Chapter Text
Everything was dealt with swiftly and efficiently. Maarten was in police custody, and although there was certainly going to be hell to pay with a landlord with a broken nose and a house broken into, everything was turning out well as the investigation got underway, the kidnapper was questioned, and Ema began recovering in the hospital.
Everything was going well.
Except with her.
It was 2:00 AM and in all the time he’d had to wait by her bedside, Phoenix had still not been able to process what had happened in that musty old basement just hours before. At this point, whether or not the girl admitted to the hospital was his daughter, or someone else, or no one at all, was unknowable. The possibility that she may not wake up at all was much too real to be dismissed blindly, and yet the hope that she may come back was not far-fetched enough to warrant complete despair. The only thing there was to do was wait; the most difficult task of them all.
He turned at the sound of the door opening behind him. Edgeworth stood in the doorway. “How is she?” He asked, his baritone little more than a deep murmur.
Phoenix could do little more than shrug. “Obviously nothing like this has ever happened before, so the doctors don’t know what to think. They ran an MRI earlier, I’m still waiting on the results.”
The other man nodded, looking down at the patient. A deep solemnity dominated his figure, like the statue of an angel atop someone’s tombstone. A few moments passed in silence, save for the occasional beeping of the heart monitor. “I’ll leave you two alone.”
He turned to leave the room, but just as quickly as he moved to do so, he stopped himself.
At that moment, a tiny sound filled the air; her breath deepening. Fabric shifted as her legs moved ever so slightly under the blankets. She was beginning to stir.
Edgeworth rushed to the other side of her bed, a look on his face so moved it was as though he was watching a miracle transpire before his very eyes. In a way, he was.
For just as he took up his position, taking up the hand that Phoenix wasn’t holding, she opened her eyes.
After searching the room, her eyes met his, and Phoenix held onto her gaze as tightly as he did her hand. Silence passed for a moment.
Then, she smiled.
“… Hi, Daddy.”
Phoenix threw himself over the bed, wrapping his arms around his daughter as his eyes flowed endlessly. Immediately, she reciprocated, and for a time, they just held on.
“I missed you so much,” he choked, rocking the two of them lightly. “More than you’ll ever know.”
Her grip on him tightened.
Much too soon, though, they pulled apart. Her eyes, too, wettened as she smiled up at him. Before Phoenix could say anything, though, she suddenly took in a loud gasp, throwing a hand over her mouth as her reddened eyes widened.
“W-what’s wrong?!” He asked in a panic, suddenly very afraid.
Between her fingers, her jaw could be seen beginning to tremble, her face stiffening in an ever-tighter wince. “I…” She stuttered. “… I’m so sorry!”
Phoenix could only blink in surprise and dismay as his daughter began to wail in front of him, pulling her hand away from Edgeworth without realising it to cover her face.
“S-sorry for what?! You have nothing to be sorry for!” Phoenix blustered, his own tears thickening at this sound and sight. “Trucy!” He shouted when she didn’t respond, grabbing her by her shoulders. “Why are you sorry?”
She looked up at him, guilt stinging her eyes. “H-how could I have said such horrible things to you?! I- I called you a piddling coward!” She buried her face in her hands again. “I tried to stop it, but I was so tired… I couldn’t fight her anymore. I was so tired…” Then, she struck herself in the forehead repeatedly with the front of her wrist. “Why didn’t I pull out that stupid implant sooner?! I knew there was something wrong with my nose, why didn’t I figure it out earlier?! Stupid!”
“Trucy!” Phoenix admonished. “You’re not-” then, he blinked in realisation. “Wait a minute; so… all that twitching, and when her implant got ripped out… that was you?!”
“I was trapped,” she said, sniffling. “I felt like a marionette. I couldn’t move or talk or breathe or do anything. If I tried really hard, I could move the right half of my body, but it was so sluggish and uncoordinated… and she always fought back. When she slept, she rested, but I didn’t. I couldn’t.” She looked up at him again, eyes hardly open more than slits. “I was so tired, Daddy… I couldn’t fight her anymore.”
Phoenix could only stare onwards in shock, her words rolling in his mind like a bell swinging back and forth.
The twitching, and all only happening on the right half of her body… It was her…?
But after snapping to attention once more, he drew himself back to his daughter. “Trucy,” he began, firmly but without roughness. With one hand, he lightly stroked her hair, something he hadn’t done in a very long time. “None of what happened is your fault. The fact that you, even after all that time, still held out against her and ultimately overpowered her… it just goes to show how much of an incredible and resilient person you are.” He hugged her tight. “And I’m very, very proud of you for it.”
Tentatively, her hands took up his sides. “Do… Do you forgive me?”
He chuckled. “I have nothing to forgive, Trucy.”
He looked up at Edgeworth. The Chief Prosecutor, if given the opportunity to comment on his own appearance, would have likely found himself to be quite undignified, with his eyes misty and lip slightly quivering, trying to hide his emotion under an expression of austere relief.
“Thank you, Miles,” Phoenix said in barely more than a whisper. “I owe you more than I could ever repay for this.”
Flabbergasted, Edgeworth opened his mouth to reply, but was unable to. Trucy, after hearing her father’s words, stiffened somewhat for a brief moment, then whipped around. “Uncle Edgeworth!” She exclaimed, wearing a smile that was much like her old self. But then, it faltered. “Your hair…”
Indeed, Phoenix had hardly noticed it, but where there were once grey locks, there was now a plateau of snow with white icicles drooping over his face. It made him look much older than he was, along with his sunken cheeks.
“Ah.” It was hardly even a statement as he struggled to find a way to respond. “That… It happens rather early in my family. My father-”
He was unable to finish, then, as his breath was suddenly cut off by the wrap of Trucy’s abrupt embrace. “I will find out everything that you did to help me,” she said. “But for now…” She looked up at him, her smile almost disguising her tears. “Thank you.”
Once again, Edgeworth tried to say something, but was interrupted. This time, by the sudden appearance of a multitude of people in the room.
“TRUCYYYYYYYYY!!”
In the blink of an eye, Athena had appeared and bolted across the room and yanked Trucy into a tight bear hug, which was quickly reciprocated. “I missed you too, Athena,” she said. “But how did you know that it was me me?”
“Well, I doubt that Anje van Malle would have been hugging Miles Edgeworth right about now!” Athena half-joked. “Wait,” she said after a flash of realisation across her face. “You remembered everything that Maarten said in the basement?”
“Mhm. I’ve remembered everything over this last year,” Trucy explained.
“That’s horrible,” came Maya’s voice, who was soon pulling Trucy into a hug of her own. “I hope you’re okay.”
“Thank you,” replied Trucy. “But on the bright side,” she added as she pulled away, shrugging. “Tenminste kan ik nog Vlaams spreken.”
Most of everyone in the room responded to that by simply blinking multiple times blankly. Athena, on the other hand, gave an enthusiastic “oh, wow!” She gave a hearty thumbs-up. “You’re gonna have to keep me on my toes with my Dutch. I haven’t practised since I was in Europe!”
Trucy giggled; a sound Phoenix had been longing to hear. “I can certainly do that…”
She trailed off as her attention was taken up by something else in the room, or, rather, some one.
Apollo stood there at the end of the bed, trying desperately to keep his lower lip from curling and trembling, but failing.
Trucy did not make such attempts. “Oh, Polly…” she murmured. “C’mere.”
He immediately obeyed the command, rushing around Phoenix to take her up in a hug of his own. They did just that, and then they talked, and Phoenix realised that he couldn’t bear it anymore to know that they didn’t know.
He looked up at Edgeworth, the look in whose eyes reflected exactly how Phoenix was feeling.
It’s time .
***
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Phoenix warned.
Trucy, now much more recognisable in her good old magician’s hat and cape, silently bored holes into the side of the Detention Centre with her gaze. “Yeah,” she said eventually, looking up at him. “I just want this little bit of closure, then I can burn this whole thing out of my mind forever.”
“Things like this never go away, Truce. It just becomes a part of who we are.”
The sternness in her face loosened a little. “I know.” She looked at him. “But at least my questions will be answered.”
He nodded. “Well, let’s do it.”
The task of convincing the police on duty to allow them to speak to Maarten given that they were neither going to offer to be his defence in court nor were they members of his family was not an easy one. Fortunately, it seemed that one officer had taken a phone call from the Chief Prosecutor which emphasised that they should be permitted to have an audience with the man. Thus, it wasn’t long before they were waiting in the Visitor’s Room.
Maarten’s eyes didn’t leave Trucy’s, and Trucy’s didn’t leave Maarten’s.
“What do you want?” He asked eventually. “My trial is tomorrow, and I’ve confessed to my crimes. I’m certain to spend the rest of my life in prison. What more could you want?”
Trucy said nothing at first, her gaze unflinching. “I want to know why.”
“Then come to my trial tomorrow and watch it all be laid out in the open.”
“That’s exactly what I don’t want to do.”
Maarten crossed his arms. “I am under no obligation to answer your questions. Go to the trial tomorrow if you want to know the whole story. Otherwise, I have no business with you.”
The skin on Trucy’s face tightened. “No business, huh? No explanation?” Phoenix felt her hand begin shaking against his side, her face reddening. “Considering the fact that you kidnapped me, used slave labour to rewrite my brain, trapped me inside my own mind, and inflicted terrible suffering on everyone I love-”
The guard in the back of Maarten’s side of the table jumped as Trucy leapt up from her seat, slamming her hands against the plexiglass.
“-I THINK YOU OWE ME THAT MUCH.”
Maarten didn’t so much as budge. Several seconds passed with a silent exchange of glares.
Then, he looked away to his left. The grimace he wore aged him greatly. “You’re too much like her.”
Trucy peeled her hands from the glass. “…What?”
“My Anje.”
Slowly, she sat down, realisation sweeping over her. “…So you…”
The rocking of his head was almost so slow it wasn’t recognisable as a nod. “I had a daughter of my own at one time. She was about your age.” He glanced at Phoenix. “I was about yours. Maybe a little older”
“She was my age…?”
“When she died.” He paused. “Here, in America. We were on vacation. We were lost one evening, and we pulled our rental car over. My wife and my daughter stepped out to ask a man for directions. He shot them on the spot.” He drew in a deep breath. “There wasn’t even a trial. Frightened by the sight of a car pulling over close to him and of two people stepping out to approach them, he was simply standing his ground. He was fully licensed for the concealed carrying of firearms. He committed no crime.”
Trucy broke the silence that followed: “but where do I come into all of this.”
“ When you get to be as old as I am, when you’ve felt the things I’ve felt, you become very selfish. The law, which I’ve upheld and championed my whole life, suddenly became something completely different to me.” Then, he made eye contact with her. “I wanted the law changed, and then I wanted that man prosecuted to the fullest extent of my new law. When I ran out of time, I then wanted the statute of limitations removed. But when I tried to advocate for the change, they cited the constitution’s prohibition of ex post facto laws, and I was ousted in the ensuing scandal. I needed a new face to carry out my vision. Someone intelligent enough to climb the ladder and to be able to stand their ground in court, but malleable enough to do what I needed.” He looked at Phoenix. “You would have been the ideal candidate; well-respected, experienced. But you’re too old; your brain would not have been as susceptible to the implant I was planning, but your daughter?” The tiniest hint of a grin upturned his face when he looked back to Trucy. “Such a bright young lady. She was the perfect candidate. She needed to compete with you in court to supersede your reputation in order to secure her influence. When she lost to you, I had to resort to more drastic measures.”
His smile disappeared entirely, though, as the look in his eyes sharpened. “I regret nothing that I’ve done, only the outcome.”
“Would you do it again, given the chance?” Trucy questioned, monotone.
Maarten paused, the question tumbling behind his eyes. He looked up. “If I had the time, perhaps. But I won’t have the chance, and even if I did, I’m getting too old. Too tired.”
Trucy’s expression couldn’t have been more unmoved if she were sleeping. She said nothing.
Then, she stood, and left the room.
“How do you feel?” Her dad asked.
Trucy slowed her walking. “Not any different, really. I guess I should’ve expected that.”
“Even after I’d learned all the details of how I got disbarred, I never felt satisfied with the answer. It’s like scratching an itch. You feel a little better, but the itch remains, and sometimes it even makes it worse. The only thing you can do is let it be, and hope it goes away.”
“Or adapt to it. All the parts of you that don't itch don't need to be scratched, still good to use.”
Phoenix grinned. “Ever the optimist.” He took her hand, squeezing it. “I missed you.”
Trucy returned the gesture. “I missed you too.” She might have said something else, but was distracted by a silhouette in the distance. “Hey, is that… Apollo?”
“Yep, right on time,” he answered, his gait quickening. “Hey! Apollo!”
The young attorney, hearing the shout, turned to see them fast approaching, and began closing the distance himself. “Hey there,” he said once within reasonable earshot. “I’ve only got a little while before I need to be at the airport to head to Khura’in, so I won’t be able to be your ‘assistant’ before I leave… again.”
Trucy elbowed him, but couldn’t contain a cheeky grin. He knew her so well.
“Don’t worry, this won’t take long,” Phoenix assured him. He put a hand on the backs of both Apollo and Trucy, drawing them both close to him. “I just need to tell you something before you go, and I would much prefer I tell you in person.”
Trucy felt her heartbeat quicken a bit. Something he needed to tell them in person right after all of that which he clearly called Apollo down for so he could hear it before he left? Uh oh.
“Look,” Phoenix sighed, suddenly seeming very unsure of himself. “This really isn’t the ideal time or place, especially since you're going to be leaving soon, Apollo, but you guys need to know this.” He looked back and forth between them. “This last year, I’ve realised just how important family is to me, because you never know how long they’ll be around. I know that sounds pretty morbid, and it is.” He smiled. “But more importantly, it means that you should cherish them all the more.”
“Are you going to tell me that you’re my father, all Darth Vader style or something?” Apollo quipped, the corner of his mouth upturned in a smirk.
Phoenix chuckled. “No, no. And besides; you don’t have to be related by blood, or even by paperwork, to be family. But that’s not the point. This is something I need to tell both of you guys.”
“What is it, Daddy?” Trucy asked, trying to get to the heart of the issue so she could let her racing heart be free of anticipation.
He sighed. Again. “In hindsight, I should have told you guys a long time ago, as soon as I knew. I told myself that I’d tell you when the time was right. But I realise now that there is no right time, no special occasion, no grand ceremony, because sometimes that special occasion never comes, and you’re left with nothing but regret. I lived with that regret for this last year, and I’m not going to lose another second.”
Trucy and Apollo were kept silent by Phoenix’s solemn expression as he stopped talking for a few moments. Then, once suitably mentally prepared, he continued, looking to Apollo:
“Apollo, tell me what you know about your biological father off the top of your head.”
“Oh, uh,” he began, scratching his head. “His name was Jove Justice, and he was a travelling musician. He died in a fire in the Royal Palace in Khura’in- you were right there when this was brought up in the trial, Mr. Wright.”
“I know, just try and follow my train of thought here,” Phoenix said, placating Apollo’s confusion. “Do you know anything about your mother?”
Apollo shook his head. “No, not a thing. Obviously I know about Dhurke’s wife, but I don’t really know anything about my actual mother.”
Phoenix nodded, turning to Trucy. “Now I know that you know who your father and mother are. Tell me about them.”
“Okay, well, dad joined the Troupe Gramarye; Zak Gramarye. He disappeared when I was eight. Mom was the daughter of Magnifi Gramarye; Thalassa Gramarye. She died in an accident during a rehearsal when I was too young to remember.”
Again, Phoenix nodded. “That’s all true,” he said. “But it’s not the whole story.”
Trucy raised an eyebrow. “It isn’t?”
He shook his head. “It is true that she married Zak, and you were their only child,” he explained. “But you see; Zak was not her first husband.”
Mouth now agape, Trucy threw a hand to cover it. “What?! I had no idea!”
“I didn’t either,” Apollo added. “Who was her first?”
“In her youth,” Phoenix went on, “she actually left the Troupe.”
“Holy cow, this is all news to me,” Trucy commented.
“I know, and that’s why I’m telling you now,” Phoenix said with a chuckle. “But the point is; while she was away, she travelled all over the world, performing as an independent magician.” He paused. “But she didn’t do it alone.”
“‘Didn’t do it alone?’” Apollo questioned. “Did she have a partner? Did she meet another magician along the way?”
“No. The one she travelled with… was her first husband.”
Apollo’s eyes were as wide as Trucy’s now. “What?! Well, who was it?!”
“Simmer down, Apollo,” he placated. “The important thing is that they met outside the Troupe and travelled quite a lot. About a year after they were married, while Thalassa was home in the States, her husband died while abroad… but not before they had their child.”
Trucy gasped with all the capacity of her lungs. “So I have a sibling?!”
“Half-sibling, yes,” Phoenix answered. “But they were with her husband when he died, and due to factors beyond her control, Thalassa wasn’t able to find them. Eventually, she returned to the Troupe, married Zak, and had you, Trucy.”
“So… who was the man who Thalassa married first?” Apollo asked, leaning in in anticipation.
Phoenix took in a big breath in anticipation. “Hoo boy, I can’t believe I’m actually finally doing this,” he chuckled nervously. “Okay, this is it. The man that Thalassa Gramarye married first…” He smiled warmly. “…Was Jove Justice.”
It took about five full seconds for the meaning of his words to sink in, but once they did, Trucy felt as hit-home as a bull-pin under the blow of a hammer. “Y-you mean…!” She stuttered. Looking over at Apollo, the image painted on his face expressed her own feelings equally. She turned to face him, and they made silent eye contact. She felt her vision swim and her face become wet. “… P-Polly!!”
In an instant, she was on him like a ton of bricks. Her face pressed into his tie, her arms wrapping around his waistcoat.
“O-oh, jeez,” Apollo choked. “I… I don’t know what to say.”
“Just gimme a hug, you!” Trucy commanded.
He did.
And all was well for a brief, but beautiful, moment.
Eventually, though, Trucy had to drag herself away, turning around. “Thank you for telling us, Daddy.”
Phoenix chuckled, scratching the back of his head. “Better late than never, I guess…?”
“So am- wait, hold on,” Apollo said, pausing to wipe his eyes and sniffle loudly. “So… if Trucy is your adopted daughter, what does that make me?”
Phoenix just blinked. “I… uh… didn’t give that any thought, actually.” He cradled his chin between his thumb and index finger. “…My… adopted… son-in-law? No, that doesn’t make any sense. My…” He shook his head violently. “I think I’d better not try to answer that question before I go down that road any further. Whatever the case, there’s more I need to tell you.”
“There’s more?” Trucy asked, bewildered. “What more could there be?”
“About Thalassa,” he explained. “You said to me what everybody knows; that she was accidentally killed by either Zak or Valant during an ill-fated rehearsal of one of their acts. But the thing is… that’s not true.”
“WHAT?!” Trucy and Apollo shouted in unison.
“To protect the reputation of Troupe Gramarye, Magnifi immediately covered up the accident and faked his own daughter’s death. She was injured, but not killed. The accident rendered her blind and gave her amnesia.”
“Blind, and without her memory?” Apollo asked, though his tone was rhetorical. “That reminds me a lot of-”
“Lamiroir.”
Apollo, suddenly unable to speak, just stared, stunned. As did Trucy.
“When the two of you met her during that trial, she was still blind and amnesic. However, since then, she’s had an operation that restored her vision, which in turn restored her memory. We talked, mostly about you guys, and she left the responsibility of telling you about your parents to me.” He smiled. “She’s still out there, living on her own. If you want, I’ll tell you where to find her, but it’s your choice.” He looked at Apollo. “I know this isn’t the best time to be telling you all this, but when you’re ready, and if you want to, you’ll know where to find her.”
The young man nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Wright.” He looked off into the distance. “I think it’s going to take a while for all this to sink in. I’ll certainly have a lot of time in Khura’in,” he chuckled.
“Yeah, you should probably get moving, huh?” Phoenix asked. “But first…”
Bringing his arms around the siblings once again, he pulled them into a three-way hug.
Thinking about it all, it actually made a lot of sense. Even ignoring their similarities in appearance, the banter and teasing that passed back and forth between them had always come rather easy, in a way that Trucy had never experienced with anyone else. It was almost kind of obvious. For someone whose profession centred around hiding the devil in the details, Trucy had entirely failed to pick up on the subtleties. Funny how these things work.
“You’re right though, Mr. Wright; I really should get going,” Apollo pointed out, breaking the hug. “But I’ll be in touch. You’ll have a letter from me before long, and I’ll be expecting one back.”
“Will do,” Phoenix affirmed. “Also, one last thing: I brought you two here alone today because I wanted to leave it up to you whether or not, or when, you want to tell other people. It’s in your hands now.”
Apollo nodded. “Thanks.” Then, he turned to Trucy, his face and gaze not really seeming to know what to do with themselves. “I, uh, well, I guess I’ll see you later. Take care of yourself-”
Trucy cut off his rambling with another hug. She was going to need to stock up; who knew when she’d be seeing her big brother again. “I’m gonna miss you,” she said into his waistcoat.
He brought his arms around her, his cheek on the top of her head. “I’m… gonna miss you too.”
Once again, far too soon, they pulled apart, this time on Apollo’s initiative. “I’ve really gotta go now. I need to get my bags from my apartment, then I need to be at the airport by-” He stopped abruptly as he checked the time on his phone. “Uh oh.” He dashed into a full sprint. “Running late! Gotta go! Bye!”
“Bye!!” Trucy shouted after him, waving as he disappeared down the sidewalk and around a bend. Once gone, she huffed a big sigh. “Boy oh boy, talk about an eventful day.”
“No kidding,” her father chuckled. “Time to go home?”
She smiled up at him, taking his hand. “Time to go home.”
And with that, they walked, hand-in-hand, back to the old apartment that Trucy had grown to miss so much. About a hundred and fifty yards down the road, she giggled as she had a thought:
“Gee whiz, I haven’t heard Tim Conway’s elephant story in at least a year!”