Chapter Text
On a dark and dreary night, the wind howls and seep through the trees and grass. A man takes his final breaths, weak and shaky. He can’t help but laugh, which is drowned out by the wind’s wails against the walls of the house he had been held captive in for years. His one chance of freedom spoiled by a knife-wielding… He couldn’t tell what it was. His vision was blurry as he exhaled roughly.
“Man, this sucks.” The man sucks in air as he tends to the blood-oozing gash on his side. “I expected to at least be able to escape this basement by my mid-thirties.” He coughs, dragging himself across the floor as some last means of escape.
A foot slams beside him. “Yeah, but they wouldn’t be happy with that would they?” A low voice coos, making the man on the floor shiver. “Now I can’t have you wriggling about on the floor so...” The figure above him pulls out his knife, they hold the dying man down by gripping onto his neck. He can’t help it but he inhales sharply. “Goodbye, Lazerhorse.” They say sotto voce before plunging the knife into him.
[ May 16, 10:43 AM ]
[ Wright And Co. Law Offices ]
A fan whirs lazily in the background as Phoenix taps his pen against his desk, reading the form once… twice… He looks up, leaning on his hand and glances around his tiny office, the bookshelf behind him filled with files, Charley, the light hanging above him, dull as a lightbulb could ever be, the dusty phone next to it, the printer completely shut off and the doorway that leads into the room where loud sound effects and music blasts from the TV.
Courtesy of Maya, of course.
Laying down the papers, Phoenix decides to stand up. He had been sitting and working ever since he entered his office, it’s made his back grow stiff and his brain unfocused. He stretches his back, raising his arms and yawning. A loud ‘CRK!’ sounds causing Phoenix to yelp and double over. “Crap…” He hisses.
“Are you alright, Nick?!” Maya yells over the TV.
“Yeah, peachy… ” Phoenix walks over to the coffee machine, rubbing his back to soothe the pain. He sees Maya leaning over the couch to see him, she laughs at him.
She slithers back on the couch, laying on her side. “Are you just getting old?” She jokingly asks, switching through the channels.
“Shut up…” Phoenix groans as he turns on the kettle. The kettle begins to rumble and softly whistle as the water inside it warms up.
Suddenly, the phone’s all too familiar deafening ring echoes through the office. There’s a second of realisation before Maya and Phoenix begin scrambling and racing to the phone like two newborn deer learning how to run for the first time. Somehow, Maya turns off the TV and makes it to the phone first, taking advantage of Phoenix’s sore back.
She laughs at Phoenix as she watches him scowl playfully, she teasingly poking out her tongue before taking the phone up to her ear. “Hello! Wright And Co. Office, refreshing like a fresh breeze!” She starts, much to Phoenix’s absolute dismay. “How may we help you?”
“‘Suh!” Sounds the person on the other side of the line. “Uh– Well, my friend got arrested for the murder of another friend of mine. He needs a lawyer and the name ‘Phoenix Wright’ sounds cool enough.”
Maya huffs confidently. “Well, you’ve called the right place! Can we set up an appointment, sir?” She scrambles around Phoenix’s desk, taking a blank piece of paper and writing down notes as she continues to talk and converse with the man on the phone.
Phoenix, pushes in his back as this is happening, as his back pops he lets out a relieved groan. By the time Maya’s finishes, Phoenix is sipping on a nice hot cup of coffee, his back healing from the crack.
“Is your old man back feeling alright?” Maya jests, teasingly poking Phoenix’s back.
“I’m not an old man yet,” Phoenix answers in a matter-of-factly fashion while shooing Maya’s hand away. “I was just sitting at my desk for ages.” Even talking about it made his back feel as if it was stiffening up again.
“Sure,” Maya grins teasingly while passing Phoenix the paper she was writing on before.
“So, who was the guy on the phone?”
Maya shrugs. “He said his name was Commander Meouch.”
Phoenix's eyebrow raises. “Commander... Meouch?”
“Don’t ask me,” Maya says. “His friend needs a lawyer, he was accused of murder.” Phoenix took another sip of his coffee, analyzing the page given to him. “The guy said he wanted to come as soon as possible, so he’s coming by at around 12.”
“That’s in like…” Phoenix examines the clock. 10:57. “An hour pretty much.” He takes time to look around the office, it wasn’t messy but some things could be adjusted. “We should prepare the office.”
“Aw, what?” Maya pouts. “Nick, the office looks fine, let’s get something to eat instead!”
Phoenix sputters. “No! Didn’t you have breakfast?”
Maya nervously chuckles. “I woke up late again and didn’t have time to make myself breakfast.” She itches the back of her neck while grinning foolishly. “Sorry.”
Phoenix frowns. “...Okay, fine,” He grumbles reluctantly. “I can’t have you working on an empty stomach.” He walks over to his office desk and shrugs on his brown satchel bag. “I’m only getting you one burger, one .” He holds up his index finger to clarify, his brows furrowing in determination. Maya nods, a smile brightening her face as the two head for the door. “And as soon as you’re done we’re coming straight back here, okay?”
Phoenix opens the door and Maya let’s out a hearty, “Yessir!” Before heading out the door and shutting it behind both of them.
Three burgers and a milkshake later, they finally decide to head back. Phoenix whimpers at his slightly lighter wallet before packing it back in his pocket. On the other hand, Maya marches down the street with confidence, holding her head up high and smiling with pride. Phoenix grimaces at Maya’s absolute pleasure as they walk back to the office.
Phoenix fishes through his satchel and yanks out a set of keys, before stopping suddenly. What’s stopping him in his tracks is a man waiting near their office door… perhaps their client?
The man stood away from the two, it was tall (taller than both Phoenix and Maya at least) and wore a casual outfit, baggy sweatpants and a blue flannel. Perhaps the most intriguing part of this character was his overgrown hair, which was something akin to a mane, that was being held back with a single blue sweatband. The man scrolls through his phone before starting to turn around.
It was then that the gravity of the situation dawns on Phoenix because as the man switches directions it became painfully obvious that whatever this thing was, it wasn’t a man.
He bears the face of a lion, sharp teeth and all. It becomes apparent that this thing’s hair is actually a magnificent mane. Suddenly, it’s head jerks up, the beast’s fierce blue eyes focus on Phoenix and Maya, who was frozen in place by the intense stare.
“Oh, h’suh dudes!” He beams, waving his hand to the two as a normal person would. He casually walks towards the lawyer and his assistant.
“Wow, that’s a nice costume!” Maya chirps, as she says that Phoenix can’t help but to slightly back away from the lion as he comes closer. “It looks really realistic!”
The talking lion chuckles before looking back with slight concern on his face. “C-Costume?”
“Anyway,” Maya starts, ignoring the lion confusion. “You’re Commander Meouch, right?”
“Yeah,” He huffs pridefully. “That would be me!” The lion grins, pridefully showing off a set of sharp teeth.
‘Just a costume. Just a costume.’ Phoenix reminds himself.
“I was just waiting here for a few minutes, I didn’t know if you guys were just ignoring me or something.” He jokes.
“What? No! We’d never do that!” Maya says. Phoenix slightly disagrees but does not comment. “Let’s all go inside and discuss what happened to your friend.”
Phoenix walks past Meouch faster than he would like to admit. He fumbles with his keys, he can never remember which one’s for the office for some reason. He twists the key and the lock clicks before the door cracks open. Phoenix pushes the door, letting Maya and Meouch into the office.
Commander Meouch is tall enough that the top part of his mane almost reaches the ceiling. Phoenix cautiously walks over to his desk to grab a couple of documents as the spirit medium continues talking to the giant lion man. When he comes back into the main room, Meouch is talking about his band, describing their space adventures and their heroic journeys. Maya’s eyes shine with intrigue.
Phoenix can’t help but smile and for a second he forgets the fear when he was first faced with the man. “Okay,” He starts, showing off the documents in his hand. “Let’s get started.”