1: Introduction

Phoenix Wright, Defense Attorney sat at his desk, though Phoenix Wright, Bored Office Worker may have been a more appropriate title.  It had been quite some time since anybody had sought his services, leaving him to do little else besides clean the Wright & Co. Law Offices.  And when there was no cleaning to be done, he would just sit at his desk, as he was doing now, and spin a pencil on the smooth, white surface, or find some other mundane way to pass the time.  He watched the utensil rotate, quickly, hypnotically, his mind occupied with many things besides his job.

After stretching and yawning loudly, Phoenix looked around the office for something else to keep his boredom-soaked mind entertained.  It didn’t take long for his eyes to wander to two photographs, side-by-side in oak frames.  One was of Mia Fey, tall, beautiful, with brown hair that went down to her waist.  She rested her chin on her fist and sent the photographer a charming smile which hid a clever, highly adept, and often intimidating lawyer.  It hadn’t been too long since she left this world...which led nicely to the next picture, one that contained Phoenix with a shorter girl that had black hair even longer than Mia’s, tied at the bottom like a ponytail as well as higher up in a topknot-like fashion.

The attorney chuckled to himself and smiled as he mumbled “Maya...” softly.  Not too much time had passed since she left to continue her training as a spirit medium, and she had stayed at the office as Phoenix’s assistant for what seemed like only a slightly longer period of time.  The night they had first met, however, would remain burned in his memory for the rest of his life...

---

Phoenix Wright lifted the body of the unconscious Maya Fey, though he didn’t know that that was what she was called at the time, and placed her on the sofa in the next room, the lobby of Fey & Co. Law Offices.  He knew she would be safe there, and the sight in the room where she had collapsed had indeed been a traumatic one...though the blue-suited, spiky-haired attorney didn’t realize just how traumatic at that moment.

After making sure the young girl was steady and secure on the couch, Phoenix ran back into the other room, the main office, and made his way around the table and other small items strewn about the floor to the most horrifying sight he had ever seen.  He put a hand on the shoulder of Mia Fey’s motionless body and felt the warmth slowly leave it.  “Chief...” he whispered.  This was unbelievable, a situation where words would do little good for him in expressing just how alone and deeply saddened he was.  He rubbed her shoulder a moment longer and stood up, wiping a tear from his eye before looking out the window determinedly.  He knew his mission instantly.  He would find Mia Fey’s killer, the person who took his friend and mentor from him, and he would bring them to justice, no matter what the cost.

First, however, he would have to attend to the girl he had found crying next to Mia’s body minutes earlier.  She had fainted before saying anything to him, and thus had been taken to a safer, more comfortable area.  Phoenix returned to the sofa to find...that she was nowhere to be seen.  Scratching his head in confusion, he turned around and jumped nearly a foot in the air, screaming “Yipes!” as he did so, as he found the mysterious girl no more than six inches in front of him, looking miserable with eyes glazed and shoulders slumped.  But even this noticeably gloomy appearance was almost overshadowed by her strange garments and hair.  They were unlike anything Phoenix had ever seen before, but this was no time to discuss that...

“Umm...Excuse me, but who are you?” he asked in the kindest voice he could summon, given the situation.  The girl gave no verbal reply, but simply looked at a section of the floor to her side.  “It’s okay.  I work here,” he continued.

There was another silence, merely a moment, before she finally spoke, the first words he was able to comprehend with a remotely clear head.  “Maya...Maya Fey.”

Phoenix blinked.  “Maya...Fey?”  So this was the Chief’s sister, the one that she had mentioned would be at the office that night...

---

And that was how he had met her, the first client he ever had on his own and his assistant two days later.  Phoenix shook his head as he recalled the case.  It was, in his opinion, ridiculous to accuse Maya of the murder of her beloved older sister, with no motive and no evidence besides the scrap of paper with the message “Maya” written in Mia’s blood.  But at least Mia’s killer had been found and incarcerated, thanks to Phoenix’s sleuthing skills and Maya’s abilities as a spirit medium.  It was the night of the trial’s conclusion, two days after Mia’s death, that introduced Phoenix to the real Maya and established their relationship as partners.

---

“Come on, let’s go get something to eat, I’m starving!”  Maya’s personality had changed completely after the truth of her older sister’s murder had been determined.  She was now more excitable, and happier in general, a petite ball of energy that never seemed to run out, despite the fact that she was “starving”.  “I could go for a nice, big, juicy burger right about now...There’s gotta be a great burger place around here, right Nick?”

Phoenix, or “Nick” as Maya had now decided to call him, felt his stomach rumble and nodded.  “Yeah, it’s late and I’m pretty hungry myself...I think I know just the place.”

---

“Well, here we are.  Big Pete’s Big Burgers.”  Phoenix indicated a large burger shack with a massive, portly chef made of cement on top.  “It may not look like much, but this place has some fantastic sandwiches.”

Maya licked her lips.  “Mmm, sounds great...”  They both sat down on stools at the counter, at which point a bald man with heavy stubble and a dirty apron turned around and sent them a quick nod.  “Hi!” Maya said enthusiastically.  Phoenix couldn’t believe how much Maya seemed like a child about 10 years younger than her actual age.

“What’ll it be?” the employee grunted in reply.

“A grilled chicken sandwich for me.  Oh, and a cup of water.  What about you, Maya?”  Phoenix rotated his stool to face his new assistant.

“Um...What’s the biggest burger you’ve got?” she asked.

“That would be the Big Papa Petey Patty Burger.  Four hamburger patties, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, and special sauce.”  The man rambled off the ingredients mechanically, as if he had said it millions of times and each of the words had lost all meaning, while Phoenix tried his best to wrap his mind around the name and repeated it slowly to himself.  “It’s pretty big, about half as big as your head.”

Phoenix chuckled.  “Yeah, I don’t think you could--”

“Aw, is that it?” Maya whined.  “Well...I’ll take it anyway!”  His assistant’s impulsiveness nearly toppled Phoenix over and onto the pavement below.  “Oh, and an order of fries, and a jumbo root beer!  Mmm, this meal is going to be awesome...”  Maya licked her lips again, and Phoenix could’ve sworn he saw her eyes sparkle.

The man behind the counter wrote down Maya’s order and snorted as he wiped his nose with the back of his hand.  Phoenix felt like he was about to puke when he saw him grope around the inside of a nearly empty bag of frozen hamburger patties, but looked to see that Maya’s face had nothing even closely resembling disgust on it.  She was grinning widely, blissfully unaware and carefree, only awaiting her next meal.

“Um...”  Phoenix broke the silence and managed to regain Maya’s attention.  “Are you sure you can eat all of that?  I mean, it sounds like a heart attack just waiting to happen.”

Maya giggled.  “Don’t worry about it, Nick.  I’m sure I’ll be able to down the whole thing in no time.  That Detention Center food isn’t exactly world-class, you know.  And besides, you want to keep your new assistant happy and well-fed, don’t you?”  She leaned forward and smiled up at him.

“Well, yeah, sure...But, I mean, you’re so thin...”

“Ah, ah, ah...” Maya sang as she wagged a finger and winked at Phoenix.  “Looks can be deceiving, Nick.  Remember?”

“Well, I guess that’s true...But, just so you know, I don’t know if I’m gonna have enough money to pay for meals like this everyday.”

“Really?” she said as she cocked her head to the side.  “Aren’t lawyers supposed to be all rich and stuff?  I would’ve expected you to have money flowing out of your ears.”

“Looks can be deceiving, Maya.  Business isn’t exactly booming, from what I’ve seen so far.  Which, I guess, isn’t much...I mean, this was only my second case.”

“Well, you did great!” she shouted with a smile.  “And I can’t believe you were eventually accused of the murder...That was so low of him!”  She took a loud sip of her root beer, the arrival of which Phoenix never really noticed.  “You know, I really would’ve been happy to defend you in court, or bust you out of prison.  Or even to just be your own personal cheerleader.”

“Heh, thanks, I appreciate it.  But I think things turned out a lot better without any of that.  That’s a pretty amazing power you’ve got there, though.”

“You mean the whole spirit medium thing?”

“Yeah, that.  If it wasn’t for that power, I would’ve lost the trial for sure.  I just wish she was still here...”  The last time he had seen Mia in a physical body was when she was borrowing Maya’s.  It was at that time that Mia revealed the truth about her murder and the vital piece of evidence that proved the true murderer was lying.

“Yeah, I wish she was, too...Sis...”  Maya sighed and looked miserable once again, and Phoenix felt bad for bringing the subject up so soon.  Her misery, however, turned to joy almost instantly as two baskets arrived in front of the hungry customers.  The man who took their orders wasn’t kidding; Maya’s four-patty high burger was humongous.  Phoenix felt a little embarrassed with his chicken sandwich, miniscule by comparison.  She picked it up and stared at it hungrily, the juices dripping all around the sandwich and some of it on her hands.  “Burger, prepare to meet my stomach.  I’m sure you two will get along just fine.”  And with that, she opened her mouth wider than Phoenix thought could ever have been humanly possible, wrapped it around the gargantuan cheeseburger, and bit into it.  There was a squishing sound as Maya’s teeth dove into the burger and met halfway in-between.

“Ack!”  Phoenix stood up and looked down at a splotch on his blue suit.  “Maya!  You got pickles and sauce on my jacket!”

---

The burger wasn’t the only thing that had become more acquainted with the characteristics of Maya’s stomach that night.  As promised, the spirit medium had managed to eat the whole thing with little trouble.  Phoenix still found himself spending time every so often wondering just how this was possible.  This was one of those occasions, but there was something that weighed more heavily on his mind at this moment.  He sighed and leaned back in his chair, tossing a small rubber ball he had found in a drawer up and down in the air.  “When am I gonna meet her again?”