Long chapter. Long long LONG chapter. Although it's mostly just trial stuff, I did take a few liberties. There's one scene in there that definitely did NOT happen in the game.

Hope someone is still reading this... :P

Enjoy!

Chapter 21

February 10

12:45 PM

District Court

Courtroom No. 7

A hush fell over the courtroom after Phoenix's announcement.

"Hawthorne?…" the judge finally asked.

"Sister Iris had a twin sister," Phoenix explained. "And you're looking at her. Miss Dahlia Hawthorne."

A spark of recognition flew into the judge's eye. "Ahh… that name rings some bells… distant bells, but bells nonetheless."

Godot shook his head. "Ha…! It's just your imagination, Gramps. Here is the file on Dahlia Hawthorne."

Upon receiving the think stack of papers, the judge flipped through each page thoughtfully, staring intently at the photograph of the smiling, red-haired beauty. "…Oh yes, I remember now… That case, five years ago…" He trailed off, lost in memory. "But according to this…" he said, turning to a page of the document, "Dahlia Hawthorne… is already dead! It says… her execution was carried out last month!"

"…So what?"

"Mr. Godot?"

"Death has no meaning in this courtroom!"

The gallery muttered, each person expressing bewilderment.

"Order! Order! Order!"

"W-wait a moment!"

Everyone turned to look at the young woman on the witness stand.

"How can you…? My sister…! She's already dead!" Iris exclaimed, tearing up slightly. "Wh-what kind of…?"

"OBJECTION! You should already know! The blood of the Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique flows through that body!"

Brow furrowed, the judge mused, "Kurain… Channeling Technique? I've heard that before…"

"Correct, Your Honor. This woman is not Dahlia Hawthorne herself, but the spirit of Dahlia inhabiting a spirit medium's body!"

"Trite," interrupted Godot, "An exciting story, but quite impossible."

'Just listen to what I have to say for once!'

"You expect us to believe that Dahlia Hawthorne, on the very night of the murder, just happened to be channeled to a temple where her twin sister, Iris, was…?"

Phoenix nodded.

"And we're supposed to believe a coincidence like that just happens?"

"Of course not. This whole thing was planned! I have a set of instructions here that detail the entire murder plot!"

Iris gasped. "Ah…! Wh-what's that…!"

"These instructions were written by your mother, Morgan Fey! Part of the plan called for Dahlia Hawthorne to be channeled! That night… there were two Irises at Hazakura Temple!"

Godot choked on his mouthful of coffee. "T-two of them?"

Nodding once more, Phoenix pointed at a spot on the instructions. "Even the time of the channeling was planned out. It says 'as soon as you hear the lights out bell'… in other words, 10:00 PM. However, Iris was seen before dinnertime."

"Which means that the Iris at dinner was the real Iris," the judge responded, closing his eyes in deep thought.

"Correct. The Iris who gave me this hood was also the real Iris," Phoenix expanded, pulling out the white hood. "Which means that the Iris that Sister Bikini saw was someone pretending to be her… namely, one Dahlia Hawthorne!"

"Objection! Do you hear yourself talking, Trite? True, you found plans that talked about channeling the spirit of Dahlia Hawthorne; however, there is no question that this witness is the real Iris!"

"Whaaaaat?"

"Calm down. Remember what you know about the night of the crime. After meeting Sister Bikini, the spirit of Dahlia Hawthorne would have been stranded at the Inner Temple after the lightning strike. Later, the body was moved by pendulum."

Phoenix blinked. "And…?"

"So naturally," Godot continued, "the one who received the body was the real Iris. Are you with me so far?" Upon Phoenix's affirmative nod, the coffee-loving prosecutor drew a breath and spoke once more. "When the police were called, they came to the Main Hall of Hazakura Temple. There, they found Iris in her room and arrested her. Ever since, she's been under police supervision at the detention center."

"I… suppose…" 'Crap! I can't deny any of that!'

Iris sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. It looks like he's finally convinced…"

'Something's off… way off! I'm still not convinced that this Iris here is the same one from the other night!'

"Ha…!" came a derisive laugh from Phoenix's opponent. "I suppose you're going to say something completely ridiculous, such as 'the defendant and Dahlia Hawthorne switched places'?"

"S-switched places?" the judge exclaimed. "I don't claim to understand this talk about spirits, but I do know that we can't continue this trial until we verify the witness's identity!

'Iris can't have channeled Dahlia. She doesn't have the spiritual power,' mused Phoenix. 'Which means the two must have switched places!'

"Well, Mr. Wright? Was there any opportunity, from the time Iris was arrested until now, for her to switch places with the spirit of Dahlia Hawthorne?"

Phoenix paused. "Your Honor… there might have been one chance…"

"Oh?"

"Yesterday, for a few minutes, Iris' whereabouts were unknown."

Godot took a harsh gulp of his coffee. "What do you mean, Trite?"

"Meaning, of course, that the defendant had an opportunity to move about freely, unsupervised."

The judge's brow furrowed. "Who is responsible for this? Who would give a murder suspect time to move about freely like that?"

Unhappily, Phoenix sighed. 'I'm sorry… I know you didn't mean to… It wasn't your fault…' He hated to bring up things like this in front of the man who was surely sitting in the gallery, watching the entire thing. "It was… Miles Edgeworth."

"Mr. Edgeworth? I don't believe it!" the judge cried, shaking his head in astonishment.

"There was a fairly large earthquake yesterday at Hazakura Temple. Mr. Edgeworth has… difficulty with such earthquakes. He became distracted, and accidentally allowed Iris to escape. Naturally, after the earthquake ceased, Mr. Edgeworth and I went directly to the Inner Temple to find the defendant. Iris was already there… however, the two had already switched places by that point in time. I was met at the Training Hall by none other than Dahlia Hawthorne!"

"That's enough, Mr. Wright!" the judge interrupted, banging his gavel. "Now see here… no judge in his right mind would consider the idea of 'spirit channeling' and…"

"Be quiet."

The judge's reprimand ceased. A hush fell over the courtroom as all eyes turned to the defendant, who was lazily flicking her hair.

"It's been a long time… Mr. Judge," the girl continued, stopping her hair-flicking and smiling gently.

"Th-that voice…!" The judge knew that voice. Sweet, yet clipped and commanding whenever its owner felt agitated. Innocent, yet disdainful and aloof. Melodious, yet jarring, and somehow ugly. It was as if the voice completely changed with its owner's mood.

And there was no question to whom that voice belonged.

"Guess I'll have to ask again," Godot remarked. "Upon meeting a beautiful lady, always ask for her name and profession. That's one of my rules."

Flick. "Dahlia Hawthorne. And my current profession?" A wry smirk. "Permanently retired."

"Ha…! So you're not going to bother hiding your identity anymore, huh?"

A slow blink. "…Why should I? After all, I'm dead." Phoenix's eyes widened as the black-haired Dahlia's face twisted into an evil grin. "There's really nothing you can do to punish me!"

"Wh-what is going on here?" sputtered the judge.

'Dahlia Hawthorne… I never thought we'd meet again.

'And I never thought we'd meet like this…

'But this time, I'll end it!

'For her, and for myself…'

Phoenix clenched his fist. It was time to finally face his demons.

…

February 10, 1:06 PM

District Court

Courtroom No. 7

The court had erupted into such chaos that the judge was forced to call a short recess. Now that everyone had reassembled, he spoke again.

"…Now then, let's continue where we left off, shall we?" The old man took a deep breath, still in shock. "Well, witness?"

"Yes? How can I help you?" Dahlia asked, smiling innocently. "…Mr. Judge."

"Well… we'll need to hear your testimony if we're to learn the truth," the judge explained.

"…I have no problem with that," Dahlia acquiesced. "But when you've seen what I have," she continued, her facial expression hardening, "sometimes the truth is better left unknown."

Clearing his throat, the judge commanded, "Tell us about the plan that was carried out that night!"

Dahlia nodded. Phoenix noticed that her face seemed almost… troubled? 'Impossible.'

"The whole plan began with my death." A sneer. "A stupid plan hatched by Morgan Fey to install her own daughter as the next Master. But for it to work… Maya Fey would first have to die. The idea was for me to kill Maya and then have the blame pinned on Iris. The plan went wrong…" Here Dahlia chuckled. "But it seems to have succeeded anyway."

The judge blinked. "So…"

"HOLD IT!" Phoenix interrupted. "Did you just say the plan was to kill Maya Fey?"

The deceased woman blinked apathetically at him. "Yes. You have a problem with that…?"

Phoenix growled. "Don't give us that nonsense! There's no way that – "

"Watch yourself, Trite!" Godot interjected, his own jaw clenching furiously. "If you've got a problem, solve it during the cross-examination! …That's my rule."

"That's my rule as well!" the judge agreed. Phoenix, however, paid no attention. He was still agonizing over what his ex-girlfriend had said.

'To kill Maya? Could it be true?'

As soon as the cross-examination started, Phoenix pounced. Dahlia had barely repeated her first statement before the defense attorney yelled, "Hold it! You were executed last month, correct?"

"Yes. I was hanged," came the reply. "It wasn't exactly… pleasant."

Godot smirked slightly into his cup of coffee. Phoenix continued, "How did you manage to discuss the plan? When did you talk with Morgan Fey?"

A tilt of the head accompanied the young woman's answer. "Last year, she was transferred to the same detention center as me. Since I was on death row and she was my mother… it was actually pretty easy to meet with her."

"So that's when you discussed the plan?" the judge asked.

Somehow, Dahlia managed to make even a snort sound ladylike. "…Ha! Are you crazy? At first, that woman was planning to kill me as well! …Even though I'm her own daughter," she remarked, her brow furrowing.

"All to make Pearl Fey the Master of Kurain…?" Phoenix confirmed.

For the first time that day, he observed Dahlia's normally gentle brown eyes cloud over with pure, unadulterated hatred. "She's a cold, twisted woman. She thought she could finally regain her lost honor. The honor she lost when her younger sister, Misty, took her place as the Master. Ever since that day, she's been working on this plan."

"The plan to put Pearl Fey as the next Master, correct?" inquired Phoenix.

"Yes," Dahlia affirmed, "though at first she had high hopes for the two of us."

"You and your twin sister, Iris?" Godot asked.

"That's correct. Fortunately," she smirked, "neither of us had much spiritual power. That's why… we were abandoned by her… along with our father."

"A-Abandoned…?" The judge's eyes softened a little. He had seen cases that had involved abandonment before. In every occurrence, the abandoned party displayed that same flash of resentment.

"The only person I ever really cared about in life was myself… My sister was a nuisance, so I convinced my father to leave her at an old temple."

'That would be easy for her. She was always… quite persuasive,' Phoenix thought. "This would be Iris, correct?"

"…Yes, my father remarried a woman who also had a daughter. The less children you have, the more money there is to go around, right? And on top of that, my father had absolutely no interest in children in general," Dahlia responded wryly.

"H… How horrible…" the judge said, a little sadly.

"The real horrible one was that woman… That bitter, vengeful woman," Dahlia spat. "It was her stubbornness that gave birth to that child… Pearl Fey. She was born with an abundance of spiritual power." Here Dahlia smirked slyly. "Unfortunately for her. Morgan Fey heaped all of her broken hopes and dreams onto that poor child's back. All because of her pathetic dreams of having her bloodline become the main family."

"Hold it!" Phoenix yelled. "You said before that Maya would have to die for Morgan's plan to work? Why?"

"For our bloodline to succeed as the main family, thus making Pearl the new Master… the remaining descendants of the current Master had to be taken care of," Dahlia explained slowly, as if speaking to a small child.

"OBJECTION! Pearls would never agree to a plan like that! She adores Maya…"

Flicking her hair a few times more, the witness chuckled. "…How sad. You still don't get it, do you? What Pearl wanted had nothing to do with it."

"What?"

"Morgan didn't care one bit about Pearl. The only thing she cared about was the position of the Master. That's all."

"Th-That's ridiculous…!" Phoenix stammered.

"She was willing to sacrifice anything and anyone to achieve her goal. The life of her daughter… and naturally, the life of Maya Fey as well." Finished, Dahlia blinked and fixed the troubled young defense attorney with a cool gaze.

'How could anyone do that…?'

"The plan was for me to kill Maya and then have the blame pinned on Iris." Flick. Flick.

"Hold it! Y-You…? You were going to kill Maya?"

"Pearl didn't need to know anything about it. All she had to do was to follow the instructions in the letter and channel me… Then I would have simply used her body and finished the job. In any case…" Dahlia shot a grin, vicious and predatory, at Phoenix. "I'm already dead, and there's nothing any of you can do to me…"

Phoenix growled in response.

Godot poured himself another cup of coffee. "So the plan was to blame the crime on your younger sister. On Sister Iris of Hazakura Temple…"

"She and I look absolutely identical. No one can tell us apart," Dahlia answered. Godot coughed something that sounded suspiciously like "hair color", causing the dead woman to send an irritated glare in his direction. "If someone were to witness me killing Maya… naturally they would think it was Iris that had done it."

"And there was a witness… Sister Bikini," Godot remarked.

"I never would've guessed she was going to return to Hazakura Temple that night. But…" Dahlia mused. "She wound up seeing Iris' 'crime' anyway."

"Wait!" the judge interrupted. "Why would you even want to pin the crime on Iris in the first place? She's your twin sister!"

The channeled spirit scoffed. "Twin sister…! Don't make me laugh! She's nothing but a backstabber. I couldn't care less about her." She returned to flicking her hair disdainfully.

Phoenix swallowed. "Backstabber…?"

Dahlia didn't even look at him. "…You just don't understand… You never will. Anyway… like I said, the plan went wrong, but it seems to have succeeded anyway."

"Hold it! You think the plan was a success?"

"You heard me." Dahlia rolled her eyes. "Just as that woman had hoped… Maya Fey is dead. Now the title of the Master will pass on to Pearl Fey."

'No… no!' "OBJECTION! Maya isn't dead! She's just trapped! Trapped inside the Sacred Cavern!"

"Really…?" Dahlia retorted. "You're as foolishly optimistic as ever, aren't you…" She smiled. "my darling Feenie?"

Phoenix froze. That one pet name brought back a barrage of memories…

'Feenie… I made you lunch!'

'I knitted you this sweater, Feenie.'

'You're such a sweetheart, Feenie.'

'Feenie, would you like to take a walk?'

'Feenie…'

'Dollie…'

'Feenie…'

'Dollie…'

"Do you want to know the truth?" Dahlia continued in that 'too sweet, too innocent' voice. "Ever since we met… I've despised you."

Phoenix flinched. He couldn't move, couldn't speak. It was like five years ago… all over again. He wanted to throw up.

"Your sniveling naïveté and your pathetic faith in other people…"

"STOP IT."

Everyone whirled around to locate the owner of the voice. Shoving his way down the stairs to the gallery was none other than Miles Edgeworth. Fury emanated from him in a crushing wave that caused anyone in his way to move to the side instantly. Edgeworth stomped his way up to the witness stand, towering over Dahlia Hawthorne.

"Excuse me, but I believe I was talking… Mr. Edgeworth, yes? Your fashion sense hasn't changed much," Dahlia smirked.

"Shut up. How dare you… how dare you!" Trembling with rage, Edgeworth sent his most powerful glare at the dead woman. "If you say one more word, I'll – "

"Mr. Edgeworth!" exclaimed the judge. "This is highly unprofessional behavior! I must insist you return to your seat!"

Edgeworth ignored him. Phoenix watched with astonished eyes as Miles grabbed Dahlia by one shoulder. Immediately, Dahlia grasped his hand with both of hers and dug her fingernails into the loose skin between his thumb and forefinger. Edgeworth winced.

"You care this much about that loser? Hmm?" Dahlia sweetly asked as she continued to pinch. Edgeworth brought his other hand up to shove her away, but Dahlia clamped down even more tightly, causing blood to well up around her nails before she released him. "How sad. I guess birds of a feather really do flock together."

"M-Miles!" Phoenix gasped, as Edgeworth's wound began to drip onto the floor.

"Ugh… you… bitch…" Edgeworth muttered, clenching his injured fist. "You freaking psychopath…" She had gone clean through to the other side of the skin with that one pinch. It hurt more than he would care to admit.

Dahlia Hawthorne laughed. "Just as weak as little Feenie, hmm? Maybe even weaker – after all, that earthquake scared you enough to let my coward of a sister escape. I've been paying attention. But why, Mr. Edgeworth? There must be some reason that a grown man such as yourself would be reduced to a disgusting wreck after just a little tremor."

Edgeworth froze.

"Did something happen, Mr. Edgeworth? You can tell me," Dahlia reassured him in the sweetest voice she could muster. A grin snaked its way across her face. "Were you hurt in an earthquake? Or did you… see someone die during one? Someone close, maybe?" At Edgeworth's pronounced grimace, and his subsequent trembling, she smiled wider. "Does it still hurt, Mr. Edgeworth? Do you miss them? Did you love them?"

"That's ENOUGH."

All eyes turned to Phoenix, who had abandoned the defense's bench. He pulled Edgeworth to the side and faced his ex-girlfriend, eyes fierce. "You can insult me all you want. But don't – you – DARE – hurt – him." He took in a shaky breath. "You brought up old memories – you made him bleed. I won't stand for it. Leave him the fuck alone!"

"Or what, Feenie dear?"

"Just try it, Dahlia Hawthorne. I haven't devoted my entire freaking career to one thing with the intention of letting you tear it down again."

Dahlia blinked, then snorted again. "Oh good God, don't tell me that this is that guy you wouldn't shut up about when we first met? This… lacy pink excuse of a man? The one you wanted to save? Miles, Miles, Miles… that's all I ever heard! Such a bore. And all that drabble ended up to be about him?" She snickered. "If I didn't know better, Feenie – "

"I think it's time we returned to our original cross-examination," Godot butted in, slamming his coffee cup down. Dahlia scowled at being interrupted yet again. "As entertaining as this is, I'm a busy man."

"Quite right!" agreed the judge. "I've never seen such a display in my courtroom! Ms. Hawthorne, you will cease this hostility! Mr. Edgeworth, you will return to your seat! Mr. Wright, you will return to the defense's bench! Bailiff, you will find a bandage for Mr. Edgeworth and clean up this mess!"

About five minutes later, everyone had returned to their proper places. Miles sported a bandage on his hand; he was seething. He had let that woman get the better of him, and he hated himself for it. Phoenix was somewhat shaken at the events. Godot had poured himself a fresh cup of coffee. Dahlia had wiped the blood off her index finger and thumb by rubbing the two digits against each other. The judge continued to just sit there.

"Now, if we can get back to where we were…" The judge looked at Phoenix, who paused before speaking.

"I just want to know one thing," he said, addressing Dahlia. "What did you personally think of Morgan Fey's plan?"

"I told you already, didn't I?" she responded. "It was a stupid plan. It had no point, no value other than fulfilling her own greedy desires… Yes. It was certainly nothing to be proud of."

"But if that's how you feel, then why did you help her?" Phoenix demanded. "Why would you kill Maya?"

"…You may not be able to understand, being the kind and gentle soul that you are… You may not be able to understand why I would help a woman like that."

"Then tell me! Why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Dahlia sneered. "I'm not like that woman. I only act in my own self-interest. I helped her for myself… for my own personal satisfaction! That was the only way I could get my revenge."

"What?" Phoenix's eyes widened.

"Do you understand why I would kill Maya Fey now? What my goal was?" Dahlia asked him with a particularly impudent flick of her borrowed black tresses. Phoenix's brow furrowed.

'Why would she have a grudge against Maya? What is the tie between her and Maya Fey? They had never met before… there must be a common link!'

Suddenly, he knew.

"Your goal had nothing to do with Maya Fey at all, did it?" Phoenix asked. Dahlia chuckled, and Phoenix knew that he had guessed correctly.

"I did say that none of you have the power to punish me anymore, because I'm already dead. However… I had the same problem, you see. You can't punish the dead… or take revenge on them," Dahlia finished.

"You wanted to take revenge on someone?" the judge asked.

"I was sentenced to die because of that woman… Mia Fey." She spat the name out with such hatred that most people in the courtroom recoiled a little.

'I knew it…' Phoenix thought to himself.

"I wanted to send her a message… I suffered my first humiliation at the hands of that woman. I wanted her to feel the same pain that she made me feel! Unfortunately," Dahlia sighed, "it was impossible, so I gave up."

"Because… Mia Fey was already dead," Godot stated.

"Exactly. And there's only one way to take revenge against the dead… even when the body dies, the spirit lives on. To get my revenge, I would kill the person that Mia Fey loved most, with my own two hands! That is why I helped that woman!" Dahlia declared, smiling triumphantly.

Phoenix slammed his hands on the bench. "Just for that, you would kill Maya? You're no different from your mother!"

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as they say," the judge agreed. "What a cruel, cold, heartless plan."

"Hmph!" Dahlia retorted. "Don't waste your time preaching to the dead. Like I said, there's nothing any of you can do to me." She smirked when Phoenix growled, deep in his throat. "That night, at about 9:30 P.M., I was channeled. I pinned my hair up and put on a demon-warding hood. Then I picked up the staff that was by my side and left Hazakura Temple."

'So it was Elise Deauxnim who channeled her,' Phoenix realized, filing the information away in his head for later.

"…That ridiculous head nun never noticed a thing," Dahlia continued. "She left Maya Fey to me… and wobbled back clutching her poor old back."

"Wh-What did you do then…?" the judge asked, completely caught up in Dahlia's tale.

"That kid was easier to handle than I had hoped. I caught up with her in front of the stone lantern. Then I took out the dagger I got from the storeroom and…" She paused, letting the ghost of a smile appear on her face.

"Y-You s-stabbed Maya!" Phoenix exclaimed disbelievingly.

Dahlia frowned in response. "It's… funny, but I don't have a clear memory of what happened after that."

"What does that mean?" demanded the judge.

"I don't know…" Dahlia said, averting her eyes to the side. "I think… I think I was stabbed. Yes, at the last minute, Maya Fey must have stabbed me. I'm sure of it."

"Objection! Maya wouldn't stab a French fry with a plastic fork!" Phoenix protested.

Dahlia ignored him. "Anyway, I suddenly lost consciousness. Before I blacked out, I scrawled her name on the lantern, hoping it would cast suspicion on her. But that's… where my memory stops. I don't have any recollection of actually killing Maya Fey with my own two hands, like I had hoped. My last memory was… Maya's terror-filled eyes. When I woke up after that, I was in the Sacred Cavern, surrounded by darkness."

"The Sacred Cavern?" exclaimed the judge.

"…The entrance was sealed with a trick lock. I was trapped," explained the witness.

"But how did you get in there?" Godot asked.

"I'd like to know that myself. Anyway, I was worried… I didn't know whether or not Maya Fey was dead… and I swore I wouldn't return to the underworld until I knew I had killed her myself."

"For a ghost, you're one tough cookie," Godot remarked.

"I wanted to get out of there and make sure she was dead," Dahlia continued. "But… I couldn't do it. I couldn't get out. I didn't know how to remove the lock."

"So… you were actually confined against your will inside this Sacred Cavern…?" the judge clarified.

"Yes!" Dahlia sharply answered. "I wanted to get rid of that annoying lock as soon as possible… but I kept getting interrupted while I was working on it. Someone came into the Training Hall."

"Was it… Maya?" Phoenix demanded.

"I thought the same thing, but I couldn't see. If someone had spotted me, it would have been all over, so I hid myself at the back of the Sacred Cavern."

'It must have been Pearls,' Phoenix thought. 'She did go there in the morning to cover the scroll with gravy.'

"When I finally managed to remove the lock… it was too late," Dahlia sighed.

"What do you mean?" blurted Godot.

"…The flies had already started to gather."

"Meaning that the bridge had been fixed and the police had started their investigation?"

"I couldn't go out, so I returned to the cavern and put the lock back on myself. Unfortunately, I realized I wouldn't get a chance to see Maya's corpse, but just then… Lady Luck arrived." Dahlia's mouth curled upwards at the memory.

"Lady Luck…?" Phoenix questioned.

"After that big earthquake… she showed up, all by herself."

"By which you mean the real Iris, correct?" asked Phoenix.

"She said she'd come to make sure the Sacred Cavern was alright… Ha! Stupid girl. I came out from the Sacred Cavern and locked her away in my place. I learned that the plan… had actually succeeded."

"What do you mean?" said Phoenix, echoing Godot's outburst from earlier.

"I had misunderstood one thing, you see," Dahlia answered, an apathetic expression on her lovely face. "That night, the one that had summoned me… was not Pearl Fey. In fact, it was Misty Fey… the picture book author."

"Whaaaaaaaaaat?" cried the judge in astonishment.

"It's the only possibility, isn't it? After I lost consciousness in the garden, it was her body that was left lying there… I wasn't able to kill Maya Fey with my own hands after all, but I did make her commit the most vile sin a human can commit."

"Which is…?"

"Matricide," Dahlia smirked. "The sin of killing her own mother!"

"Ugggh… Noooooo way!" Phoenix buried his hands in his hair as the court exploded around him.

"ORDER! ORDER IN THE COURT!" The judge banged his gavel frantically. "What is the meaning of this?"

"I was the one who attacked Maya Fey, true… but the one who actually snuffed out Misty Fey's life was none other than…" Dahlia grinned maliciously. "Your darling little Maya!"

"OBJECTION! Th-that's… ridiculous!" sputtered Phoenix.

With a tilt of her head, Dahlia regarded the defense attorney. "Is it? Just think about it… there's even evidence supporting these facts, isn't there?"

"What…? What do you mean by that? Wh-what is this so-called 'evidence'?"

"The fact that Maya Fey has disappeared… is evidence enough, isn't it?" At Phoenix's puzzled stare, Dahlia continued. "There's no way she's in the Sacred Cavern; she wasn't even able to escape from the Inner Temple! There's only one place she could be."

"Wh-where?" the judge asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Dahlia's sinister grin widened. "At the bottom of the Eagle River, of course!"

"Ea-Eagle River?" Godot stammered.

"Maya Fey killed her long-lost mother," Dahlia explained, returning to her hair-flicking. "Can you imagine the guilt she must have felt when she realized that? That's why… she threw herself into the Eagle River. Most bodies that wind up in there… are lost forever." She paused. "So what do you have to say now… Feenie?"

Phoenix couldn't form coherent words. "….Ooooooh…. Uuuuhhhhh…." 'Maya… Maya… no…'

Before Dahlia could twist the metaphorical knife in Phoenix's gut any more, a melancholy jazz tune sounded throughout the room.

"Sorry. My phone," Godot grunted, flipping the aforementioned device open. "Godot here… okay, thanks." With a small "beep", the call was ended.

"Was that something important?" the judge asked the prosecutor.

Godot nodded. "They just finished removing the locks from the Sacred Cavern."

"Th-that's great!" Phoenix grinned nervously. "What about Maya?"

A pause. "There was a woman in the cave…"

"Was it… Maya Fey?" the judge asked tentatively.

"It was the accused… Sister Iris."

Phoenix blinked. Dahlia shrugged.

"Don't look so surprised… I locked her in there yesterday. I just got finished telling you that."

"So where's Maya?" Phoenix asked Godot.

Another silence. With a heavy sigh, Godot said, "There was no one else found inside the Sacred Cavern."

Phoenix seemed to shrink into himself. "N-No… it can't be…"

"I told you, didn't I?" Dahlia gloated. "She's dead."

"No… !"

As Phoenix screamed in anguish, Miles Edgeworth clenched his fists. 'Maya…' He had held a certain fondness for the young woman, not only because of her cheerful demeanor (and her obsession with the Steel Samurai), but because she had saved his life two years ago. Her outburst in court, and her subsequent jailing, gave Phoenix an opening to prevent a guilty verdict against him. He had felt so… touched that someone whom he had treated with nothing but polite aloofness would put herself on the line like that for him. As thanks, he had posted her bail, and later, when she was kidnapped, he put every effort into finding her. She had meant a lot to Wright… and to himself as well.

And now, she was gone. Dead. Phoenix was not the only one mourning. Maya Fey had been a fine young lady, and he would miss seeing her around.

…

"It seems…" pronounced the judge, his eyebrows furrowing, "…that this case has come to an end… A tragic end… Sadly, it appears the killer of Elise Deauxnim, also known as Misty Fey…" He took a breath. "…was her own daughter, Maya Fey. Overcome with guilt for what she had done… Maya Fey jumped to her death into the raging waters of the Eagle River!"

'It can't be…' Phoenix swallowed heavily.

"…Ha!…"

The blue-suited attorney lifted his head to look at the man across from him. What on earth could he have to laugh about?

"Trite… have you ever heard this one? 'Once you eliminate the impossible… whatever remains must be the truth.' No matter how improbable it may seem."

The judge stared for a moment. "Wh…What is that supposed to mean, Prosecutor Godot…?"

"According to this witness… Maya Fey threw herself into the Eagle River. However…" He took a sip of his coffee. "Is that really the truth?"

His words stunned Phoenix, who straightened a bit behind the defense's bench.

"Remember, Trite, that this woman testified earlier that the bridge was already on fire when the murder was taking place in the garden. Which means if Maya had thrown herself into the river… it must have been from the Inner Temple side, near the bridge."

"That's right!" Dahlia affirmed. "That's where she jumped from…"

"But that's impossible."

"What?"

"It's impossible to jump into the river from there!"

Phoenix straightened up completely. 'Wh-What? Really?'

"Don't get your panties all twisted up, Trite," Godot chuckled into the rim of his mug. "Just relax and think through the whole thing again.

'It's… impossible? Maya couldn't have thrown herself into Eagle River…?'

"Well, Mr. Wright? Do you have any evidence that refutes Ms. Hawthorne's claim?" the judge asked Phoenix.

He thought for a moment. 'If what Godot says is true, then the proof must be somewhere in the evidence… OH!' "Your Honor, it is impossible to jump into the Eagle River from the Inner Temple side! No one knows that better than this witness!"

"What did you say…?" hissed Dahlia viciously.

"Eleven years ago, you jumped into the very same river!"

Dahlia flinched. "Ah… you've done your research…!"

"And, according to this overhead map, below the cliff on the Inner Temple side is a big rock shelf!"

"Oh… ooooh! Y-You're right!" the judge exclaimed.

"Ergo, she wouldn't have reached the river if she had jumped off from there! If she had jumped, we should be able to see her body in the photo of Dusky Bridge!"

"Ah!" cried Dahlia. "But… but!"

"Ha…! So you finally figured it out!" Godot smirked across at Phoenix.

"You…!" A muscle twitched in Dahlia's temple. "Noooooooooo!"

"Order! Order!"

"You… You're just playing with me! Maya Fey's body is at the bottom of the Eagle River! There's nowhere else she could possibly be hiding!" Dahlia's breathing was becoming frantic; her facial expressions growing more and more frazzled. A few stray hairs escaped from the braids atop her head.

"Ms. Hawthorne," Phoenix smirked, "have you ever heard this one before? 'Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains must be the truth.'"

"Yes, just a few minutes ago," she gritted out.

"Maya Fey wasn't inside the Sacred Cavern, and we now know that she didn't throw herself into the Eagle River," mused Phoenix.

Godot nodded. "That eliminates all the most likely possibilities."

"Now…" Phoenix declared, "although it seems improbable, there's still one other place she could be."

"Wh…What…!" The judge was astonished. "What is this one possibility you are talking about…?"

"Th-That's obviously a bluff!" stammered Dahlia Hawthorne. "So where is her dead body then?"

'You know… normally the living can't punish the dead. But I think… there might actually be a way to give Dahlia Hawthorne the ultimate punishment.' "Shall I tell you, Ms. Hawthorne?" Phoenix grinned triumphantly. "Shall I tell you where Maya is this very instant?" The entire court listened with bated breath. "Maya Fey is in this very courtroom!"

"Wh-What?" exclaimed Dahlia.

"M-Maya Fey is here?" Godot, too, seemed nonplussed.

"You say she's here in m-my courtroom?" Naturally, the judge had no clue either.

"…Dahlia Hawthorne," Phoenix began, "I seem to recall that you said… 'I had misunderstood one thing, you see.'"

"So what!" Dahlia snapped.

"But I think there's one more thing you misunderstood."

"What do you mean…?"

"Tell me something. At this very moment…" Phoenix stabbed his finger at the witness. "…Who is channeling Dahlia Hawthorne?"

Dahlia did a double-take. "Wh-Why that… that's obvious! It's Pearl Fey! That pathetic, little, sniveling runt!"

"…You're wrong," Phoenix told her. "Pearls tried… but she couldn't do it. She said that perhaps someone was already channeling you, and that's why she couldn't."

"Someone called me before Pearl did…? But who…?" Dahlia scrunched her brow, thinking hard.

"Pearls even tried again on the day after the crime. But she couldn't do it… what could that mean?" A spark in Dahlia's eyes caused Phoenix to smirk again. "I think the truth is becoming clearer to you right about now, am I correct?"

Total comprehension dawned in Dahlia's brown eyes. "…Aaaah!"

"It wasn't Pearls that channeled you! The one who called you… was Maya Fey!"

"Wh…WHAAAAAAAAAT?" shrieked Dahlia furiously.

"B-But how could that be? Dahlia Hawthorne's goal was…" sputtered the judge.

"To kill Maya Fey." Godot poured another cup of coffee.

"Yes… but if Maya channeled the spirit of someone that was trying to kill her… Oh… C-Could it be…?"

"It looks like you finally understand, Your Honor," said Phoenix.

"W-Well, I don't! What are you going on about?" Dahlia questioned impatiently.

"What I'm 'going on about' is the reason Maya channeled you… to protect herself from you!" Phoenix responded harshly.

"To… protect herself… from me?" It was clear that Dahlia still didn't completely understand.

"Yes. On the night of the crime, you were only interested in one thing. Killing Maya Fey! The path to the Inner Temple was closed off and there was nowhere for her to run. So then the problem became… 'Where would be the safest place to hide?'"

"Ah… Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" 'Good. She finally gets it.' "Y-You mean… That's when she channeled me…?"

"All along you thought you had been channeled by Pearls…" Phoenix expanded. "That's why it never occurred to you… that Maya's hiding place was you!"

Dahlia glared daggers at Phoenix. "N-No… No… DON'T SAY THAT!" she exploded. "Y-You're saying that I… was played for a fool? By that little whelp?" At Phoenix's smile, Dahlia seethed even more. "Maya Fey killed herself! Isn't it obvious?"

"Sorry, but no. It was impossible for her to jump into the river. This was the only way that Maya could disappear from the Inner Temple!"

"I-I don't believe you! A stupid little girl like that who has never been out in the real world… she could never have come up with a plan like that! Who could have ever given her such a brilliant idea?"

"Me, of course."

All heads turned toward the source of the new voice. Standing next to Phoenix was none other than Mia Fey, channeled by Pearl.

"M…Mia!" Phoenix exclaimed.

Dahlia's eyes bulged. An animalistic growl escaped her. "Mia Fey!"

Mia met her gaze evenly. "It's been a long time, Dahlia Hawthorne." She glanced over at the prosecution's bench, where Godot had frozen.

"…So it's true…" His fingers grasped his mug of coffee tightly. "It was you."

"…Yes," Mia responded.

Suddenly, Godot grinned. "Ha…! You're something else…"

"B-But what…" Dahlia interrupted, "what are you doing here…?"

"Tell me something, Dahlia…" Mia started. "I want you to think back to that night one more time. You had just cornered Maya in the Inner Temple's garden. And then… in the final moments of the fight, you lost consciousness."

"I was stabbed! By Maya Fey!"

"Actually," Mia smiled, "Maya lost consciousness at the same time as you. When she woke up, she was in the Training Hall. That's when she decided she needed help, and channeled me. She explained in a memo the situation she was in, and asked my advice."

Dahlia narrowed her eyes. "She did that? I can't believe it…"

"One thing was perfectly clear… I knew you couldn't be allowed to wander free. I wrote down two things that Maya had to do: channel Dahlia Hawthorne as soon as possible, and lock herself in the Sacred Cavern until help arrived."

'So… it was Maya who put the lock on there,' realized Phoenix.

"Yes, but why did you order her to do those two things?" asked the judge.

"If she hadn't," Mia responded. "Dahlia Hawthorne would have been channeled by Pearl Fey."

"P-Pearls?" Phoenix questioned.

"Yes. Pearl didn't understand the plan's goal; all she was trying to do was follow her mother's instructions. If she had succeeded…"

"Dahlia Hawthorne would have used the body of Pearl Fey to kill Maya at all costs," finished Godot.

"H-How dare you!" snarled Dahlia. "I-I won't forget this…!"

Phoenix grinned cheekily. "Why not just admit it?… Dahlia Hawthorne. Your little plan was nothing but a big failure."

"Another failure to add to the pile of shame, wouldn't you say?" added Mia.

"Wh-What do you mean by another?" demanded Dahlia.

"Think about it, Dahlia. Remember all your past crimes?" Phoenix asked her. "Not a single one of them was a success. They all ended in failure."

"What…? How dare you!"

"Eleven years ago… the fake kidnapping. Your very first crime. You got your hands on a two million dollar diamond. But… after Terry Fawles escaped and went to meet with Valerie Hawthorne… the truth was exposed."

"Sh-Shut your mouth!" Dahlia was trembling. "It was because of that stupid oaf of a prisoner and that weakling of a policewoman!"

"One year later," Phoenix went on, ignoring the wrathful woman on the witness stand, "you tried to kill me. I'm still alive, but you wound up killing someone else. And you were sentenced to death for it. One stupid move after another."

"You…! Wipe that smug, happy-go-lucky smile off your face…!" Dahlia spat, enraged.

"And now this! You've messed up again! You let Maya Fey escape, even though she was right there in front of you!"

"…Grr… Mmm… Nnnn… Grrr… Ahh!" A menacing aura filled the room. "M… M… Mia F… F… Fey… Mia Fey! Mia Fey! MIA FEEEEY! You… You… spinster!" Dahlia screamed ferociously. "I was supposed to kill Maya Fey like I swore I would! And if only you had gotten this spiky-haired jerk the guilty verdict," she pointed in Phoenix's direction, "I wouldn't have been hanged to death!"

"…True," Mia remarked. "But I think you finally understand, Dahlia Hawthorne. You will never defeat me."

"Wh-What…! What did you say!"

"Whether you're alive, dead, or somewhere in between, you will never defeat me," Mia reaffirmed. "As long as I'm around, you're destined to lose for all of eternity!"

Dahlia snarled.

"I remember what you said earlier in the trial," Phoenix added. "You said there was no way we could punish you, because you were already dead."

"What about it?"

"Then you said… 'Even when the body dies, the spirit lives on.'"

Mia chuckled a bit. "That's very true, Dahlia. And that's exactly the punishment you'll never be able to escape from. For all of eternity… you'll have to remain as Dahlia Hawthorne. A miserable, pathetic, weak creature who can never win at anything… and for you, there is no escape from that. No hope of freedom. Since the day you were executed… the narrow bridge that once stretched out in front of you has burnt to a crisp!"

Dahlia spasmed violently. "Y-You… OoOooOOh…" Her voice took on a different quality. A sort of raspiness punctuated her words, creating an eerie effect. "Y-You'RE… wROnG… It… CAN'T… be…" A shuddering gasp. "How… coULd… I… loSe… to… The… likES… of… YOU…?"

"It no longer matters!" Phoenix bellowed. "I don't care whether you win or lose anymore! The only thing I want –" he flung out an arm, pointing at Dahlia once more, "is for you to come out of Maya's body right now!"

Dahlia hunched over, grasping her head. "…."

Suddenly, a shrill scream pierced the air as a red-haired shadow flew out of the body on the witness stand. "!"

The lights seemed to dim as the shadow struggled to remain in the mortal realm. A mystical blue fire surrounded her as her fiery hair flailed wildly, tossed by an invisible wind. Her eyes gleamed through the darkness as her hands clutched at the air in front of her. "I'M… NOT… READY… NOT… READY… TO… GO…"

The spirit disappeared in several bursts of green flame. The lights came back on, revealing none other than a severely weakened Maya Fey, her eyes closed.

"…Nick… Sis…" she whispered.

Then she collapsed.