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The story begins, as it often does, with some poor sap being arrested. Phoenix was in Europe studying the different justice systems. Apparently there was a fight between some kids over some stolen bag full of expensive recording equipment, now smashed to bits. The police went to some sobbing girl, and once an officer touched her shoulder, she screamed and apparently broke the guy's arm.
Edgeworth was apparently trying to smooth things over with the authorities, with the girl's therapist involved (something about autism and potential trauma that Phoenix overheard before heading to see this girl) whilst Phoenix himself decided to talk with her directly. It felt odd, acting as if he was a lawyer, and he had this peculiar feeling that he'd instinctively try to show his badge to her and offer to defend her without thinking (it's been a while, but old habits die hard).
Weirdly enough, he found himself in what was more an interrogation room than a detention centre (budget cuts, perhaps?) but as he sat down he knew he had to put the girl at ease. “Hey, just to let you know, someone is talking to the police right now, you'll be out soon.” was his opener.
She looked up at him, eyes red and stained with tears and mumbled a quiet “thank you”, and then she looked down again, and mumbled something he couldn't hear, and started sobbing again.
This worried Phoenix, but he decided the only way was forwards and asked “What happened?” trying his hardest to be earnest, open, and friendly.
In response the girl looked up, her face still stained with tears with a grim expression on her face as she said “You won't believe me, no one ever does.”
Phoenix's heart sank when he heard that. The all-too-familiar situation of a scared and alone kid. But this 'no one ever does' hinted at something deeper than just this incident. If he was a lawyer he would investigate more into this, but as it stood he was... a piano player, who happened to be unbeatable at poker. Not exactly great material to help out a kid, but he might as well try.
He stood up straight and tried to make himself look... serious? professional? Well, as much as he could wearing a beanie, a hoodie, track suit bottoms and freaking sandals. Regardless, he pressed forward. “I'm good at believing truths that others refuse to accept.” he said, adding “I used to be quite good at proving it, too.”
The girl looked up, with some sort of deadpan expression. “You're sad.” she announced. She was right, but Phoenix had no idea how she picked up on that.
So, he decided to ask about it. “Why do you think that?”
She simply responded “I can hear it.”
Phoenix blinked. Was he sad? He was sure he didn't sound it, but this girl claims she heard it. He definitely had plenty of reason to be sad, especially about the whole... Okay, yeah he was sad. Quite frankly he was too proud (or something like that) to admit it, but, yes, he was sad, and somehow this girl heard it? He wasn't completely sure if she was telling the truth or making stuff up, but there was a way to check...
He stuck his hand in his hoodie pocket, gently grasping the magatama. "Did you really hear sadness?" he asked, simply.
The girl nodded. “I hear surprise now, too.” she added.
Phoenix saw no psyche-locks, but he wanted to be sure, so he asked “You can hear people's emotions somehow?”
The girl looked at him with her sore eyes and answered “Yes. I hear it in people's voices.” there was a pause and she added “You are happier now, too?”
Phoenix smiled at her, “I believe you” he said, and he saw some tension that he didn't even know was there in the girl visibly dissipate as she relaxed a little bit.
Phoenix took his chance to get her to speak about what had happened earlier in the day. “So, what happened?” he asked, hopping that she was now at ease enough to answer.
Fortunately, she was. “They... They were running away with a bag... So I tried to stop them...” she mumbled.
Phoenix took on a serious tone. “Stupid petty thieves…” he said, before asking “So you tried to do the right thing?”
In response, she nodded. “We got into a fight...” she added.
Phoenix looked at her. She looked like she had been in a fight, though to be honest, it sure didn't look like she had fought five people at once, which is apparently what happened. “What about after the fight?” he asked, his mind slowly trying to piece together the defendant's- no, stop it Phoenix, it’s a scared kid you're talking to, and you’re gonna help her and Edgeworth, she's not your client.
Her answer was simple, and kind of devastating. “They ran away from me... They left the bag, and everything was smashed up…” she cried and flopped her head down onto the desk. “The police blamed me for it all…”
Phoenix breathed out. What the hell were those punks and the police doing?! He wanted to go out there and yell at everything and... No, he needed to help this scared girl. He collected his thoughts and breathed in. “Don't worry,” he said, “I'll ensure that you get out of trouble and that those kids get in trouble.” (well, not him personally, but Edgeworth will, once he comes back. He hated having to rely on the guy because he felt like such a burden, but in this case... Righteous anger fuelled him.)
Thing is, the girl had heard that righteous anger and asked “You okay...? You sound so angry.” because as he had momentarily forgotten, she could hear emotions.
“Yeah,” he admitted, “I'm angry at the fact that people put you in this situation, and the…”
The girl nodded. “Thank you for being honest with your heart...” she sighed “It hurts when people are not...”
Phoenix found this girl very interesting. She could hear emotions and tell if people weren't being true to their hearts. If he was still a lawyer, she'd probably be one of those weird kids that follow him and assisted him on cases. Those were somehow simpler times...
“Hey... Um...” she started, unsure what to say, eventually asking "When do you think I can get out of here?"
Phoenix sighed. “I don't know.” was the honest reply. “Whenever Edgeworth comes back, and I'll discuss things with him.”
The girl nodded in response. “Okay...” she said, uncertain of if she could fully trust him, but willing to trust him this time.
Fiddling in his pockets, Phoenix realised one of them contained a pack of cards. Eh, why not? He didn't need to be a good role model to kids, and it was something to do.
He took out the pack. “Hey” he began, nervous, becahse this was such an awkward situation. "Do you want to play some poker?"
She nodded. “It seems interesting...”
In his teaching and explanations, he noticed how fast this girl absorbed all the details. She was definitely a fast learner, and he saw a spark in her eye. He didn't see it often, but he knew it when he saw it. He saw it all the time in Trucy, for example, but thinking back, he saw the same thing in Edgeworth's eye, many years ago, whenever he talked about wanting to be a defence attorney.
Eventually, they were ready. A combination of Edgeworth being slow (what was taking him so long?) and this girl being a quick learner meant that he was actually about to play poker against her.
He decided to warn her. “Hey, just so you know, I play to win, and I win a lot.”
She shrugged. “Alright then...” and then she grinned, which was a wonderful sight compared to how she was before. “I'll play to win too!”
Phoenix tried to warn her "Hey, I don't want to-"
She finished his sentence “-make me feel bad?” she shrugged “You win a lot, so me losing against you wouldn't mean much.” and then she flashed that grin again. “But I'm gonna try to make it as hard for you as possible!”
Phoenix admired her attitude, especially since it was probably somehow the healthiest one, given the situation. And thus... They began their game. Edgeworth was so going to kill him for this, wasn't he.
Thing was, as he would eventually let on in the future, Phoenix's whole undefeated poker player for seven years thing was a bit of a lie. In what surprised no one who knew the two, he lost against Trucy a lot. Though, honestly? It didn't really count, given that they were a team. No, there was someone else that Phoenix had lost to, and no one would have believed her until Phoenix admitted it cheekily during an office game night, in a conspiratorial, scandalous tone.
His first mistake was not actually thinking about his opponent until it was too late. She could hear emotions, so no matter his face, she heard how he felt whenever he talked. He started to forcefully steady his emotions, suppressing his feelings about the state of the game and his situation. Unfortunately, that didn't really help, as the girl could hear when emotions are suppressed.
This didn't mean it was easy for her, on the contrary. This was probably one of the toughest challenges she's ever had, and whilst her face was one of steely determination combined with the occasional thrill of the moment grin (which was not actually a useful tell, Phoenix learned to his horror), there were some other nervous tics that he picked up on that he used to his full advantage.
By the end, both were mentally exhausted, and the girl had just barely scraped a win. Phoenix probably would have won another round against her, but he probably would faint if he tried. It didn't help that he was still jet lagged, and oh boy did it hit him at the end of the game.
The final result surprised them both. Their points were scrawled on paper, and both of them were shaken by the final result.
He gasped “You won?!” in an exhausted manner.
She gasped “I won?!” in a more excited manner. (Phoenix wondered how she had the energy.)
Her happiness turned to horror as she realised the magnitude of what she had done. During the rapid training, he had mentioned that this was his job. She had destroyed a professional poker player's perfect win record. Wouldn't that effectively cost him his job? She didn't want to be responsible for that. That was why it was her who said “Let us never speak of this again.” and Phoenix nodded, shaken, but relieved at this girl and her kindness.
Phoenix smiled at her. “My name's Phoenix Wright, and you are formally invited to the Wright Talent Agency because...” he grinned “You would be a perfect fit, actually.”
The girl processed what he said. “Phoenix Wright?” she asked “The lawyer?”
He winced. “Yeah, I used to be...”
She stared at him, with that light in her eyes again. “Can a lawyer save someone who's already in jail?”
Phoenix scratched his chin. “I suppose so, it's tricky, but not impossible.” he looked down, “I'm not a lawyer anymore, though.”
She nodded. “I understand.” she said, and Phoenix didn't know what she meant by that until a few years later. “By the way,” she added, “my name's Athena Cykes.”
It was at that moment a very frazzled Miles Edgeworth walked into the room, with... was that a bunch of twigs in his hair?! Phoenix and Athena couldn't help but laugh.