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mllelaurelFandom: Ace Attorney
Title: As Though Nothing Could Fall
Characters: Phoenix Wright, Miles Edgeworth, Gregory Edgeworth, Manfred Von Karma, Yanni Yogi
Pairings: None
Rating: T/PG-13
Warnings: Some violence on par with canon, nothing major
Summary: What if Phoenix had been in that elevator with the Edgeworths. (DL-6 AU)
The title's a lyric from David Bowie's "Heroes."
“Are you sure it’s all right?” Phoenix scuffed his feet against the pavement. Miles kept talking about how exciting and important his dad’s job was. Phoenix had this picture in his head of Mr. Edgeworth chasing after criminals, yelling ‘freeze!’ in his trenchcoat and fedora, even though Miles rolled his eyes and said ‘he’s a lawyer, not a cop, Wright, you dummy.’ So he was a really important and busy guy, and Phoenix wanted to see what it was he did. His mom had taken ages to agree. It was a murder trial, she said, ‘I don’t know, Nicky. They might show some pretty scary things.’
‘Like what?’ he’d asked. He wasn’t scared of anything he saw in a haunted house, or snippets of the news, when they weren’t being all boring. He was a fourth grader, not a big baby, no matter what Kevin O’Brien said. Stupid Kevin.
She finally gave in, after Miles used the words ‘educational experience’ in front of her like five times, and Miles’s dad said he’d be bringing Miles along anyway, and it would be good for his son to have some company his own age while he’s busy.
‘My father is very good at persuading people,’ Miles had told him, and he wasn’t kidding! Phoenix wondered whether Mr. Edgeworth would be willing to argue his case for The People vs. Why Phoenix Wright needs a higher allowance, seriously, Mom, I can’t even afford comics on that.
But now it was the day of the trial, and Miles’s dad just looked tired and busy, and his secretary looked annoyed every time even Miles asked her questions, let alone Phoenix, and maybe this was a bad idea after all. Maybe Mr. Edgeworth didn’t really want them there. Miles glared at him, when he said it, in that way where he looked almost like an adult, except he was pouting, and his left ankle twitched like he wanted to kick Phoenix in the shin, but knew it wasn’t how adults behaved, so he didn’t. “Of course it’s okay. You’ve already asked that. Five minutes ago.” Phoenix made a face right back at him. He couldn’t keep it up for long, though, as it broke into a grin.
“Promise me we’re gonna see him taking down the bad guys?”
“Of course,” Miles said. His eyes were bright, and he actually looked like a kid for once, and Phoenix remembered why he liked him, even though he was still a dork in a bowtie.
“Your dad’s the coolest.”
“Of course,” Miles said again.
The courtroom was noisy and smelled like pencil shavings. The judge looked like a cranky Santa Claus, all in black. The police led in a man in a rumpled suit, with bags under his eyes and handcuffs clamped on his wrists. Phoenix immediately felt bad for him, even before Miles leaned over to whisper “that’s our client.” ‘Our,’ like he could already see himself up there, too, protecting this man, just like he’d protected Phoenix from the others when the money got stolen. Mr. Edgeworth went over to speak to the rumpled man, both their voices quiet, and Phoenix looked over at the other lawyer.
The man wasn’t as big or as old as the judge, but he felt like he took up that much space anyway. It was really hard not to notice him, with his blue and gold coat, and his ruffly scarf thing. He looked a little like Captain Hook, without the hook, and a little like the parrot his class had taken care of in second grade. Only instead of saying “Polly wants a cracker,” or “Matt’s a turd” (it had taken Larry two weeks to train her to say that, and he was in so much trouble, the teacher called his parents and everything,) he said things like “the defense will desist from making such asinine claims, in the future.” Even though Phoenix didn’t know all the words, the way he looked at Mr. Edgeworth made Phoenix want to run over and punch him in the stomach, a lot. When he looked down, he could see Miles’s hands clenched into fists at his side, so at least he wasn’t the only one, and when he bumped Miles’s shoulder with his, Miles made a face at him, but bumped back. It had to be worse for him. It was his dad parrot guy was insulting!
The judge banged on his desk for order.
He banged it again, when he said “the court finds the defendant guilty.” The rumpled man buried his face in his cuffed hands and began to sob. Phoenix gaped at them.
“So the bad guys win? But that’s not fair!” His voice carried over the buzz of the gallery, drawing the other lawyer’s attention.
“‘Bad guys?’” his laugh sounded sharp and unfunny. “The ignorance of youth is impressive, indeed. Though perhaps understandable, considering the company you keep.” Phoenix saw his eyes settle on Miles.
“You were wrong,” Miles said. “About the evidence in Exhibit A. Clearly, it was-”
“Silence! You think to school your elders and betters, do you?”
“I’ll see you in court again,” Miles told him. “And then, I will prove to you to be the fool.”
“That’s enough Miles.” Mr. Edgeworth’s hand clapped down on his son’s shoulder. “Let’s go home, son. You too, Phoenix.” The hair around his temples looked greyer than Phoenix remembered.
“But father, I remember what you said, when he…” Miles trailed off on his own, this time. “You’re right, let’s go home.” They were supposed to stop for pizza after this, but none of them felt hungry now.
“Mr. Edgeworth,” Phoenix asked, “what’s gonna happen to that guy?” The police had already led the rumpled man away.
“He’ll go to prison,” Mr. Edgeworth told him. “For a long, long time.”
“But he didn’t do it, right? It’s not fair!”
“You should teach your spawn the value of such trite concepts as ‘fairness,’ Edgeworth,” the other lawyer boomed again, and this time it was only Mr. Edgeworth’s other hand on his shoulder that kept Phoenix from going for the shins.
“I will do just that, Prosecutor Von Karma,” Mr. Edgeworth told him. “Someone needs to teach children of justice under the eyes of the law. Concepts their elders have clearly forgotten.” And with that, he steered the three of them toward the elevator.
It took forever going down. The other guy in there with them slumped against the back, ruffling a hand through his hair. “What time’s it? My fiancee’s going to kill me if I’m late for dinner again.”
“Just blame it on the prosecution being led by a pompous windbag, eh, bailiff. I’m sure she’ll forgive you then.” Mr. Edgeworth checked his watch as the man chuckled. Phoenix had seen him inside the courtroom. He was the one who’d brought their rumpled guy in and out, and the one who’d carried in stuff for evidence. It looked like he had some of that stuff with him now.
“Seven-thirty,” Mr. Edgeworth said, and that’s when everything began to rumble and shake.
Phoenix knew you were supposed to stand in doorways, when an earthquake hit, but the elevator’s door was closed, so he just kept backing up till his back hit the wall. Next to him, Miles looked more curious than scared. “So that’s what an earthquake is like? This is an earthquake, right?”
Phoenix nodded. “Yeah. This one isn’t that ba-” he said, like a great big jinx. The rumbling intensified. He could feel the elevator car swaying, floor tipping under their feet. Something clattered against the walls and ceiling, like they were being pelted with rocks. He heard something else - a lot of something else - crack and fall with a thud. He couldn’t tell anymore if the elevator was moving, still or falling, and if it was falling, he really didn’t want to know, anyway.
When he opened his eyes again, the small room felt even smaller, dust floating in the air. Above his head, the lights flickered and went out.
“Okay, maybe it’s that bad.”
The fourth man made a strangled noise, jabbing the Open Doors button. “Come on, we must be at the bottom now!”
“Careful. If we’re between floors…”
“Between floors? We- we better not be between floors!”
There was no ‘ding,’ no matter how hard Phoenix listened for one. The doors didn’t open. The quake had passed, probably anyway, and he couldn’t feel the swaying anymore.
Fifteen more minutes. The doors still didn’t open. Phoenix’s eyes started to get used to the dark.
“We’re trapped in here!” The fourth man folded under and slid down to sit, with a thunk of his head against the wall.
“So,” Phoenix asked, “does this mean we’re gonna have to climb up through the hatch on the roof, and climb on the cables, until we get out?” Or maybe there was a ladder. He’d seen a movie like that once, but he couldn’t remember about the ladder.
Mr. Edgeworth cleared his throat. “If the elevator’s stuck, alarms would have gone off. Help should be on its way any second now. We should stay put.”
So Phoenix sat in the corner next to Miles, who’d gathered up his dad’s fallen papers, squinting at them in the dark. Phoenix wished he’d brought a Gameboy or something. Minutes ticked away. Probably less time than it felt like. Just like a long, boring class, right? Only boring classes didn’t make his heart thud in his chest loud enough that he felt sick. What if rescue wasn’t coming?
He felt Miles’s shoulder bump his. “It’s going to be okay.”
“Y-yeah, I know. I’m not gonna spaz out, like Larry. Hey, remember Larry on that Ferris Wheel?”
“Yes, that was pretty funny.” Miles glanced up at his dad. “Father, it’s been hours. Maybe we should try the hatch idea.”
“Didn’t you hear all that debris, kid?” The fourth man didn’t raise his voice. Just said it all in one tone, like a robot. “If there’s a hatch up there, it’s not gonna open. We’re buried.” He swallowed, and Phoenix wished he hadn’t used that word. ‘Buried’ was for dead people.
“I’m gonna try anyway,” he said.
The fourth guy’s shoulders were shaky, but he let Phoenix use him as a ladder. Mr. Edgeworth was taller, but helping out made the other man calmer. Phoenix kinda got it. He didn’t like sitting still and doing nothing either. He felt all along the elevator’s ceiling. Was that it? No, that felt more like where the lights would be. How about that? It was too dark to tell, and nothing felt like it could be pushed or twisted to make the roof open, no matter how hard be bumped his fingers over it.
“The bailiff is right,” Miles said, and Phoenix didn’t know whether to feel betrayed that his friend had switched sides against him, or scared of what it meant. He got down, glaring at Miles, not that it mattered, since Miles couldn’t see it anyway. He put his head in his hands and tried to think of heroic escapes. Most of the ideas he came up with involved superpowers. That wasn’t gonna help them, unless Mr. Edgeworth turned out to be Batman.
Mr. Edgeworth was probably not Batman. Phoenix was out of ideas.
“I-is it just me,” the other man said, “or is it getting harder to breathe in here?”
It took Mr. Edgeworth a couple of minutes to reply, which was the scariest part. “If the car’s sealed up tight… Though there should be ventilation. Unless…”
“Unless whatever’s pressing down on the roof is blocking off the air,” Miles finished for him. “The sides, t-too, right?” Phoenix had never heard him sound that unsure, even when other guys in the class had teased him.
“So what do we do?”
“I don’t know! Try not to breathe as much or something- Not like that!” he snapped when Phoenix tried to stuff his cheeks full of air, the way you did when you went swimming. “And not like that” - when Phoenix pressed his fists over his mouth and tried not to breathe at all. “Just take really small breaths, I don’t know!”
“Sorry,” Phoenix whispered.
Miles made a huffy noise. “‘s not your fault. I’m sorry.” Then he wrapped his arms very tightly around himself and went to sit by his dad, as though doing that would give him better ideas, or make him not scared. Phoenix wished his own dad was here. Or his mom. Or even Gramma Jean, who pinched his cheeks and called him ‘Peter.’ After a minute, Miles said “c’mere,” and Mr. Edgeworth ruffled his hair, and it was the three of them, sitting together like a family, while the fourth guy quietly freaked out.
He didn’t stop freaking out, the longer they were in there, but he got less and less quiet.
“We’re gonna die,” he kept saying. “We’re gonna die, we’regonnadie!”
“Yanni, please, not in front of the children.”
He didn’t even hear Mr. Edgeworth. “We’regonnadiewe’regonnadiewe’regonnadie!” Phoenix’s chest hurt, and his head hurt, and his eyes stung, like he really was underwater.
Mr. Edgeworth got up. “Yanni, you’ve got to calm down. Yelling like that will only use up the air faster.”
The other man’s voice rose, like a dog howling. “Use it up faster?! There are four of us in here! There isn’t enough! There was never enough! There was never going to be enough, not with four!” and then his hands were around Mr. Edgeworth’s neck. “Stop breathing! Stop wasting my air! I can’t breathe, I’m going to die!”
Phoenix heard Miles scream “Father!” and rush at the crazy man. Heard a low grunt of pain and the thump of something being dropped. Miles must have hit him. A voice in Phoenix’s head kept shouting move, move, move, move, move, move, move, and he couldn’t make his body listen to it, eyes blinking while his arms and legs stayed right where they were. Stupid, idiot, coward. Miles is being brave, and you’re just a big baby after all!
There was another thump, louder this time, and another cry of pain, from Miles. He saw Miles fall, push himself up off the ground, grasp at something on the floor and throw it…
Heard a deafening bang, and a flash of something that could have been lightning but probably wasn’t. Someone screamed, the sound filling up Phoenix’s ears till there was nothing in his head but that scream.
He didn’t remember blacking out, but it still happened.
***
Somewhere in his sleep, he thought he heard a ‘ding.’ His eyes felt full of Krazy Glue as he pried them open, sucked in lungfuls of air-
There was air! There was air again, and light coming in from somewhere! He turned to Miles to tell him that, and realized that he was the only one awake inside the elevator. Miles, his dad, even the crazy guy…
He scrambled to his feet, tripped, fell, crawled until he was at Miles’s side, shook his shoulder, hard. Miles didn’t wake up. He felt sick, like he didn’t know how to breathe anymore. Like there was too much air. Like that time he’d eaten three burgers, cause Larry dared him, and puked everywhere. What were you supposed to do, when someone wouldn’t wake up?
Go back to sleep yourself, his body told him. He wanted to. The room was swimming again, and he couldn’t tell if Miles was breathing or not. What were you supposed to do?
Something thumped faintly against his hand. Miles’s heart. That meant he’d be okay, right? Good, time to pass out again…
He saw the parrot-colored lawyer right as his eyes started to slip shut. At this point, he was ready to call even this jerk for help, but something about the man’s face stopped up his throat. He looked way scarier than even the crazy guy had been. Just as crazy, but almost calm about it, as he looked over the three sleeping people and one Phoenix Wright who probably looked like he was sleeping. One of his hands was pressed against his shoulder, mouth set in a grimace, and Phoenix was pretty sure he saw blood seeping through his fingers. Maybe something fell on him, during the earthquake.
Something caught his eye and he started laughing without making any sound. Phoenix saw him stoop with a wince, and when he came back up, there was a gun in his hand. His eyes gleamed as he pointed it at Mr. Edgeworth...
Phoenix didn’t have time to think. If he’d had time to think, he probably would have frozen again. Instead he found himself rolling, then running, barrelling toward the man and headbutting him in the stomach, as hard as he could.
The man’s hand flailed out. The gun flashed and fired. It missed Mr. Edgeworth, though, so that was all right. He was totally gonna be a hero, when everyone else heard about this. Like Superman. A really out of shape Superman, whose side hurt from not even running that much, even if it was pretty fast…
It hurt! It hurt way worse than a cramp. Way worse than even the time he fell out of the treehouse, when he tried to tackle Larry. Worse than anything. He looked down, and there was hole in his shirt, and a hole in him, with blood spurting out of it, and that’s when he started screaming, only his voice wouldn’t come. Nothing but raspy creaks, and he could see the parrot man running-
***
When he dragged his eyes open next time, they felt way worse than Krazy Glue. So did his mouth. So did his everything. He croaked, thought, hey, maybe a princess would kiss me if I keep doing that, and man, his inner voice sounded like Larry Butz. He didn’t want an inner Larry Butz. He wanted his parents, and Miles, and hey, the real Larry might be okay too…
Wait, Miles… That’s when he remembered, and then, the noise he made didn’t sound like anything any animal he knew made.
“Phoenix?” A shaky voice, somewhere to the left of him.
He made a croak that maybe sort of sounded like ‘Miles?’ if you listened really hard.
“Phoenix!” And there was a small, sobbing, dun-haired figure at his side. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry.”
He didn’t mean to close his eyes, but the blink took longer than he intended, swirling him down. Life narrowed into a series of blinks.
Eyes open. Light streaming in through the window. His mother feeding him ice chips and crying. Why did everyone keep crying around him? Blink.
Open again. Something over his mouth. He couldn’t talk, but breathing was easier. His side burned and someone pushed a joystick-shaped thing into his hand. Told him to push the button if he was in pain. He pushed it, and it hurt less. Time to sleep again.
Where were his parents? His father slumped in a chair across the room. The wedding ring on his left hand had imprinted into his cheek, like he’d been resting his face in his hands for too long.
Where was Mr. Edgeworth? In a different ward, with other adults, a nurse told him.
Where was Miles?
His mom’s voice, outside the room. “I know it’s not the boy’s fault. I know it probably makes me a terrible person, but would you be able to look at him, right now?”
Where was Miles?
He couldn’t go back to sleep, not again, not until he knew…
Someone was sitting on the floor next to his bed. He must have slept after all - there’d been no one there, last time he looked. Miles wasn’t crying anymore. He was holding very still and very quiet, like he was still afraid of using up someone else’s air.
“Why’d you say you were sorry?”
Miles spun around to face him. His face was totally white. “B-because I killed you!”
Phoenix gave him a look. Rolling his eyes made his head swim. Yep, not doing that again. “mntdead.”
“I know that!” Apparently even a really upset Miles could sound that annoyed. Then, quieter. “I thought I had. They said you were going to die. P-probably going to die, and when people say probably, they mean…”
“mntdead.”
Silence from Miles.
“You’re so dumb. I’m not dead cause you didn’t do anything to me.”
Miles shook his head. “You just don’t remember. The doctor said not breathing for a long time can do that.”
Phoenix thought hard. Some of that night was really blurry and dark, but that’s because it had been blurry and dark. “I didn’t forget it!” he yelled, and had to break for like ten minutes of coughing. By the time he could talk again, Miles had already pushed the button to call the nurse and fled.
Miles didn’t come back as long as Phoenix’s parents were in the room, which was almost all the time. They had to go back to work eventually, though, kissing his forehead and promising him they’d be back soon. Mr. Edgeworth looked in on him a couple of times. He was in a wheelchair, insisting that he could manage to wheel himself, thank you very much, to the cheerful nurse who ignored him.
“Mr. Edgeworth,” Phoenix asked, “why does Miles think he did this to me?”
Mr. Edgeworth answered the question like he was an adult. “When Miles threw that gun… It wasn’t his fault it had gone off, of course. Believe me, hurting you would never have been his intent. But the safety must not have been on, and it fired on impact, ricocheted and struck you. Phoenix, I am so sorry.”
“He just wanted to protect you.”
Mr. Edgeworth looked pained. “I know.”
“And he didn’t do it!” He pressed on before Mr. Edgeworth could interrupt. “The man in the parrot suit did.”
Okay, now Mr. Edgeworth was looking at him like he was just a dumb kid.
“The blue and gold suit! With the scarf and the gray hair!”
And Mr. Edgeworth froze. “Phoenix. Please, tell- tell me everything, as you remember it.”
***
He’d get to tell his story at least fifty million times, and finally in front of the judge at the trial. How Miles hadn’t shot him and he was gonna beat up anyone who said otherwise. How the bailiff had gone nuts on them-
Phoenix felt bad talking about that part, actually. When they put Yanni Yogi on the stand, he just broke down crying, like the rumpled man Mr. Edgeworth had defended. Like his mom, when she thought she was going to die. Too many crying adults, and weren’t they supposed to be the brave ones?
But Phoenix kept talking, about the way the air had run out. About the elevator doors opening and what he saw when they did.
When they put Manfred Von Karma on the stand, he denied everything. His defense lawyer started saying that Phoenix was making things up, then looked around and softened it to “the child must have been having a nightmare. My client is, to be sure, an intimidating man. A boy who is already scared, who cannot breathe would surely conjure up images out of recent memories in his dreams.” What a rat, Phoenix thought. He didn’t want anyone to think he was being a jerk, but he still wanted everyone to believe Phoenix was a dumb kid and a liar.
He sat up in his wheelchair (the doctor promised him he’d be out of it any day now, but not yet,) and pointed his index finger at Von Karma again. Told them how he’d been pointing the gun at Mr. Edgeworth, not at him. How his shoulder had been bleeding.
That was when the prosecutor’s eyes had lit up. Two bullets had been fired from the gun. Everyone knew where one had gone (he looked at Phoenix meaningfully.)
The other turned out to be in Von Karma, who then went and threw a tantrum. Phoenix was kinda embarrassed for him. In the end, they led him away in handcuffs and only the serious, way-too-adult look on Miles’s face kept Phoenix from cheering, or pulling a face at the man’s retreating back.
They were all tired, after the trial, but no one suggested they take the elevator. Someone took the chair, while Phoenix’s dad carried him down six flights of stairs. Miles and his dad walked side by side with them, Miles still staying quiet, not saying a word around Phoenix’s parents.
“So, what’s gonna happen to him now,” Phoenix asked.
“He’ll probably go to jail,” said Mr. Edgeworth. “He hasn’t killed anyone, but intent is undeniable.”
The way he sounded, though, he probably wouldn’t be in jail for all that long, no matter how much he deserved it. Not that Phoenix wasn’t happy to not be dead, but it just wasn’t fair.
And speaking of unfair. “I guess we’re probably gonna have to go back to school soon.” He stuck out his tongue. Christmas break was almost over, and he’d missed it, but would he get to miss school? Noooooo.
Miles shrugged. “School’s not that bad.”
“Yes it is.”
“Well, I won’t be going back there, at any rate.”
“What?!”
Miles didn’t say anything. Just fell into step behind his father, and Phoenix saw what was going on. Miles hadn’t done anything. His father hadn’t done anything. But they were the reason he’d been at the courthouse to begin with, and in that stupid elevator that probably needed fixing even before the earthquake! He was starting to hate the words ‘it’s not fair,’ and maybe Von Karma was right, maybe life wasn’t fair. Nothing that happened had been fair so far.
“Where are you guys going to be moving?” He tried not to sound sulky.
“The Northeast, perhaps,” Mr. Edgeworth replied. “Maybe Britain. It’s not entirely finalized.” Too far. That was all that mattered.
Don’t go, he wanted to say, but he was just a kid, and adults didn’t listen to kids.
“You better call and write me lots,” he told Miles.
“If you want, I guess.” Like there was a chance of a chance of him not wanting!
He was looking right at Miles, otherwise he would have missed the tiny smile on his face when he said, “all right.”
“You better! And you better tell me where you’re going to college, cause I’m going there too.” But didn’t that mean they wouldn’t see each other again before college? They’d be old by then!
“What if I get into Oxford?” Miles looked like he was thinking the same thing. The smile had faded.
“Then I guess Larry’s not gonna be going there with us.” He leaned his head on his dad’s shoulder. “I think I’m gonna be a lawyer too, when I grow up. Maybe I’ll defend people like your dad. Or maybe I’ll catch criminals, like the guy who just got Von Whatsisface.” The prosecutor had been a friend of Mr. Edgeworth’s. He was pretty nice.
“Or like Von Karma himself,” said Miles dryly.
“But that’s exactly why! I can’t just let it be all people like him in there.”
“If you’re a prosecutor, that means you and I will be on opposite sides.”
“Yeah, and I’ll kick your ass! Err… butt,” he changed words at the last moment, with a guilty glance at his dad.
“You wish.”
“You’re on!” Or maybe Miles’s person would be innocent, so he’d help Miles. Or maybe they could team up against someone who was super guilty. Either way, they were going to be heroes. It wasn’t perfect. Nothing was, and he already felt sick missing Miles, even though his friend was still right there. But right now, through a haze of painkillers and victory, he felt like the two of them could change the world.
Title: As Though Nothing Could Fall
Characters: Phoenix Wright, Miles Edgeworth, Gregory Edgeworth, Manfred Von Karma, Yanni Yogi
Pairings: None
Rating: T/PG-13
Warnings: Some violence on par with canon, nothing major
Summary: What if Phoenix had been in that elevator with the Edgeworths. (DL-6 AU)
The title's a lyric from David Bowie's "Heroes."
“Are you sure it’s all right?” Phoenix scuffed his feet against the pavement. Miles kept talking about how exciting and important his dad’s job was. Phoenix had this picture in his head of Mr. Edgeworth chasing after criminals, yelling ‘freeze!’ in his trenchcoat and fedora, even though Miles rolled his eyes and said ‘he’s a lawyer, not a cop, Wright, you dummy.’ So he was a really important and busy guy, and Phoenix wanted to see what it was he did. His mom had taken ages to agree. It was a murder trial, she said, ‘I don’t know, Nicky. They might show some pretty scary things.’
‘Like what?’ he’d asked. He wasn’t scared of anything he saw in a haunted house, or snippets of the news, when they weren’t being all boring. He was a fourth grader, not a big baby, no matter what Kevin O’Brien said. Stupid Kevin.
She finally gave in, after Miles used the words ‘educational experience’ in front of her like five times, and Miles’s dad said he’d be bringing Miles along anyway, and it would be good for his son to have some company his own age while he’s busy.
‘My father is very good at persuading people,’ Miles had told him, and he wasn’t kidding! Phoenix wondered whether Mr. Edgeworth would be willing to argue his case for The People vs. Why Phoenix Wright needs a higher allowance, seriously, Mom, I can’t even afford comics on that.
But now it was the day of the trial, and Miles’s dad just looked tired and busy, and his secretary looked annoyed every time even Miles asked her questions, let alone Phoenix, and maybe this was a bad idea after all. Maybe Mr. Edgeworth didn’t really want them there. Miles glared at him, when he said it, in that way where he looked almost like an adult, except he was pouting, and his left ankle twitched like he wanted to kick Phoenix in the shin, but knew it wasn’t how adults behaved, so he didn’t. “Of course it’s okay. You’ve already asked that. Five minutes ago.” Phoenix made a face right back at him. He couldn’t keep it up for long, though, as it broke into a grin.
“Promise me we’re gonna see him taking down the bad guys?”
“Of course,” Miles said. His eyes were bright, and he actually looked like a kid for once, and Phoenix remembered why he liked him, even though he was still a dork in a bowtie.
“Your dad’s the coolest.”
“Of course,” Miles said again.
The courtroom was noisy and smelled like pencil shavings. The judge looked like a cranky Santa Claus, all in black. The police led in a man in a rumpled suit, with bags under his eyes and handcuffs clamped on his wrists. Phoenix immediately felt bad for him, even before Miles leaned over to whisper “that’s our client.” ‘Our,’ like he could already see himself up there, too, protecting this man, just like he’d protected Phoenix from the others when the money got stolen. Mr. Edgeworth went over to speak to the rumpled man, both their voices quiet, and Phoenix looked over at the other lawyer.
The man wasn’t as big or as old as the judge, but he felt like he took up that much space anyway. It was really hard not to notice him, with his blue and gold coat, and his ruffly scarf thing. He looked a little like Captain Hook, without the hook, and a little like the parrot his class had taken care of in second grade. Only instead of saying “Polly wants a cracker,” or “Matt’s a turd” (it had taken Larry two weeks to train her to say that, and he was in so much trouble, the teacher called his parents and everything,) he said things like “the defense will desist from making such asinine claims, in the future.” Even though Phoenix didn’t know all the words, the way he looked at Mr. Edgeworth made Phoenix want to run over and punch him in the stomach, a lot. When he looked down, he could see Miles’s hands clenched into fists at his side, so at least he wasn’t the only one, and when he bumped Miles’s shoulder with his, Miles made a face at him, but bumped back. It had to be worse for him. It was his dad parrot guy was insulting!
The judge banged on his desk for order.
He banged it again, when he said “the court finds the defendant guilty.” The rumpled man buried his face in his cuffed hands and began to sob. Phoenix gaped at them.
“So the bad guys win? But that’s not fair!” His voice carried over the buzz of the gallery, drawing the other lawyer’s attention.
“‘Bad guys?’” his laugh sounded sharp and unfunny. “The ignorance of youth is impressive, indeed. Though perhaps understandable, considering the company you keep.” Phoenix saw his eyes settle on Miles.
“You were wrong,” Miles said. “About the evidence in Exhibit A. Clearly, it was-”
“Silence! You think to school your elders and betters, do you?”
“I’ll see you in court again,” Miles told him. “And then, I will prove to you to be the fool.”
“That’s enough Miles.” Mr. Edgeworth’s hand clapped down on his son’s shoulder. “Let’s go home, son. You too, Phoenix.” The hair around his temples looked greyer than Phoenix remembered.
“But father, I remember what you said, when he…” Miles trailed off on his own, this time. “You’re right, let’s go home.” They were supposed to stop for pizza after this, but none of them felt hungry now.
“Mr. Edgeworth,” Phoenix asked, “what’s gonna happen to that guy?” The police had already led the rumpled man away.
“He’ll go to prison,” Mr. Edgeworth told him. “For a long, long time.”
“But he didn’t do it, right? It’s not fair!”
“You should teach your spawn the value of such trite concepts as ‘fairness,’ Edgeworth,” the other lawyer boomed again, and this time it was only Mr. Edgeworth’s other hand on his shoulder that kept Phoenix from going for the shins.
“I will do just that, Prosecutor Von Karma,” Mr. Edgeworth told him. “Someone needs to teach children of justice under the eyes of the law. Concepts their elders have clearly forgotten.” And with that, he steered the three of them toward the elevator.
It took forever going down. The other guy in there with them slumped against the back, ruffling a hand through his hair. “What time’s it? My fiancee’s going to kill me if I’m late for dinner again.”
“Just blame it on the prosecution being led by a pompous windbag, eh, bailiff. I’m sure she’ll forgive you then.” Mr. Edgeworth checked his watch as the man chuckled. Phoenix had seen him inside the courtroom. He was the one who’d brought their rumpled guy in and out, and the one who’d carried in stuff for evidence. It looked like he had some of that stuff with him now.
“Seven-thirty,” Mr. Edgeworth said, and that’s when everything began to rumble and shake.
Phoenix knew you were supposed to stand in doorways, when an earthquake hit, but the elevator’s door was closed, so he just kept backing up till his back hit the wall. Next to him, Miles looked more curious than scared. “So that’s what an earthquake is like? This is an earthquake, right?”
Phoenix nodded. “Yeah. This one isn’t that ba-” he said, like a great big jinx. The rumbling intensified. He could feel the elevator car swaying, floor tipping under their feet. Something clattered against the walls and ceiling, like they were being pelted with rocks. He heard something else - a lot of something else - crack and fall with a thud. He couldn’t tell anymore if the elevator was moving, still or falling, and if it was falling, he really didn’t want to know, anyway.
When he opened his eyes again, the small room felt even smaller, dust floating in the air. Above his head, the lights flickered and went out.
“Okay, maybe it’s that bad.”
The fourth man made a strangled noise, jabbing the Open Doors button. “Come on, we must be at the bottom now!”
“Careful. If we’re between floors…”
“Between floors? We- we better not be between floors!”
There was no ‘ding,’ no matter how hard Phoenix listened for one. The doors didn’t open. The quake had passed, probably anyway, and he couldn’t feel the swaying anymore.
Fifteen more minutes. The doors still didn’t open. Phoenix’s eyes started to get used to the dark.
“We’re trapped in here!” The fourth man folded under and slid down to sit, with a thunk of his head against the wall.
“So,” Phoenix asked, “does this mean we’re gonna have to climb up through the hatch on the roof, and climb on the cables, until we get out?” Or maybe there was a ladder. He’d seen a movie like that once, but he couldn’t remember about the ladder.
Mr. Edgeworth cleared his throat. “If the elevator’s stuck, alarms would have gone off. Help should be on its way any second now. We should stay put.”
So Phoenix sat in the corner next to Miles, who’d gathered up his dad’s fallen papers, squinting at them in the dark. Phoenix wished he’d brought a Gameboy or something. Minutes ticked away. Probably less time than it felt like. Just like a long, boring class, right? Only boring classes didn’t make his heart thud in his chest loud enough that he felt sick. What if rescue wasn’t coming?
He felt Miles’s shoulder bump his. “It’s going to be okay.”
“Y-yeah, I know. I’m not gonna spaz out, like Larry. Hey, remember Larry on that Ferris Wheel?”
“Yes, that was pretty funny.” Miles glanced up at his dad. “Father, it’s been hours. Maybe we should try the hatch idea.”
“Didn’t you hear all that debris, kid?” The fourth man didn’t raise his voice. Just said it all in one tone, like a robot. “If there’s a hatch up there, it’s not gonna open. We’re buried.” He swallowed, and Phoenix wished he hadn’t used that word. ‘Buried’ was for dead people.
“I’m gonna try anyway,” he said.
The fourth guy’s shoulders were shaky, but he let Phoenix use him as a ladder. Mr. Edgeworth was taller, but helping out made the other man calmer. Phoenix kinda got it. He didn’t like sitting still and doing nothing either. He felt all along the elevator’s ceiling. Was that it? No, that felt more like where the lights would be. How about that? It was too dark to tell, and nothing felt like it could be pushed or twisted to make the roof open, no matter how hard be bumped his fingers over it.
“The bailiff is right,” Miles said, and Phoenix didn’t know whether to feel betrayed that his friend had switched sides against him, or scared of what it meant. He got down, glaring at Miles, not that it mattered, since Miles couldn’t see it anyway. He put his head in his hands and tried to think of heroic escapes. Most of the ideas he came up with involved superpowers. That wasn’t gonna help them, unless Mr. Edgeworth turned out to be Batman.
Mr. Edgeworth was probably not Batman. Phoenix was out of ideas.
“I-is it just me,” the other man said, “or is it getting harder to breathe in here?”
It took Mr. Edgeworth a couple of minutes to reply, which was the scariest part. “If the car’s sealed up tight… Though there should be ventilation. Unless…”
“Unless whatever’s pressing down on the roof is blocking off the air,” Miles finished for him. “The sides, t-too, right?” Phoenix had never heard him sound that unsure, even when other guys in the class had teased him.
“So what do we do?”
“I don’t know! Try not to breathe as much or something- Not like that!” he snapped when Phoenix tried to stuff his cheeks full of air, the way you did when you went swimming. “And not like that” - when Phoenix pressed his fists over his mouth and tried not to breathe at all. “Just take really small breaths, I don’t know!”
“Sorry,” Phoenix whispered.
Miles made a huffy noise. “‘s not your fault. I’m sorry.” Then he wrapped his arms very tightly around himself and went to sit by his dad, as though doing that would give him better ideas, or make him not scared. Phoenix wished his own dad was here. Or his mom. Or even Gramma Jean, who pinched his cheeks and called him ‘Peter.’ After a minute, Miles said “c’mere,” and Mr. Edgeworth ruffled his hair, and it was the three of them, sitting together like a family, while the fourth guy quietly freaked out.
He didn’t stop freaking out, the longer they were in there, but he got less and less quiet.
“We’re gonna die,” he kept saying. “We’re gonna die, we’regonnadie!”
“Yanni, please, not in front of the children.”
He didn’t even hear Mr. Edgeworth. “We’regonnadiewe’regonnadiewe’regonnadie!” Phoenix’s chest hurt, and his head hurt, and his eyes stung, like he really was underwater.
Mr. Edgeworth got up. “Yanni, you’ve got to calm down. Yelling like that will only use up the air faster.”
The other man’s voice rose, like a dog howling. “Use it up faster?! There are four of us in here! There isn’t enough! There was never enough! There was never going to be enough, not with four!” and then his hands were around Mr. Edgeworth’s neck. “Stop breathing! Stop wasting my air! I can’t breathe, I’m going to die!”
Phoenix heard Miles scream “Father!” and rush at the crazy man. Heard a low grunt of pain and the thump of something being dropped. Miles must have hit him. A voice in Phoenix’s head kept shouting move, move, move, move, move, move, move, and he couldn’t make his body listen to it, eyes blinking while his arms and legs stayed right where they were. Stupid, idiot, coward. Miles is being brave, and you’re just a big baby after all!
There was another thump, louder this time, and another cry of pain, from Miles. He saw Miles fall, push himself up off the ground, grasp at something on the floor and throw it…
Heard a deafening bang, and a flash of something that could have been lightning but probably wasn’t. Someone screamed, the sound filling up Phoenix’s ears till there was nothing in his head but that scream.
He didn’t remember blacking out, but it still happened.
***
Somewhere in his sleep, he thought he heard a ‘ding.’ His eyes felt full of Krazy Glue as he pried them open, sucked in lungfuls of air-
There was air! There was air again, and light coming in from somewhere! He turned to Miles to tell him that, and realized that he was the only one awake inside the elevator. Miles, his dad, even the crazy guy…
He scrambled to his feet, tripped, fell, crawled until he was at Miles’s side, shook his shoulder, hard. Miles didn’t wake up. He felt sick, like he didn’t know how to breathe anymore. Like there was too much air. Like that time he’d eaten three burgers, cause Larry dared him, and puked everywhere. What were you supposed to do, when someone wouldn’t wake up?
Go back to sleep yourself, his body told him. He wanted to. The room was swimming again, and he couldn’t tell if Miles was breathing or not. What were you supposed to do?
Something thumped faintly against his hand. Miles’s heart. That meant he’d be okay, right? Good, time to pass out again…
He saw the parrot-colored lawyer right as his eyes started to slip shut. At this point, he was ready to call even this jerk for help, but something about the man’s face stopped up his throat. He looked way scarier than even the crazy guy had been. Just as crazy, but almost calm about it, as he looked over the three sleeping people and one Phoenix Wright who probably looked like he was sleeping. One of his hands was pressed against his shoulder, mouth set in a grimace, and Phoenix was pretty sure he saw blood seeping through his fingers. Maybe something fell on him, during the earthquake.
Something caught his eye and he started laughing without making any sound. Phoenix saw him stoop with a wince, and when he came back up, there was a gun in his hand. His eyes gleamed as he pointed it at Mr. Edgeworth...
Phoenix didn’t have time to think. If he’d had time to think, he probably would have frozen again. Instead he found himself rolling, then running, barrelling toward the man and headbutting him in the stomach, as hard as he could.
The man’s hand flailed out. The gun flashed and fired. It missed Mr. Edgeworth, though, so that was all right. He was totally gonna be a hero, when everyone else heard about this. Like Superman. A really out of shape Superman, whose side hurt from not even running that much, even if it was pretty fast…
It hurt! It hurt way worse than a cramp. Way worse than even the time he fell out of the treehouse, when he tried to tackle Larry. Worse than anything. He looked down, and there was hole in his shirt, and a hole in him, with blood spurting out of it, and that’s when he started screaming, only his voice wouldn’t come. Nothing but raspy creaks, and he could see the parrot man running-
***
When he dragged his eyes open next time, they felt way worse than Krazy Glue. So did his mouth. So did his everything. He croaked, thought, hey, maybe a princess would kiss me if I keep doing that, and man, his inner voice sounded like Larry Butz. He didn’t want an inner Larry Butz. He wanted his parents, and Miles, and hey, the real Larry might be okay too…
Wait, Miles… That’s when he remembered, and then, the noise he made didn’t sound like anything any animal he knew made.
“Phoenix?” A shaky voice, somewhere to the left of him.
He made a croak that maybe sort of sounded like ‘Miles?’ if you listened really hard.
“Phoenix!” And there was a small, sobbing, dun-haired figure at his side. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry.”
He didn’t mean to close his eyes, but the blink took longer than he intended, swirling him down. Life narrowed into a series of blinks.
Eyes open. Light streaming in through the window. His mother feeding him ice chips and crying. Why did everyone keep crying around him? Blink.
Open again. Something over his mouth. He couldn’t talk, but breathing was easier. His side burned and someone pushed a joystick-shaped thing into his hand. Told him to push the button if he was in pain. He pushed it, and it hurt less. Time to sleep again.
Where were his parents? His father slumped in a chair across the room. The wedding ring on his left hand had imprinted into his cheek, like he’d been resting his face in his hands for too long.
Where was Mr. Edgeworth? In a different ward, with other adults, a nurse told him.
Where was Miles?
His mom’s voice, outside the room. “I know it’s not the boy’s fault. I know it probably makes me a terrible person, but would you be able to look at him, right now?”
Where was Miles?
He couldn’t go back to sleep, not again, not until he knew…
Someone was sitting on the floor next to his bed. He must have slept after all - there’d been no one there, last time he looked. Miles wasn’t crying anymore. He was holding very still and very quiet, like he was still afraid of using up someone else’s air.
“Why’d you say you were sorry?”
Miles spun around to face him. His face was totally white. “B-because I killed you!”
Phoenix gave him a look. Rolling his eyes made his head swim. Yep, not doing that again. “mntdead.”
“I know that!” Apparently even a really upset Miles could sound that annoyed. Then, quieter. “I thought I had. They said you were going to die. P-probably going to die, and when people say probably, they mean…”
“mntdead.”
Silence from Miles.
“You’re so dumb. I’m not dead cause you didn’t do anything to me.”
Miles shook his head. “You just don’t remember. The doctor said not breathing for a long time can do that.”
Phoenix thought hard. Some of that night was really blurry and dark, but that’s because it had been blurry and dark. “I didn’t forget it!” he yelled, and had to break for like ten minutes of coughing. By the time he could talk again, Miles had already pushed the button to call the nurse and fled.
Miles didn’t come back as long as Phoenix’s parents were in the room, which was almost all the time. They had to go back to work eventually, though, kissing his forehead and promising him they’d be back soon. Mr. Edgeworth looked in on him a couple of times. He was in a wheelchair, insisting that he could manage to wheel himself, thank you very much, to the cheerful nurse who ignored him.
“Mr. Edgeworth,” Phoenix asked, “why does Miles think he did this to me?”
Mr. Edgeworth answered the question like he was an adult. “When Miles threw that gun… It wasn’t his fault it had gone off, of course. Believe me, hurting you would never have been his intent. But the safety must not have been on, and it fired on impact, ricocheted and struck you. Phoenix, I am so sorry.”
“He just wanted to protect you.”
Mr. Edgeworth looked pained. “I know.”
“And he didn’t do it!” He pressed on before Mr. Edgeworth could interrupt. “The man in the parrot suit did.”
Okay, now Mr. Edgeworth was looking at him like he was just a dumb kid.
“The blue and gold suit! With the scarf and the gray hair!”
And Mr. Edgeworth froze. “Phoenix. Please, tell- tell me everything, as you remember it.”
***
He’d get to tell his story at least fifty million times, and finally in front of the judge at the trial. How Miles hadn’t shot him and he was gonna beat up anyone who said otherwise. How the bailiff had gone nuts on them-
Phoenix felt bad talking about that part, actually. When they put Yanni Yogi on the stand, he just broke down crying, like the rumpled man Mr. Edgeworth had defended. Like his mom, when she thought she was going to die. Too many crying adults, and weren’t they supposed to be the brave ones?
But Phoenix kept talking, about the way the air had run out. About the elevator doors opening and what he saw when they did.
When they put Manfred Von Karma on the stand, he denied everything. His defense lawyer started saying that Phoenix was making things up, then looked around and softened it to “the child must have been having a nightmare. My client is, to be sure, an intimidating man. A boy who is already scared, who cannot breathe would surely conjure up images out of recent memories in his dreams.” What a rat, Phoenix thought. He didn’t want anyone to think he was being a jerk, but he still wanted everyone to believe Phoenix was a dumb kid and a liar.
He sat up in his wheelchair (the doctor promised him he’d be out of it any day now, but not yet,) and pointed his index finger at Von Karma again. Told them how he’d been pointing the gun at Mr. Edgeworth, not at him. How his shoulder had been bleeding.
That was when the prosecutor’s eyes had lit up. Two bullets had been fired from the gun. Everyone knew where one had gone (he looked at Phoenix meaningfully.)
The other turned out to be in Von Karma, who then went and threw a tantrum. Phoenix was kinda embarrassed for him. In the end, they led him away in handcuffs and only the serious, way-too-adult look on Miles’s face kept Phoenix from cheering, or pulling a face at the man’s retreating back.
They were all tired, after the trial, but no one suggested they take the elevator. Someone took the chair, while Phoenix’s dad carried him down six flights of stairs. Miles and his dad walked side by side with them, Miles still staying quiet, not saying a word around Phoenix’s parents.
“So, what’s gonna happen to him now,” Phoenix asked.
“He’ll probably go to jail,” said Mr. Edgeworth. “He hasn’t killed anyone, but intent is undeniable.”
The way he sounded, though, he probably wouldn’t be in jail for all that long, no matter how much he deserved it. Not that Phoenix wasn’t happy to not be dead, but it just wasn’t fair.
And speaking of unfair. “I guess we’re probably gonna have to go back to school soon.” He stuck out his tongue. Christmas break was almost over, and he’d missed it, but would he get to miss school? Noooooo.
Miles shrugged. “School’s not that bad.”
“Yes it is.”
“Well, I won’t be going back there, at any rate.”
“What?!”
Miles didn’t say anything. Just fell into step behind his father, and Phoenix saw what was going on. Miles hadn’t done anything. His father hadn’t done anything. But they were the reason he’d been at the courthouse to begin with, and in that stupid elevator that probably needed fixing even before the earthquake! He was starting to hate the words ‘it’s not fair,’ and maybe Von Karma was right, maybe life wasn’t fair. Nothing that happened had been fair so far.
“Where are you guys going to be moving?” He tried not to sound sulky.
“The Northeast, perhaps,” Mr. Edgeworth replied. “Maybe Britain. It’s not entirely finalized.” Too far. That was all that mattered.
Don’t go, he wanted to say, but he was just a kid, and adults didn’t listen to kids.
“You better call and write me lots,” he told Miles.
“If you want, I guess.” Like there was a chance of a chance of him not wanting!
He was looking right at Miles, otherwise he would have missed the tiny smile on his face when he said, “all right.”
“You better! And you better tell me where you’re going to college, cause I’m going there too.” But didn’t that mean they wouldn’t see each other again before college? They’d be old by then!
“What if I get into Oxford?” Miles looked like he was thinking the same thing. The smile had faded.
“Then I guess Larry’s not gonna be going there with us.” He leaned his head on his dad’s shoulder. “I think I’m gonna be a lawyer too, when I grow up. Maybe I’ll defend people like your dad. Or maybe I’ll catch criminals, like the guy who just got Von Whatsisface.” The prosecutor had been a friend of Mr. Edgeworth’s. He was pretty nice.
“Or like Von Karma himself,” said Miles dryly.
“But that’s exactly why! I can’t just let it be all people like him in there.”
“If you’re a prosecutor, that means you and I will be on opposite sides.”
“Yeah, and I’ll kick your ass! Err… butt,” he changed words at the last moment, with a guilty glance at his dad.
“You wish.”
“You’re on!” Or maybe Miles’s person would be innocent, so he’d help Miles. Or maybe they could team up against someone who was super guilty. Either way, they were going to be heroes. It wasn’t perfect. Nothing was, and he already felt sick missing Miles, even though his friend was still right there. But right now, through a haze of painkillers and victory, he felt like the two of them could change the world.
