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The plan had been in the works for over four months now and today was the day it all came together. Phoenix watched as Trucy looked both ways before hopping across the street to the entrance of the train station to meet up with Maya and Pearls, who should be arriving any moment now. They were lucky to even receive a phone call from either of the young spirit mediums since they have been ridiculously busy with their training, especially Maya who was mere months away from officially becoming a Kurain Master, let alone have them visit for the weekend.
Phoenix and Trucy came bounding up the stairs of the station – more accurately, Trucy energetically ran up the stairs, while Phoenix was barely able to keep up with his teenage daughter.
“Nick!” No sooner had they reached the landing than two Fey gals ran up to give him a giant bear hug. Phoenix managed to drag the party out of the middle of the busy intersection and disentangle himself from the group hug.
“Hey there, you two! How’s it been?” Trucy was rocking back and forth on her toes and heels, clasping her hands behind her.
“Oh, things have been hectic in the village with preparations for the celebration for Mystic Maya. I’m the party committee leader, of course!” Pearls was practically dancing in excitement, while Maya was smiling down at her.
“I hate to be taking you away from Kurain Village during such a crazy time – ”
“Oh, Nick! We have discussed it ad nauseam! Stop worrying. We needed a break from the constant work, work, work.” Maya paused and smiled at the Wrights. “Not to mention the fact that we haven’t seen you two in so long!”
“Aw shucks, Maya!” Phoenix felt his face heat up a bit as he rubbed the back of his neck.
“Yeah, Auntie Maya! You’re making Papa blush!”
Maya chuckled and tapped Phoenix on the shoulder.
“Well, in that case maybe we should go get some burgers and catch up! Pearls and I are still in the dark about the plans for the weekend.” Phoenix laughed and turned away to walk towards the Burger Shack with the rest of the gang scrambling to catch up.
“Have you ever heard of the Neo Olde Tokyo Convention?”
Silence.
That seems odd. I thought that they would be excited. He turned around slowly to find three sets of wide eyes and that was his only warning.
“NEOCON?!”
My hearing may never be the same again. . .
* * *
When Phoenix was lost and trying to raise a daughter, Maya and Pearls stepped up and kept him sane. He knew that without them and a certain prosecutor, there would be no way that he would have picked himself up and retaken the bar exam. Now that things had started to settle in around the Wright Anything Agency, he wondered what he could do to say thank you.
Then he heard about the Neo Olde Tokyo Convention, or NeoCon, for short.
It’s the largest Neo Olde Tokyo expo in the world! It solely focuses on the Steel Samurai, Pink Princess, etc. franchise. It even extends to the Jammin’ Ninja and the Plumed Punisher – although Trucy has some strong opinions on that issue. Trucy and Maya have had several loud discussions about the Plumed Punisher.
I still think that the Plumed Punisher is just a rip-off of Steel Samurai, but whatever.
Since he bought the tickets four months ago he had had plenty of time to worry about whether this was the right present for them. He apparently had nothing to worry about though. After all, Phoenix was Wright – pun always intended – that the girls absolutely loved the idea of going to the con.
They were so excited that they decided to pull an all-nighter and binge watch their favorite episodes of all the shows. Poor Phoenix tried to escape to catch a few hours of sleep and all three of them pinned him down on the couch and explaining why this episode was amazing.
Now they were standing in line to get onto the main floor of the convention. Phoenix has watched Maya grow into a mature, responsible leader of an entire village, yet at moments like these the 28-year-old woman reminded him of the teenager he met years ago.
Even though none of them had slept the night before – Phoenix was the unwilling witness to that event – Maya, Pearls, and Trucy were bouncing and chatting with unbridled eagerness. Phoenix, on the other hand, was slumping along behind them like a grumpy goblin.
As Phoenix had never been to a convention before he had had no idea what was in store for his poor, old body, but there was nothing that could prepare him for what was in store for him. As soon as they entered the show floor the gang was swept away into the flow of the river of people weaving through the vendors’ booths. And of course, they had to stop at each and every vendor to check out their wares.
“Didn’t we see the same stuffed samurai several booths ago?” To the uninitiated – like Phoenix -- everything here appeared to be the same thing.
“Nick! First of all this isn’t even the Steel Samurai – ”
“Second of all, daddy, this is the Jammin’ Ninja – ”
“Mr. Nick, they aren’t even in the same show.”
Phoenix held up his hands in front of his chest – as if to protect himself from their barrage of comments – and took a step back. Right into the Evil Magistrate – or more accurately, someone cosplaying as the Evil Magistrate. Either way, Phoenix found himself sprawled out on the floor.
“Ahhh! Sorry, sorry, sorry! Are you alright?” The not-so-evil Magistrate bent down to help Phoenix’s sorry ass back on his feet.
“Er, yeah. I’m fine. I wasn’t paying attention.” He rubbed the back of his neck and nervously smiled. “So sorry about that.”
“It’s all good, buddy.” The Evil Magistrate laughed. “Enjoy the rest of the con. Try not to trip on anyone else.”
“Er, thanks for the suggestion.” After that interaction, I don’t think things can get any worse.
“Daddy! Stop flopping around on the floor and come over here! Could you buy me this official Pink Princess toy . . . I’ll pay you back?”
Apparently, things can get worse. . .
* * *
After several hours of working their way through the show floor and the rows and rows of artists, Phoenix finally had the chance to rest as they found four seats for a panel.
“What is this thingy about?” At this point Phoenix decided to embrace his role as the tired father.
“Mr. Nick, we’ve told you several times. This is a panel about female representation in the Neo Olde Tokyo world.” Pearls clapped her hands and bounced in her seat between Phoenix and Maya.
“Yup! I want to ask their opinion on Pink Princess’ development. Like, how do they feel about her having a baby with the Steel Samurai?” Trucy leaned around Phoenix, turning to face Maya – probably about to start a deep debate – but then her eyes got wide.
“Hey, Papa? Isn’t that Mr. Edgeworth over there?” Phoenix perked up at that and quickly searched the room for the familiar silver hair and handsomely grouchy face. He spotted the man a couple rows ahead of them across the aisle. It looked like Edgeworth had opted for his more ‘casual’ outfit aka he chose not to wear his maroon jacket and cravat.
Of course, this is his leisure suit. . . Granted he looks really good in that charcoal vest and – those glasses! I know that he wears them now, because of failing eyesight and that that should not be a turn on, but it really, really works for him . . .
That train of thought needs to end. . .
“Er, yeah it sure looks like him.” He cleared his throat and stared at the stage, away from the man in question. Trucy made eye contact with Maya and Pearls and rolled her eyes.
“I thought that you would be the expert on that. I seem to remember you stared at him a lot in the court room.” Maya crossed her legs and tapped a pointer finger on her cheek. Phoenix sputtered and felt his face burn up as he crossed his arms in front of him.
“Maya! I did not stare at him. . .”
“Yeah, Auntie Maya, it’s more of an ogle.”
“Trucy!” He covered his face with his hands. “I neither stare nor ogle. Can we just drop it? Please tell me that the panel is about to start.”
“Shhhhh! Mr. Nick, we can talk about your special someone after the panel.”
“Augh!” Phoenix peeked around and realized that he may have been a bit too loud before slumped down the chair and pouted. “He is not my ‘special someone.’” Although he was completely unable to stop his eyes from darting over to where the prosecutor sat during the panel.
I knew that he was a fan, but I never pictured him actually attending any sort of con. Unless it was a law convention. . .
If Phoenix had known anything about the Steel Samurai stories then maybe he would get more out of the panel. With that said it was certainly interesting to see how passionate other people are about it. There was a time for Q&A, so Maya jumped up and was able to get her question out there.
As soon as the panel ended, Phoenix hoped out of his chair and attempted to charge out of the room. However, the girls had another idea in mind.
“So, Auntie Maya, what did you think of the speakers?!” Was Apollo training Trucy? That was about as piercing as the Chords of Steel. . .
“Oh man, Trucy! It was so interesting! There were some neat points that I had never thought of before! From an outsider’s perspective, what did you think, Nick?!” Phoenix glared at the two most unsubtle people in the world.
“Would you guys quit it? You’re about as subtle as Uncle Larry on a date.”
“Nick, that’s fair, but not very nice.” Maya chided him before looking over his shoulder and beaming. “Why, hello there, Mr. Edgeworth!” Phoenix’s shoulders went rigid and he closed his eyes in frustration.
Seriously? You two are in so much trouble.
“Hello, Ms. Fey, Ms. Fey, Ms. Wright, and . . . Wright.” He punctuated each ladies’ name with a slight bow and then simply stared at Phoenix with a raised eyebrow. “I hope that you are all enjoying your time here. Although, Wright, you appear to be a bit out of place.”
“Er, yeah, but I got us all tickets, because I thought that the ladies would get a kick out of the con.” There was an awkward pause before Pearls, who had not said much of anything, pipped in.
“Mr. Edgeworth, if you aren’t here with anyone else, would you like to join us? We still have about half of the show floor to get through.” Pearls must have been working on improving her puppy dog eyes since it melted even the heart of the Demon Prosecutor. The sides of his lips curved a touch and he nodded in the girl’s direction.
“Ms. Fey, it would be my pleasure to accompany you all.” Pearls beamed up at him and happily hopped to the head of the gang. They all left the room with Phoenix and Miles bringing up the rear.
“So, have you been enjoying the con, Edgeworth?”
“I have. Thank you for asking.” There was, yet another, uncomfortable pause. “It’s awfully kind of you to sacrifice your weekend for them. I realize that you aren’t really a huge fan of the franchise, so it’s apparent that you are strictly doing this for them.”
“Oh, yeah, well, they’re family and I wanted to give them a really fun experience, you know? I wanted to show them how much I appreciate everything that they have done for me.” The girls were ahead of the two men, but Phoenix made sure to keep the bobbing, powder blue magicians hat in his sites. Thankfully, both of the Feys had grown taller, too. All in all, it was hard to miss the two in purple robes and the magician.
The next few hours flew by as they went from booth to booth with the occasional plea from his daughter for some Pink Princess this or Plumed Punisher that. While it seemed like Edgeworth never left the group, there were several times that Phoenix would turn to check on him and find that he had acquired some new swag. By the end of the day Phoenix knew more about the franchise and the opinions of his cohorts than he ever really wanted to. Yet there was something endearing about witnessing the courteous Pearls and the solemn Miles get into a rather heated argument over whether the Jammin’ Ninja should truly be considered part of the world of Neo Olde Tokyo.
Throughout the day Phoenix had kept an eye out for any merchandise that seemed familiar to him, but had no such luck until one of the last booths that they stopped at. For the first time since they had walked into the building, Phoenix was driven to buy something.
* * *
The sun was beginning to set behind the buildings in the distance as the gang was strolling through the automatic sliding doors of the convention center. Everyone left clutching at least one bag stuffed with all kinds of purchases. Maya, arguably, had collected the most merchandise, she was especially bogged down by the fanart and the life-sized replica of the Steel Samurai’s spear. Miles was a close second with several bags, including a new tote, stuffed to the brim.
As per usual, the ladies were busily chatting about the con and skipping way ahead of the old farts in the back.
Guys, I know that you’re doing this on purpose. You’re fooling no one here!
“So, I see that you tried to compete with Maya for who could buy the most merch. Is there anything that you’re particularly excited for?”
“I found a low number, collector’s edition of the Evil Magistrate. I hadn’t been able to find it in previous years.”
“Oh, do you normally come here every year then?”
“Yes. It’s one of the few trivial activities that I like to make time for.” He adjusted his glasses on his nose in an attempt to mask the quick glance shot in Phoenix’s direction. “I noticed that you ended up purchasing something. If you don’t mind me asking, what managed to pique your interest?”
“Er, well it seems silly, but you remember when we were kids and we were really into that show, the Signal Samurai? Well, I saw a couple small toys of the characters.” His favorite nervous tick chose that time to show and he rubbed the back of neck. “They actually only had the blue and red ones and I thought back to how you had the red one, I had the blue, and Larry had the yellow one. So, I was sorta planning on giving the red one to you. . . ”
The only sound was their shoes on the concrete and the chatter up ahead.
“I mean, that is if you would even want it? Sorry, this probably was a stupid idea.” He turned his head to the left to face Miles only to find that the man had stopped a few feet back and was clutching his left arm with his right hand. The telltale sign that he was uncomfortable in some fashion.
“Miles, are you alright?”
“Wright, you are too generous with your time and affections. Please do not mistake my hesitation as disappointment or disgust. I – appreciate all the occasions you have helped me through. As I am sure you have noticed, I find it difficult to express my emotions and – feelings, especially when it concerns you.” Phoenix took this time to shuffle next to Miles to give him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
“You know what, Miles? I’m not all that good at telling you how I feel either, but – ”
“Papa! Stop flirting with Mr. Edgeworth and please call us a taxi!” Phoenix spun around to glare at his daughter as the other man coughed and pushed his glasses back up his nose.
“Trucy! I was not –”
“Um, I could take you home. To save money on a taxi, that is.” Phoenix’s anger instantly disappeared as he gave Miles an appreciative, nervous grin.
“Thanks, Miles, that would be fantastic.”
“It would be no problem, Phoenix.”