The cloudy grey seemed to do little to dampen the mood of the busy, bustling town below. Even in the slums and run-down apartments, people moved about. Lights were on all over the city, lighting it up as fireflies sparkle over a moonlit lake. Despite that it was the dead of winter, life still coursed through the streets. Cars ran back and forth from place to place and people, most bundled up tightly in scarves and coats, shuffled past, occasionally shouting a greeting to another.

Little white flakes fell on the dark coat of a black-haired woman as she walked along. She looked up from the address she held tightly in her hand and glanced around to get her bearings.

“I think this is it,” she mused quietly.

She was standing in front of an old, brown brick apartment building. The structure was obviously ancient; it was easy to tell by the style used on it. There were decorations on the borders, lions carved in the corner stones and ivy carved into the white stone ledges on each level. Really, it was a pretty sight. Anymore, it’s all about functionality and people tend to lose sight of beauty and quality, or at least that’s what she thought. However, “quality” wasn’t something she would necessarily use to describe this old building. While it had its charm, some of the bricks were worn and ivy had crept half way up most walls on the apartment house. Yet, even here, life was apparent. Most all the windows were lit and every so often, a silhouette would appear and a few voices would rise loud enough to be heard, only to fall again.

She carefully opened the door and stepped inside, only to find that the true decay was plain to see. The inner sanctum smelled musty, the air stuffy and stale, and the floor crackled underfoot. She looked down to see dark grit covering the grey floor, and she briefly wondered when it had last been swept. Directly in front of her there was a hall of doors and to her right, another hall mirroring it. The two came together where she stood to form an “L”. To her left, she saw the staircase, part made of concrete and the rest rotting wood.

She glanced at the paper again. She was looking for apartment 506. Dreadfully, she looked at the staircase and gulped. She started up the steps, and all too quickly, ran out of concrete steps. She made her way carefully up, gently testing each step before trusting it with her full weight. The wooden faces of the stairs were beaten and deep groves from years of use and rot stained each one. Some looked newer than others, and fewer still looked brand new, and she decided she didn’t want to imagine why.

“I wonder if anyone ever gets hurt on these things,” she mumbled as she tested yet another step.

Slowly but surely, she climbed and climbed until the staircase ran out and she could go no further. Even though this floor looked like all the others, she was certain this was the right place for all the numbers here started with a “5”. Walking up one hall, and down the other, she finally found the room she was looking for, a dark wooden door secretly tucked into the corner.

She took a deep breath of the dusty air before rapping her knuckles beside the tarnished brass that tried to proudly display the number, only to end up being a bit of an eyesore. She noted that it was easy to see, but that may not have been a good thing.

She stared at the door for a painstakingly long time, wondering if anyone was inside, and if they were, if they would ever answer the door. Finally, the near-black doorknob turned slowly and the door opened, revealing the messy man inside, though she couldn’t see inside because he kept his body in the small opening he had made. His blue eyes were drooping and his hair suggested that he had been sleeping only moments before, which wasn’t that far from the truth.

“Can I help you?” he grunted, his voice low and scratchy.

“Yes, I was wondering if Nick lived here,” she asked.

“Who?”

“Nick, he’s an old friend of mine.”

“No, I’m sorry. There’s no Nick here.”

“Are you sure? I was told he lived here.”

“Then you must have the wrong address because it’s just me living here, and my name’s not Nick.” He began to close the door when she caught it.

“Maybe you could help me then. My name’s Maya Fey, and I’m looking for Phoenix Wright.”

“Maya…Fey…?” the man looked back at her in surprise.

“Yeah, that’s me. Do you know where Nick is?”

“Sure do,” he replied, leaving the doorway and moving back towards the couch.

“Really? Where is he?” Maya asked.

“I’m right here.”

Maya looked at the man before her now in shock.

“You might as well come in,” Phoenix called.

Maya carefully came through the threshold, easing the squeaky door closed behind her. Her eyes wandered around the apartment, getting a look at it for the very first time. Everything inside had a brown tint to it, and whether that was from dirt or the lighting, Maya decided it was best not to guess. Old, dirty clothes littered the apartment, strewn every which way without care or consideration. There were small piles here and there, everything from shirts and jackets to pants and socks could be seen, all in various places throughout the room, though there was no underwear showing, much to Maya’s relief. The couch in the middle of the room was threadbare and each of the cushions sunk in a bit, and one of them even looked as though it would fall clean to the floor any second. A ratty, grey blanket graced the couch, being lazily tossed on top in a similar fashion as the clothes around the room, and was rather rumpled as though someone had just been sleeping underneath. A small television atop a rickety wooden stand sat in a diagonal angle from one of the arms, its face fully towards one arm of the couch, the one the blanket wasn’t partially covering. Beside the other was a chair, also tattered and worn with a sinking cushion. The overhead lights were off and the only things that gave off any light in the room was a little lamp setting on a side table close to the television and a tall lamp on the back wall of the room, its bulb dim and flickering from time to time. Off to one side, Maya could barely see the entrance to what she assumed was a kitchen, and two other wooden doors were on either side of the lamp. The floor was carpeted, but judging by the rest of the apartment, she guessed it would have been better if the floor hadn’t been. The air inside the room was freezing, making Maya want to keep her coat on.

After she had a chance to take all this in, her eyes finally found their way to Phoenix, who was sitting on the couch, one arm lazily over the back of the couch.

“Nick, is that really you?” she hesitantly asked, fearing she could offend him.

His expression told her that he expected a reaction similar to that. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it? What, almost four years now?”

“Nick! It really is you!”

“Don’t get so excited, Maya. I’m not the same Nick you knew.”

This was Maya’s first good chance to truly look Phoenix over as he was now, and even in the shady light, she could plainly see that he had, indeed, changed drastically. For one thing, his face was much thinner and angular than she remembered, and rather than being clean-shaven, as he had been in his attorney days, now, he had a shadow of short stubble covering his face. He had swapped out his striking blue suit for a pair of tan sweatpants and a drab brown hoodie, and despite the fact that it was ice cold, Phoenix didn’t wear any shoes, or socks for that matter, to cover his feet. He also seemed to be thinner all around, if memory served Maya correctly. He had obviously lost some weight, weight he didn’t have to spare.

Despite all this, the thing that shocked Maya the most wasn’t his attire, or his hair, or his weight loss, or even his face, but rather, his vacant eyes. His blue eyes seemed to be perpetually glazed, even if it was only very slight. And as Maya looked into his eyes, she could tell the story, just not the events behind it. His eyes were overflowing with distrust and bitterness, not just at her, but at the whole world. The bright, sparkling eye that Maya had once known, eyes that were sharp and burned with a flame, a passion for life and truth, were now gone, replace by dull, dead eyes of someone who was just waiting to die. She could hardly see a soul through all the hurt; he had buried it so deep, Maya wasn’t sure that even Phoenix himself could feel it. There was so much hurt and pain in his eyes, in his soul, one she no longer knew. Still, deep down, she could see the faintest glimmer of the man she used to know.

“No, you’re definitely not, but that doesn’t change who you are to me,” she gave him a smile. “You still are, and always will be, Nick. My Nick.”

Her smile wasn’t met with another, but rather a deep scowl that seemed to be etched farther down than just Phoenix’s face.

“Why are you even here?” Phoenix snarled.

“I told you I would be back,” Maya stated plainly.

“It’s been years.”

“I know.”

“Then why do you look so shocked to see I have changed? You should’ve known I would’ve.”

“I knew you would be changed, but I never imagined it would be like this. I had always wondered what you had become after I left.”

“Well, now you know. You can leave now,” Phoenix pointed to the door.

“Not yet.”

“And why not?”

“I just got here. I want to catch up.”

“What is there to know?”

“Something happened.”

“You’re right. Now leave.”

“Nick, I’m staying for a little while.”

“Even if it’s against my will?”

Maya sighed. “Nick, it’s obvious that you’re lonely.”

“I am not. I’m perfectly fine with being alone and even more so with living alone.”

“I know you well enough to know that you’re lying.”

“What brings you to that conclusion?”

“You have always cared deeply for others, and you always have. That being said, I know it pains you to be alone.”

“I’m doing fine alone.”

“If that were true, you wouldn’t be living like this.”

Phoenix growled.

“Besides, your eyes betray you. I can see through them, and I know you’re lying.”

Phoenix glanced at her and glared at the wall as if it were the source of his troubles. “Doesn’t matter anyway. I’m alone now.”

Maya studied him for a second before speaking. “So, what are you doing these days since you quit law?”

“Sitting here, waiting to die.”

“What?” Just the thought of Phoenix wanted to die shocked Maya. “What do you mean you are waiting to die?”

“What else can I do?”

“Well, how do you make a living? You have to pay rent somehow.”

“I do odd jobs around the building. If something breaks, I fix it. If someone needs something installed, I do it. The landlord says I’m cheaper than an actual handyman and that it’s easier for him to cover my rent if I do that then trying to pay someone to come in. When I’m not working on something, I pretty much stay here.”

“Nick! You gotta get out! You need to live a little!”

“What’s the point?” he sighed.

Maya watched Phoenix, studied his dead eyes and observed how his body just sagged into the couch. To her, it was easy to see that he had actually given up on life. He really was just waiting to die, although he refused to end it himself.

Maya jumped from the chair and raced over to him, grabbing his hand off the back of the couch and tugging on his arm.

“Up, up, up!” she commanded.

“Maya, what the devil do you think you’re doing?” Phoenix looks at her with saucer eyes.

“Come with me.”

“What? Where?”

“Just spend the afternoon with me.”

“Why?”

“Because. Just trust me!” she insisted when he gave her an incredulous look.

“I’m not real big on the whole trust thing.”

“Trust me Nick!”

“Why should I?”

“Please Nick? For old time’s sake.”

“I don’t feel like reminiscing.”

“Please. I hate seeing you like this. I hate seeing you so down and depressed.”

“Then leave and you won’t have to look at me anymore.”

“I’m not leaving unless it’s with you. Please, just spend the afternoon with me.”

“I don’t feel like it.”

“Nick, I know I can’t give you back your love of life, but I can at least show you how good life can be. At least let me try.”

“No.”

“Please Nick. I don’t know what I would do if you did something to yourself and I knew I could’ve helped.”

Phoenix sighed and reluctantly looked up at her face. “One afternoon. Is that it?”

“Yes, just one. If you hate it, if you never want to see me again, I promise that I will never bother you again.”

Phoenix gave another heavy sigh. “Alright. One afternoon. Just one though.”

“You won’t regret this Nick!”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maya drug Phoenix around town. They went to eat at the burger place they always seemed to eat at when they had run Wright & Co. Law Offices. Maya insisted that Phoenix eat a proper meal, though he wondered just how proper a burger could really be. They saw some familiar sights along the way. They passed by Global Studios, Maya remembering vividly the Steel Samurai and Nickel Samurai cases. She confessed to Phoenix that she still enjoyed the Steel Samurai show. They passed by the old offices as well as the Watergate Hotel. They took a brief stroll through Gourd Lake Park. Maya had hoped that Larry’s hotdog (or Samurai Dogs, as they were still declared on the sign) stand would be open, but he had already gone home for the night. They even passed by the abandoned arena the circus they had taken Pearl to once was. Maya took him down town as well for some fun and shopping for herself.

Night was falling, streetlights flicking on in rows. Lights that weren’t on earlier sprung on now. Maya had taken Phoenix to dinner at a place in an underground shopping center she had read about on the internet. She knew it was time to start heading back to his apartment, but she walked slowly along in hopes that she could draw out their time. Phoenix was walking slowly out of laziness and reluctance.

“It’s so awesome down here, isn’t it Nick?” Maya smiled as she continued to look around at the open mall. “I can’t believe that something like this could actually exist underground. In all the years we lived in this city, I had no idea this was here.”

“Yeah,” Phoenix dully agreed.

“Did you know about it?”

“Obviously not or I would’ve brought Pearls here,” he snapped.

“Oh, she would love this. She’s twelve now, you know?”

Phoenix grunted in response.

Maya stopped at a hat shop front to look at all the brightly colored caps, beanies, and other such things, Phoenix slowly coming up behind her. Maya picked up a light, bright blue beanie cap with the word “PaPa” on the side in bold red letters. Turning around, she playfully shoved the hat on Phoenix’s head, completely taking him by surprise.

“It looks good on you!” Maya laughed.

Phoenix hastily pulled the hat off and pushed it back into Maya’s hands.

“Why do you say that?” Phoenix rumbled, crossing his arms. “It looks like a hat that a hobo would wear.”

“Well, it fits,” Maya crossed her arms in mockery.

“What’s that mean?!”

“Well, it looks like something a guy dressed like you would wear.”

“I’m not a hobo.”

“You might as well be.”

“Watch it!” Phoenix uncrossed his arms and stiffened.

“Nick! You used to be a lawyer! You used to be successful and happy! Now look at you’re lazy, you’re sloppy, you’re obviously depressed! I’m surprised you haven’t taken to drinking yet to be honest.”

Phoenix growled.

“What in the world happened Nick? What made you turn into that?”

Phoenix looked away. “It’s none of your business.”

“Please, I want to know.”

“It doesn’t matter what happened.”

“Yes it does! I care about you Nick! I would be devastated if something happened to you. I’m not the only one either. Pearly cares, and I know my sister do-“

“I was shot! Okay?!” Phoenix bellowed out suddenly, shocking Maya to silence. “In the courtroom, after you left, I was shot by a suspect. And your sister,” his clenched fists were trembling, “she left me. She betrayed me in the moment I needed her most.” He turned his back to Maya.

“Nick, I have a hard time believing that,” Maya’s honest voice was soft.

“It’s the truth! She left me and she knew I needed her! She betrayed me!”

“Then why aren’t you mad at me too? I left you as well.”

“But you had a good reason! I didn’t mind you leaving. And you weren’t there that day in court. You didn’t leave me like she did.”

There was a moment of silence before, “Phoenix, I never left you.”

Phoenix spun around only to find himself face-to-face with his late mentor, Mia Fey. Maya had channeled her sister.

“Chief,” he spat venomously.

“You’re angry at me, you’re no longer a lawyer, and yet, you still call me ‘Chief’?” she cocked her head.

“Old habits die hard. What are you doing here?”

“I was listening to your conversation with Maya.”

“Fine time to show up.” Sarcasm dripped from Phoenix’s words.

“I’m here to talk Phoenix. I think you need that more than anything else right now.”

“If I’m going to talk to anyone, it certainly won’t be you!”

“Why is that?”

“Why do you think?! You betrayed me! You left me alone in the moment I needed you most, the moment I was almost certain I was going to die! You knew I needed you and you left me!” The hurt he had been trying to conceal for years rose to the surface, his eyes showing that and the hostility it brought.

“You misunderstand the situation.”

“What’s there to misunderstand?! I understand completely! You gave up on me!”

“Phoenix.”

“You couldn’t take the reality of the moment!”

“Phoenix!”

“And you left because you saw no hope for me!”

“Phoenix, listen to me!” Mia’s voice rose, silencing Phoenix. He knew she never raised her voice unless she had a good reason. She took a moment to breathe and calm herself before continuing. “I have never left you.”

“Oh yeah? And next you’ll be telling me that Santa’s real and pigs can fly.”

“Phoenix, I’m serious.”

“Ha!”

Mia sighed a little. “You spent a little over a month in the hospital due to a critical gunshot wound to the chest. Although you technically died three times, the doctors managed to revive you. You spent six more weeks finishing your recovery at home before returning to the courtroom to take on two last cases. You retired from law because you felt abandoned and couldn't handle the stress of facing the court without any support, lending credence to Maya’s earlier statement that it pains you to be alone. You moved into your isolated apartment so you wouldn’t grow close to anyone and so you wouldn’t be hurt again. Since then, the only regular contact you have with anyone is when people come and ask you to repair something within your apartment building. And you even wait until they are gone before you fix it. Despite this, you keep loose ties with Larry and Edgeworth,” she paused a moment to let this sink in.

“At night, you drink grape juice because it makes you feel better. You would drink wine except you are trying to stay away from alcohol. You don’t sleep in your bedroom, even though it is perfectly livable, because once you lie down on the couch, you don’t feel like moving. You keep the lights low simply because it fits your mood. You generally fall asleep with the television on and sleep well past no regardless of how early or late you go to bed. Even though you haven’t been to see a doctor, you are fully aware that you are depressed, and you remind yourself of that on a regular basis. You don’t eat very much, just barely enough to keep yourself breathing and even though you wish to die, you fear suicide. Did I miss anything important?”

Phoenix couldn’t really respond. He found himself floundering for words. “How…how…?”

“As I said, I never left you.”

“But how can that possibly be? You haven’t talked to me since that day!”

“I’m afraid you have it reversed.”

“What?”

“It was you who refused to talk to me. See, you are very unique. You have absolutely no family history of any spirit medium powers and no blood ties with the Fey family, and yet, you possess a faint touch of that power.”

“How can you be sure I have no blood ties?”

“Phoenix, really, I used to be a lawyer. That aside, as you are aware, you can not only see spirits, but you can communicate with them. However, they must have a strong bond with you.”

“Like you.”

“Precisely. Now, this next part is crucial. You must understand this Phoenix. Your power differs very greatly from Maya. As you know, she must be unconscious to channel a spirit, thus, to speak with them, must be in a lower state of consciousness to actually talk with them. You, on the other hand, cannot communicate with spirits if you are unconscious. Unless you are near death, or dead, you must have a very high level of consciousness to speak with any spirit. That being said, that day when you were shot, you lost that level. As I’m sure you’re aware, your consciousness drastically dropped in a very short amount of time. I would’ve explained then, but I never got the chance.”

“What about after? Huh? You could’ve said something then.”

“No Phoenix. I wish I could have, but I can only speak to you if your mind and heart want me to. You were so bitter that you shut your heart to me, and not matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t talk to you. I wanted to. I wanted to explain what happened, but I never got the chance.”

Phoenix stood there, his face showing nothing but disbelief. “All these years…” he stumbled, his back hitting the wall. “All these years…” he slid down the wall and sat, holding the side of his head in one hand. “All because of a misunderstanding? How…?”

Phoenix was lost in thought and didn’t notice when Mia had taken her leave of Maya’s body.

Maya looked down at Phoenix in sympathy, watching his face as he tried to comprehend the information he had just received. She slid down beside him and put her arm around his shoulder and held him close, figuring the only thing he really needed right now was comfort and companionship. Although no tears fell from his face, his emotion was plain to see. She could see that he had a new hurt in his heart, but knew that this would be a healing hurt.

No words were exchanged for the longest time. They just sat there, Phoenix resting his head on Maya’s shoulder, Maya still holding him in an embrace as his volatile emotions settled. She softly stroked his head a little as they sat.

“So, what are you going to do now?” she gently asked when she saw he had finally come to grips with what had really happened and how stupid he had been.

“I don’t know,” Phoenix sighed, removing his head from her shoulder and leaning it back against the wall. He closed his eyes. “I know I can’t return to law.”

“Well, why not?”

“Because I would be the laughing stock of the whole lawyer world. Aside from that, things change so much in just six months, imagine how much must have changed in four years. I might as well go back to law school. I can’t do that with any money to spend. Besides that, I’m too tired. I don’t have the energy and vigor to return to law. I fear any defendant I took on would find themselves in a world of hurt.”

“Well, what else is there? I don’t even know what else you can do.”

“I don’t know. “ Phoenix’s eyes drifted over to her.

He hadn’t realized just how mature she had become. Of course, it had been four years since he had last seen her. Still, seeing her now made his breath catch in his throat. She reminded him so much of Mia, which could explain part of his reluctance to meet with her this afternoon. He found himself regretting being so hateful towards her. It wasn’t her fault. Still, he couldn’t get over how mature she had become, and yet, she still had lots of youthful exuberance, something that he had lost long ago.

His eyes drifted to the blue beanie that Maya still held in her hands. Slowly, he picked it up and rotated it around, studying it silently from all sides.

“You’re right, Maya, this hat does suit me,” Phoenix spoke slowly and soft. “I have a home, but I act and dress like a bum…or a hobo. I’m not proud of that, I’m sure you’re not, and I know Mia isn’t. She hates what I’ve become; I can see it in her face.”

“But you’re still Nick, and she cares for you no matter what.”

“Yeah…” his eyes wandered over the stitches. “Maya, I want to make a deal with you.”

“What is it? What kind of deal?”

“The deal is, I’ll wear this hat until I make something of myself that you and Mia both can be proud of, and one that I can live with,” he looked into her eyes. “It’ll be my reminder of where I want to go.”

Maya smiled. “I’ll hold you to that then.”

For the first time since Maya had been with Phoenix that day, he gave her a genuine smile and his face almost looked as it had before she had left.

“Oh, here,” Maya grabbed the hat. She produced a small, round, golden pin from her pocket and attached it to the inside of the hat. “This can be a reminder of what you used to be, and who you once were.”

“My old attorney’s badge?” Phoenix puzzled, taking back the hat. “How did you…?”

“I saw it on the floor in your apartment and snatched it before we left. I just had a hunch.”

“Really?” Phoenix laughed. “You were always pretty good like that.”

With a snicker, Maya shoved the hat on Phoenix’s head and quickly paid the shopkeeper before they began to walk out of the underground mall.

“So, are you really going to keep it on all the time?” Maya asked.

“Yeah,” Phoenix nodded.

“Even when you’re sleeping?”

“Yeah. Why not?”

“You’ll never take it off, ever?”

“Well, I will when I shower.”

“What?”

“I have to keep my hair clean.”

“You bathe?”

“What? Of course I do! I only look like a hobo! I don’t want to actually smell like one.”

“I didn’t even know you had a shower!”

“You didn’t really think I was a hobo did you?”

“Well, the rest of your apartment is so messy…”

“Objection!!” Phoenix ran off for Maya, who had dashed ahead to avoid his wrath.

“That’s what I like to hear!” Maya called back with a smile.

The two continued on back to the apartment, laughing and jabbing at each other as though they had never spent a day apart. They didn’t notice the snow had stopped falling. They didn’t notice the wind had stilled. They didn’t even notice the clouds were clearing away, revealing a bright silver moon on a dark sky encrusted with stars.