Chapter Text
Phoenix sat down on a bench. He’s grateful for the tree that’s blocking the harsh sunlight, or else his ice cream would’ve melted away already. From afar, he could hear the girls loudly cheering, probably winning another doll. Phoenix thought it’s pretty impressive to be able to hear them considering the park was really crowded that day, and noisy.
Earlier this morning, Trucy had insisted on her dad to get out of the house and to dress nicely. It’s not that he didn’t have any other outfit, he just used a hoodie because it’s very easy to wear. That did not mean he had lots of clothing choices, but he managed to find a nice white shirt with blue badger face on it—from Gumshoe—and a blue short sleeve blazer.
When he stepped out of the house, he was greeted with Edgeworth’s red car. Edgeworth, Pearl, and Maya were standing beside it. The purple girl waved happily then urged him to get on the front seat, while she and the rest ruled the back seats. Apparently there was a carnival being held, and Trucy wanted her daddy to enjoy it with everyone.
Phoenix munched down the ice cream cone. He saw Gumshoe earlier buying foods from Larry’s stand—guess he’s getting paid nicely. Phoenix hoped this wasn’t a sign of murder about to happen. He was about to finish his ice cream when he heard Edgeworth arguing with someone that sounded familiar.
He almost dropped the ice cream but immediately threw it into his mouth. Out of all people, he definitely didn’t expect Franziska to appear. Phoenix was still coughing lightly after forcefully swallowing his ice cream when someone sat beside him with laughter.
“Good to meet you again, Mr. Wright.”
Phoenix was so glad he’d finished eating. “Ju-judge?!”
The bald man laughed. His usual black robe was replaced with flower-patterned red shirt and shorts, not a sight that Phoenix ever expected from the judge. He looked like he’s going to a beach instead of a carnival in city. “Mr. Wright, I do have a name, you know. We’re not in the courtroom so you can call me-”
A dog leaped in between them from behind, followed by Larry stumbling on them, making them all face-planting on the ground. Gumshoe & Maggey soon ran past them to catch the K-9 dog.
“MY HOTDOG SAUSAGES!” Larry exclaimed without a single care for the other 2 men. “That detective better pays!”
The judge sat. “Things would have been different had I put you in jail,” he grumbled.
Phoenix got up and let out a faint chuckle, but then Larry shook him violently. “Please, please help me out! I’ll give you my meal! If I fail this business, my angel will dump me!”
“Which angel this time…,” Phoenix responded helplessly.
“So, this is how you are now.” Phoenix turned around, ignoring Larry who’s crying and whining. Franziska stood beside her brother, looking unimpressed and stern like usual. “Your daughter asked me if I could come here.”
Phoenix eyebrows furrowed, but before he could ask anything, Gumshoe & Maggey ran back with a dog on the detective's hands. “Sorry buddy, but Missile has eaten the whole thing,” he said as Missile bit a rope that was used to tie the sausage bundle.
“WHAT?!” And so, began the ranting and crying.
Phoenix and the judge used the moment to get away, but Phoenix almost bumped onto someone. “Whoa, careful there, Mr. Wright!” the young girl with pink eyeglasses exclaimed. She then tidied her outfit. It’s unusual to see her without a white coat. “It’s been awhile, Mr. Wright! I heard about…what happened. Your daughter sent me a letter, and I decided to return here for a while.”
She looked past him. “By the way, what’s all that noise?”
Phoenix, still surprised to see the young aspiring scientific investigator, managed to give a short explanation, “Sausages.”
Ema gasped. “Aww, is that a K9 dog?” She bolted toward Missile, shoving away crying Larry and started smooshing the dog’s face. The crying guy was shocked for a moment, but then continued to loudly complain at Gumshoe.
He was slowly processing what Ema had said when Trucy, Pearl, and Maya returned with ice cream. “Trucy, when you said everyone, did you actually mean it?” Phoenix asked.
“Mr. Edgeworth helped me contact them!” the magician replied happily before handing her dad a big blue dog doll. She then gave a red variant to Edgeworth who awkwardly accepted it. “Everybody’s here now, so we can give daddy the present!”
Edgeworth took something out of his bag and gave it to Trucy, who then gave it to Phoenix. It was a gift, wrapped neatly using a light blue paper wrapper with red heart pattern. She then grabbed his hand. “Come on, daddy! We haven’t seen what’s over there!”
Phoenix didn’t get to say anything as his daughter grabbed his hand and dragged him somewhere, wherever she pleased. Aside from the initial gang, the rest loosely follow, except for Larry and Gumshoe who were having a moment. Trucy stopped at various places, excitedly pointing, admiring, and pulling her dad for pictures. Maya & Pearl happily helped them for good pictures, while Edgeworth tailed them with a faint smile. Occasionally, they would switch places, though Edgeworth was not the best photographer.
Phoenix remembered throwing darts, tossing rings, and fishing magnetic fish toys. The others would join in, take turns, whine when they failed, and cheered loudly for every reward. Every now and then, Phoenix would hear a “Eureka!” among the cheers.
As he was sitting to wait for food while the girls were ride-hunting, Edgeworth sat next to him. He started putting in the prizes that were sitting nicely on the table into the newly bought bag. Phoenix smiled seeing how Edgeworth kept the red dog doll close to himself instead of shoving it into the bag.
“How long have you and Trucy been planning this?” Phoenix asked.
“Give the credit to your daughter. She saw the carnival announcement and asked me to list people who are presumably close to you, or at least fond of you. She then asked me to contact them.”
Phoenix smiled weakly. He thought back on how sweet and caring Trucy was, yet he didn’t expect this kind of surprise. “Impressive that so many busy people could gather here at the same time.”
“A miracle, or perhaps they just want to help you a little.” Edgeworth turned to look him in the eyes. “Phoenix, the press and this justice system may have been harsh on you, but we still support you. We will help you.” He paused, unsure of how to word his thoughts. He felt the weight of the magatama in his shirt pocket. He’s afraid to ask how Phoenix was feeling, afraid to hear that thundering chain sound again, and see his partner with six psyche locks surrounding him.
“Why don’t you open Trucy’s gift?” he finally spoke again.
“Oh, right.” Phoenix grabbed the present and carefully opened it. It was indeed a book. To be exact, it’s a pretty big binder book. The cover was blue with various stickers, including a white dove coming out of magician’s hat, the blue badger–oh he’s never escaping that creature–and Ema’s signature smiley logo.
The title was “Phoenix Wright the Ace Attorney”.
Phoenix was stunned for a moment until Edgeworth tapped his shoulder gently. “Each of us made something for the book.” Phoenix looked back at the book he’s holding and gently opened it. His heart raced a little, anticipating for what’s inside.
First page, and he’s greeted by 2 pictures with various notes, doodles, and little stickers. The picture on upper left showed him sleeping soundly on his couch, with stickers and scribbles across his face. On his side was Trucy, holding her laughter while gripping a permanent marker. Edgeworth was sitting by the sofa. His face was also covered with stickers—no permanent marker unfortunately—and partially covered his mouth, but Phoenix could see him grinning. Maya was the closest to the camera, barely holding back laughter. The floor around them was littered with toys and magic trick equipments.
Phoenix let out a chuckle. “It took me so long to clean those scribbles.”
“Why did you even let her have it?” Edgeworth asked with a chuckle.
The picture on the lower right depicted him blowing out birthday candles. Trucy and Maya popped their party poppers, while Edgeworth clapped. Phoenix couldn’t hold his giggle at the sight of Edgeworth with a birthday hat, causing the man to give a glare.
“I can never thank Trucy enough for making you wore that,” Phoenix said, prompting a light slap to his shoulder.
“Oh look, he’s opened the present!” someone shouted not too far from him. Phoenix turned around and saw Ema with the rest of the group—aside from Trucy’s gang—behind her. Larry and Missile were best friends now, apparently. He’s hugging the dog and nuzzling it. Franziska seemed to have won many games, as shown by Gumshoe carrying the rewards beside her. The judge was just happy to be there. He had somehow won a flower wreath and was wearing it proudly.
They arrived at his table. Ema moved to Phoenix’s side and said, “Glad we came here when you’re still on page one! Where are Trucy and the other? It will be fun to read this together!”
“Oh, they’re out hunting for rides. They should be back soon,” Phoenix answered.
He was right. Just a few seconds later, Trucy, Maya, and Pearl returned. When they noticed that the cat’s out of the bag, they ran to him excitedly. “How far have you read it, daddy?” Trucy asked eagerly.
“I just opened it, and I….” Phoenix paused. He’s lost for words already. He’s holding a book containing everyone’s creation, and the first page was enough to make him feel overwhelmed with emotion. He’s eager to tell everyone surrounding him how thankful he was, how fast his heart was beating.
Phoenix shrugged. “I will be honest, I don’t know how…how to express my feelings right now. I-” He let out a defeated chuckle. “Uh, I want to ask, after this, after we’re done in this park, whaaat…are you guys planning to do?”
Franziska crossed her arms. “Well, little magician, why don’t you tell him?”
Trucy giggled. “We will stay with you for this whole day! If you want to, of course, and if there's no emergency call," she said with the last part sounding mumbled and hopeful.
“Whole day?" Phoenix asked playfully. "Well, if you guys do want to stick around after this, then I think I can read the book later…? We get on the rides and…uh, princess, where do you want to go after this?"
"Daddy doesn't have any place in mind? What about shopping?"
"Hmm, nothing, really. Daddy will just go along." He turned to the others. "What about you guys?"
They all basically gave the same answer: no plan.
"Well then," Phoenix closed the book gently, "which ride should we pick?"
***
Their screams soon became part of background noise of the carnival. Phoenix was so glad they didn't choose the roller coaster as their first ride, or else their lunch would've burst out. Carousel was their first pick, and it was nice sitting on the horse statue with Trucy while Edgeworth sat on one beside them. Pretty sure he heard some Larry struggling noises from behind, Maya and Pearl doing shenanigan, and…did the judge fall?
As they're about to went down again, Phoenix quickly looked at Edgeworth beside him, then at Maya & Ema behind, and then at the others at the back. Everyone had looks of fear and excitement. Trucy & Pearl were watching from below with detective Gumshoe. Then, the world around him moved quickly, turning into blur once again. At that moment, all his problems were gone. He felt like he’s back to the time where he’s looking forward to arguing with Edgeworth at the courtroom, dealing with ridiculous cases, and being dragged by Maya to watch Steel Samurai shows.
Then, he watched as the world moved slowly, as he’s rising up. The ferris wheel spinned as the sun was setting down. It was a beautiful composition of orange and purple, and Phoenix was in awe. When was the last time he’s this relaxed? This free? No frustration of pursuing evidence, no worries of empty bowl, no rush to the bar for another round of poker for money. Of course, the reality was still the same, but as of now, he felt free like a flying, burning phoenix.
He then felt a warm weight on his side. Trucy had fallen asleep, seemingly content. Phoenix reflexively patted her, and tucked her hair. He then heard a faint ‘click’.
“Oops.” Maya tried to hide her camera, even though it’s way too late at that point. “It was mr. Edgeworth’s idea,” she whispered.
“I did not–”
Phoenix hushed them both, though he couldn’t hide his smile. He rested his head on the window, treasuring the view and moment he’s in right now. He hoped that this moment could continue. He hoped that the dark age of law could be settled soon. After that, maybe, life would return to normal.
“Phoenix,” Edgeworth called gently to avoid disturbing Trucy. Phoenix turned to look at him. He still wanted to laugh or chuckle every time he noticed Edgeworth’s red Hawaiian shirt with Blue Badger motif. Apparently it was Trucy’s idea too. “How are you feeling right now?”
Phoenix took a deep breath and sighed, sounding content. “I feel happy.”
Edgeworth couldn’t help but smile in relief. It’s not a lie. There was no rattling sound of chain, and not a lock in sight. Of course, that did not mean Phoenix had no problem in heart at all, but Edgeworth was happy that they could cheer him up to this point. This convinced Edgeworth that they could ease his pain as time went on. It wouldn't be easy and quick, but he's determined.
Maya grinned gleefully, feeling so happy to see Phoenix this relaxed. “We’ll stick with you no matter what!” Maya chimed in while hugging a Steel Samurai doll that she won. “Let’s cherish this day, and remember it when you’re stumped.”
“We will help you, daddy,” Trucy said, surprising Phoenix. “After we win, let’s go to a carnival like this again with everyone!”
Phoenix chuckled and ruffled her hair. “Yes, yes, but can we really gather everyone at the same time again?”
“We can and we will!” she replied confidently.
“I think I can help with that,” Edgeworth added. “You just need to hang on until then, Phoenix.”
Phoenix smiled and leaned on the chair. “Thank you. I will.”
With that, they continued rising up, watching the sun went down more and more. After a day filled with adrenaline and delicious foods, Phoenix couldn’t help but fall asleep despite the loud conversation happening around him. Before his consciousness faded away, he could faintly hear Edgeworth mentioned a little detail on Maya’s doll, which led to her excitedly rambling about said detail. Edgeworth, being a fan too, couldn’t say no to such discussion. Phoenix also heard Trucy joining in, but after that he barely remembered anything, aside from feeling warm and peaceful, and the sight of stars that started shining in the sky.
***
The scent of tea woke him up. He then sat up and stretched, prompting the red guy next to him to ask, “Sorry, did I wake you up?”
Phoenix finished stretching and looked at him with a soft smile. He took one of the tea cup. “Technically? But don’t worry, I don’t want to sleep through this anyway.”
“You can rest if you want,” Edgeworth said before getting the other cup for himself and sat across from Phoenix.
“Nah, I was just feeling very comfortable.” He sipped the warm tea and looked at the sight in front of him. His office was crowded with familiar faces.
On one couch, Maya was eating a huge burger and chatting with Franziska in between chewing, while Pearl enjoyed ramen beside her. Running around the room were Trucy & Apollo, with Trucy wanting to teach him a new magic trick. They passed Ema who was watching TV, and Klavier & Athena who cheered for Apollo. He knew very well that they actually enjoyed his suffering in this chase.
On the other couch, Larry tried to take back his hotdog from Missile, right as Gumshoe & Maggey returned to the room bringing more snacks. The judge–Phoenix was still surprised whenever he appeared outside of the courtroom–tried to give Larry his own hotdog, but the guy insisted on beefing with a dog. Meanwhile, Simon and his hawk, Taka, just watched silently.
A knocking sound was heard, and Athena jumped to open it. As expected, it was Juniper, and she immediately dragged her by hand to the room.
“Mr. Wright, everyone’s here!” Athena shouted. “Let’s take a picture and go!”
“Calm down, let her rest first. I also haven’t finished my tea,” Phoenix responded.
“And I haven’t even eaten my hotdog!” Larry yelled.
“I told you, just have mine!” the judge yelled as he finally shoved the hotdog to Larry’s mouth, tired of his crap.
“Hang on, let me finish my burger!” Maya chimed in, followed by Pearl quickly finishing her ramen.
“It’s okay everyone, the carnival isn’t going anywhere for another few days. Enjoy your meal,” Phoenix said, but then he noticed Edgeworth started drinking faster.
The red prosecutor noticed Phoenix’s smug face. “What? I just don’t want to slow them down. The parking lot might be full if we go too late.”
“Uh-huh.”
After letting Juniper ate some snacks and everyone finished their food, they all went outside and prepared for a group photo. Maya set up the camera while everyone else positioned themselves. Phoenix and Edgeworth were given center position at the back, with most of the tall gang beside them. Trucy & Apollo were crouching at the front, along with Pearl, Athena, & Juniper. Maya soon joined them and crouched beside Pearl.
As the timer went down, Missile smelled a faint sausage coming from Larry, who was standing beside Phoenix. Gumshoe felt a struggle in his arms before the dog leapt to Apollo's head, then bounced toward Larry. The guy decided to dodge by leaning to the middle and crashed onto Phoenix, making Missile hit the judge instead, ultimately destroying the formation.
Click
A lot of yelling ensued, Taka the hawk screeched, and they all scrambled to get away from Larry, except for Gumshoe & Maggey who tried to get Missile back. After being offered actual dog treats, it finally stopped bothering Larry.
“Are you sure you're fine with this, Nick?” Maya asked.
“Yeah, this is more like it. It kind of reminds me of that old picture we took after Edgeworth's case, just much more chaotic.”
Edgeworth chuckled. “You're right.”
After the commotion died down, they got in the huge van that they've rented. Edgeworth & Phoenix were at the front. Trucy, Apollo, & Maya were behind them, and so on, with Gumshoe sitting at the empty space due to his size. At the very least, Missile was there for him, and both Maggey & Larry would talk a lot with him.
As the van moved, Phoenix got the binder book out. It's so much thicker now, he might need to get a new one. He quickly flipped through the pages before finding an empty page. He saw the pictures on the first page, drawings by Trucy, everyone's thought about him, newspaper clipping about his success as a lawyer, some headlines trying to support him, mails from his friends, and more pictures as time went on. Yes, he indeed needed a new binder. There was only 1 empty page left.
“A bit fitting, don't you think?” Edgeworth asked.
“Hm? What is?”
“We made the book to support you, and that book has been filled with many memories from the dark age until now. That group picture is a nice way to end this book, no?”
Phoenix smiled. He pulled out a small tape from his bag. “Do you think there will be binder books at the carnival?”
“Maybe.”
He finished taping the picture and looked at the empty space on the page. He turned around. “Hey guys, do you want to write something down here? It's gonna be the last page.”
Everyone erupted in “Yes!” and Phoenix handed it to Trucy, who eagerly grabbed it. She took out the pen slipped in the book and wrote a little thank you, complete with a hat & dove doodle. She passed it to Maya, and then Apollo, then Athena, and so on. Eventually, the book was returned to Phoenix. The page had been filled with small writings, doodles, and signs. He wrote something down before putting it on his lap.
“Here you go.” Phoenix gave Edgeworth the book when they stopped at a red light.
Edgeworth grabbed it. He looked at the page and couldn't hide his big smile. The page was almost filled to the brim. Only 1 empty space left, right beside Phoenix's “Thank you, everyone”. He wrote something and gave it back. Phoenix checked what his partner had written and smiled gently.
“Thank you, Ace Attorney”