. Edgeworth considered his words for a moment “Mr. Shields has defended guilty defendants before. Many times, in fact.”

Neither Apollo nor Athena said anything. Apollo was trying to stop himself from saying something like what he said a few moments ago. Why do I feel like I’m disappointing Dhurke? I shouldn’t care anymore. I told myself I shouldn’t care anymore. I should just let Mr. Edgeworth explain. He’s smarter than me. He knows what he’s talking about.

After a few more moments of silence, Apollo realized the two older lawyers were waiting for a response “Did you ever…? I mean, did any of those trials you were in ever ended in…?” He tried to say.

“Kid, what kind of lawyer do you take me for?” Mr. Shields frowned “I can’t allow a false verdict to be passed, not even when it means kicking Miles’ butt in court.”

Mr. Shields grinned toward Miles, who only grumpily huffed in return.

“I trust my client, I really do. It’s still the basic of being a defense attorney,” Mr. Shields said seriously “the question is just… well… 'I trust my client' to be what?” he shrugged “And getting a truthful verdict is the most important thing, you know that too, right?”

“Well, Yeah!” Athena said.

“OF COURSE!” Apollo shouted.

“It is one of the tenants of our legal system that every person is entitled to a defense attorney,” Mr. Edgeworth said, “Every person, not just the innocent ones.”

Mr. Shields nodded “Even the guilty deserve someone who can fight for them, that's what I believe in.”

“I guess, I guess I always knew that, but…” Apollo settled back into the sofa “That doesn’t sound like something Mr. Wright would do. That’s why it threw me off.” His tone was very defensive.

“Mr. Wright says that no matter what happens,” Athena added “no matter how hopeless the evidence seems, you should always keep believing in your client’s innocence.”

“Like Miles said, kiddos,” Mr. Shields answered, “I'm not really the same kind of lawyer as your 'Mr. Wright' is.”

“When Wright… trusts people, he trusts them absolutely and honestly, from the bottom of his heart,” Mr. Edgeworth said, his voice soft “Even if they don’t trust themselves, he’ll give them his trust completely. It is one of his most admirable qualities. But this can be… both a strength and a weakness. If something, someone, betrays his trust… It is the sort of betrayal that cut into him deeply and is very hard for him to recover from.”

“I don’t agree with Miles’ sister on… most things,” Mr. Shields added, wincing when he mentioned Prosecutor von Karma, “But I think we’re on the same page when she calls Miles' Phoenix a ‘sentimental fool’.”

Mr. Edgeworth gave Mr. Shields a brief glare “This sentimentally is one of Wright’s greatest strengths, as you two know very well. It’s the bond of trust he was taught to form by his mentor, Ms. Mia Fey, another one of the greatest attorneys in all of California,” he said “But… it is also the reason why he refuses to defend guilty clients. Even if he knows lawyers like Mr. Shields do not ‘help criminals’, he cannot handle giving his trust so completely to a guilty person. And he especially cannot handle discovering the person was guilty throughout the trial, to find out that the person he has been defending was not as innocent as he thought.”

“That’s why some of us defense attorneys can take on more than four cases a year.” Mr. Shields grinned.

Apollo stopped for a moment to think “Mr. Wright did defend a guilty man in court once, didn’t he?” His brain went over all that he read about the event nine years ago “Mr. Edgeworth, you were there, right? The papers said that Mr. Wright helped you prove that his own client was guilty.”

“Yeah! You told me about this case, Apollo,” Athena interjected “It was… ‘Engarde’...something.”

“State vs. Engarde,” Mr. Edgeworth said directly “And that case was quite a… unique one for Wright, in the worst possible way.” He saw that Apollo and Athena were giving him questioning looks and he stopped to consider his words before continuing “If you want more details, you should probably ask Wright when he returns. This case was personally difficult for him on many levels, not just regarding Matt Engarde’s guilt. Talking about it without the involvement of Phoenix, or Maya, almost feels like gossip.” He smirked, bitterly “But I believe that maybe part of Wright’s… aversion to defending guilty clients is a result of this case. Perhaps if his first venture into such defenses wasn’t quite so…” he gestured vaguely “dramatic… maybe he would have been more accepting of the idea.”

“Your Great Uncle Ray jokes a lot, kids, but it’s all in good fun,” Mr. Shields said, “I do know Miles’ Phoenix is a great attorney. It’s easy to make fun of… just how seriously he takes his trust in his clients. But without him…” Mr. Shields removed his hat and put it over his heart “He’s the one defense attorney who could defeat Manfred von Karma. Without him Gregory’s murder would still be unsolved, and Miles would be… well, you know…”

Apollo and Athena both turned their heads toward Mr. Edgeworth, instinctively. “Indeed,” He said quietly. His uncomfortable expression made it clear he doesn’t want to talk about it anymore then he has to.

“Your Great Uncle Ray… I… I couldn’t do something like that,” Mr. Shields said “Seeing your Mr. Wright work is actually… pretty amazing. He does some incredible work.”

Mr. Edgeworth nodded, a satisfied and prideful smile on his face. “Wright is breathtaking… in court, I mean,” he quickly added “Wright’s work in court in simply breathtaking,” he continued, trying to ignore the snickering coming from Athena.

“Yeah, as I was saying…” Mr. Shields also snickered “Phoenix’s work in court is pretty cool to behold, even if he’s doing something like defending a dolphin.”

“It was an Orca! Actually!” Athena happily corrected him “And were you watching that trial? You know, I was part of it too!”

“Hey, I also helped!” Apollo said “...technically” he added, sheepish.

“...I finally arrange for Mr. Shields to see one of Wright’s trials, and it’s his return to the courts and… it had to be the Orca One…” Mr. Edgeworth said to himself, bitterly. After a moment he gathered himself and once again addressed Apollo and Athena in a calm tone “But regardless of Wright’s commendable skills and the… unique cases he takes on - it is important that lawyers such as Mr. Shields exist. In fact, their existence is vital for our legal system to function properly. Losing Wright might have resulted in the legal system falling to corruption and distrust - but if Mr. Shields and all of his like-minded colleagues were to disappear: the legal system might simply stop functioning entirely.” He finished his little speech with a dramatic pause before he added “Do you understand what I mean?”

“Yeah, I think I do,” Athena said.

Apollo… Apollo’s mind was racing with all kinds of thoughts, Mr. Edgeworth’s question only barely registered in his brain. He sat there, quiet. His finger was pressed into his forehead, but he could feel that his thoughts weren’t as focused as they are in court.

“Mr. Justice?” Mr. Edgeworth asked, “Was my explanation clear?” he sounded honestly concerned.

“Wha-” Apollo need a second to remember where he was “Yeah! Yeah! I understand what you’re saying! Sorry! I was… I was just thinking,” he sighed “... about Khura’in… BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, MR. WRIGHT IS THERE NOW, YOU KNOW? And... because of Prosecutor Sahdmadi, of course.”

“Yes, I can see why that country’s affairs would be on your mind right now,” Mr. Edgeworth said. Whatever he was feeling awkward because of all of his worries about Mr. Wright being in Khura’in, or because Apollo was just screaming way too loudly, the younger lawyer couldn’t really be sure.

“Do you… know about the Kingdom of Khura’in, Mr. Shields?” Apollo asked.

“Of course I do,” Mr. Shields said “What sort of lawyer doesn’t know about that crazy-as-hell country that outlawed defense attorneys?”

“Mr. Wright didn’t know,” Athena said.

“Well,” Mr. Shields shrugged “Somehow I’m not surprised.”

“And, if you wanna be technical, they didn’t outlaw defense attorneys, not literally,” Apollo said “they have what’s called ‘The Defense Culpability Act’ and it says that… if you defend a client and he’s found guilty, that basically makes you someone who was abiding the crime, and you need to suffer the same sort of punishment as your client.” Oh sheesh, did that sound like, too informed or something? “Um, is that right, Mr. Edgeworth?”

“I believe so, Mr. Justice,” Mr. Edgeworth said, “I generally avoid speaking of legal systems I am not thoroughly educated about, but that seems to match the info I have.”

“I mean, I was just thinking… that law is the source of all the troubles in Khura’in,” Apollo continued, there was a part of him that wanted to just shut up about it before he lets out that he knows a little more about Khura’in then you’d expect of a California native and then people (mostly Athena and Trucy) will start asking him questions and he’ll have to deal with his emotions and memories and things like that. But most of his brain just couldn’t stop, this was important stuff about law, and he needed to say them “And that law, it directly targets lawyers like Mr. Shields.” He gestured at the older defense attorney “It just… that shows what you just said, Mr. Edgeworth. About how important lawyers like Mr. Shields are.”

“I guess that is true,” Mr. Edgeworth said and then smiled “I’m glad that you see my point about Mr. Shields’ work. It is very important.”

“Yeah, you know, kids…” Mr. Shields sat down on the sofa and leaned back “I’m not just here because Miles needed a competent and trustworthy defense attorney for this trial.”

“Wha-” Apollo turned his attention to the prosecutor “What does he mean, Mr. Edgeworth?”

“I wanted you to meet with Mr. Shields specifically because he has such a different worldview about defense than Wright. You know…” A tiny smirk appeared on his face "This week is about expending your horizons about the law, not just about the prosecution." He paused for a moment "In fact, I believe Mr. Justice here has expressed concern on whatever or not he should be following in Wright’s footsteps. I thought I should show to you, to both of you, that you have many options ahead of you, even if you continue as defense attorneys."

“Thank you, Mr. Edgeworth…” Athena sounded like she didn’t really know how to feel about it. But she didn’t sound hostile either “But, but I don't think there's anything wrong with the way the Boss does things.”

“This is also a great choice, Ms. Cykes,” Mr. Edgeworth replied.

"And I..." Apollo paused for a moment, and how do I feel about that? “I… um… thank you very much, Mr. Edgeworth.”

Chapter Text

It felt like, the moment they stepped back into the courtroom, all of that tension they tried to defuse in the lobby came crushing back on their shoulders. When Kay entered to stand behind the witness stand, the forensics results in her hand, she did so with no style or bombast - she didn’t even strike a dramatic pose or anything.

“Detective Faraday,” the Judge said “Do you have the results of the forensic investigation? Whose fingerprints are on this 'second murder weapon'?”

“Yep, Your Honor, I have the results” Kay said, and started reading from her paper “Um, according to the lab boys… these fingerprints belong to Ms. Anna Condor, the victim. They still need time to identify the blood, but it does not match the blood of Ms. Condor.”

Even before Kay finished her words, the court had already burst into hushed whispers and mumbles. What could that mean? Athena exchanged looks with Mr. Shields over behind the defense bench. He looked calm, maybe this is what he expected?

“Order! Order!” The Judge pounded his gavel “Detective Faraday, what is the meaning of this? Ms. Condor is the victim, why are her fingerprints on a supposed murder weapon?!”

Mr. Edgeworth slammed his hand on the bench with the kind of force Athena haven’t seen from him. “I think it is quite clear what that means, Your Honor.” Then he turned to the two other lawyers behind the bench, his fierce expression softening a little bit. Barely. It’s hard to notice if you don’t squint “Mr. Justice, Ms. Cykes, could you maybe answer His Honor’s question? I’m sure that you have figured out what that means by now.”

Apollo and Athena both gave him blank, mildly panicked stares.

Mr. Edgeworth sighed in response. “Well, I am sure you can figure it out quickly enough.” he gave them both little awkward pats on the shoulder “...Still Wright’s protégés, after all...” he mumbled under his breath.

“Wait! HOLD IT!” Apollo’s eyes suddenly widened “The autopsy report!” He shouted as he frantically grabbed it out of Mr. Edgeworth’s briefcase “Your Honor, if you may look at the autopsy report, you’ll see that the victim has one condition that has so far has not been fully accounted for in Mr. Edgeworth’s analysis!” He finished his statement with a dramatic finger point directed at Mr. Edgeworth, it was only a few inches away from his face.

“Mr. Justice, I am on your side of the bench,” Mr. Edgeworth said stoically “There is no need to point your finger at me.”

“Oh, sorry!” Apollo’s sheepish grin disappeared as quickly as it appeared, as he turned his attention back to the autopsy report “Your Honor, if you please, look at the sixth line here in the autopsy report.”

“Hmm…” The Judge went through his copy of the document “Oh! Slight bruise marks on the victim’s palms!”

“So far we haven’t found any answer as to what could have made those mysterious marks,” Apollo said “but I think that with this new evidence…” He gestured at Kay, and the spear - which was once again by the defense bench “We can finally say that we know what the victim was holding on to!”

“Wait! HOLD IT!” Athena’s mind started rushing with realizations “We already figured out that there must have been some sort of confrontation in the crime scene, and if this spear is what Ms. Condor was holding on to, it must mean...The blood on the murder weapon logically would not belong to Ms. Condor, but to the person she was fighting against! The real culprit, which would be...” Stop talking! Stop talking dammit! Shut up! Her eyes focused on Bobby sitting at the defendant’s chair, his face pale, he looked at her with frightened eyes. Shut up! Shut up! But the lawyer parts of her brain and heart couldn’t stop themselves from connecting the dots “Considering everyone who was in the Zoo at the time of the murder; Ms. Caw was slashed on her face, I don’t think a blunt plastic spear can do that, Dr. Raffe… her injuries are blunt, but considering just how serious they were - it’s also unlikely that the spear could’ve dealt something like that. Also, bashing’s someone’s arm with a prop spear so hard that it breaks would result in a lot more bleeding, and there was no blood from the culprit discovered at the crime scene.” Shut up! Shut up! “The likeliest candidate for the ownership of this bloodstain is… is…” Her voice tapered off into silence, she couldn't say it. Or maybe she had to fight against herself to not dare say it. One of these two.

Mr. Edgeworth gave her a short cold glare before he slammed the bench again “Mr. Bob Stricter. Logically, he must be the owner of this mysterious bloodstain. Thus, placing him in the scene of the crime, in a struggle with the victim!” He shrugged smugly and shook his head “I’m sure that once the forensic department gives us the final results, this hypothesis would be proven.”

Okay, Athena, this is just a hypothesis. As long as we don’t have the forensic results, everything is still possible. I’m sure Mr. Shields has some alternative logic to counter Mr. Edgeworth.

Just breathe, dammit.

The courtroom started spinning around Athena and it seemed to darken again.

Just breathe.

“I must thank the defense.” Mr. Edgeworth’s voice was dripping with so much concentrated smugness Athena could almost taste it in the air. “the greatest flaw in the Prosecution’s case was the lack on concrete, decisive evidence that the defendant has gone to the reptile enclosure, and now our dear Mr. Shields have provided us with such evidence.” He did an overdramatic bow “Again, thank you.”

There were many times Athena wished she could punch Mr. Edgeworth in the face, but she has never felt it more strongly than now. It was stupid and pointless and irrational, but goddammit, she wanted to wipe that smile off his face. Stupid and irrational little girl. Stupid, stupid. she could feel her breathing turn heavy again, but she did her best to control it.

“Well, Mr. Shields,” the Judge said, “what do you have to say to Prosecutor Edgeworth’s assessments?”

Mr. Shields grin widened “the defense… agrees with the Prosecution’s theory.”

“What?!” Apollo and Athena shouted in unison. Mr. Edgeworth remained collected and in control.

“Mr. Justice! Ms. Cykes!” The Judge scolded “this is my line!” He cleared his throat “What!? What do you mean, Mr. Shields?”

“Prosecutor Edgeworth and his assistants are right, they just proved that Ms. Condor has, in fact, attacked my client before the events that led to her death,” He said.

Stupid little girl. Stupid, irrational little girl. Of course he’s guilty. Everyone could see it. You could've seen it if you weren’t just dumb and emotional. Just a dumb, emotional little girl. “HOLD IT! What does that supposed to mean, Mr. Shields?” In spite of the mess going on in her head, and the courtroom around her looking more and more foreboding, she tried to keep a professional court tone. What would Apollo think of me if he found out I am still freaked out about this? We solved that case months ago, dammit! I should be over this; I should be over this. And what would Mr. Edgeworth think?! He’s probably going to huff and grumble about being unprofessional and emotional and stupid and weak and weak and weak.

And then he’s gonna cut my pay again.

Was Mr. Shields giving her a look. Could he tell she was distressed? Or was this all in her head? “What I mean is this, Ms. Cykes,” he slammed the desk “The defense calls for a verdict of Justified Self-Defense for Mr. Bob Stricter.”

He did it, of course he did it. You should have known he did it. You should have known he did it. You knew he did it! Why did I deny it? I should have seen it; I should have known he did it. Apollo and Mr. Edgeworth and even Mr. Shields knew! I should have known this. I’m a LAWYER! Not just some stupid little girl.

I’m just a stupid little girl, I’m not a lawyer.

“Just because Mr. Stricter had been struck by the spear, doesn’t mean that he was acting in self-defense. Isn’t it much more obvious to assume the victim was trying to defend herself from him?” She could still hear Mr. Edgeworth’s voice, even though she wasn’t sure where she was anymore.

And she could also hear Mr. Shields sarcastically clap “I disagree, Prosecutor Edgeworth, I think that a careful look at the evidence will show this court that they all point toward my client having been attacked by the so-called ‘victim’ in this case.” The sound of a pile of papers slamming against one of the courtroom benches. “Remember our little discussion about the knife, Miles? Your theory is that Mr. Stricter carried that knife through the whole day, and it was just a matter of chance that nobody noticed until he went to “visit” Ms. Condor at 2:30, right? But the first time Dr. Raffe noticed that this knife was gone was at 20:45 - right before Ms. Condor went to the reptile enclosure! And, from Dr. Raffe’s testimony, it seems like Ms. Condor had plenty of opportunities to take the knife, much more than Mr. Stricter had.”

“She did… Mr. Edgeworth, he's right!” That was Apollo's voice, followed by the sounds of someone rapidly thumbing through papers “She was one of the two who helped Dr. Raffe in her office, and the one to lock the door when they went to the infirmary.”

Mr. Edgeworth just let out a little affirmative hum “I suppose that would explain how her fingerprints got on the murder weapon. However, Mr. Shields.” A hand slamming on the defense bench. “You must explain to us… what possible motive could Ms. Condor have to murder Mr. Stricter?”

“Um, Mr. Edgeworth,” Apollo whispered as softly as he could “Do you really need Mr. Shields to explain this to you? I thought… well… I thought that the motive would be kinda obvious…”

The motive is kind of obvious, isn’t it? Of course the closest thing poor Bob had to a mother tried to kill him. Of course Bob had to defend himself. Of course. Of course. Of course.

“Yeah, the kid got it right. I think it really is quite obvious.” Athena heard Mr. Shields say “In fact, it’s the exact same motive the prosecution cited as to why my client wanted to kill his beloved mentor in the first place…” he paused, probably for dramatic effect “Sir Hissface, of course. The prosecution wanted us to believe that Mr. Stricter would kill Ms. Condor in order to keep his job. But Mr. O'Neil, their boss, said that - in spite of Ms. Condor’s insistence - he wasn’t going to fire Mr. Stricter over something that wasn’t his fault. And my client testified that he wasn’t considering it as a possibility either. I think it is entirely likely that Ms. Condor was frustrated that nobody was taking her demands to fire my client seriously, and decided to take matters into her own hands, either out of revenge, or to ‘protect’ her other beloved snakes from his alleged mistreatment. And let’s face it, from everything we heard about the victim, she clearly loved her snakes more than Mr. Stricter.” Athena managed to focus her attention back on Bobby, he looked so devastated and alone and hopeless and resigned, once again he reminded her of herself - of that frightened little girl she was just after her mother’s death. There was no shock on his face, he knew, on some level he always knew, that the woman he saw as a mother was ready to kill him for the sake of some snakes.

You always knew, you always knew, you suspected, you knew. You gave him false hope, because you wanted that false hope. Selfish. Emotional. Stupid.

Stupid little girl.

Mr. Edgeworth and Mr. Shields were still talking, but Athena’s mind couldn’t hear what they were saying anymore. If she tried to focus on what they were saying, all she could hear where voices from… that trial.

“the girl had a very strong motive.”

“Ms. Cykes felt her only choice was to kill her own mother!”

“My objective was to save Athena... ...from an obsessive scientist who treated her own daughter like a research subject.”

“She smiled, with a far-off look in her eyes, as she sweetly said… Something's wrong with Mom, so I'm taking her apart to fix her!”

Were they arguing about the knife again? I think they’re arguing about that knife again. But all Athena could think about was not the bent surgical knife from this case but the feeling of blood dripping from the blade of the utility knife unto her hand. She knew, the rational part of her head knew, that this blood wasn’t from her mother. It was from that murderous, horrible spy that’s rotting in jail forever now. She helped put him in jail. She’s a hero, she’s strong. But every other part of her brain kept just focusing on the sensation of the blood, on the dread of that terrible time she suspected that she really did kill her own mother. That her mother never really loved her, and she had a good reason to not to. She could only look at the floor. On the fancy marble patterns. She tried to raise her head and look at the rest of the courtroom, but it seems to grow and expand like she was, once again, 11. Everyone’s faces looked the same. Blank, and yet somehow judgmental. All save for Bob. And all she could focus on was his terrified, hopeless expression. Even more devastated than when she saw him crying outside the employee area. How could he not be terrified? He is living in Athena’s worst nightmare. The closest thing he has to a mother hated him, or at least didn’t care about him as much as her “Passion in Life”, and he killed her. He killed her. And the one and only out he has out of it, from a defense attorney who’s supposed to believe in him, is proving that killing her was actually 'justified'. Even though… even though he probably doesn't believe that himself.

I think I’m going to be sick.

Athena felt exhausted, and she felt panicked. Suddenly, purely on instinct, she slammed the prosecution bench with what power she had left in her and shouted “OBJECTION!”

The court went silent. Everybody was looking at her. Blank faces, judgmental looks. Mr. Edgeworth and Apollo were looking at her too, they were judging her too.

Stupid girl, stupid girl. Stupid and emotional and irrational and stupid. You have nothing to say, so why should they listen? Why should anyone listen to what you have to say?

After her objection, Athena stared at the courtroom around her for a second, looking terrified and then suddenly… she ran off. She slammed away the bailiff that was trying to stop her from leaving the courtroom mid-trial, seemingly without even noticing he was there. The sounds of the massive courtroom doors shutting, and of the bailiff landing on the floor, echoed in the courtroom - that has turned silent due to Athena’s odd behavior.

Chapter Text

 “Prosecutor Edgeworth!” the judge said with a worried voice “What just happened now with your assistant?”

“I’m… not entirely sure, your honor…” Mr. Edgeworth looked concerned.

“I mean, I knew that Athena liked Mr. Stricter and didn’t want for him to be the culprit,” Apollo said, sheepishly. Whatever happened with Athena just there, he felt kinda guilty over it. He was her friend and coworker, after all, and he should have noticed that something was wrong “But why did she take it so personalllllly…” Apollo’s voice tapered off as all the pieces clicked in his head.

Bob’s mentor and mother figure cared for her work than she did for him, and so he had no choice but to kill her.

Justified Self Defense or not, that was Athena’s worst nightmare. The “truth” she feared for years.

The one Mr. Edgeworth tried to argue was a reality less than a year ago.

The same Mr. Edgeworth that was standing right next to her.

...And the same Apollo Justice that was standing next to her and also tried to accuse her of murder.

And all while she was standing helpless in court, feeling like nobody takes her judgements seriously. Her other worst nightmare.

To argue and argue and defend and believe while no one listens to you.

Is that how she felt? Throughout the entire case?

Apollo turned his gaze back to Mr. Edgeworth, who was wearing a matching look of shocked, scared realization. He was probably connecting the same mental dots as Apollo just did.

Apollo slammed the desk, his worry shifting into straight-up panic “YOUR HONOR! Can I please leave the courtroom to-?"

The feeling of Mr. Edgeworth’s hand lightly tapping his shoulder made his Chords of Steel quiet down. “Your honor,” Mr. Edgeworth said, his voice strict and professional “I request permission to temporarily leave the courtroom in order to take care of my subordinate’s behavior.”

“Permission granted, Prosecutor Edgeworth,” the Judge said. "I know we're all worried about Ms. Cykes, after all."

“Mr. Edgeworth!” Apollo shouted, distressed. Take care of? That’s not Edgeworthese to ‘cut her pay’, is it? “Please! Athena is my friend, I should talk to her, she needs help!”

“I understand, Mr. Justice,” Mr. Edgeworth said in that calm, controlled sort of voice that only made Apollo so stressed that it felt like his eyes were bugging out of his skull “But while Ms. Cykes is your friend, currently she is also my subordinate, my responsibility. Wright entrusted me with her education and I…” emotions started slipping into Mr. Edgeworth’s voice “...I have clearly overlooked something important; I must amend that. I should speak with her.”

“Oh, you just want to talk to her?” Apollo’s surprise flowed into his voice before he could control it.

“Hmph. Of course, Mr. Justice,” Mr. Edgeworth huffed “What sort of man do you think I am?”

Apollo decided that he’s better off not trying to answer that one.

“And Mr. Justice?” Mr. Edgeworth continued “While I… try to help Ms. Cykes…” he put his hand lightly on Apollo’s shoulder again “I trust you to continue prosecuting this trial until Ms. Cykes and I return, understand?”

Apollo blinked in surprise. That was a lot of responsibility Mr. Edgeworth was entrusting him with all at once “But-but what am I supposed to say? I though we agree with Mr. Shields now?”

“Do we?” Mr. Edgeworth raised an eyebrow, and a tiny smirk appeared on his face “the Defense is pushing for a Not-Guilty verdict due to Justified Self Defense. But is that truly the correct verdict considering all the we know? And do we really know everything? Have we really reached the truth of this case?”

“I…” Apollo went deep into thoughts again. When you’re a Prosecutor, nothing is certain. He reminded himself “okay, Mr. Edgeworth “he allowed himself a cocky smile “I think I know what to do.”

“I know you do, Mr. Justice.” Mr. Edgeworth smirked, before turning to leave the courtroom.

Just breathe.

Breathe.

Breathe.

Breathe.

Athena was leaning over a sink in the District Court bathroom. She already splashed her face with water like half a dozen times, she tried to regulate her breathing, and she wasn't feeling any better.

Just breathe.

Breathe.

Breathe.

Breathe.

“...Stupid little girl…” Athena mumbled under her breath, not really thinking.

Inside the storm brewing in her head, Athena realized that she heard something…

“Ms. Cykes?”

Someone?

“Ms. Cykes, can you hear me?”

Just breathe.

Breathe.

Breathe.

Breathe.

“...Ms. Cykes?” It was a careful voice, coming from behind her, from the direction of the door. In her distraught state, it actually took her a moment to remember who this voice belongs to.

“Mr. Edgeworth?” A new wave of fear and anxiety washed over her, and she braced herself for what felt like an inevitable berating for her 'unprofessionalism' “I’m sorry…”

“Hmph. and what are you apologizing for, exactly?” Athena could tell there was something more in his voice other than just a simple question, but in her current state she couldn’t quite figure it out. She was confused, and on instinct, her confusion filtered into anger.

“You know exactly what I’m sorry for!” She lashed out, slamming her hands on the sink, actually cracking the porcelain a bit. “I… I freaked out like a stupid little girl all cause some stupid defendant might actually be guilty!” She was starting to tear up, her fingers were shaking and holding on to the bathroom sink like she was going to fall over on the floor if she’d let go. "And I… was too caught up in my own dumb little trauma to think about the situation like a lawyer and I embarrassed myself and the Agency and the Prosecutor’s Office and you and you’re gonna cut my pay now!"

“Ms. Cykes! Please! You’re being ridiculous!” Mr. Edgeworth said in a scolding tone “I mean…” he corrected himself after a moment, then went quiet, trying to consider his words “Weren't you the one who just today pointed out that your tenure with me is over quite soon, and so the threat of cutting pay doesn't hold much water anymore?"

I… I did, didn't I? Athena struggled but remembered. She still didn’t say anything.

"Ms. Cykes, I came here to tell you that what happened was my responsibility and I take the full blame for it.” Mr. Edgeworth said in a slightly softer tone.

Now that was something Athena absolutely did not expect to hear, and having no idea how to react, she remained silent.

After a moment, Mr. Edgeworth continued “Ms. Cykes, you are hardly the first subroutine I had who had to deal with some sort of trauma,” he said “as your superior, it was my responsibility to recognize that this case was causing you emotional harm due to… some similarities with your own case and to do something about it.” After another moment of awkward silence, Mr. Edgeworth added “I know you might feel… condescended or cuddled or… as if you are a burden due to your trauma, but you are not.” What was it in Mr. Edgeworth’s voice? Discord? Was I just imagining it? Aurgh, I can’t focus! “I try and avoid assigning Prosecutor Debeste on cases that involve abusive fathers, and if a case is revealed to involve one later during the investigation, Sebastian knows he can go to me to reassign the case if he doesn’t feel emotionally capable of perform his duties properly. The same goes to Prosecutor Blackquill and cases involving prolonged imprisonment, he-”

Simon? Athena’s whole body automatically tensed up at the mention of her friend, after a moment she let out a small, weak, but audible “Simon?” as well.

“Yes, your old friend Prosecutor Simon Blackquill. I know he tries to underplay it, but his long duration in prison did take a mental toll on him,” Mr. Edgeworth said, keeping his voice neutral “and sometimes, trying to take on cases involving certain kinds of imprisonment don’t end any better than, well…” his voice tapered off.

Athena’s head was a mess of emotions, there was a part of her that realized what Mr. Edgeworth was trying to say. Simon isn’t weak, and neither are you. A lot of people in the Prosecutor’s Office deal with trauma and need to be taken off cases because of it. You are not especially weak. But the thing that registered most prominently in the self-loathing storm that was her brain currently was the fact Simon was really really screwed up from being imprisoned, for Athena’s sake. And that she failed to save him from that fate. My fault. My fault. My fault. My fault. The bright, cold, florescent lights of the bathroom seemed to grow dimmer as those words repeated in her brain. My fault. My fault. My fault. My fault.

But she continued to try and calm her breathing, and it was slowly working.

“My point is this, we are lawyers, yes - but we are humans first.” Mr. Edgeworth said “We have our fears and our emotions and memories, and we are not always able to cast them down simply because we are working on a case. Especially if some elements in the case… evoke our personal history. I should have noticed your distress, at the very least…" he sighed "When I realized Mr. Shields was going for a Justified Self Defense argument, I should have simply told you and Mr. Justice. Rather than keeping it as a surprise in an attempt to… educate you. I'm sorry" He said, and after a long pause he added "I honestly do understand how hard it is for you, after the case regarding your mother’s death less than a year ago, to see a man truly devastated by the betrayal of his own mentor and mother figure that..."

What was this discord in his voice? Focus, Athena, dammit! she though, as the rest of Mr. Edgeworth’s words faded from focus again as she tried to read what’s strange about his tone here. And then, suddenly, the realization hit her as a memory resurfaced in her brain.

“...Prosecutor von Karma...” she mumbled quietly, still feeling too tired to speak in her usual tone.

Now Mr. Edgeworth was the one still and silent, Athena could swear that she could hear him tense up seconds after she said that name. “... Pardon me, Ms. Cykes?”

“...Prosecutor von Karma’s dad...” Athena said, louder this time “He was your mentor, right? And, and since Prosecutor von Karma said you’re her brother, he was your dad too, wasn’t he?”

Mr. Edgeworth didn’t say anything, but that was enough of an answer for Athena.

“And he… he tried to frame you for murder, right?”

“Yes… yes, indeed,” Mr. Edgeworth’s voice was shaking a little. Am I getting better at focusing, or is his heart getting easier to read? "That was one of Wright’s most famous cases, I guess… I guess I should have expected that he would tell you about it."

“...Apollo told me…” Athena said “He, he also told me that the trial was about you… you thought that you killed your own dad… You...” Her slowly stabilizing breath got rapid again, and once again she had to hold on the sink or else, she’d totally collapse. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. There's no blood on the sink, there isn’t blood anywhere. Everything is fine and safe. You’re not… you’re not in…

Maybe the bathroom wasn’t the best choice to flee too, the bright white walls around her started to remind her way too much of the sterile walls in her mom’s old lab in the Space Center.

Breathe! Just breathe, dammit!

“Ms Cykes?” She heard Mr. Edgeworth’s voice, weird and distant and not quite where she is.

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

Although her brain was still shouting at her that she’s stupid and ineffectual and weak, the world slowly returned into focus and reality. Athena, at the very least, knew her breathing exercise well.

“Ms. Cykes? Ms. Cykes, can you hear me?” Mr. Edgeworth’s voice sounded more concerned, she heard him walk toward her and felt as he tapped her shoulder lightly.

She turned her head slowly in his general direction, he was wearing his usual stoic unreadable expression and holding a little plastic cup of water. She looked at it, and then back at Mr. Edgeworth’s face, and then back at the plastic cup.

“I… thought you might need a glass of water,” Mr. Edgeworth said awkwardly “It’s good for you.”

Athena snatched it out of Mr. Edgeworth’s hands with swiftness and force, avoiding looking at him and downed the water in one gulp. She wanted to smash up the cup and throw it against a wall or something, but she suddenly felt very tired again. She simply lowered her hand and allowed the cup to fall out of her weakening grasp.

“One shouldn’t litter, Ms. Cykes,” Mr. Edgeworth said as he picked up the cup “Now, what is it with your sudden interest in my personal history?”

“I… oh, never mind…” Athena mumbled, suddenly feeling very bad about that line of thought.

“Those were… not pleasant memories you brought up, and not ones that I like to share,” Mr. Edgeworth said, trying to keep his voice not-that-grumpy-or-hostile “If you are inquiring about them, I feel like I have a right to ask what’s on your mind.”

“You… you’re prosecuting Bob’s trial, even though your parental-replacement-mentor hated you…” Athena just couldn’t stop herself from talking all the sudden “and you… you prosecuted MY trial, even though you and... I… We both thought we killed our parents…” She gritted her teeth, her distress and fear once again transmogrifying into anger “But you can just… just stand there behind the bench and do it! It doesn’t get to you the way it gets into my stupid brain! My stupid brain that get antsy every time I’m in a COURTROOM AT ALL! You can… can do your job and tell me that I killed mom and tell Bob that Ms. Condor hated him forever and…” She stopped when she felt Mr. Edgeworth tap her shoulder again, she turned around again and looked at him.

“Ms. Cykes, this is a… hmmm…” he considered his words “Ms. Cykes, your argument is extremely faulty,” he spoke like he was in court for some reason “After all, it was only a few days ago that you… that is…” he sighed, his voice shifting into something more personable and… gentle? “it was only a few days ago that you saw me turn into a quivering wreck due to nothing but a minor earthquake.”

Athena stood still for a moment, shifting her eyes back into her hands gripping the sink, a little less hard this time. That’s right, I did. Memories of herself being competent and happy and proud of who she is felt so distant right about now.

“Ms. Cykes, please listen to me,” Mr. Edgeworth said “Your brain is lying to you right now. It is working from the false assumption that you are a bad person, or at fault in some way, and is ignoring all evidence that contradict that assumption.” he put his hand on her shoulder again, very carefully “I know this from personal experience, the mind is quite excellent in ignoring the evidence that do not support its case. It is not a very good prosecutor.”

Slowly, Athena allowed her hands to let go from the sink. Her knuckles were hurting a bit from when she was holding on very hard, she only now realized that.

“I… this is something Phoenix has had to remind me of more than once.” Mr. Edgeworth let out a little bemused sigh and a tiny smile “he usually words this point better than I did, but I hope I did a sufficient job.”

“I…” her head was spinning; a mess of inner voices Mr. Edgeworth is right! Of course, he’s right! I have nothing to feel bad about! and Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid and weak and ineffectual as always. Nobody takes you seriously, you’re just a scared little girl and echoes of those trials, Simon and hers, all fought for domiance in her head. She took a deep breath “I… Thanks, Mr. Edgeworth…” She tried to smile, but she knew it came out fake.

Mr. Edgeworth gave her a sympathetic look "I know, when it comes to..." he gestured vaguely “…this sort of thing, you might fully know that what you are feeling is not true, but it is not the same thing as feeling it is not true. This isn’t court, sadly, evidence and facts alone cannot sway the heart.” He looked pretty sad and dismayed as he said that last part, glaring at his shoes, before he looked at Athena again “I know this from experience, Ms. Cykes. How about we continue this conversation in the Prosecution Lobby or something of that sort? Somewhere with a more...pleasant atmosphere?” He sneered like the pompous snob that he was.

“I think...I think…” Just a few moments ago I thought this looked like the place where mom was murdered, but “This is a courthouse, Mr. Edgeworth. All of this place is unpleasant to me right now.”

“Oh, of course,” Mr. Edgeworth said, “What about outside, then?”

Chapter Text

Slowly, the two of them existed the bathroom and started heading outside of the courthouse altogether. Athena's feet still felt a little unsteady.

“You know, Ms. Cykes, when I was younger, I… I used to hate myself for my panic attacks, for my weakness,” Mr. Edgeworth said suddenly, not looking at her “Oh, what I am saying?” he shook his head “I still hate myself sometimes. You saw it, you remember it. It is what my former mentor taught me.” He closed his eyes and his voice became distant and full of pain “that if I was not emotionally capable of prosecuting a trial, any trial, I was weak. And imperfect. If I am capable of handling cases like Mr. Stricter or… or yours, Ms. Cykes, it is because I have spent my youth training to emotionally numb myself to those feelings. This is not… this is not something you should emulate about me, understood?”

“Are you doing okay, Mr. Edgeworth?” Athena’s asked on first instinct. He sounded very distressed.

“Ms. Cykes, in your current state, I really don’t think I am someone you should be worried about.” Mr. Edgeworth took a deep breath “I am doing… alright.”

“Are you though?” Athena’s voice was louder all the sudden, and she was walking in the faster pace she usually does. Her hand reached toward Widget to turn on the Mood Matrix interface, only to find out Widget is still non-reactive due to her panic attack. “...Oh right...” she whispered and it was if that spell of energy and competence that fell over her disappeared as suddenly as it came and she was once again ‘Athena Cykes, the Girl Who Had a Freak Out During Court’ rather than ‘Athena Cykes, Attorney at Law and Analytical Psychologist’.

“You really are so much like Wright, Ms. Cykes,” Mr. Edgeworth said quietly as he caught up with her “You’re both just so… motivated, energized, by the idea of helping others.”

“Yeah…” Athena grabbed her elbow, suddenly feeling guilty “That was what caused this whole mess, wasn’t it? That I just wanted to help Bob?"

“That is not a bad thing, you know that, right?” Mr. Edgeworth said “The world can always use more people like Phoenix Wright. I, of all people, could tell you that.”

“Uh, huh…” Athena said, looking at the floor and her still-unsteady feet.

“Ms. Cykes, I have worked for eight years to try and get Wright his badge back,” Mr. Edgeworth crossed his arms “Please do not discredit my work.” a slight playful undertone slipped into his voice even as he acted offended on the surface. Is that where Kay gets it from? Or did Mr. Edgeworth get it from Kay? “It is admirable how much the two of you want to help people and it…it clearly energizes you” he gestured at Athena, who suddenly noticed that she has picked up her pace. Not as much as in this one surge of excitement and helpfulness, but she was a bit less slow and wobbly “It’s simply that, it should not override your own emotional needs. At this moment I’m not a person who needs help, and you are not a person who needs to help me, understood?”

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

They were just out of the courthouse now. Athena was ready to just sit down on the stairs in front of the entrance, but Mr. Edgeworth went in the direction of a park bench in the courthouse garden. Oh, of course, Athena thought and rolled her eyes as the prosecutor gently dusted off the bench and sat down primly. She sat down next to him. For a few minutes, neither of them said anything. Athena just stared up at the big blue sky, trying not to focus on anything but the early spring breeze blowing in her face and maybe the sound of cars and general city bustle around her. No, it wasn’t the most pastoral scene in the world, but it was a good change of pace. She did some more of her regular breathing exercise. Clean your head, stop trying to fight the thoughts and just ignore them, just let them pass you by. She remembered her own advice for herself.

After a long minute, she moved her eyes from the sky and looked back at the ground, and at the courthouse standing (or perhaps looming) behind her, and at Mr. Edgeworth.

“Feeling better?” He asked hopefully.

“I'm…” I should be honest “I’m feeling better, but I don’t feel good. Not Yet.”

“I fully understand,” Mr. Edgeworth said sympathetically.

“You should just go back to the trial.” Athena looked nervously at the courthouse behind her “I’ll… I’ll catch up with you. It's probably gonna end any minute now, and it’ll be, like, embarrassing if Apollo does all of your job for you, right?”

“I am doing my job, Ms. Ckyes,” Mr. Edgeworth said with a smirk “I am taking care of my subordinate.”

“Oh, you know what I mean!” Athena rolled her eyes.

“In fact, this case is not a part of my job,” Mr. Edgeworth said, “It was supposed to be Prosecutor Debeste’s, after all.”

Athena stared up at the sky again “I just thought…” she took a deep breath “I just thought I’m over this, you know? Simon is a free man now; I know who really killed my mother. I… I helped put him in jail. I overcame my fear and I put him in jail, and I saved Simon.” She slammed her hands on the bench, making Mr. Edgeworth flinch a little from the impact “This should have been over with! This should have been over with, goddammit!”

“Well, Ms. Cykes, I know your frustration well. I might not be an expert in regard to these subjects, but I can at least quote the words of an expert.” Mr. Edgeworth crossed his arms as he shifted into a more professional tone “trauma, panic attack, those things are not so simple. Sometimes a bad episode just happens, and recovery can’t always be a straight line. And identifying the problem doesn’t magically cure it. It’s important because it tells us how to handle our problems…”

“...like getting an office in the friggin’ second floor so you could avoid elevators…” She said quietly. It took Athena’s brain about five seconds to get what Mr. Edgeworth was doing. A lot has happened since that earthquake, after all “Expert?” she gestured at herself. Not necessarily disbelieving, just surprised.

“Well, you are a certified psychologist, correct?” Mr. Edgeworth said, “That makes you more of an expert then I am.”

“Well, but for some reason it sounds more experty when you say it,” Athena said … mostly playful but also a bit resentful.

“Well, if I may quote you again,” Mr. Edgeworth said, “You are being too hard on yourself.”

Athena listened carefully to the way Edgeworth said that line “Yeah, it must have something to do with that fancy-pants cravat around your neck, or your snobbish nose-in-the-air attitude.”

“Ms. Cykes!” Mr. Edgeworth scolded, but it didn’t stop Athena, she knew there was no bite in it.

“Or maybe it has something to do with that weird mash-up accent of yours,” Athena continued “I mean, are you supposed to be British? German? You should make up your bloody mind, Um Gottes Willen!”

Mr. Edgeworth stayed frowning for about two seconds, before he couldn’t contain his chuckle anymore.

Athena took a big sigh, this time it was a sigh of relief “You know…” she smiled “I think I’m ready to go back into court.”

Chapter Text

Apollo turned his head the moment he heard footsteps coming from behind him. Mr. Edgeworth just returned to the courtroom.

“Mr. Edgeworth! Mr. Edgeworth!” Apollo jolted “Where’s Athena, is she okay? Is she-”

The prosecutor gestured for Apollo to stop shouting with a dismissive motion of his hand, he stood by the prosecution bench and addressed the court in a professional-sounding tone “me and my subordinate dearly apologize for making this court wait. Ms. Cykes will be here shortly, I simply asked her to take a moment to make herself courtroom-presentable again before she returns to this trial.” As the gallery around them whispered and gossiped, Mr. Edgeworth turned toward Apollo “Mr. Justice, how is the trial going?”

It took a moment for Apollo’s mind to switch gears, but once it did, he wore a big, satisfied smile on his face “It’s going great, Mr. Edgeworth!” He said, “Me and Mr. Shields were just discussing hypotheticals regarding whatever or not Mr. Stricter was really in serious danger for his life, and the exact definitions of ‘justified’ and ‘Perfect Self-Defense’ versus ‘Imperfect Self Defense’!” Apollo explained, excited. With the sort of cases the Agency took, it was a skill that he didn’t have a lot of chances to use, but Apollo loved the law with all of it specific nitpicks and definitions and precedence and he loved a good chance to debate them with someone, especially another law expert like Mr. Shields “We spent about five minutes debating the definition of ‘deadly force’!”

“That was terrible!” He heard Mr. Shields shout and slam his bench from the other end of the court “I could feel myself physically aging as I was arguing with that kiddo, Miles!”

Mr. Edgeworth allowed himself to smirk and made a theatrical little shrug “then it seems that Mr. Justice has done an excellent job.”

Mr. Shields stepped back from his bench and grumbled “Phoenix raises ‘em stubborn as hell, I swear to god…”

“I think we established a pretty good baseline on whatever or not Mr. Stricter’s crime really counts as justified self-defense,” Apollo continued to explain, handing Mr. Edgeworth some files so that he could catch up “The problem is… the problem is… um, we’re kind of at an impasse here,” Apollo admitted, embarrassed “We can’t really determine if the crime was justified self-defense without some critical testimony from the only person who can really tell us what went there, the defendant. Mr. Shields has been cross-examining him for a while, but so far, we haven’t got anything useful from him. Um, sorry, Mr. Edgeworth.”

“No, no, Mr. Justice,” Mr. Edgeworth said calmly as he read through the court records of what he missed “this is a very well-done job, you’ve impressed me.”

“So, what do we do about Mr. Stricter?” Apollo asked.

“Well, officially, cross-examining is the Defense’s job,” Mr. Edgeworth crossed his arms and tapped his finger “If Mr. Shields can’t get any information out of him, and there is nothing that we can do to help, His Honor would have to call for this trial to end.”

“And the verdict?” Apollo raised his eyebrows, worried.

“From my experience, this kind of evasiveness from the defendant can only plant doubts about his innocence in the judge’s mind.” Mr. Edgeworth finished reading the files and put them back on the bench “If he is not willing to tell the truth, the Judge would probably suspect the worse of him - and might even dismiss Mr. Shields’ Justified Self Defense claim entirely, if the defendant himself isn’t willing to cooperate with it.”

“Oh, this is bad,” Apollo said, almost on instinct - before remembering what part of court he’s playing today “this is bad… for us, right…? Mr. Edgeworth?”

“I don’t think that would be the truthful verdict, so yes, this would be bad for everyone,” Mr. Edgeworth answered.

Apollo punched the bench in frustration “Dammit, Mr. Stricter! Augh…” he sighed “Was this really justified self-defense? Perfect or Imperfect? Why would Mr. Stricter be so aversive if his testimony would verify that?”

“I think he’s just afraid, Apollo.” The Red Lawyer turned his head as he heard another familiar voice, Athena returned to the courtroom, fussing for a moment with her hair-bow before she continued. “And he just doesn’t want to even think about what happened anymore.”

“Athena!” Apollo called out, happily.

“A... Athena?” A soft voice came from the witness stand “Ms. Cykes?” Mr. Stricter repeated.

“Bobby?” Athena’s body language tensed up as she turned her attention to Mr. Stricter “How are you doing? Are you okay?”

“I-I…” Mr. Stricter wiped his teary face with his sleeve “A-are you okay, Ms. Cykes?”

Athena considered his question for a moment, turning to look at Apollo and Mr. Edgeworth “Yes,” she said, “I’m okay now.”

Mr. Stricter was silent for a moment “... I’m sorry I misled you like that.”

Athena tensed up again, but she took a deep breath “I’m part of the prosecution in this trial, you don’t owe me anything, you never had to tell me anything” she said “But, I think you owe an apology to Mr. Shields.” She gestured at the lawyer on the other side of the courtroom “He’s your defense attorney, he trusts you, and you should trust him back and tell him the truth.”

“The kid’s right, you know,” Mr. Shields said with a nod.

“Ms. Cykes…” Mr. Stricter was looking at the floor “Yesterday, you told me that… everything is going to be alright, and that… trying to run away from what happened will only make it worse.” He looked at her “Is that true? did you really mean that? Or did it… did it only apply when you didn’t think that I…That I didn't…?”

Athena lowered her gaze as she considered the question. She looked at her hands as they laid down on the bench, then at Mr. Edgeworth and then at Apollo - who felt like he should offer a supportive smile. Tense, she looked around the courtroom, before her body language relaxed again and she smiled a sincere smile “No, it's not just when I thought you were totally innocent… I think… I think it’s going to be okay,” She said, “If you tell the truth to Mr. Shields and His Honor.”

“B-But!” Tears started flowing from Mr. Stricter’s eyes again.

“Everything is going to be alright,” Athena said, more decisive “I’m… part of the prosecution in this trial, I don’t owe you anything, but I decided to believe that you’re not a bad person. And I trust everyone here in this courtroom, His Honor, Mr. Shields, Apollo and Mr. Edgeworth, they all want to have an honest, fair trial where nobody gets a punishment they don’t deserve. As long as you tell the truth, everything is going to be alright.”

“I-I’m still going to jail, aren’t I?” Mr. Stricter suddenly came into a realization “A-and the reptile enclosure, it’s gonna…”

“The reptile enclosure?” Apollo said, incredulous. Athena elbowed him lightly to shut him up.

Mr. Stricter nodded “Yesterday, when Ms. Cykes and I talked, she said that even if Anna is dead - at least I can continue her work… and her memory can go on, as long as I can keep her reptile enclosure working,” he said “I-if I could do that, it would be kinda like she’s still here with me. But I thought… if I'm going to jail, the reptile enclosure will probably close down. That's why… that's why I didn't say anything, not even to help Mr. Shields' case.”

Athena didn’t have anything to say to this other than another determined “Everything is gonna be alright.”

“Yeah. You’re right.” Mr. Stricter looked at the floor and rubbed his head. The place where, as was determined by deductions and the forensic investigation, Ms. Condor struck him over the head “If I just don’t say anything, I would be going to jail either way, wouldn’t I? And… everybody would think I did it on purpose.”

“Yeah, we figured that out already,” Apollo snarked under his breath. Athena elbowed him again, much stronger this time.

“Alright,” Mr. Stricter said “Your Honor, I want to make… a new testimony about what happened. I’m gonna tell everything, I promise.”

“Very well,” the Judge pounded his gavel “Are the Prosecution and Defense okay with that?”

“The Defense agrees that there’s a need for more testimony,” Mr. Shields said with a grin.

“Oh oui! The Prosecution is more than okay with this new testimony! Woo!” Athena said excitedly. She noticed Mr. Edgeworth giving her a little glare from the corner of her eye and corrected herself “The Prosecution agrees with the defense.” She simply said.

Mr. Stricter was still kinda wobbly and weepy, but he did tell the court everything.

He told them about how Ms. Condor called him in the middle of the night to ‘talk with him about snake care’ in the reptile enclosure (a fact that they already managed to verify via phone records). He told them about how she, as they already deduced, wanted to get rid of him because she blamed his inexperience for the death of Sir Hissface and wanted to keep him away from her other snakes. He described how she came at him with the prop spear, and how at first, he thought she was only gonna threaten him with that, and that he wouldn’t have guessed that she would start attacking him.

In his description of the fight, he said that he tried to reason with her and that the enclosure broke while he avoiding most of Ms. Condor’s attacks (save for the one that hit him on the head, the first one). Mr. Stricter’s words were no use, but when she noticed that her attacks were jusr smashing the terrariums of her beloved snakes, she went into shock and gave Mr. Stricter the chance to overpower her. It seems that while Ms. Condor was the one who brought the surgical knife, the murder weapon, into the enclosure - she didn’t get a chance to use it in her fight against Mr. Stricter. It was just lying there on a table when Mr. Stircter picked it up without thinking.

Whatever, when the crime occurred, Ms. Condor was actually planning to stab Mr. Sticter after she subdued him. Or if she planned to kill him when she took to knife at 20:45 but changed her mind to “just” assaulting him with a toy spear to scare him way… that is a mystery about the case that Ms. Condor has taken with her to her grave.

Mr. Stricter said that he didn’t want to kill Ms. Condor, that he never wanted to hurt her; but he was afraid, high on adrenaline and dizzy from the blow to the head. He said that he only realized what he has done just as he stabbed her. After that he ran out to hide the murder weapon, tried to convince himself that it was all just a horrible, horrible figment of his imagination, went to the employee area in an ineffectual attempt to create an alibi for himself, and returned to the Reptile Enclosure. What happened after that is what he previously testified as him ‘discovering the body for the first time’, it seems that he was more-or-less truthful about that part of the night.

Apollo… kinda wanted this to be perfect self-defense, he didn’t have any particular feelings toward Mr. Stricter - he just wanted Athena to have a happy ending. But he and Mr. Shields already established guidelines and precedence. Ms. Condor never attacked - or even tried to attack - Mr. Stricter with the knife, only with the considerably-less-dangerous plastic spear. He did escalate the fight. According to Mr. Stricter’s own testimony, he attacked Ms. Condor after she was already down and not doing anything.

This was not the perfect justified self-defense argument Mr. Shields was hoping for. That Athena was hoping for.

“Very well. As it seems that the defense and prosecution have come to an agreement, this court sees no reason to further prolong the trial.” The Judge said “We finally know all that transpired during that night in the reptile enclosure, there is no more room to misinterpretation of the facts. This court finds the defendant, Bob Stricter…” he pounded his gavel “GUILTY”

It was… a weird feeling for Apollo. He was used to thinking about that word, ‘Guilty’, as an indication of failure. He’s a defense attorney after all. It’s the ultimate symbol of the always-dreaded and always-looming failure in court. But today he was working for the prosecution. And Mr. Stricter was guilty anyway - no matter where in court he stands, even if he was Mr. Stricter’s defense attorney, he would have pushed for the most truthful verdict. But it was still… odd, Apollo felt odd. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to feel happy or sad. And then there was the other person behind the prosecution bench he needed to worry about.

Athena was standing between him and Mr. Edgeworth, her head was lowered, and she has gone quiet.

“Hey, are you… doing okay?” Apollo asked, lightly touching her arm to grab her attention.

Athena slowly raised her head to look at him “I’m…” She thought about it “I think I’ll be fine.” She said quietly. She looked a bit melancholy, but not as agitated and on-edge as she was when Mr. Stricter’s possible guilt was brought up previously.

“The accused will surrender to the court immediately, to be held pending trial at a higher court within a month from today's date. That is all. This court is adjourned!” The Judge pounded his gavel again.

This was not the perfect justified self-defense argument Mr. Shields was hoping for. But Mr. Stricter was acting on imperfect self-defense, and he was not quite thinking entirely rationally when the crime occurred. Although the self-defense argument was not enough to clear Mr. Stricter of his crime completely, it’s most likely going to significantly reduce his sentence. The specifics of Mr. Stricter’s punishment are going to be decided in a month, in a trial in a higher court that none of them (save for maybe Mr. Shields) are going to be a part of. But they all knew, as they left the courtroom in silence (half-awkward, half-peaceful) that Mr. Shields’ proving the imperfect self-defense, and Apollo’s guidelines, and the confession Athena got out of Mr. Stricter, all helped to make sure this trial didn’t have quite a sad ending like it could have.

Chapter Text

“This really is… this really is the best way this trial could have gone, isn’t it?” Athena said as they exited the courtroom, quietly.

Apollo nodded his head “I think so, I think so. I mean, involuntary manslaughter with imperfect self-defense as a lessening factor is not the worst sentence in the world…” his voice tapered off as he started fearing that he might be saying exactly the wrong thing to her.

“Especially considering we charged him with premeditated murder,” Mr. Edgeworth joined the conversation suddenly “Thankfully, we had Mr. Shields in court to prove us wrong.”

“Yeah, that’s…” A tiny, final piece of realization hit Apollo. It wasn’t anything shocking or out of the blue, it was more like finally finishing a puzzle you’ve been working on for a while than a sudden burst of lightning “This is… this is exactly why Mr. Shields defend guilty clients… right? Because of cases like these?”

“Even the guilty deserves someone who can fight for them,” Athena said, quoting Mr. Shields “That’s what that means, right? Finding if there was something justifiable about what they did, so even if they broke the law - their punishments don’t have to be that severe?”

“Yes, Mr. Shields cares greatly about defending the ‘guilty’ for exactly that reason” Mr. Edgeworth said “I’m glad that you understand where he is coming from now. This arrangement…" he gestured at the two of them "…is still supposed to be about broadening your horizons of the law - regardless of well…” he waved his hands vaguely and his cheeks reddened a bit “regardless of other factors regarding it's conception.”

Apollo and Athena both nodded, still deep in thought. Neither of them even took the opportunity to take a dig at Mr. Edgeworth for the real reason why they're all here.

“If you have more questions,” Mr. Edgeworth said “How about we go to the Defendant’s Lobby? I am sure Mr. Shields could answer them much better than I could.”

Entering the Defendant's Lobby, Athena was surprised to see such a commotion there. Mr. O'Neil, Ms. Caw and Dr. Raffe were all there, gathered in a circle around Bob.

“I can’t believe she something like that!”

“You poor boy, are you going to be alright, all of those months in prison?”

“I can’t believe that snobbish jerk prosecutor with his stupid neck-napkin made me think you killed Anna on purpose!”

“Hmmm,” Mr. Edgeworth hummed, very deliberately, and crossed his arms.

The entire group in the lobby; the three witnesses, Bob, the bailiff that’s probably there to escort Bob back to the detention center (A thought that still made Athena glum, in spite of everything that happened) and Mr. Shields - all turned around to see the prosecution team standing in the doorway. Apollo and Athena smiled, kinda awkward. Apollo even gave a little wave. Mr. Edgeworth looked as stoic as ever.

Mr. Shields was surprised for only a second before welcoming the trio with a smarmy grin and a “Hiya, Miles! How are you doing, kiddies?”

“Athena!” Bob exclaimed happily, a second after his defense attorney finished talking. Athena felt a little relived, she knew that the verdict they got was the best Bob could hope for after his confession - but she wasn’t sure if Bob knew it, and she was afraid he’d feel betrayed.

Dr. Raffe, Ms. Caw and Mr. O'Neil were a bit more hostile, they went and stood between Bob and the Prosecution team in a protective manner “What do you want, Prosecutor Edgeworth?” Ms. Caw said, as cranky as usual “The boy in blue here…” she pointed at the bailiff “... said we still have time to talk with Bobby. The kid needs some support now, especially after the hell you made him go through!”

"Hey!" Apollo shouted defensively "We-Mr. Edgeworth didn't do anything wrong!"

“Yeah, buster!” Athena shouted, running ahead to get in Ms. Caw’s face “Nobody here wanted to make Bob sad, and that includes Mr. Edgeworth! He was just doing his job!” Goddammit, I get enough ‘how dare you do the thing you were hired to do in court’ as a defense attorney already, I don’t need a Prosecutor Remix!

Ms. Caw backed away from Athena, but kept the scowl on her face “Would you say that sort of thing if you or someone you cared about were on the defendant’s chair?”

There was probably some super-witty snappy comeback line Athena could have fired back against Ms. Caw, but she couldn’t think of it. Just the… complete silliness of someone saying that particular thing to her of all people, left her unable to do anything but chuckle at the bewildered Ms. Caw.

“What is that supposed to mean?” The parrot trainer huffed.

“Athena is right!” Bob said after a second “Leave her and her friends alone! They weren’t doing anything wrong; they were just doing their jobs as the prosecution! It’s not their fault that I…” he started tearing up again.

“Woah, woah, Bobby,” Mr. Shields said, pulling out some tissues from his pocket “don’t worry about it, just relax.”

“...it’s all my fault…” Bob blubbered while trying to wipe his tears.

“If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s Anna,” Ms. Caw said decisively “that horrible little snake-obsessed weirdo…”

“That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think, Ma?” Dr. Raffe asked gently.

“Gina, the woman wanted to stab Bobby with a knife,” Ms. Caw said while gesturing dramatically “all because of one of her stupid, stupid snakes. If there was any justice in the world, Anna should have been put on trial right now.”

“Well, sadly our current legal system cannot prosecute the dead, Ms. Caw,” Mr. Edgeworth said, only partially sarcastic.

Ms. Caw sighed “I know, I know, Mr. Prosecutor, I’m just…” her tone shifted suddenly from very hostile to sad and regretful “I just want to do something for Bobby… after, you know… all of this. You know, 'cause…”

Because you feel powerless, and maybe kind of guilty, in face of all that happened - so you want to believe in something, anything, that can help Bob. Athena thought, full of sympathy. She knew that feeling well the last two days. Then another realization hit her, “If you want to help Bob out, Ms. Caw,” she said, “I think there’s one thing you can do. Isn't that right?” that question was directed at Bob.

“Wha-” it took only a second for Bob’s brain to catch up with what Athena was implying “Y-yes! Yes, there is!” Everyone turned their heads to look at Bob, which made him flinch nervously, he gave Athena a look before he continued “I… what I want is...”

“...Is this about the reptile enclosure, my boy?” Mr. O'Neil asked, a look of realization in his eyes.

“The reptile enclosure?” Ms. Caw repeated.

“I know you’re very mad about Anna, Ma, but I… still want to keep her memory alive.” Bob gave Athena a meaningful look “That Reptile Enclosure is her life work and… it’s kind of mine too. I-I just don’t want it to close just because it’s ‘bad publicity’ after what happened or… or whatever.” his voice turned quieter “...Snakes are my favorite animals, ever since I was a kid and I saw Anna give a lecture about them. Back in the old, tiny reptile enclosure the zoo had before. I want our zoo to have snakes, and I want… to… to keep working as a snake handler in this zoo. I want to show kids how great snakes are, the way Anna taught me. And I want to do this right.” He looked at Ms. Caw “Without forgetting about how people are important too.” He finished his little speech with a long sigh.

“My boy…” Mr. O'Neil gave Bob a fatherly pat on the shoulder “if this is all you want, after everything you have been through, of course we’re gonna keep that reptile enclosure up and running. Maybe even improve it!”

“And I'll keep all of the little scaly friends inside it happy and healthy!” Dr. Raffe added happily.

“For you, Bobby, after everything you’ve gone through… sure.” Ms. Caw said, managing a little smile.

“I’m sure the Los Angeles Zoo can find a snake handler or two who could keep this place warm,” Mr. O'Neil said, “Until you can join us again, of course.”

Those words made Bob’s face lighten up in a way Athena hasn’t seen since she asked him about snakes yesterday.

“Yeah, I’m sure all your little crawly friends can wait…” Ms. Caws’ words tapered off and she moved her gaze to the Prosecution

“Considering my experience with similar previous cases,” Mr. Edgeworth said immediately, “I would say anywhere between five to ten months of imprisonment.”

“Huh… I was imagining much worse,” Bob said, his voice full of relief “A-And you’d let me take care of the snakes when I come back? Really?”

“Of course, my boy,” Mr. O'Neil said with a smile.

“Athena,” Bob said as he turned his head toward her. He was tearing up a bit, but he was also smiling. His heart was likewise a mess of different contrasting emotions “You were right… in the end, everything is going to be alright.” He let out another sigh as he looked down at his handcuffed hands, then he turned toward the bailiff escorting him “I guess it’s time for me to go.”

“Wait. Before that, here’s something for you to remember,” Mr. Shields said and pulled up what looked like a business card out of his pocket and tacked it playfully behind Bob’s ear “If you have any sort of problem in prison; mistreatment, abuse, if they keep you in there even a second more than you should have - don’t forget you can always give your Uncle Ray a ring, okay?”

“R-really?” Bob tried to pull the business card out of its place behind his ears but couldn’t because of the handcuffs. The bailiff wordlessly did it for him.

“If there’s one thing we value here in the Edgeworth Law Offices, it's the bond between client and attorney,” Mr. Shields said seriously “We believe that a good defense attorney is a friend for life. When I came to visit you in the detention center, I promised I’ll help you any way I can and that doesn’t end just cause gramps pounded his little hammer. I want you to remember that.”

“I will,” Bob said with a nod.

“The bond between client and attorney, huh?” Athena immediately remembered Junie and Jinxie and Mr. Starbucks and all of those countless other clients from before she even joined the Agency who came visiting often and treated everyone working there as old family friends “Maybe you and Mr. Wright aren’t so different of lawyers after all.”

“You take that back!” Mr. Shields joked, and then turned to Bob “Your Uncle Ray is probably the most well-connected lawyers in this room, you’ll be fine.” Mr. Shields patted him condescendingly.

“You’re the most well-connected lawyer here, Mr. Shields?” Mr. Edgeworth raised an eyebrow.

“Well, Miles, are you the Chief Prosecutor’s uncle?” Mr. Shields asked with a smug grin “I’m pretty sure you’re not, right?”

Mr. Edgeworth let out a long dramatic sigh “Mr. Shields…”

The bailiff guarding Bob gave him a little push “Mr. Stricter, I’m sorry,” he said, “But I’m afraid I’m going to have to take you back to the detention center, now.”

“Okay…” Bob nodded, glum, and then raised his head to look at Athena “Thanks again, Athena and… I hope I see you again?”

“Yeah… Yeah!” Athena said, as she watched the bailiff lead Bob away from the defendant’s lobby.

Mr. Shields and the three witnesses; Dr. Raffe, Ms. Caw and Mr. O'Neil, followed after him. From what she heard, Mr. Shields still had some things to say to Bob about prisoner’s rights and prison reform and the three zoo workers were discussing how to make sure they’re gonna keep the enclosure up and running and even improve it.

And pretty soon the three members of the prosecution team were left alone in the defendant’s lobby, and everything was quiet.

“I was going to suggest…” Athena said quietly “I was going to suggest…” She repeated, louder this time “... That we’ll all go out for noodles after this trial is over but...Augh, Prosecutor Debeste was right, this is kinda weird.”

“I mean, I thought everything ended on kind of a happy note,” Apollo said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly “Well, at least Mr. Stricter didn't get a life sentence, right? But… yeah, Athena’s right, this is weird.” After a second, he added quietly “...Also I really don’t wanna eat at Eldoon’s twice a week.”

“Hmmm…” Mr. Edgeworth crossed his arms “Understandable, especially after such…” he gave Athena a sympathetic look “an emotionally intensive case. Maybe it’s just better to have a regular meal at the Prosecutor’s Office cafeteria?”

“Yeah, probably,” Athena said.

“Yeah,” Apollo agreed.

As they started heading out of the defendant’s lobby, Athena spoke up again “Now, I actually don’t get how Simon can go out to celebrate his cases so often,” she said “I mean, what would we be celebrating here? That Bob got sent to jail? That he didn’t get quite as much prison time as he could have without Mr. Shields? That Mr. Edgeworth was wrong to charge him with premediated murder? I mean, I guess not all of these are bad things - but they’re not exactly celebratory either, right?” She waited for a moment for an answer but neither Mr. Edgeworth or Apollo said anything “I go out to eat with Simon after his big cases a lot. I used to just think about it as not being any different then what we do in the agency. Now… Now I'm not sure how I feel about it.”

“I sometimes celebrate cases, too,” Mr. Edgeworth said suddenly "Not cases like these, I agree that sometimes a trial ends in a way that is… hard to celebrate. But sometimes… it is satisfying to celebrate a job well-done, whatever you are in the ‘losing’ or ‘winning’ side and sometimes..." he stopped for a moment “the person you were prosecuting was a truly vile criminal and I cannot feel regret at celebrating them being brought to justice. It is… a rare sentiment for me, but I would guess maybe less so for Prosecutor Blackquill? He is a… peculiar person.”

Athena thought about it for a moment “Yeah, that does sound like Simon.” She let out a half-chuckle.

After that little exchange, the group continued heading into the parking lot in relative quiet. It was only after they were all sitting in Mr. Edgeworth’s car that he spoke up again “Although, even if all agree a celebratory lunch for this case would be in poor taste, we can still have a celebratory dinner for the other occasion today,” he said, “Today is also the last day of your assignment under me.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right!” With all the… emotional mess around Bob’s trial, Athena actually almost forgot about it “So what sort of fancy-pants restaurant are you gonna take us too to celebrate the fact that you’re gonna get rid of us?”

“Heh.” Although Mr. Edgeworth was in the driver sit and the two of them were in the backseat, Athena could hear that he was smiling “I was just about to ask where do you want to celebrate the fact that you are finally getting rid of me.”

They all laughed.

Chapter Text

“Oh my god, I missed you so much!” Wright said as he crushed down unto their shared bed “Did you miss me? I love you so much!” He started kissing the bedsheets in an overdramatic manner.

Miles made a show of rolling his eyes at Wright’s utter ridiculousness (although, like everything ridiculous Wright did, he also found it utterly endearing) but he also sympathized with where he was coming from. These last few weeks were hectic and emotionally exhausting for everyone involved, and especially for Wright. Miles had to only watch from the sidelines as Wright helped Mr. Justice to, essentially, dismantle the existing government of a foreign nation under penalty of death - and he was also so, so very grateful to be back in his home, in his bed, with Wright by his side. He just felt so relived, but also tired. As if he was carrying a massive burden on his back, on his chest, in his heart, and only now that it’s been removed, he realized just how much pain it was causing him. Right now, there was a part of him that never wanted to leave this bed, that just wanted to lay in its comfortable warmth forever. Next to Phoenix, where he is safe, where they're both safe. Wright’s life has been in danger so much recently, he must feel the same Miles thought as he watched Phoenix pretend-make-out with their bed some more.

“I swear I forgot how soft this bed is,” Wright said as he finally relaxed into his pillow “this sure as hell beats sleeping on the floor in Tehm'pul Temple, huh, Edgeworth?”

“Honestly, I still cannot understand how you spent so many weeks sleeping in such abysmal conditions.” Miles flinched at the thought of the one night he had to spend sleeping on a dusty and cold floor, surrounded by strangers. In spite of how relived he felt, it was amazingly easy to go back to his old routines of grumbling.

“Well, it was cheap.” Wright smiled back at him, broadly. Oh, heavens, I missed that smile.

“It was horrible, and it certainly was not helpful for you and your back problems, Wright.” Miles said.

“I know, I know…” Wright sighed “I really should go see an Orthopedist.”

“I’ve been telling you this for two months.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Wright said, “You’re always right, I’m always wrong.”

“That seems like a highly inaccurate statement, Mr. Wright,” Miles said, slipping for a moment into his courtroom mannerisms in order to tease “in fact…” his voice grew softer “You are often correct about a lot of things.”

“Oh?” Wright asked with a little smile "May I ask the prosecution to elaborate?"

“Yes, everything that matters, it seems” Miles said, “It’s horribly infuriating, really.”

Wright chuckled at Miles’ toothless insult “Oh yeah? Give me an example." He shifted and put on his best serious court face on "The defense requires evidence, Prosecutor Edgeworth.”

After he and Wright shared a smile, he started to think of an example. The events of the last weeks swirled around in his head. He did not want to pick something too dramatic now, when they were both trying to relax back into routine. “For example, for example, your two protégés, Wright.”

“O-Oh!” It seems that it took a few moments for Wright to remember that arrangement as well. Can’t say I blame him, a lot has happened since then “Oh yeah, you and the kids got along well?”

“Yes, I believe we did,” Miles said, “and I also managed to teach them a little bit about what it means to be a prosecutor, which was the reason why I agreed to your ridiculously sentimental idea.” He gave Wright a little glare, but it softened almost immediately after he saw his partner’s smile “But you were correct, Wright, we did get along well. Much better than I expected.”

“Heh, I should have known,” Wright’s smile broadened “I mean, just a few days before I left Athena called you a ‘cold, rude jerkface’ - and on the way back from the airport I heard her call you a ‘ridiculous snobby old nerd man’.”

“Is that… an improvement, Wright?" Miles asked, "I thought the entire reason you were doing this is because you were bothered by your protégés insulting me."

“Definitely an improvement, it's actually accurate, for starters,” Wright said, “I already learned a long time ago that a prerequisite for being your friend is being able to dunk on you.”

“...’dunk’ on me, Wright?” Miles blinked in confusion at Wright’s choice of slang.

Wright let out a gentle laugh again and the conversation petered out, they both laid down on the bed quietly. Enjoying its softness and the other’s quiet company.

“You know, Edgeworth,” Wright said suddenly “I’m gonna miss Apollo. He's a good kid, and a good lawyer.”

Edgeworth stayed silent for another moment, considering his words about the subject. When Mr. Justice made that decision, to stay in Khura'in, Miles decided to leave himself out of it. Didn’t seem like his input was needed on the matter. But now Wright wanted to discuss it with him, so he needed a moment to let his thoughts settle before he expresses them. “I think he made the right choice,” Miles finally said “Khura’in needs a good defense attorney right now. And more importantly, I think Mr. Justice needs Khura’in… that is to say, staying at that country for a while might do him some good.”

“Really?” Wright said, looking mildly surprised “I was really afraid I was making him ‘leave the nest too early’. I know he's learned a lot in the last three years, and that it's his decision at the end of the day, but…”

“I’m sure you have taught Mr. Justice well, Wright,” Miles said, “but I feel like it’s better for him to broaden his horizons, at least for now."

"Yeah, you've always been a fan of taking the international route when learning more about the law," Wright said "…kinda taking the 'horizons' thing a bit too literally…"

"Possibly," Miles shrugged lightly "But I do think it will help Mr. Justice find his own path as a defense attorney."

"…His own path, huh?" Wright has gone contemplative, staring up at the bedroom ceiling.

"It's not… it's not a criticism of the way yo- the Agency does things, Wright." Miles quickly corrected himself, remembering Ms. Cykes and her incredibly Wright-like attitude toward defending "I just think Mr. Justice will benefit from… at least seriously considering his options."

Wright was quiet for a long while, but just as Miles was worried that maybe he said the wrong thing, he spoke again “You see, Edgeworth?” he leaned to kiss Miles gently on the lips “You’re right about stuff too, even stuff that matters. Sometimes”

“Sometimes.” Miles smiled and kissed him back, more passionately.