Chapter Text
To say that Phoenix Wright was having a bad day would be an understatement.
To start with, he hadn’t really even wanted to go to the Grand Prix. But Maya had been so excited, and Pearls, as she often did, got caught up in her older cousin’s enthusiasm, and really, what kind of person would he be if he turned down an offer of free food? So he bit the bullet, accepted the tickets Mr. Powers was offering, and made preparations to be out-of-office on the 20th.
And that’s when everything began to go downhill.
Of course there would be a murder. Honestly, why would he expect anything else? And it only got worse- Maya kidnapped, himself coerced into defending Matt Engarde, and the seemingly never-ending evidence began to pile up against his new client. Everything was pretty much hopeless, and it didn’t help that the detective shared this view.
(“Why the blunt greeting?” Phoenix had asked, his desperate hope that he was about to hear good news starting to fade. Gumshoe’s morose reply crushed what was left of it: “Because there’s nothing to be friendly or happy about, pal.”)
Gumshoe was right: it really was the perfect evidence and testimony. Then Von Karma decided to show up in the middle of his (and Pearl’s) conversation with the detective, and to make matters worse, she nearly managed to fire him, almost cutting off one of their few sources of vital information. But the cherry on top didn’t arrive until the very next moment: Edgeworth, back from the dead.
And, for some reason, with two young teenagers in tow.
“Miles Edgeworth!” Franziska’s whip cracks, her anger clear for all to see. “You-! How dare you show your face to me without-” She falters, seeing the two children- maybe around the ages of 14 or 15?- who are, undeniably, here with Edgeworth. One, a girl with black hair with a… key, apparently, pulled through it, who has been playfully mimicking Edgeworth’s poses since they arrived, and the other a boy nervously bending a baton, glancing between the two prosecutors while clearly trying to hide behind Edgeworth. “...Without… erm. Miles Edgeworth. Who are these… children?”
“Franziska,” Edgeworth says, ignoring her question. “I see you haven’t changed a bit.”
Pearls tugs on Phoenix’s sleeve, and Phoenix manages to close his open mouth in order to look down at her. “T-this person… This is Mr. Edgeworth?” She asks, and it’s all he can do to get out a nod.
“You’re Franziska Von Karma?” The girl asks enthusiastically. “Woah! So you’re dad’s sister. He talked about you! But then- I guess that means you’re kind of like our aunt now!”
Franziska looks like her soul has left her body, Gumshoe scratches his neck nervously, and Pearls blinks in confusion. Phoenix wonders if maybe the last couple of hours have really only been a fever dream.
“Ah- yes. Franziska, Wright, this is Kay and Sebastian. I… I recently took them in.” For the most part, Edgeworth seems calm, though Phoenix can’t help but notice how he surreptitiously pushed Kay behind him as well. “But at the moment, that is besides the point. Franziska-”
“Wha- how is it besides the point?!” For once, Phoenix actually agrees with her. “You- you disappear, and now you come back, with two children?! I- you- this is ridiculous!”
She storms off. Edgeworth watches her go with nothing more than a raised eyebrow.
“U-Um… Mr. Edgeworth, I don’t think she liked us very much.” The boy- Sebastian?- looks close to tears.
“I don’t believe it was either of you she was upset with. And besides, Franziska takes a while to warm up to most people.” Edgeworth turns to Phoenix. “Hello, Wright. I need to talk to you about-”
“Did- did you just call Edgeworth, Miles Edgeworth, the Demon Prosecutor, who has apparently been faking his death this whole time- did you just call him ‘dad’?” He asks the girl- Kay- directly. When in doubt, always cross examine the witness.
“Yup!” She seems rather pleased with the chaos she’s caused. “He’s been my dad for- uhhh, three weeks, I think? Oh, and Sebbie’s for about one. Which means that I’m the older sister!… Hey, um, what was that about him faking-”
“Objection!” With the apparent audacity of that statement, Sebastian’s earlier shyness is forgotten. He steps around Edgeworth to point his baton at Kay. “We already went over this! My birthday is June 7th, while yours is more than a month later, on July 23rd! So that makes me older- adoption dates don’t fraction into it!”
“I think it’s ‘factor,’” Kay points out, “And also, Mr. Edgeworth said that Franziska- actually, I’m gonna start calling her aunt Franziska- is his older sister since she was there first-”
“But-!”
“Mr. Nick, Mr. Edgeworth’s children really argue a lot, don’t they…” Pearl whispers to him. Phoenix is too busy pinching himself to respond.
“Just- ok. Edgeworth, there’s a lot of stuff going on right now, and to be honest, I probably have more pressing matters to attend to. But-” Phoenix makes a hand gesture that attempts to convey his current feelings- “You can’t just brush past this like nothing has happened. I-I mean, I thought you, the Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth, had gone and died!” Pearls makes a shocked exclamation, while Kay’s expression sobers and Sebastian accidentally hits himself with his baton in surprise. “I… I never wanted to see you again! Then you just show up, with two kids, apparently-”
“Wright.” Oh, and there’s the thunderous Edgeworth glare that he had once known. “Your hatred for me is quite unhealthy- not to mention one-sided. But regardless of this, you will leave Kay and Sebastian out of it. I know you're a better man than that.”
Phoenix glances at the pair. “...I’m sorry,” he says sincerely. “That wasn’t my intent. Just- what happened? How do you even-”
“I will say one thing, Wright,” Edgeworth cuts him off. “You can’t win on your own at the trial tomorrow. I have something definitive that you lack, and that’s the definition of teamwork. It’s the power to find-”
“The truth!” Kay says at the same time. She looks mischievously up at her… father? “Sorry, dad, but you’re super predictable sometimes.”
“Nghoo-! W-well, yes, that is correct. In order to understand this case, you have to understand a certain ‘truth.’” Though slightly flustered at being mimicked so easily, Edgeworth’s gaze feels like it’s piercing Phoenix. “Well, if you ever feel the need for my assistance, it is available to you. I'm not in charge of this case, so I can be a bit more generous with information.”
Despite his misgivings, Phoenix takes him up on the offer. The information, while certainly enlightening, only paints a more confusing and bleak picture. Kay and Sebastian, who have apparently been briefed, sometimes jump in with comments of their own. He tries, but… with everything that’s gone on in the last day, and the exhaustion starting to catch up to him, he just can’t contain his anger at some points.
(“It'd been better for everyone if you never came back from the dead, Edgeworth,” Phoenix hears himself saying, and to his surprise, it’s the seemingly timid Sebastian who comes to Edgeworth’s defense.
“Th-That’s not true! If, if Mr. Edgeworth hadn’t been there… then Pops… Pops might have…” The teen suddenly sniffles, tears returning, and this time Phoenix knows he definitely deserves the angry glare Kay gives him while Edgeworth pulls a tissue out of his pocket, leaning over slightly as he quietly says something to the boy.)
He doesn’t end up learning anything about what happened within the last year, or why Edgeworth now has two teenagers, and what he does learn only seems to increase the evidence against Engarde. But he did get a possible motive- and new suspect- out of it.
When he breaks Adrian Andrew’s Psyche-Locks, he tries to feel like he’s made a breakthrough in the case.
But for some reason, all he can feel is a growing sense of dread.