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He thought he would outgrow it, but he was wrong. Just like his fear of earthquakes, motion sickness was following him throughout his entire life. Surprisingly, whenever Miles was behind the wheel, he never experienced any symptoms. He rarely used public transport or rode as a passenger. He almost forgot about the sickness he was ashamed about, but today he was reminded about his illness in the worst possible way.
A murder occurred at Hazakura Temple. Of course, Wright was connected to it, but he couldn’t act as defense attorney. Edgeworth was the one who was supposed to help a nun who was a suspect. He had never imagined that he would one day find himself on the other side of the courtroom. In theory, switching sides was possible and allowed by the law. Even at the prosecutor's office there were rumors about a man who was a complete stranger who had appeared out of nowhere. Some people were saying he was a defense attorney in the past, but nobody ever heard of someone named Godot before.
Edgeworth had never expected to experience this himself. There was one key difference in his case: he was stepping into the role of a defense attorney, unlike that mysterious man. But first, to help Sister Iris, Edgeworth needed to investigate the crime scene. Unfortunately, his car wasn’t good for the roads leading to Hazakura Temple, and he preferred to not risk damaging his beloved car by driving on rough country tracks.
That was why he went with Gumshoe. He didn't have much faith in the man's driving skills after his crash one year ago, but he was the only detective he could trust. Edgeworth measured the distance on the map before they left the precinct and estimated the drive would take about two hours. He thought he could handle it. Little did he know how wrong he was.
The drive out of Los Angeles started smoothly, and Edgeworth felt fine. Troubles began as they were leaving the city. Suddenly, Edgeworth felt his head growing heavier. At first, he blamed it on fatigue, but then he felt something rising from his stomach up his esophagus. Was he about to throw up? Edgeworth covered his mouth with his hand, bracing for the worst. Fortunately, Gumshoe wasn't looking his way, so he wouldn't witness him puking.
A quiet burp escaped his lips. Edgeworth had tried to keep it as quiet as possible, muffling the unpleasant sound. At least nothing else left his mouth. Even though he burped, the unpleasant sensation in his stomach lingered. Edgeworth could feel Gumshoe’s gaze on him; the detective had likely heard the burp despite his efforts to suppress it. Edgeworth cleared his throat and spoke.
"My apologies, Detective."
He then glanced awkwardly out the side window at the passing scenery. Watching the cars they overtook only made Edgeworth feel worse. He stopped looking out the side and instead fixed his gaze on the vehicle ahead or anything steady on the horizon.
"Nah, don't you worry, sir," Gumshoe said with a grin, his eyes shifting back to the road. "You're lucky you didn't hear me after instant noodles," he added with a chuckle. His hand moved to the gear shift and his foot to the clutch as he shifted up a gear.
Edgeworth decided not to comment on his subordinate's remark and tried to change the subject instead. "Detective..." he began, then fell silent. He covered his mouth with his hand as a yawn escaped him. "How much longer until we get there?"
"About forty-five minutes," Gumshoe replied.
Forty-five minutes. Edgeworth hoped he could hold out for the rest of the journey. Another yawn escaped from from his lips. In theory, he could ask him to pull over, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. It was childish. What would Gumshoe think? A grown man, a prosecutor, getting carsick on a long trip? Gumshoe already knew too much about his phobia of earthquakes. Edgeworth didn't want him to know about motion sickness bothering him. “Let’s hope the roads near Hazakura Temple aren’t snowed in,” Gumshoe remarked.
Edgeworth yawned again. To his annoyance, Gumshoe took note of how often he was yawning. The road ahead was straight and the next turnoff was still some distance away, so Gumshoe allowed himself to glance away from the road for a moment. He looked worriedly at Edgeworth, who was sitting in the passenger seat, and asked:
“Are you feeling alright, sir?”
“Of course,” Edgeworth replied, tilting his head slightly upward. He could still feel the contents of his stomach rising in his esophagus, as if he were about to vomit. That was not the only symptom of his malaise, however, and his body betrayed how he was truly feeling.
Beads of cold sweat trickled down his forehead. It was strange, given that it wasn't hot inside the car. He wanted to wipe away the sweat with the back of his hand but noticed that his hands were covered with sweat too.
"You don't look like you've had much sleep, Mr. Edgeworth," Gumshoe remarked as Edgeworth yawned again.
"Detective, I was woken up in the middle of the night by a friend who... has a challenged intelligence," Edgeworth said, pausing briefly to cover his mouth with his hand, as another involuntary belch escaped his lips. Edgeworth gritted his teeth. He hated this. It made him seem ill-mannered, yet it was something entirely beyond his control. He now deeply regretted not taking any motion sickness medication.
"My apologies again, Detective Gumshoe. As I was saying, it is only logical that I’m sleep-deprived," Edgeworth added. Of course, that was a lie; he simply didn't want to admit how badly the long drive was affecting him.
"It would be best for you to focus on the road. The sooner we reach the crime scene, the better," Edgeworth said.
"Yes, sir!" Gumshoe replied, briefly taking one hand off the steering wheel to snap a quick salute.
Edgeworth’s eyes widened. The ride with him was an added torture. "Both hands on the wheel, Detective!" he ordered. "Unless you want me to have a word with the chief of highway patrol. That surely won’t look good on your salary review next month."
Gumshoe fell silent. Edgeworth could have sworn he saw the color drain from his face and turned pale. At least he had quieted down. Edgeworth closed his eyes, feeling another wave of dizziness washing over him. He wouldn't have minded catching some sleep until they arrived.
His eyelids remained closed. Edgeworth listened only to the sound of the engine. Silence settled over the patrol car. Perhaps Gumshoe thought he had fallen asleep, as he turned off the radio that was playing music. Edgeworth had no idea where they were. He tried not to think about how much longer he would be stuck in the car either.
However, he could feel the sharper turns and the moments when the patrol car slowed down or sped up. The force pulled his body to the left or right or shoved it forward, but his seatbelt held him securely in place. Time has passed. At one point, Edgeworth opened his eyes.
Yawning, he looked around and tried to asess their current location. Unfortunately, he couldn't spot a single road sign indicating the town they were passing through. They certainly weren't on the highway anymore—this was some sort of back road winding through the forest. Edgeworth turned his head and looked through the windshield at the mountain ahead. Was that Eagle Mountain? He wasn't sure.
"Detective, where are we?" Edgeworth asked, pressing a hand to his temple and massaging it. He had lost all sense of time. It was a strange feeling of not knowing the location.
"We're approaching Eagle Mountain, sir," Gumshoe replied, noticing the confusion. The way Edgeworth was sitting on a passenger seat looked like he was out of touch with reality.
A sign by the roadside reading "Eagle Mountain" confirmed his words. At the mountain's base stood cabins and kiosks for tourists. Gumshoe turned onto a narrow road leading to the summit. The asphalt ended there, and the road was no longer paved. The police car jolted as it hit potholes; Edgeworth grabbed the overhead handle and, gritting his teeth, silently endured the rest of the drive.
Finally, the road came to an end—or rather, it was buried under such a thick layer of snow that no car could go any further.
"We'll have to go the rest of the way on foot, sir," Gumshoe said, turning off the engine and opening his door.
Edgeworth opened his door as well and slowly stepped out. His legs felt weak. As soon as the door opened, he was hit by a blast of fresh, cold air. Edgeworth stepped out and leaned against the door as the world around him began to spin. He felt as though he might topple over, but the dizziness was only momentary.
A faint smile touched his lips. He had made it. He had endured the entire ride without being sick. The nausea disappeared as well.
"Mr. Edgeworth, sir," Gumshoe began. He nervously scratched the back of his neck before adding, "You're not a fan of long trips, are you?"
Edgeworth sighed. He closed the police car door and spoke as he joined Gumshoe, who was standing on the snow-covered path.
"It could be put it that way, Detective."