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Phoenix collapsed against the oversized doors as he shut them behind him, panting from exertion. He was safe - the guards had been lost several long, twisting corridors ago - but there was no telling how long that would last.
With a groan at the effort, Phoenix peeled himself away from the cool wood to plan his next move. Seeing no kind of locking mechanism, Phoenix settled for the next best thing - shoving a nearby broom through the twin handles in a make-shift latch. He pushed a few large boxes in the way as well, for good measure. Anything to buy time while he looked for an escape route.
“I hope you’re happy with yourself,” a voice called from behind, acid dripping off every word. He turned to find Miles Edgeworth settled in the center of the room, primly perched on the edge of a crate as if he hadn’t just been running as well.
Phoenix ignored him in favor of surveying their hiding place. At first glance it appeared to be a storage room from the number of crates and miscellaneous items strewn about, collecting dust, but the walls were rounded and tall, stretching up to unseen stories. Wooden staircases encircled the perimeter, beams criss-crossing above their heads and scattering the light creeping in from numerous windows.
“What? Nothing to say for yourself?” Edgeworth continued, clearly annoyed that he wasn’t being given Phoenix’s full attention. “Not only have you angered the most powerful man in the country, but you’ve also ruined the one chance you so desperately wanted to prove yourself. Do you ever even think before you act?!”
Of course he’d thought. He’d thought about how their so-called ‘Great and Powerful’ Wizard had less magical talent in his entire body than Phoenix had in a single blue-tinted finger. He thought about all the innocent lives that had been ruined for the sake of maintaining that facade. He thought of how many more would suffer if he were at the Wizard’s beck and call.
He thought about how that same wizard was the reason that Mia was gone.
“At least I acted!” Phoenix spat, spinning on a heel. “At least I didn’t just stand there quietly while they tried to defend all the horrible things they’ve done - that they plan to do, just to keep up their lies. Is your precious reputation really worth more than sticking up for what’s right, or do you really believe that the ends justify their means?”
Edgeworth glared at him. “Of course I don’t! But this is a delicate situation that requires a more tactful approach.”
“Does it? This one seems pretty effective to me,” Phoenix said, shifting the satchel slung upon his shoulder. In it he carried a Magatama, a rare magical relic that granted power to the chosen few who could wield it. Even now Phoenix could feel the hum of its magic, like a flickering flame, resonating with his own.
He’d been over the moon when it’d awoken for him, glowing at the touch of his hand, green against his blue. His professors had said he held great potential - at least, the ones who hadn’t turned their noses up at his appearance - but this had felt like proof. Finally, he’d thought, he’d found the place where he truly belonged. Where he could make a difference, instead of just being different. To, at the Wizard’s side, save people the way that Mia had once saved him.
Now he knew that the only way to save anyone was to keep the Magatama as far from the Wizard’s reach as possible.
“You should apologize,” Edgeworth entreated.
“Apologize?!”
“Yes! Go back and return the Magatama,” he said as if he’d read Phoenix’s thoughts and decided they needed a counter argument.
Phoenix looked at his friend for a long moment. “Is that why you came after me? Did they send you to bring me back?”
“…yes,” Edgeworth quietly admitted. “But-”
“Unbelievable,” Phoenix muttered, tossing his head back.
“I need you to listen, Wright. You’re the only one who can use the Magatama, so use that to your advantage. Reason with the Wizard, appeal to his ego. You can still do the good you wanted to and get the recognition you deserve.”
Around them, alarms began to blare, alerting the citizens and further narrowing the chances of escape as the guards continued their hunt.
Phoenix snorted. “I dunno, Edgeworth. I think we might be beyond reasoning at this point.”
“Well what else can you do? This is treason, Wright. You’ll be imprisoned for life once they catch you - if they don’t outright have you killed!” Edgeworth replied, a quiet sort of desperation to his tone.
“Then I won’t get caught,” Phoenix reasoned.
“How?” Edgeworth countered. “You can’t hide in here forever, they’re going to check this room eventually. And let’s just say you did make it out somehow, where would you even go? You don’t exactly blend in.”
Phoenix, who’d been tracking sunbeams while Edgeworth practically yelled at him, turned his head back with a smirk. “The only place you can go when you’ve hit the bottom.”
Edgeworth let out a surprised little shout as Phoenix practically bolted up the spiral staircase. The wooden planks creaked from disuse, protesting much like his friend below. Phoenix ignored them both while he climbed, as if some unseen force was drawing him upwards.
So upwards he climbed, heedless of the way his lungs and legs burned, still exhausted from fleeing the Wizard, until he reached a landing near the top of the tower. The platform led directly outside to a westward facing balcony, the large archway allowing the light from the slowly setting sun to pour right in. Phoenix took in lungfuls of the fresh air as he caught his breath, before slowly moving to the railing to take a dizzying look out at the city below. Without his sapphire-tinted glasses on, it felt less resplendent.
“Wright, are you mad?!” Miles shouted when he finally caught up, huffing and puffing as he rested against the archway.
Phoenix once again ignored him as he braced himself against the railing, gaze now trained skyward. Heights had always called to him, even though he’d never been the biggest fan of being up high. He’d always blamed it on a (reasonable) fear of falling, but deep down he’d always known there was more to it. A fear that if he embraced that part of himself, that spark within, that it’d light itself into a wildfire he couldn’t contain.
His magic had always felt stronger when he was closer to the sky.
“Wright?” Edgeworth was also closer now, his voice soft as he approached. “Let’s just go back. Please.”
But Phoenix only shook his head, stepping back from the railing. He reached into his bag to pull out the item that had started this whole thing, small enough to fit within the palm of his hand, yet somehow bigger than them all. He closed his fingers around it and held it against his heart, closing his eyes as he focused. Around him the wind seemed to whip, stoking that spark into a flame.
And this time, he was going to let it burn.
Phoenix opened his eyes with a shout as the magic burst out from his core, manifesting into a massive pair of feathered wings that sprouted forth from his back. He nearly dropped the Magatama at the shock of it, having enough presence of mind to shove it back into the satchel. The distraction, combined with the new weight, caused him to stumble, his tired leg muscles more than ready to give out on him.
“Wright!” Edgeworth was quick, grabbing the closest arm to keep him stable as four limbs flailed to keep his balance. He was nearly struck in the face with a wing several times before Phoenix finally managed to get his new appendages under control.
Steady once more, Phoenix gave his wings an experimental flap, feeling the movement of the muscles, how they rolled with his shoulders, the power behind them. He then spread both to their full wingspan, examining his plumage - raven black like his hair, but tipped with the colors of smoldering embers at each primary.
He turned to Edgeworth, still holding onto him, a quip at the ready that fell from his tongue upon seeing the expression on his roommate’s face. He’d been on the receiving end of many a look throughout his life - scorn, disgust, horror. If he had to put into the words the one Edgeworth was giving him, he’d call it wonder.
A loud bang echoed up from the bowels of the tower, breaking the spell.
Edgeworth blinked, casting a concerned look in its direction. “The guards,” he whispered, letting go of Phoenix. “Wright, you need to go. You-“
He cut himself off as Phoenix flipped their positions, curling his fingers around Edgeworth’s forearm before he moved too far.
“Come with me.”
Edgeworth’s eyes snapped to Phoenix’s face from where they’d been staring at their point of contact. “What?”
“Come with me,” he repeated. “I’ll fly us both out of here.”
“Wright, that’s ridiculous. You don’t even know if those wings will carry you, much less another person.”
“They will. I know they will.” Phoenix gave his wings a little flap, for good measure. “Just like I know I could do so much more with you at my side than that jerk of a wizard.”
Edgeworth worried at his lower lip, casting concerned glances between his friend and the sounds of guards still trying to break down the door, gears turning in his head. Between the two of them, if Edgeworth was all logic and planning, than Phoenix was pure instinct, and right now those instincts were telling him that this was the way to go. Despite their rough beginning, Edgeworth had become someone irreplaceable in his life - he didn’t want to do this without him.
“Miles…” Phoenix began as he reached for the other’s hands, drawing them together in his own. “So long as the Wizard is in power, innocent people are going to suffer. But I think I have a real shot at stopping this, and you’re the only person I trust to see this through. Come on Edgeworth, think of all we’ve already done together. We could be unstoppable.”
He was quiet for a moment, still thinking things through. “You’re really doing this, aren’t you?” he asked, quietly.
Phoenix nodded. “I have to try.”
Edgeworth dropped his gaze to their conjoined hands, as if mesmerized by the contrast. His roommate had rebuffed him for many things early on in their relationship - his fashion sense, his study habits, existing in Edgeworth’s personal space - yet his blueness had never felt like a factor.
“Phoenix, I…”
The man in question brightened at the rare use of his given name, beaming as grey eyes lifted to meet his brown ones. Edgeworth pulled his hands free, moving them to reach towards Phoenix’s shoulders.
He searched the other’s face for what felt like a lifetime, then drew off with a sigh. Hovering hands dropped to adjust the crimson scarf he wore - a gift from his roommate that Phoenix hardly went a day without donning - wrapping it more securely around his neck.
“Be safe,” he whispered as Phoenix’s face fell.
“You too,” he replied, smiling despite his heavy-heart. If Edgeworth had tears in his eyes, he couldn’t tell over the ones forming in his own.
A crash came from below, cutting the moment short as the guards finally broke down the barricade. Rafters shook at the thundering of their boots as they charged up the stairs, shouting all the while.
“Go!” Edgeworth urged, pushing Phoenix towards the ledge. He quickly clambered over the railing, using his wings to steady himself. Precariously perched, he turned around to face his friend, smiling despite the tears. Edgeworth smiled in turn, hesitant, yet encouraging.
The sounds of the guards were louder now, closer. Though he wanted to hold on to this moment, he knew time was running short. So Phoenix took in a deep breath, closed his eyes, and stepped back.
And then he was falling, wind rushing past his ears and drowning out everything but the thoughts in his own mind. Part of him was terrified, unwilling to open his eyes to see how fast the ground was approaching, but another part of him felt free. He’d kept himself grounded for so long, keeping his head low lest he become a bigger target than he already was.
Well now he had the biggest bullseye in the world painted on his back, so if they were already going to be aiming at him, then they might as well be aiming up.
Phoenix spread his wings, easing his descent with a couple slow flaps before he shot up with a triumphant holler. He soared higher and higher until he came to a hover, silhouetted against the red of the evening sky.
Below him was the balcony full of astonished guards. Two of them were holding Edgeworth in place, one per arm as he struggled against them. The others held their weapons aloft, all poised at Phoenix. Several shouted for him to surrender. ‘By order of the Wizard’, they said. Phoenix could have laughed.
And so he did; a mocking, overdramatized cackle like a villain in a play. To survive as long as he had, he’d needed to get good at acting. Now it was time to really put those skills to the test.
“If the Wizard wants me so bad, he can come get me himself, instead of sending his flunkies!” Phoenix bellowed, flitting about as he gestured wildly with his arms, still adjusting to his new capabilities. “And to think, Edgeworth, you’d nearly convinced me to go back before they barged in.”
The guards looked to each other in confusion, allowing Edgeworth enough leeway to wrench his arms free. Phoenix could only hope it’d be enough to spare him any retribution in failure.
He seemed to recognize the gesture, giving Phoenix the smallest of nods - indiscernible had Phoenix not been looking for it. His lips moved, forming words meant only for his friend.
‘Goodbye,’ they seemed to say.
Phoenix let his character slip for a moment, heart aching at the realization that this could be the last they ever saw of each other - so long as the Wizard kept getting his way. He let that thought fuel him, sharing one more smile with his friend and praying that it wouldn’t be their last.
With the beat of his wings he soared even higher, scarf billowing around him in the wind like a cape. “I have a message for His ‘Wonderfulness’! Tell him the people will know the truth! And once they do… I’m coming for him!”
And then he was gone, shooting out past the city into the last rays of sunset. He didn’t know where he was going, or when he’d be coming back - if he ever could. But he had a goal, and wings to carry him there.
So off he flew into the night, into the darkness, hoping to one day rise again to bring a new dawn.