A few days later, Edgeworth found himself in front of the Gatewater Hotel receiving an almost unpleasantly surprising hug from a person he hadn't seen in years.

The good news was that it wasn't Larry. Which, considering it all, was rather good news indeed.

The bad news was that it was one Miss Maya Fey, and that fact caused him a small bit of embarrassment and a great deal of pain. She'd grown quite a bit since their last meeting.

"Ms. Fey... I can't... breathe..." he gasped, and she quickly let him go.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! It's just been so long!" she said, grinning. He managed to scrape together a smile in return while breathing deeply and thankfully.

"Yes, it certainly has," he said. "And how have you been?"

"Good, good," she replied. She looked like she had been doing well, certainly, her smile as bright as ever. No longer the skinny little thing that he remembered from years ago, she had filled out significantly while still maintaining the air of an overgrown child in her stance and voice.

"You've been all right too, haven't you, Mr. Edgeworth?"

Another voice joined hers, and Edgeworth turned to see someone rather unexpected and unfamiliar.

It was a girl in her teens, dressed in the uniform of a Kurain channeler. For the life of him, however, Edgeworth couldn't identify her at all.

"Can't remember me, can you?" she said playfully, and he winced a little. "Found you out, huh?"

"Don't worry, Edgey's like this all the time, arentcha, buddy?" Larry said, clapping him on the back.

"...please don't call me 'buddy,'" Edgeworth replied, tensing from Larry's unexpected contact. "Erm, yes, you are...?"

"Don't you recognize her? It's Pearly!" Maya said. "She tagged along, but only 'cos she wanted to see Nick so much."

"It's been a long time!" Pearl said, bowing a little and smiling sunnily. "I've been looking forward to this."

Edgeworth felt like slapping himself. Of course it was Pearl. "You've grown," he said.

Pearl smiled at him again. "I'm turning 17 this year, you know," she said.

"Really, now."

"Yes, and I was thinking maybe-"

"YOU GUYS NEED TO CONCENTRATE."

Larry was yelling.

"...there's no need to shout," Edgeworth said, glaring at him. "We're in a public place, you know."

"Yes, I know! But seriously, you guys, there's no time for that!" he said. "You even remember why we're here...?"

"Wright," said Edgeworth, nodding gravely.

"Oh yeah, something about Nick, right?" Maya added.

"You did say we were visiting because Mr. Nick was sick, didn't you, Mystic Maya?" Pearl said.

Maya shrugged. "That's what Larry told me, or something."

"Well, yeah! There's something wrong with him!" Larry said.

"So you claim," Edgeworth said, which incited a rather angry glare from Larry. "I think the only reason I'm here is to see this odd behavior for myself."

"I just want to see if he's doing all right. It's been a while, y'know!" Maya added. "You didn't really say what was wrong with him when you called, Larry."

"Yeah I did!"

The three of them stared at him with cocked eyebrows, which were quickly exchanged. "What exactly did he tell you?" Edgeworth asked.

Maya shrugged. "He just said that Nick was acting sorta weird, and I figured, 'Hey, maybe it's about time for a visit,' so I sorta used it as an excuse." She shrugged again. "I haven't seen him since god knows when."

"Me neither!" Pearl added. "We do send him stuff every Christmas, though. Though he doesn't send us stuff back..." she added sadly.

"Don't worry about it, Pearly," Maya said, patting the girl on the head (having to stretch a little as she did so, for Pearl was nearly as tall as her) and smiling. "Nick was always too poor for real Christmas presents!"

"Oh, yeah! He'd apologize so much for that," Pearl said, with a smile altogether too cheerful for the subject material. Unnoticed by Larry, Edgeworth provided what he felt was a necessary uncomfortable glance.

"Either way," he said, clearing his throat, "you're unaware of his... strange behavior?"

"Clueless," Maya said, smiling. "B'sides, Nick's always been kinda weird."

"But I told you over the phone...!" Larry whined. "Maya, I told you! Remember? That one time?"

"I wasn't really listening, you know," Maya replied. "I just got all excited by the idea of having a real excuse to see Nick. So... y'know!" She grinned.

"Maayaaaaa..."

"Pull yourself together, will you? You're the one who organized this little 'intervention' in the first place," Edgeworth said, with a very stuffy tone in his voice. "What matters is that we're all together, which is, apparently, what you wanted. So, what do we do now?"

"Oh yeah, we're gonna visit him!" Larry said brightly.

"Cool, great!" said Maya, and Edgeworth sighed. "Pearly and I brought a present, by the way."

Pearl brandished a small paper box, and smiled almost embarrassedly. "It's not really much of a present..." she said. "I just made some strawberry desserts before we left, just like my mom used to make. I thought he'd like them."

"Of course he's gonna like them, Pearly! Aunt Morgan always made the best desserts," Maya said, patting Pearl on the head again. "So, uh, are we going to his house?"

"What? No, I have no idea where that is," Larry replied, tilting his head. "I figured we'd go to his office, 'cos that's where I saw him last time. Well, outside the hospital, and I don't think he'd be there again."

"Oh yeah! And that's just across the street," said Maya, tilting her head. "Good thinking, Larry! Wow, it's been so long..."

"His office?" Edgeworth said, interrupting her. "Why would he still have it? He's no longer a lawyer."

"Heck if I know," Larry said, shrugging. "Either way, c'mon! Let's go!" And with that, Larry ran off at full speed.

It didn't take very long for the rest of them to catch up. "Boy, you sure can't run, Larry," Maya remarked.

"H-ha! I'm just tired... 'cos of my... arm!" Larry panted, hands on his knees. "It's takin' up... all-a... my energy...! To heal! ...yeah!"

"...right. When you're finished," Edgeworth said coolly, "we'll just cross the street together. And we'll walk."

"Walking's for... losers..." Larry said, and began running again across the street, despite the fact that there was a full stream of traffic on the road.

Edgeworth kneaded the skin between his eyes as Larry narrowly avoided being hit by the third passing car and its expletive-spewing driver. "If he keeps this up, he'll have more than that damned broken arm of his," he groaned.

"What did he break it from, anyways?" Maya asked.

"I have no idea," Edgeworth said, and began to walk when the light for the crosswalk gave the okay. Larry stood, waiting for them, once they reached the other side, breathless and triumphant.

-/-

A girl answered the door, after they climbed the familiar stairs up to the offices and knocked on a very familiar door. She was wearing a pink apron and yellow rubber gloves, and her face was eager and expectant. "Yes?"

Edgeworth, being at the front of the little group ("Butz, I think that you're not exactly someone he wants to see right now.") cleared his throat and put on as diplomatic an air as he could. "Is this the Wright Law Agency?" he asked. "Or, erm, what used to be it?"

"Yeah, a long time ago," the girl replied. "We are dabbling a little in law now, though, what with Polly around, but we're mostly still the Wright Anything Agency! Do you need to hire anyone?" She smiled a perfect smile, one which Edgeworth often saw in people that were trying to sell him something.

"No, we're not here to hire anyone," Edgeworth replied, his brow lowering. "We'd like to speak to Phoenix Wright, if it's possible."

"Oh, all of you?" the girl said, peering around Edgeworth's wide shoulders and seeing Maya, Pearl, and Larry waiting earnestly behind him. Larry waved at her rather eagerly. "You want to talk to Daddy? He's taking a nap right now, but I could go wake him up."

The four of them froze. "D-Daddy...?" Edgeworth said, trying to keep his jaw from dropping too noticeably.

"Yep! I'm Trucy Wright, doting daughter and magician extraordinaire!" the girl said proudly.

"Just how old are you, exactly?" Edgeworth asked, while Maya, Pearl, and Larry tittered behind him.

"Well, um, my birthday's in January, and it'll be my Sweet Sixteen, so I've been asking Daddy if I could do something special," she replied, and folded her arms, looking up. "He hasn't given me an answer yet, but it's okay! I've got a few months to let him think of something!"

"Oh, so you're about my age!" Pearl said, as Edgeworth did a quick sum in his mind, and found several strange and entirely impossible notions entering quickly thereafter. He exchanged a confused glance or two with Maya, as Pearl and Trucy continued on. Larry was currently inspecting a rubber plant in the hallway, for some reason known only to him.

"Really? What's your name?" Trucy asked.

"I'm Pearl Fey. It's so nice to meet you! Your father and I knew each other when I was little," Pearl said pleasantly. "Have you heard of me?"

"Nope! I'll have to ask him about all of you. I don't even know your names!" She gasped. "Oh, I know! I'll have Daddy introduce me to all of you. Please come in, I'll go wake him up!"

Hesitantly, and almost fearfully, Edgeworth entered, with Pearl and Maya following behind in mild caution and Larry tailing them in pure, ignorant bliss a few seconds later. "Please, sit anywhere," Trucy continued, and disappeared through the door that led to what used to be Phoenix's personal office. "I'll be right back!"

"...I don't think there's anywhere to sit," Maya said, glancing around at the almost obscene amount of clutter in what used to be the lobby.

"Pff! You're not trying hard enough, Maya," Larry said, and perched himself on top of a series of stacked boxes. "See? She told us to sit anywhere."

Edgeworth remained standing, still thinking. Incomplete questions flew from his mouth in rapid mutterings. "Who in the world would... Who is her... Eighteen...?!"

"Are you okay, Mr. Edgeworth?" Pearl asked, as Maya attempted to sit on the empty couch arm with some success.

"...Eighteen?!" Edgeworth said again. Pearl backed away in mild concern, and busied herself in trying to find a seat for herself.

"...here, Daddy, there's four people here to see you." Trucy's voice slowly faded in from behind the door. "Do you know any Pearls, by the way?"

The door opened, and there he stood.

His eyes were half-closed and sleepy; a blue hat was sloppily tossed on his head, nearly falling off. His clothes were decidedly wrinkled.

"...ah," was all he said.

"Nick!" Maya squealed, and ran forward to give him a hug. "It's so good to see you!"

"Ah, yeah. Hi, Maya," he said, and gave her a squeeze that was less a hug and more of a touch. He backed away. "Hello, Edgeworth."

"Wright," Edgeworth replied, nodding, holding back the urge to gape.

"Where's the cravat?"

He gaped, just slightly. "Excuse me?"

"You look strange without it," Phoenix replied, walking past Maya and taking things off the nearby couch. "Maybe you should reconsider."

"...um." Edgeworth couldn't bring himself to say anything else, as Phoenix finished clearing the couch and laid down on it. He yawned. "Perhaps...?"

"Mm," Phoenix said, and said nothing else.

"Daddy," Trucy said, after a bought of silence that was mixed with near-palpable confusion and bafflement, "aren't you going to introduce me to these people? I think they know you."

"Ah." Phoenix sat up, and rubbed his eyes, adjusting his hat. "Sure. You all introduce yourselves. This is my daughter Trucy, by the way."

"I already told them that, Daddy," Trucy said, rolling her eyes, but with a smile.

"Ah, right," Phoenix said, and blinked once or twice. "Well?"

Ever the leader, Edgeworth took the initiative. "Um. I'm Miles Edgeworth, your... er... father and I were... friends when he was still a lawyer," he said, after clearing his throat, finding it unusually hard to say anything at all.

"Friends, huh?" Phoenix said quietly, almost silently, from the couch. Edgeworth stared at him as Maya introduced herself in a decidedly warmer fashion.

He concluded, after looking him over, that he was in shock, which was something he truly didn't expect. The last time he had seen Phoenix, he was in the usual blue suit and red tie, and he was laughing embarrassedly at the fact that, once again, the dinner bill was his to cover. He wasn't this ragged dog of a man in a sweatshirt and hat, with five o' clock shadow and glazed eyes. It was almost as if they were two different individuals, and yet...

"I'm Larry! Larry Butz! I came by and visited the other day, you remember?" Larry said cheerfully and loudly, from a few feet away.

"I don't seem to remember that happening," Phoenix said, scratching the back of his head idly. "You were stalking me, that I remember."

"Wow, Daddy, you have a stalker? I didn't know you had that many fans!" Trucy said brightly. “Has your piano playing been improving that much?”

"Haha. I don't think Daddy has that many fans," Phoenix replied, and a sick feeling jolted Edgeworth in the stomach, a milder version of the shock he felt upon learning that Phoenix had a daughter. He hoped that he wasn't the only one feeling uncomfortable, but looking around, he found that he was indeed probably alone.

"What a cute kid, Nick, I mean really," Larry continued.

"Keep that up, Larry, and I'll call the police and say there's a pedophile in my house," Phoenix replied flatly.

There was a sharp and very uncomfortable silence.

"...I'm kidding. Ha ha ha." Phoenix laughed, but it wasn't anything like his usual laugh. Even Maya grimaced, just a little.

Trucy, however, was decidedly unaffected. "Oh, Daddy, you're so funny," she said. Giggling.

"We brought a gift, Mr. Nick!" Pearl said, losing her patience and holding out the box of desserts, hoping for some friendlier conversation. "It's some strawberry desserts! I thought you'd like them."

Phoenix looked them over, then took the box from her hands and looked inside. "You didn't bring any of that bitter green tea, did you?" he asked, not looking at her.

"Oh, no, I didn't think to bring that," Pearl replied. "I don't really like it, so-"

"Bitter enough to make your tongue fall out of your mouth..." Phoenix said softly, and closed the box. "Well, it's better than nothing. Thanks for not doing that. Trucy, you can share these with our guests," he said, giving them to his daughter. "I'll go make some tea, I guess. Be right back."

"...you're welcome?" Pearl said quietly, as Trucy opened the box herself and remarked at how large the desserts were.

"I just want to bury my face in them!" she laughed.

"Don't you just want to, though?" Maya said, and laughed with her. "They're so good! I can never seem to make them just right, but Pearly's got the touch, I guess!"

"Trucy, just curious, but your father's not... married, is he?" Edgeworth asked, unable to contain himself.

Trucy shook her head. "Nuh-uh. I've been meaning for him to find me a mama, though," she replied. "He's taking far too long!"

"Find you a..." Edgeworth began, completely at a loss, when Trucy laughed and interrupted him.

"A new one! My real mom's not around anymore," she said, and her smile faded to a smaller one.

"Oh, I'm... sorry," Edgeworth said, as the air became quiet and sad. "Did you come to live with Wri- I mean your father after she-"

"No, no! I still lived with my other daddy," Trucy replied, her mood brightening. "I didn't get this daddy until I was just a little older."

"Other daddy?" everyone asked, Larry included, despite the fact that he had been looking through cabinets and boxes at the other side of the room.

Trucy nodded. "My other daddy, Zak Enigmar! He's a famous magician," she replied. "Daddy defended him in court, and that's when he disappeared, so... now I'm here!"

"So he's not your real father?" Maya said, and Trucy shrugged.

Edgeworth's face became very grim as Trucy replied, and Pearl noticed. "Are you all right, Mr. Edgeworth?" she asked.

"It's nothing," he lied. He recognized that name, the name of Phoenix's last defendant, and it didn't make him feel any better about the current situation of things.

"Oh, so you're adopted!" Maya concluded, loudly.

“I think you got the gist of it, Maya,” Phoenix said, entering the room with a tray of mis-matched cups and a thermos of something. “I adopted Trucy seven years ago.”

“Eight in May!” Trucy said. “Or was it June? Cos there were papers and things to sort out.”

Phoenix chuckled softly to himself. “Sometime around then. Help yourselves to some tea.”

Edgeworth, stealing a glance at the strange man that was somehow Phoenix, poured himself some of the liquid in the thermos (apparently, it was tea) into a mug with a strange illustration of an owl on it. “Thanks,” he said, and upon taking a sip, he nearly spit it out. It tasted chemical and thin and didn't resemble tea at all.

“...this is instant, isn't it,” he said, disdainfully.

Phoenix shrugged casually, not looking at him. “I don't really drink tea. It's the best I could do,” he said. “It's not like the tea is asking you to drink it, so don't force yourself on it."

Edgeworth puzzled over the statement for a moment as Phoenix moved to another side of the room, and decided that it only made a little sense, so it wasn't worth thinking any harder about it.

"So, how have you been, Mr. Nick?" Pearl asked, serving herself a cup of tea quite neatly. "I hope you've been enjoying our letters! We just haven't heard back from you, and-"

"I've been well enough," Phoenix said, giving her a slight, sleepy smile, before leaning against a wardrobe and looking out the window, saying nothing.

"Really! What's been keeping you busy?" Pearl continued, but she received no answer. "Have you watched the Steel Samurai movies that Mystic Maya and I sent you?" He blinked.

"Maybe he's still asleep," Larry offered, a dessert in each hand, his eyes observing Phoenix warily. "There is something wrong with him. Maybe it's some rare Living Dead disease!"

"I'm not a zombie, Larry," Phoenix said, and that was that.

“Um, Trucy! What kinds of things do you like to do?” Maya asked from the couch, as Trucy had cleared the seats of junk (placing it kindly on the floor behind it). “Are you in any sports at school? Clubs?”

“Well, I don't really have time for clubs or anything at school,” Trucy replied. She had gotten herself a juice glass full of tea and a decidedly large dessert, holding one in either hand. “I've transferred so many times that I haven't really had the time, even outside of my work!"

"You have a job?" Edgeworth said, eyebrow raised. "At your age?"

"I'm a professional magician!" Trucy declared. "A child performer, if you will. It's kinda cool, huh?"

“NO WAY.” Maya practically jumped out of her seat. “You're a magician? A professional one?!”

Trucy nodded energetically and set her tea and dessert down on the coffee table. “Yep! When I'm out of school, I'll be able to tour! For now, though, I'm just doing local venues.”

“Is that so,” Edgeworth said, attempting to enjoy the tea at least a little. He wasn't succeeding.

“Can we see a trick?” Pearl asked, succeeding at enjoying the tea, but only with a gratuitous bite of dessert along with it. “A simple one's fine, if you don't have the time to prepare...”

“Oh, don't worry! I know lots of on-the-spur tricks,” Trucy said proudly, grinning. “A performer is nothing unless she can perform at the drop of a hat!”

She snapped her fingers, and a blue silk hat suddenly appeared at in her grasp. Maya's eyes were as wide as dinner plates. “WOAH. How'd you do that?” she asked.

“I'm not even finished with the trick!” Trucy laughed. “Besides, a magician never reveals their secrets.” She winked, and after showing that the hat was empty, produced a strawberry dessert from it. There was a reasonable amount of applause from the guests, even a few claps from Phoenix himself, which mildly surprised Edgeworth and Larry.

“I'll show you more later, if you want,” Trucy said, and stuffed the dessert in her mouth. “Mm! Thiff iff rearry goo'! Are you a...” She swallowed. “Are you a chef, Ms. Fey?”

“Me? Oh, no. Pearly made those,” Maya said. “And neither of us are chefs,” she added, before Pearl could say anything. “We're channelers.”

“Channelers? What, so you guys fix TV's? That's way awesome!” Trucy said.

“No, no!” the cousins said, waving their hands. “It's nothing like that. We channel the souls of the dead through our bodies,” Maya continued, in what was obviously a well-rehearsed explanation.

It was to be expected, anyways; the Fey family had been gaining increased fame and reliability with the police since Maya became head of the clan, and as such, to-the-point explanations were often necessary for the influx of the uninformed.. “It's been passed down from mother to daughter for generations,” she concluded.

“Oh, a mother-daughter magician family? That's even cooler!” Trucy said, biting into her second dessert. “I can totally relate. Could you show me that 'channeling' trick sometime? I'd just like to see it. Do you channel famous people mostly?”

“It's not magic...” Pearl said, smiling a little embarrassedly. “Mystic Maya, would you like me to channel somebody to demonstrate?”

“No, no, I'll do it,” Maya said, smirking. She closed her eyes.

"I don't think that's necessary," Phoenix said.

Maya's eyes opened. "Huh? What?"

Phoenix yawned, and left his spot by the window. "I'm not exactly in the mood for this sort of thing."

"I was just gonna channel Mia. I mean, she hasn't seen you in-" Maya began, almost defensively, a nervous smile on her face. Larry and Edgeworth looked on in slight surprise.

"I'm not exactly in the mood for talking to... her, right now," Phoenix interrupted. He didn't look at any of them as he spoke. "I'm tired. I'm going back to sleep. Take care of our guests for me, Trucy."

Saying no more, he entered his office, and shut the door quietly behind him.

“I think we'll be leaving now,” said Edgeworth, after putting down his mug.

“What? Why?” Maya, Trucy, and Larry chorused in unison.

“We came here to speak to your father, and it seems he's... not up to it at the moment,” he said, standing. “Sorry for being such trouble.”

“No, it was nice having you over! It's great meeting Daddy's friends,” Trucy said. “All right. I have to finish cleaning, anyways. Come back any time!”

“Edgeworth, we barely got here...” Larry whined, and he received a glare so poisonous that he gulped slightly.

“Take care,” Edgeworth said, nodding, and leaving.

“See you later, Trucy. It was great meeting you,” Maya said, waving and smiling, a dessert half-eaten in her other hand.

“Yeah, you too! Pearl, let's hang out sometime, okay? Visit!” Trucy said. "I wanna see that channeling trick someday!" Pearl nodded with a warm smile.

“Hey, Trucy, if your dad does anything weird just tell us, okay? We're kinda worried and stuff and-” Larry began, but was dragged out of the room by Edgeworth mid-sentence.

“Say goodbye, Butz.”

“BYE!”

Larry was forced down the stairs with a nervously cheerful grin on his face. Typical Butz.

-/-

"That was a terrific waste of our time," Edgeworth declared sourly, sighing and folding his arms. "I'm heading back to the hotel."

"No, it wasn't! He let us in!" Larry protested. "You guys saw what he was like!"

"For all of five minutes," Edgeworth replied. "All I could see was that he was tired and not in the mood for a visit."

"Yeah, but Edgeworth! His clothes! And the calling of the police! And, and, and leaving all unexpected like that! That was weird, wasn't it?" Larry said. "C'mon, you guys agree with me, dontcha?" he continued, appealing to the Feys.

"Well, he didn't call the police, but just saying that just felt... off," Maya said, pinching her chin in thought as they crossed the street together. "And he wasn't dressed neatly, but he was taking a nap..."

"NICK NEVER TOOK NAPS," Larry yelled. "Not ever! Not even in... in... in kindergarten!"

"And what evidence do you have of this?" Edgeworth scoffed.

"I dunno." Larry shrugged. "You're the lawyer, you're supposed to have the evidence," he replied.

Edgeworth sighed very loudly and kneaded his forehead. "At any rate," he said, "I just don't think he's acting oddly enough to warrant such an emergency meeting as this. It's been seven years."

"But he's being weird, you guys," Larry said, his voice oozing with pathetic whine. "Really weird. We gotta find out what's up."

"I dunno, Mr. Butz," Pearl said thoughtfully. "I think we should visit him again at a better time, because I know that Mystic Maya isn't always the nicest person right after taking a nap..."

"Pearl, how can you say that!" Maya pouted, and folded her arms.

"But it's true, Mystic Maya! I'm sorry!" Pearl said.

Maya smiled a little. "It's all right," she said. "I think Edgeworth's onto something, though. I mean, he was acting a little weird, even for being just woken up. I'd be up for trying another visit."

"See what I mean?" Larry said, smirking.

Edgeworth didn't reply, sighing again.

"What do you think is wrong with him, anyways? Is he sick?" Maya continued.

"I think it's his evil twin. I mean, the real Nick doesn't act like that," said Larry, nodding.

"He doesn't have any siblings," said Edgeworth. "You've been friends with him longer than I have, you should know that."

"Yeah, true..." Larry paused in thought. "Maybe he got abducted by aliens," he hazarded. "Like, the real Nick is up in Saturn or something being held hostage."

"I don't see why aliens would want to take Mr. Nick..."

"Yeah, true. He's kinda plain." Larry thought a little more. "Ooh, ooh! What if he's, like, an alien?"

"You just said that," Edgeworth said, before realizing he was even taking part in the conversation and vowing not to speak up again.

"No, no, I mean, like... Superman! Like he's been an alien all along and he's going through this molt and stuff that messes with his head!"

"...uh, I don't think so, Larry," Maya said. "Pearly, do you have your cell phone? Want to call the taxi to our hotel?"

Pearl nodded, as Larry screwed up his face in thought, doing an excellent impression of an unfortunate victim of severe constipation.

"WAIT! No, wait! Okay, so the alien idea is stupid. He'd kinda, like, be out as a vigilante by now if that was the case," he said, completely unaware that nobody was really listening to him by that point. "Maybe... maybe he's got stuff in his brain that's messing with him. Like... like little aliens, or robots, or-"

Suddenly, the most amazing idea in the world hit Larry, and he grabbed Maya and Edgeworth each by the shoulder, turning them towards him. They simply had to hear it.

"...I got it!" Larry said. "It's so simple! Nick's a cyborg! We need to repair his brain!"

"...that's the stupidest thing I've heard yet," Edgeworth decided, and began walking away again.