2: Love

“This time...It really is all over, isn't it.”  Voicing what was surely on the minds of every single person in the courtroom, the Judge closed his eyes and stroked his gray beard.  With a sigh, he addressed one of the people present.  “Defendant.”

A girl in her mid twenties with long black hair and wearing a purple robe over her thin figure looked up at him.  “Yes, Your Honor,” she said in a voice that matched the strength in her eyes.  She may not have looked like it, but she was more than capable of incredible conviction, which showed at this very moment.

“Although you weren’t directly involved in the murder,” the Judge continued, “tampering with the body and the crime scene is a serious offense in itself.”

“I understand, Your Honor,” the lady said with a nod.  “Mr. Armando explained that to me very carefully...I knew the risk and I willingly cooperated anyway.”  The man she had referred to as Mr. Armando, standing at the prosecutor’s table, looked away ashamedly (though the gray visor covering his eyes made his expression difficult to read) while the defense lawyer, dressed in a blue suit, stared at her intently.

“Before I hand down my verdict, is there anything you’d like to say?”

There was a pause as the defendant looked down at the ground in thought.  Bringing her head back up, she answered.  “Well, there is one thing.  I’d like to say something to Mr. Wright.”  Having heard his name, her attorney raised his brow and leaned in slightly closer.  “I want to...I want to apologize to you.”

The lawyer, Phoenix Wright, blinked.  “Apologize? To me?  For what?”

“For the case six years ago, of course,” was the reply, accompanied by a quiet sniffle.

The case six years ago...Wright’s girlfriend at the time, Dahlia Hawthorne, who also happened to be the twin sister of the defendant, had attempted to poison him and, although she failed at that, she permanently silenced the man who knew she was trouble and framed Phoenix for the crime.  He sighed.  “Even now...six years later, I can hardly believe it.  She was going to do it...She was planning to kill me...”

“It’s not all that surprising,” the young lady continued after a pause.  “The two of you...You hardly knew each other.  You and my sister...You only met twice.”

This couldn’t possibly be true, and Phoenix had no intention of showing otherwise.  “Huh” was all he said for some time before continuing with “W-We only met twice?”

“The first time you met was on that fateful day...The day she poisoned Mr. Armando in the cafeteria of this very courthouse.”  So far her explanation made sense to Phoenix.  After all, they had met here.  “The next time you met her was six months later.  You met her again on the day that she stole your cold medicine and Doug Swallow was killed.”

This, however, was completely preposterous to the defense attorney.  “N-N-No way!  It just...It can’t be true!  I mean, during our whole relationship, we were...”  The very notion that he had not even seen the girlfriend he knew he had spent so much time with during those six months, the girlfriend he quickly grew to love, was absolutely ridiculous.

She gulped before continuing.  “For those six months...the woman you thought was Dahlia Hawthorne...”  She took a deep breath, finally ready to reveal her secret.  “Wasn’t actually my sister.”  She stared into the eyes of her attorney and began to blush lightly.  I hope one day you can forgive me...Feenie.”

Feenie...The pet name “Dahlia” had given to Phoenix while they were dating...

“You...Y-Y-You mean...?”  Phoenix couldn’t believe how much he was stammering that day, even with revelation after startling revelation hitting him one after another.

“That’s right...I lied to you for six months.  Ever since she gave you the bottle that day, my sister was trying to get it back as soon as she possibly could.”  The bottle...that which Phoenix had believed so fervently to be a gift to express her love, but which in fact contained a poison that was only slightly more deadly than the malice in her heart.  “Because of the police investigation and their surveillance she couldn’t move about freely.”

“So that’s why you...”

“My sister...From the beginning, she was prepared for the worst.  She thought that you might somehow discover the truth.  That's why she was always ready to deal with you at a moment's notice...”  No more explanation was necessary.  Phoenix knew that Dahlia was preparing to kill him.  “She already had so much to answer for, I didn't want any more sins on her soul.  I begged her not to do it, and she agreed to give me a chance.”

“And that’s why...you came to me?  You came to get the bottle pendant back from me in her place?”  He couldn’t decide whether he was filled more with regret or relief that he had been so stubborn in returning the gift.

“But I couldn’t get you to give it back...I failed at something even as simple as that.”  She released a sniffle.  “Six months passed and I still couldn't get it back from you.  Finally, my sister couldn't wait any longer.  She didn't consult me about her plans for you that day.”  Everybody present knew this was unusual.  It had been established that Dahlia and her sister always discussed any plans they had for crimes they would commit, though the former would always take the lead.  “I think...she must have noticed.”

Phoenix raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side.  “Noticed what?” he asked.

“My feelings for you.  If I had found out she was planning to kill you...I would have done whatever was necessary to stop her.  Even if it meant her life...or mine.”  A slight blush came to her cheeks as she confessed this deep secret.

“I-Iris...!”  This was the first time anyone had said anything of this magnitude to him.  “I have something to say to you, too.  You really are the person I always thought you were.  Even after Dahlia Hawthorne was found guilty...I still believed in you.”

There was a pause, during which the blush on Iris’s cheeks became a brighter shade of red.  She smiled sweetly at Phoenix before simply saying “Thank you.”

---

It wasn’t long afterwards that Phoenix watched with a sigh as two people he owed a great deal to had cuffs tightened around their wrists by men in uniform.  Mr. Armando, or Godot as he had known him, had saved the life of Maya Fey, Phoenix’s dear friend and assistant, by killing her mother, possessed by the vengeful spirit of Dahlia Hawthorne.  The other was the young and beautiful Iris, a nun of the mountain temple of Hazakura, who had been found guilty not of murder but of altering the crime scene and moving the body from where it had originally been killed before it could be discovered.  Phoenix stared at the latter, even as Godot passed by him, escorted by one officer, and reminded him to take care of Maya.  Just as Iris walked past, guided by another officer, he called her name.

“Hmm?”  Iris stopped and turned her head to look at him.  Her eyes were stoic and determined; she had accepted her fate and been willing to take responsibility for her actions.  The slightest hint of a smile crossed her face and remained there for the briefest of moments before returning to its expressionless state.

“Iris...I wish they didn’t have to do this...I mean, now that I know the truth...”  They both looked down at the ground, and away from each other.

Iris heaved a quiet sigh and looked back up at him.  His eyes met hers, and he saw the first sign of tears beginning to form.  “I...I’ll come visit you, and try to convince them to let you out early...Maybe then we could...you know, start over again?”  Phoenix smiled at her, gaining confidence from his own words.

She returned the smile and nodded.  “I’d really like that.  It’s what I’ve wanted for so long...just to be with you...I-I hope you can forgive me for not telling you the truth about my identity earlier, and for not finding you and telling you how I felt...Oh, Feenie...”  The first tear fell, and she tried her best to wipe it, which was proving a difficult task with the cold metal wrapped around her wrist.

Phoenix reached out and wiped it off for her before replying.  “It’s all right, Iris...I know now, and, well...”  He looked around and, not seeing the person he expected, stared back at her before continuing.  “Like I said, I’d love to start over again.  The two of us, maybe we could be happy together...as soon as they’ll let me have you, of course.”  He looked at the guard, who was impatiently humming and tapping his foot.  “Anyway, I’d better let you go before they lead me away, too.”  He sighed.  “Goodbye, Iris...I’ll visit you as soon as I can, I promise.”

“Thank you,” Iris said as her lips curved upward again.  “I’ll be looking forward to seeing you, Feenie.  My Feenie...”  And with that, she resumed the long walk to her new home.

---

“Geez, Nick, why do they always take so long to bring the prisoners in?”  Maya looked at her wrist before remembering that she wasn’t wearing a watch and instead looked at the clock as she puffed her cheeks and used the stored air to sputter out a tune known only to her.  “I mean, we’ve been sitting here for, what, an hour?”

“Actually, it’s only been five minutes, Maya,” Phoenix replied.  “She should be here shortly.”  As if taking this as a cue, a door opened and out came the woman they had come to visit, still wearing her nun habit sans demon-warding hood.  She nodded at the guard before seeing her visitors and sitting down excitedly in her chair on the other side of the glass.  Phoenix smiled.  “Iris...”

“Fee--Er, Mr. Wright...It’s really good to see you,” she said.  Her hand brushed lightly against her dark hair, where her braids were like a crown adorning her head.  “I’m so happy that you’ve kept your promise.”

“Heh, of course I did.  I-I mean, how could I keep myself away from someone like you?”  He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck until his head was sent spinning.

“Mr. Nick, you’re filthy!” was the cry that came with this sudden assault.  The young girl who owned the voice continued to slap him across the face with all her strength, which was quite a bit for someone who was only nine years old.

“Ack!  Pearly, that’s enough!” Maya shouted as she tried her hardest to pull her cousin away from Phoenix.

“B-But Mystic Maya...Aren’t you upset that Mr. Nick, your true love, is acting like that around another woman?”  Pearl Fey, also known as Pearls by Phoenix and Pearly by Maya, scowled at the defense attorney who was now hiding his bleeding nose behind his handkerchief.

“Pearly, when are you gonna get over this?” Maya groaned.  “Nick and I aren’t in love, and I think you should realize that before you accidentally kill him.  I mean, look at him, it’s not like he’s that strong or anything.”  It was Phoenix’s turn to scowl, though this one was directed at Maya.

“Oh, Mr. Wright...” Iris said quietly with a heavy blush appearing on her cheeks.  “It’s really sweet of you to visit me here, even if the little one hit you so hard that you started bleeding.”

What sounded like “mmph mmph” was all Phoenix could say in response.  After a few moments he carefully moved his handkerchief away from his face and, seeing that his nose no longer bled freely, folded it and returned it to his pocket.  “Anyway, I’m going to do what I can to get you out of here as soon as is humanly possible, Iris.  You have my word on that.”

“That’s so sweet of you,” Iris said with a smile that could always fill Phoenix with joy and make him forget all of his troubles.  “Oh, but please don’t trouble yourself too much for my sake.  And...well, if you want to find someone else, I’d understand completely...”  She cast a brief glance in Maya’s direction before returning her gaze to Phoenix’s eyes.

“Eheh, well, I--”  Realizing his mistake before he could complete it, he looked at Pearl Fey, who was watching him intently with her large brown eyes.  “I’ll tell you the next time I come by.  I’ll be alone then, Maya and Pearls have to go back to Kurain Village so Maya can officially become the Master of their spirit channeling technique.”  Maya sighed and looked down despondently, reminded that such an honor came at the price of her mother’s life; she had searched for her for so long only to find her and not realize who she really was until after she was gone for good.

“I know the answer already!” Pearl shouted suddenly.  “He does want to be with someone else!  He wants to be with Mystic Maya forever and ever!”  She sighed dreamily and rested her hands on her cheeks.  “It’s definitely a match made in heaven.  It’s so obvious those two are meant for each other!”

Maya groaned.  “Pearly...”

---

The train’s whistle rang through the air as it approached the station where Phoenix Wright waited with Maya and Pearl Fey.  Each of the girls had one large backpack with them; the majority of their belongings were waiting for them at their destination, Kurain Village.  “I think that’s ours right there...” Maya said with a sad sigh.  It came to a stop shortly afterwards, and she immediately embraced Phoenix.  “I’m gonna miss you so much, Nick...Even if you were a wet blanket a lot of the time.”

“W-Wet blanket?”  Phoenix blinked at this unusual way of saying goodbye.  “Listen, just because I didn’t let you run around the office waving a broomstick and pretending to be the Steel Samurai, doesn’t mean--”

“Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me.  I’m definitely gonna be sending you those Steel Samurai and Pink Princess videos I told you about!”  Upon realizing this, she suddenly returned to her usual perky self and bounced up and down excitedly.  “I’ll turn you into a die hard fan of those shows, Nick, I guarantee it!”

“Are you sure you’re not a little...er, old for that?”

Pearl, on the other hand, merely looked despondent.  “Mystic Maya...” she said after some time.  “Are you sure Mr. Nick shouldn’t come back to Kurain Village with us?  I mean, he is your one and only, and...”  She looked up determinedly.  “And if you leave him, he might eventually betray you and find someone else!  I can’t allow that...He’s your one and only, Mystic Maya!”

Both frustrated with Pearl’s highly idealized version of the attorney and romance, Maya cried “He’s not!” while Phoenix groaned an “I’m not!” at the same time.

“Pearly...Nick’s not my love, and I wish you’d just understand that.”  Maya sighed as she knelt down to her cousin’s level.  “He’s like...well, he’s more like a dumb big brother.  We’re close, and he’s done a lot for me, but he can’t do what you seem to be expecting.”

There was a moment’s silence before Phoenix straightened up suddenly.  “Hey, what do you mean, dumb?!”

Maya giggled, while Pearl merely let out a long, low whine and sighed.  “But...But...”

“We’ll talk about this more later, Pearly.  For now we should get ready to board the train.”  Maya rose and took a deep breath as she turned to face Phoenix.  “So...I guess this is it, Nick...I guess it’s time for me to finally stop watching out for you and let you go out into the real world all by yourself.”

“H-Huh?  You’re worried about ME going out into the real world by myself?”  Phoenix blinked.  “Er, anyway...I’m gonna miss you two.  Take care of yourselves, okay?”

“Sure thing, Nick.”  Maya smiled as she wrapped an arm around Pearl, who was beginning to get teary-eyed.  There was another moment of silence before Maya wrapped her arms around Phoenix’s neck and buried her face in his shoulder.  “G-Goodbye, Nick...Seriously, take care of yourself, I don’t wanna be worrying about you all the time.  And...you were one heck of an awesome dumb big brother.”  She lifted her head after saying this, and Phoenix saw that she had become rather teary-eyed herself.

“Yeah, well...you were one heck of an awesome crazy little sister,” he replied.  Moments later, after giving each of the girls a hug and saying goodbye to them, he watched as they boarded the train and disappeared from view behind the sliding steel door.

---

Now alone as he had promised, Phoenix waited in the detention center once again.  His heart pounded furiously against his chest.

Iris arrived moments later, once again separated from her guest by a square sheet of glass.  She looked at Phoenix and around him, apparently confused for a moment before breathing a sigh of relief and smiling at him.  “Sorry, I had forgotten that the Feys are no longer with you.”

“Yeah...They left just this morning,” he replied as he glanced to the side.  He took a deep breath.  “A-Anyway, I was hoping that we could...you know, talk for a while, without worrying about them...you know, if you want to...”

Iris covered her mouth and giggled coyly.  “I wish you could see how cute you look right about now, Feenie.  And...well, of course I want to talk to you, especially about...us...”

There was a long silence, during which the two of them would alternate looking at the floor and at each other in an awkward dance of the eyes.  Iris broke the silence.  “I’ve been thinking...If you’re anything like you were all those years ago now, I’d really like to be with you, Feenie.”

Phoenix was quick to reply.  “A-And I’d really like to be with you!”

She smiled and nodded.  “I’m glad.  But...”  Her eyes moved to a particular panel on the floor beside her, and her head followed.  Neither one made any sign of budging.  “Well...I could be in here for quite a while, you know.  They’re saying one year is the minimum, and that’s only if they’re merciful enough to let me out early for good behavior.”

“I should be able to get you out sooner...And there shouldn’t be any trouble with your behavior, right?”

“I...Well, I suppose not, but...My point is, I’d understand completely if you weren’t willing to wait that long.”  She finally looked back up at him, a deeply saddened expression now on her face.  “I don’t want you to waste your life waiting for me when you could have somebody more ideal, that’s all.”

Phoenix sighed and did as Iris had done moments earlier.  Staring at the floor, deep in thought, breathing steadily, he spoke.  “If someone more ideal than you did in fact exist, I don’t think I could have them and I don’t think I would want them.  You really are well worth the wait, Iris.”

“Feenie...” she sighed.

“And like I told you before, I’m gonna do everything I can to get you out of here as soon as possible.  I promise.”  And as they looked into each other’s eyes, they both wished with all their hearts that the glass wasn’t keeping them from touching.

---

And so it began.  The noble battle for Iris’s freedom, and the spiraling circumstances that hindered its fruition.  It all came quickly, too quickly for Phoenix to even see it coming.  It was only one month after that fateful, hopeful meeting with Iris that he decided to take that case...the case that would cost him his attorney’s badge and, almost as importantly, what little sway he had over those who would decide just how much time his love would spend in prison.

Dejected, Phoenix sat in the courtroom lobby with his head in his hands.  “No!  How the hell could this happen?!  And now of all times!”  He moved his hands to stare at his lapel, which looked horribly empty without the round attorney’s badge that had been pinned to it days earlier.  He had been accused of forging evidence and found guilty of this crime he knew he had not committed by all but one of the members of the tribunal no more than a couple of hours earlier.

He groaned as he went back to burying his face in his hands.  He mumbled Iris’s name, the one woman he had felt strongly enough about that he was convinced he would do anything for her.  And there he sat, feeling more worthless than ever, feeling naked and helpless without the badge.  No longer having any authority within these walls, he had failed her.

---

For the first time ever, Phoenix was not looking forward to seeing Iris.  Even his clothing reflected his currently sour mood; an old gray hooded sweatshirt and a faded pair of jeans, as opposed to the sharp blue suit he had worn every time he had visited the detention center previously.  He waited, wondering how he could soften the blow that would be delivered with this news.

And then she arrived, looking as lovely as she always did.  She took her usual seat and gave him the smile that on any other day could have easily turned his heart from morose to joyful with no effort whatsoever.  Today was different, however, and even she could see that.  “Feenie...Why the glum face?  And the, er...different clothes?”  Silence.  No response from Phoenix except a sigh and a glance down towards the floor.  “Phoenix Wright,” she continued with a more serious expression on her face.  “Anybody can see that something’s wrong, and you wouldn’t have come down here unless you wanted to talk to me about it.  So please, just tell me what’s on your mind so we can work on fixing it.”  No response again.  “Please, Feenie?  We can’t be much of a couple if you’re not even willing to talk to me about what’s bothering you.”

Phoenix shook a bit as his mind raced, looking for the correct way to handle this situation and give her the bad news.  Whatever the correct solution was, he most certainly did not act on it.  With a loud and sudden “ARGH!” that made Iris jump in her seat, he slammed his elbows on the table in front of him and clutched at his hair, which was still spiked despite the lack of life he felt that day.  Moaning and breathing heavily, his shoulders raised and lowered with perfect rhythm.

“F-Feenie?”  Iris pushed herself slightly against the back of the chair for a moment before leaning forward again and placing her hand on the glass in front of her.

“I...I screwed up...badly,” Phoenix said finally.  “I lost my attorney’s badge the other day.”

“Oh, is that all?  Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll find it soon.  And if not, I would think you could order another one or something.”

“No, no, no, you don’t understand!” he said with a cracking voice.  He looked up and into her eyes.  “I was...accused of a crime I didn’t commit during my last trial, and as a result I’m no longer an attorney...That’s what I meant, and what I came down here to tell you.”

Iris gasped.  “Oh no, I’m so sorry to hear that, Feenie...Can you tell me what happened?”  After receiving a curt, negative reply, she continued.  “Well, all right.  But what do you plan to do now that you’re not an attorney anymore?”

“Oh, hell, I don’t know...” he mumbled.  “I know what I can’t do anymore, and, well, frankly, it breaks my heart...I no longer have enough influence to get you out of here quickly, Iris.  I’m sorry...I’ve let you down because of my own stupidity, and I won’t blame you if you don’t want anything to do with this worthless idiot anymore.”

“Feenie, that...that’s nonsense.”  For some time this was all she said, staring at him with a blank expression and tearstained eyes.  Finally, after what seemed like hours, she took a deep breath and continued.  “Now I’ll tell you what breaks my heart: hearing you say things like that about yourself.  The truth is...Phoenix Wright, I love you for who you are, and I’m willing to accept your flaws as well as your strengths.”  Phoenix sighed and looked down.  “And I don’t care if you’re a defense attorney, or...I don’t know, a no-talent musician in some dumpy restaurant, my feelings for you won’t change anytime soon.  That’s a fact.

“And if you were wrongfully accused you should be able to fight this, right?  Fight it with all you’ve got and get your attorney’s badge back if it’s what you really want.  You should know better than anybody that if you didn’t actually commit this crime there’s evidence to support your claim somewhere.  The Phoenix Wright I know wouldn’t give up this easily...You didn’t give up on me, now don’t give up on yourself.”

“Iris, I...I...”

“I love you, my dear Feenie.”  Iris’s cheeks were overtaken with a deep red.  “I want nothing more than for you to be happy.  So don’t worry so much about me.  Just...be happy.  That’s all I want.  I’ll be fine, so just try your hardest to become an attorney again or find something else that you find just as satisfying.”

Phoenix blinked.  There was no doubt about it; she was indeed expressing her deepest feelings.  Her eyes were filled with determination and sincerity, and she breathed softly and steadily as she stared at him.  “You...You do?” was the first thing he could think to say.  “You never told me that before, even when we were dating six years ago...Together for six months and you never said you loved me...”

“I, I know, and I’m so sorry for that,” she said, blushing deeper.  “I was scared of those feelings...I thought that if I admitted it to you, I would be getting in much deeper than I had intended.  Of course that ended up happening anyway, but...”  She let out a short chuckle.  “I definitely didn’t want to betray Dahlia, and I may have revealed my secret prematurely if I had let myself get emotionally involved with you too much further than I already was.  But everything I say is true...I loved you then, even if I never admitted it and even if you didn’t know it was actually me, and I love you now.  My feelings haven’t changed in all that time, and I pray constantly that they never will.”

It was now Phoenix’s turn to blush.  “I-Iris...I love you too, Iris.  And your happiness is extremely important to me.  That’s why I’m so mad at myself, I wanted to help you get out of here so you can be happy.”

“Then focus on finding happiness for yourself, whether that’s in a courtroom or somewhere else entirely.  And don’t forget about me...”  She smiled as a single tear rolled down her cheek.  “Visit me here often so I can see you, and let me know how your situation is progressing.  It’ll be harder for me to be truly happy if I have to worry about you being miserable all the time.”

“I will,” Phoenix said with a nod.  “I promise you, I’ll visit as much as I can possibly manage, and I’ll continue to look for ways I can try and convince them to let you out early.  I love you, Iris.”  He put one palm flat against the glass that separated him from the most important person in his life.

“I love you too, Feenie,” she replied.  She placed her left hand directly opposite his, and the right approximately two feet to the side of the first.  Phoenix pushed his other hand against the glass where hers was and felt the massively powerful connection they shared.  Even with this barrier between them, the love that they felt drew them closer than ever, and would sustain them through even the worst of times.