#Dhurke gets a brief mention here because yes | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

otagamerkorin · 7 years ago

Text

Turnabout to Hijink

My incredibly belated (so, so extremely belated) @aasecretsanta2017 gift for @defcnestrate! (Why it won’t let me @ you, I do not know.) I’m so sorry this took so long to get to you. (It actually was gonna to be up Monday, but my laptop decided to fuck up the formatting.) Thank you for being so patient with me. In return for the wait though, here’s a utter monstrosity of a fic! You asked for Ugly Christmas sweaters, Christmas fluff, Christmas dinner gone wrong, and this thing includes all of them. I hope you like it!

You can also read it over on AO3 here!: http://archiveofourown.org/works/13475997

(This actually takes place within an Deaths Averted AU I’ve been working on and is canonically connected to my SS fic from last year. There will be a brief explanation of the AU under the cut, but beware, cause it contains spoilers for certain character things in Duel Destinies and Spirit of Justice. For those who don’t with to be spoiled, the fic itself is safe for the most part, nothing major spoiled, but I will bold the AU description itself so it can easily be scrolled past in case. Happy reading!)

Warning: Will contain mentions of someone’s cause of death (during a trial), guns get pointed at people and there’s a fight scene at one point.

Deaths Averted AU Explanation:

Ok, so there’s really only two big changes between the canon AA stuff and the AU. Those two things being (WARNING HUGE SPOILERS INBOUND! IF YOU DIDN’T READ THE EARLIER WARNING AND DON’T WANNA BE SPOILED TURN BACK NOW!...OK?...OK, ONWARDS WITH AU) that Fulbright and Dhurke aren’t dead. In Fulbright’s case, the Phantom actually kept him alive in case he needed fresh DNA from him for like check ups and such. Simon realizes this after they capture Phany and they go rescue him. Once he’s out of the hospital, his job as a detective gets reinstated and he returns to being Blackquills partner. (Both professionally and in a shippy way.)(I also headcanon that during the first few months of their relationship, Blackquill did have the actual Fulbright with him, so there’s already an actual bond going there.) As for Dhurke, things get a bit weirder. Basically, when Maya started channeling him, his body was still somewhat alive, just without his soul bound to it, since he was getting close to death. So, when he put his body in the crypt, since it was specifically designed to preserve people, it ended up slowing down his vitals a ton and keeping his body alive those few days till they found him. At which point he kinda defrosted, and was rushed to the hospital when they realized the dead body was not so dead. (Mind you, Dhurke had no idea this was happening, so he was more than a little surprised to wake up again and not be in someone else’s body.)

In terms of how this connects to my previous story (which can be read right here: http://otagamerkorin.tumblr.com/post/154933722995/the-christmas-turnabout), it basically just takes place a year later. Any Athena/Blackquill implications (which were purposefully vague to begin with) from the previous fic are basically getting retconned, I view them as more of a sibling relationship anyway, but everything else is staying the same.

(There will be a few scattered mentions of someone names Terrwyn throughout this. She’s one of my AA OC’s, who is a girl Blackquill takes on as his protege, but she really has no effect on the plot.)

See authors note at the bottom for more interesting lil tidbits!

“So you see, my client couldn’t have committed the murder. Because at the time he was still drunk inside the bar, singing karaoke! And that security footage is the proof!”

Phoenix slammed a hand down on the table with a bang and for a moment the courtroom went quiet.

Then the silver haired man across the way shook his head with a confident smile.

“Wright, I believe your age is beginning to show.”

Reaching for his controller, the prosecutor began to rewind the footage displayed on the monitor nearby. The count down in the corner flew backwards, stopping just before 8 o’clock.

“Since Mr. Wright seems to be showing a spot of memory loss, let’s review shall we? Our defendant, Mr. Teatrale, arrived at the Spearmint Pub at 7:55. Once there he joined a group of revelers in the corner and began ordering drinks. Unfortunately, the angle of the camera does not allow us to see a portion of that area, so we are unable to see all that goes on there, but thanks to his chosen seat we can still see the suspect.”

Another click and the footage jumped once more, popping back to normal speed at 8:30. They watched as the casually dressed man glanced around before standing and moving off towards then corner once more, out of sight of the camera.

“We aren’t able to see exactly where Mr. Teatrale goes from here, but from the floor plan of the bar we can presume that he went into the bathroom. All other exits are visible in the tape, so if he returned we would be able to see it. Here is where things get interesting however.”

The footage ran forward, everything appearing normal, till someone suddenly ran in through the front doors at 11 sharp, inaudibly shouting and waving to gain the bars attention.

“Here is the moment where the body was discovered. The victim, Ms. Lyra Minora, was found strangled behind the restaurant, her time of death determined to be approximately 9:15. And we can all see, during this time Mr. Teatrale never returns from the bathroom. This footage, along with the open window found in the bathroom, just large enough for a slight man like our suspect to slip through, shows that there is no evidence he was inside the bar at the time of the murder!”

There was a clamor of muttering and discussion from the gallery as Edgeworth lay the controller back down with a smile, looking up at his rival. For a moment Wright merely stared at him, before suddenly crossing his arms and giving a smirk.

“You sure about that Edgeworth?” He replied and the prosecutor blinked a few times in surprise.

“W-What?”

With that the spiky haired attorney retrieved his own remote, rolling back the footage to the suspects exit to the bathroom.

“Yes, it’s true that we see the suspect leave the room. However, we also see him return!”

He paused the footage and leaned forward, pointing to a figure entering from the corner of the screen.

“There he is, plain as day!”

“...Wright, that’s a woman.”

“Nooo, that is a person in a dress. There is a big different, as you all know.” The blue dressed lawyer pointed out, holding a finger up in a matter-a-fact manner, and the prosecutor gave a huff of frustration.

“But the figure you pointed out looks nothing like our suspect!” He replied, and he was right. The new arrival’s long braid of dark red hair was a far cry from the suspects light brown, and their face looked a bit more angular and long, accented by a dose of tasteful makeup.

“Ah, Edgeworth, you forget. Mr. Teatrale is a musical theater professor. Knowing how to disguise and change one’s appearance is a part of his profession. You’d be surprised what one can do with a nice wig and some makeup skills.”

The prosecutor stood there simmering for a moment before taking a deep breathe, calming himself before he continued.

“All right, Wright. Let us suppose that the figure we see in the video is indeed the defendant. Tell me, where would he have gotten these supposed supplies? I doubt you’d just find a wig and makeup laying around in a bar’s bathroom, let alone a dress.”

“Of course not. That’s why he brought his own.”

“He did?” The judge interjected, looking simultaneously fascinated and befuddled by the whole situation.

“That he did your honor. Doesn’t it strike anyone else odd that Mr. Teatrale would bring such a large bag with him? One wouldn’t normally need a carpet bag for a night on the town. Unless they needed to bring another outfit. A dress for example.” The lawyer replied with a grin, pointing out the man’s choice of accessory in the video.

“And I’ll bet dollars to donuts, if you there to go and check the defendant’s home, you’d find that same dress hanging in his closet at this exact moment!”

He could tell that his opponent was beginning to feel the pressure by the way his knuckles went white as he clutched the table edge. He gave a little cough to clear his throat when he noticed the blue clad man watching and straightened.

“Well then, do you have any other evidence, or are you done with your foolish ramblings?” He asked, glare seemingly challenging the defense attorney to answer and Wright smirked, rising to meet the challenge.

“Oh, don’t you worry, there’s plenty more where that came from.”

He quickly riffled through the court record, giving a little sound of victory as he found the piece he needed.

“Let’s take a look at this, shall we?” He asked cheekily, bringing the new video up on the monitor.

“As luck would have it, one of the bar’s patrons that night was celebrating her birthday. One of her friends happened to take some video of the festivities. After the crime, it was submitted as evidence, but the police didn’t seem to find anything useful on it. However, they might have been looking in the wrong place. Let’s take a look see, shall we?”

The footage was blurry at first, finally clearing as the phone’s camera managed to focus.

“Happy birthday Aubrey!”

The wild haired girl grinned at the cry that went up from around the table, closing her eyes for a moment before ducking down to blow out the candles on the cake before her. Another cheer sounded from the party goers and she laughed. As another one of the celebrators began to cut the cake, a nise came from offscreen.

“Hmmm, hmmm, oh, yeah, that’s a good pitch.”

The videographer turned towards the quiet vocalizing, catching sight of a familiar green dressed figure standing atop the small karaoke stage across the room. The filmer gave a gasp and reached over to grab the birthday girls arm.

“Aub! Aub, look! Aria’s here tonight!”

The girl turned and spotted the so-named woman and her face lit up, snatching up a plate of cake and making a beeline towards the stage, the rest of the group quickly following.

“Aria, I didn’t know you were coming tonight! I would have invited you!” She exclaimed, drawing up beside the stage edge, and the figure looked down at her with a bright smile.

“Aubrey darling! So good to see you!”

She spotted the cake the girl held and her grin grew wider.

“Oh, is somebody celebrating something? I wish I’d have known, I’d have brought you something. Well then, has the birthday girl got any requests?” She asked with a coy look and the girl giggled. She leaned up to whisper something in the woman’s ear and Aria’s eyes lit up.

“Ooo, good choice.” She replied, straightening from her bend and punching a few commands into the rather hi-tech looking karaoke machine. Music began to pour from the speakers and she grinned, lifting the mic to sing.

“Where all the boys at with emotional stability?”

“Nice car, a CEO, and almost just as smart as me”

“Where all the boys at with financial security?”

“A doctor, a model, a man of possibilities.”

Her voice was clear and rich, expertly hitting the higher notes while easily dropping down to hit the lower ones as well.

“(They say!) Expectations are too high.”

“And you’ll never find a guy like that.”

“It’s driving you mad, honey.”

She swung her hips as she sang, shoulders giving a little shake along to the beat as the crowd interjected with their own lyrics.

“(They say!) That its just a waste of time.”

“Get your head out of the sky.”

“But why? (Here we go!)”

She smirked and held out a hand to the birthday girl, who gladly took it and allowed herself to be pulled up on stage. The two began to dance together to the cheers of the crowd as they sang.

“Oh I, wish I could synthesize, a picture perfect guy.”

“Oh I, oh I.”

“Six feet tall and super strong.”

“We’d always get along.”

“Alright, alright.”

“Oh, he'd pick me up at eight.”

“And not a minute late.”

“Cause I don’t like to wait, no.”

“Kind and ain’t afraid to cry, or treat his momma right

“That's right, that's what I like.”

This went on for several minutes, more people joining them on stage as they made their way through a number of songs, Aria the center of attention the whole time. She also managed to make her way through a few more drinks in the process and by the time Phoenix paused the video halfway through the 4th song, she had begun to develop a slight flush along her cheeks.

“This goes on for a while, but I think you get a good picture. As you can see from the timestamp in the corner, “Aria” and the other residents of the bar were celebrating at the estimated time of the murder.”

“Alright, so we’ve determined that this woman has an alibi at the time of the murder. How does this prove she and our defendant are one in the same? All your evidence up to this point has been mere speculation.”

“Well, if she isn’t Mr. Teatrale, then she sure is stealing his drinks.”

The prosecutor made a quiet sputtering noise, blinking quickly in befuddlement.

“W-What? What evidence is there of that? The records we recovered don’t even mention what the defendant ordered that night.”

“True, but let’s think about this. I might not be an alcohol connoisseur, but something tells me that a singer like Mr. Teatrale, especially one currently using specialty throat lozenges, would stick to smoother alcohols, like wines and ports. And if we take a look at both our videos...”

He brought up a side by side of the clips, zooming in on the two figures each reaching to pluck a glass off the tray on the table.

“We can see that both of them are the only ones at the table not drinking some form of hard liquor.”

There were loud murmurs and discussion from the gallery and he crossed his arms with a confident smirk, glancing over at Edgeworth. The one of the man’s hands that was resting on the table was clenched so hard Wright would be surprised if he wasn’t leaving nail marks in his palm, eyes narrowed in equal measures frustration and determination. He wasn’t giving up this fight just yet. Good thing Phoenix wasn’t either. He smirked, cockily leaning over his table towards the other man.

“And if that wasn’t enough to convince you, let me ask you one little thing: Where did Aria come from?”

This seemed to throw the prosecutor off guard, a flash of panic streaking across his face as the realization hit him.

“I-I don’t think I follow.”

“Take a look at the footage. We see Aria exit the bathroom. We even see her drunkenly head out with the partiers before the body discovery. But we never see her go in.”

“Yes, but the section of footage we have only starts a bit before Mr. Teatrale’s arrival. She could have gone in before the footage starts.”

“And have her hiding out in the bathroom for 2 hours with nobody noticing? I doubt it. It’s far more likely that she arrived far later, simply with a different appearance.” Wright grinned.

Edgeworth looked about ready to blow a gasket, bend low over the table, teeth grinding and sweat pouring down his face.

“Conclusive. Evidence.” He gritted out, eyes narrowed, and Wright froze.

“If you’re so confident that the defendant and this woman are one and the same, then give us some hard proof!”

“You do being up some good points Mr. Wright.” The judge chimed in, nodding his head wisely.

“But, I believe what Mr. Edgeworth says remains true. All you’ve shown us so far are coincidences. Unless you manage to show us some hard evidence of your claim, I’m afraid I’ll have to call my verdict.”

Just as it always did, the defense attorney’s mind flew into a panic. Crap, he hadn’t though this far ahead. Of course his defendant was Aria, it was obvious to all of them. But damn it, he didn’t have anything that actually proved it. Unless they put the defendant in a dress and had him sing right now there was no way to-

The man eyes lit, up, a smile snapping into place. No! He had exactly what they needed!

“Mr. Teatrale?” He called out with a smirk, and the man who’d been watching from the witness stand jumped, not expecting to be called on.

Mr. Festos Teatrale was a thin wisp of a man, tall and gangly with flyaway brown hair and wire rimmed glasses. From the moment Wright had met him, the man’s nervous disposition was fully on view, flinching away from sounds and staying quiet when he could. Defiantly not what one would expect of a professor of musical theater. In truth, the only reason the investigation had landed on him to begin with was due to his past associations with victim. One of his former students, the two had been on either end of a long running feud for several years, one that the police believed ended in her death. It hadn’t helped that a note reading “Please come to the bar at 9:00. I’d like to right our wrongs.” had been found hidden away in her jacket during the investigation.

“Y-Yes Mr. Wright?” He squeaked, rubbing his arms to calm himself.

“From what I’ve heard, you have quite the singing voice. Would you mind giving us a demonstration?” Wright asked and the smaller man looked around nervously at the gallery and guards.

“R-Right now? Just out of the blue? I’m not really warmed up or anything...”

He glanced over at Wright’s pleading look and gave a little sigh, shoulders slumping.

“But...I-I can try...”

With that he took a deep breath to calm himself and closed his eyes. He fidgeted in place for a moment before opening his mouth and beginning to sing.

“One foot in, one foot out. One moment away from shutting down. “I’m too complete to need something, for someone who’s not on my frequency.”

The courtroom stilled as they listened, and Phoenix grinned. Just as he’d though. While their client had normal, if slightly high, speaking voice, his singing voice was that of a counter-tenor, easily reaching up into the woman’s range. A perfect fit for the one on the tape. As he sang out, a little smile came to his face and he relaxed.

“So if you’ve got what it takes, then baby don’t hesitate. “Hey, just blow me away cause I’m waitin.”

He gave a few shoulder pops along to the words and across the room Edgeworth paled, instantly recognizing the motion from the video.

“Don’t need no fake promises, someone who knows who he is.”

“Someone who’s ready for this cause it’s waitin.”

“All these other boys, they’re just not enough. So talk to me, come to me, hurry up.”

“Hey baby, I’ve never been in love.”

“But I wanna be, I wanna be, so hurry up.”

He paused, opening his eyes and looking around nervously. As though a spell had been broken, the gallery began to applaud, and he blushed, grinning bashfully.

“Quite impressive Mr. Teatrale.” The judge interjected, clapping a few more times before lowering his hands.

“And I do believe you just proved Mr. Wright’s point.”

“Anything you’d like to say defendent?” Wright asked, giving the man a questioning look. The singer bit his lip, staring down at the stand for a moment before taking a deep breath.

“...Alright, yes. The woman you see in the video is me.” He admitted, looking up at the gathered eyes shyly.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did this whole thing come about?” The Judge asked and the younger man chuckled sheepishly.

“Well, I love singing, but god I just get so nervous in front of people out in public. I thought maybe that if they didn’t know it was me, it wouldn’t be so bad. So Aria was born. Well, technically I never actually planned the name bit, the people at Wintergreen just started calling me that after a while, but I think it’s a good enough choice...plus it’s just nice to be called pretty once in a while.”

“Understandable.” The old man nodded in agreement,

“Well then, any objections from the prosecution?”

“...Fine, we’ve proved that the suspect could potentially be the person seen in this video.” Edgeworth begrudgingly admitted.

“But that still doesn’t explain the murder weapon.”

He riffled through the files on his desk and gathered a group of papers.

“According to the autopsy report, the victim was strangled with some form of cloth, leaving abrasions on her neck deep enough to draw blood, and traces of mint were found in the wound. The same type of mint found in the defendant’s specialty cough drops. In addition, Mr. Teatrale’s tie, one which he was seen wearing when he entered, was found outside the building, also containing traces of mint.”

Phoenix felt himself still, a bead of sweat running down his forehead.

“Any idea why your tie would be out there?” He asked the defendant and the man nervously shook his head.

“I-I set it on the bathroom windowsill when I was changing. I-I must have forgotten it in there when I packed up.”

Well, back to panic town it seemed. He spread his own evidence out over the table, eyes flickering over it desperately. There had to be something here. Something that would tie all of this together. He had an idea of where he needed to take this trial, but he needed something to get them there. Damn it, damn it, there had to be something!

His gaze flickered over the crime scene photo’s showing the bars exterior and paused. The photo showed the establishment back lot, where the murder had taken place, but the edge of the glowing neon sigh denoting its name was still slightly visible around the corner. Wintergreen...

Something clicked and the man grinned, snatching up the picture and looking up at his opponent.

“You’re correct about that Edgeworth, and it’s pretty solid evidence in your favor.” Wright replied with a nod and the prosecutor stared at him before giving a long, almost defeated sigh.

“But?”

“BUT, do you know where else in the vicinity mint could be found? Mint juleps. Which just so happen to be the bar signature drink.”

“...Wright, are you implying...?”

The attorney didn’t even reply, just grinned and turned to the Judge.

“Your honor, I’d like to bring Mr. Collins to the stand.”

“...Yes, yes, I believe that would be a wise idea.” The old man replied, seeming to catch onto the thread the young man was dangling.

“Bailiff, if you would please.”

Jack Collins was just as intimidating on the stand the second time around as the first, all wide shoulders and sharp lines, the silk vest and flowing shirt of his uniform impeccable. According to the records, he and his twin brother Gibson had bought and rebuilt the old bar several years back, running the small establishment nearly solo ever since. It was a job that took both class and a no-nonsense attitude, the latter of which was on fine display.

“Is there a problem gentlemen? I’ve already told you everything I know.” He asked, crossing his arms and looking out over the assembled figures in annoyance.

“Oh, just a few questions. Shouldn’t take long.” Phoenix replied and the man gave a frustrated sigh.

“Fine, but please make this quick. The longer I’m here, the longer the bar stays closed.”

“Of course. Mr. Collins, you said before that you and your brother are the only ones on staff at the restaurant currently?”

“That is correct, yes. It’s hard work, but we manage.”

“That’s very impressive. According to the court record, you are the establishment’s bartender while your brother is the cook, correct?”

“Yes. We are both able to mix drinks, but I’m sad to admit that I’ve never had much of a hand for the food side of things.”

“That’s a shame. Though I must say, you’re a very well dressed man Mr. Collins.” He continued with a smile. The witness gave him a pleasantly surprised look, while in his peripherals he could see the prosecution shoot him a slightly jealous expression that read ‘What the hell Wright?”

“Well, I certainly like to think so.” The bartender replied with a bit of a smile.

“From what you told me during the investigation, both you and you brother’s uniforms are custom tailored. That’s some nice attention to detail. Even those signature sashes you wear are commissioned.” He continued and they could practically see the man puff up with pride, a wry smile creeping cross his face.

“Right you are Mr. Wright. No two like them in the world.”

The defense attorney’s eyes seemed to flash, a smirk of his own streaking across his face. Hook line and sinker.

“No two like them hmm? Interesting.” He replied and the man’s brow furrowed.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, Mr. Collins, you’ve just brought up quite the interesting inconsistency.”

“Inconsistency?” The Judge questioned him.

“Oh, just a little something I noticed in the security footage.”

Snatching up his remote, he skipped through the footage on screen, stopping at a certain spot and zooming in on the establishments bar.

“Mr. Collins, that’s you in the video here, right?” He asked, pointing to the figure polishing a glass.

“...Yes...” The man replied, cocking his eyebrow in suspicion.

“Alright then, let’s see what happens.”

As they watched, a customer strode up to the bar and ordered a drink, Jack nodding and quickly setting to work. With practiced flair he began to mix ingredients and liquids, quickly producing a well-mixed cocktail. Grabbing a pair of scissors, he turned and snipped a sprig off the plant on the shelf behind him, settling it gently on the drinks surface. As he turned to set down the scissors however, his sleeve caught the glass and it tipped back over towards him. He made a grab for it, but wasn’t quite fast enough, and it clattered over, splashing the drink across the front of his uniform. He scowled and apologized to the customer, quickly making them another.

“Now, Mr. Collins, would you say the drink you made there was a mint julep?” Phoenix asked, pausing the video. The man on the stand scowled, brow furrowing deeper as he seemed to catch on.

“Well, I don’t really remember, Mr. Attorney. I made a lot of drinks that night.”

“Hmm, I can understand that. But if I’m not mistaken, that plant behind you is a wintergreen mint, correct? According to your menu, the only drink you make garnished specifically with a fresh wintergreen sprig is your signature julep.”

“...I suppose it must have been.” He growled between his teeth, staring daggers at the attorney.

“Interesting. Now then, afterwards we see you leaving the bar for a time.”

They turned once more to the screen and watched as the bartender looked down at himself and grimaced, swiping some of the liquid off before turning and walking through the door into the kitchen.

“If you don’t mind my asking, why did you leave?”

“I was covered in alcohol you idiot. I went to go clean up. Watch the tape, you can see me come back a few minutes later.” Jack replied, his voice lifting for a moment from the controlled tone he’d been keeping.

It was Edgeworth this time who took control of the footage. He sped it forward, and as they watched Jack did indeed reemerged a few minutes later.

“I don’t see how the witness changing clothes has anything to do with the case Wright.” The prosecutor declared, but the glint in his eye told the defense attorney he was secretly hiding a smile.

“Oh, it has everything to do with the case.” Wright shot back, turning back to the witness.

“Mr. Collins, you changed into fresh clothes while you were backstage?”

“Are you deaf? I just said so!” He snapped, but Wright simply smiled amicably and tilted his head.

“Then what about your sash?”

This caught the man off guard and his eyes widened, a streak of fear bolting across his expression.

“M-My sash?”

“You just told us that there only two sashes like that in the world, so you obviously wouldn’t have an extra laying around. And yet, here we see you in a fresh one. Where did you get it?”

“I-I borrowed my brothers. The rest of the outfit was clean extras we keep on hand.” If you doubt me, just watch. He came out into the main room when the body was discovered.”

Edgeworth quickly fast forwarded the footage and they saw an identical man indeed emerge from the kitchen shortly after the commotion started, dressed in a matching uniform, sans the sash. Yet the smile stayed firmly stretched cross the defense attorneys face.

“Hmm, that’s interesting, because the footage seems to say differently.”

The man froze, staring at Wright in disbelief.

“What?”

“If we look here, we can see a stain on the shirtsleeve of the bartender in the footage. The type you might get while cooking. Mr. Collins says he changed into clean clothes, and yet here’s evidence that he didn’t. Unless the shirt we see here is also his brothers. But now why would he do that, rather than just grab a new one? Unless the man in the footage isn’t our witness at all.”

“W-What are you trying to say!?” the man snarled and Phoenix slammed a hand down on the table.

“I’m saying that the man we see in the video is not our witness, but in fact his twin brother! Because at the time, the witness was outside killing the victim!”

The gallery erupted into loud discussion as the bartender smashed his fists on the stand with a roar.

“This is slander!”

“Order! Order in the court!” The Judge yelled, slamming his gavel down a number of times before the place quieted. Before the last of the voices could even fade, Edgeworth was already on the move.

“Wright, there are no rear exits from the kitchen and all the others pass by cameras! It’s the reason only one brother was brought in as a witness, it was impossible for him to have seen anything! So how do you propose that he managed to get outside?!”

“The same way we thought Mr. Teatrale did, through a window.”

“Have you gone daft Wright?! The only window in the kitchen is a sky-!”

He froze, eyes going wide, and Wright grinned.

“The skylight. On his own it of course would have been impossible to reach. But with the help of another...”

“Mr. Wright are you implying...!?” The Judge asked.

“Yes, your honor! I believe this murder was a two man affair! After helping him up through the skylight, the witness’s twin took his place at the bar to fool the cameras, while his brother met up with the victim outside!”

The witness couldn’t even reply to the accusation, too busy boiling with rage to form a single word. The judge leapt to action in his stead, eyes wide and disbelieving.

“B-But why would these twins want to kill the victim?”

“I wasn’t too sure of that myself, till something Mr. Collins said peaked my interest. When we first mentioned the victim during our investigation, he called her by her first name. That made me curious, so I asked Detective Skye to look into a few things for me.”

He gave a smile over to the girl lurking in the corner of the courtroom and she gave him a thumbs up.

“What she found was very interesting.”

He flipped open a file that had been laying off to the side, grinning as he read through it.

“A little over a year ago, Ms. Minora worked as a waitress at Wintergreen. A few months into her employment, there was a break in and a large amount of money was stolen. The alarm was never flipped and thus the brothers reportedly became convinced that Ms. Minora was the culprit, firing her and ordering a police investigation. However, the cops were unable to turn up anything to turn up anything connecting her to the crime and she was released, much to the twins’ displeasure.”

“She was a dirty little thief! Those fools may not have been able to find anything, but that doesn’t change the fact she stole from us! She deserved what she got! And I don’t care what you think, you have no proof to back you up!” The witness roared, nails biting into the wood of the stand as he raged.

“That’s where you’re wrong! The very crime scene that you set up so carefully is the last nail in your coffin!” Wright replied, shouting back with equal intensity.

“Because that skylight you’re so convinced was full proof plan?”

He threw down the crime scene photo for them all to see.

“It was left open, as we can see in this picture.”

The witness’s face went sheet white as the realization hit him, Wright’s face more confident than ever.

“If we look close, you can even see where the gutter was bent from you climbing back up. And I’ll bet if we send some forensics officers back out there, they’d find a nice fresh set of prints all over that roof.

“Y-You can’t do this! Everything was perfect! You have no-!”

Wright cut him off before he could continue, slamming down a hand with a resounding bang.

“The victim was killed with a length of fabric, that much is true, but not with a tie as we had thought. Instead she was killed with a mint soaked sash that in the struggle ended up stained with her blood. Blood that was missing from Mr. Teatrale’s tie. Blood that the culprit was unable to remove, and thus was forced to hide away somewhere inside the restaurant. And a sash that is missing from our culprit ensemble at this very moment!

He flung out a hand, pointing at the man on the stand before them.

“Jack Collins, you murdered Lyra Minora in cold blood with the help of your brother!”

The man lost it. Everyone near him quickly backed up as he began raging and throwing things about (where the hell did he even get that many tumblers and martini shakers?!), before finally collapsing to the floor in an exhausted heap, hair awry and outfit in disarray.

“Well then, if that over; Guards, arrest that man! Then send a squad to find his brother. They both will be answering for this.” The judge announced and the guards gingerly stepped over to seize him, dragging the limp culprit away between them as the old man cleared his throat.

“Well then, I believe we have a verdict to announce. Mr. Teatrale?”

The flighty man cautiously stepped back up to the stand, looking up at the man hopefully.

“I’m pleased to announce your verdict as...Not Guilty!”

Confetti exploded from the ceiling and the younger man slumped against the stand in relief. He turned to Wright with a smile, mouthing a “thank you” and the lawyer gave him a thumbs up.

“Now then, court is adjourned!”

With the bang of the man’s gavel as his que to exit stage right, the defense attorney turned and finally made his way out the door near him.

As he stepped out into the lobby and allowed the door to swing closed behind him, the lawyer gave a long relieved sigh and slumped backwards against the wood.

“Ok, that one was way too close.”

“Hey! Mr. Wright!”

He glanced up to find Athena and Trucy hurrying towards him down the hall and straightened with a smile, walking forward to meet them.

“You did great Mr. Wright!” The ginger cheered and his daughter jumped up to give him a hug.

“Yeah! I knew you’d be able to figure it all out!”

“Well, it wasn’t thaaat impressive.” He replied, rubbing the back of his neck as the teen hung off of him.

“You just need to keep calm, look at all the evidence and then just put it all together.”

“Ahh, so your normal grade of bullshit then?” Athena asked with a smirk and he shoved her playfully.’

“Watch it. I’m the one who pays you, remember?”

“Wright.”

Someone appeared at his elbow with the soft call and he looked over with a grin to find a certain prosecutor beside him.

“Miles!”

“Oh boy, here we go. Time for us to exit stage left Trucy.” Athena chimed with an amused eyeroll, giving a wave over her shoulder as she turned and started down the hall, Trucy hot on her heels.

“See you back at the office Daddy!”

Giving a wave after them, the defense lawyer felt an arm gently wrap around his waist and turned into the half-embrace, tangling his arms loosely around the taller man’s torso.

“That was impressive work in there Wright.” The prosecutor muttered and the spiky haired attorney’s smile grew even wider.

“Well, you certainly gave me a good fight.” He replied, leaning up to plant a peck at the corner of the man’s mouth. Athena gave a wolf whistle from down the hall and Phoenix grinned into the kiss as he threw a crude gesture over her shoulder at her, the man in his arms flushing a tad. He shifted over to properly press their lips together, chuckling when the man relaxed against him and clenched at the back of his jacket, then pulling back after a few moments with a smirk.

“Now then, I believe we had an agreement about if I won the trial?”

The older man gave a sigh with a hint of fondness, shaking his head.

“Very well. Where do you want to have dinner?”

Phoenix gave a cheer and released the other man, giving a little twirl of victory and earning a chuckle from the other man. The defense attorney paused as he felt something tap against his ankle and glanced down to find a letter settling on the ground beside his foot.

“Ahh, that’s right. I’d nearly forgot.” Miles murmured, reaching down to retrieve the dropped article. He dusted it off then offered it to the attorney. Still puzzled, Phoenix pealed the envelope open and drew out the nice parchment from within, eyes scanning over the printed words it bore.

Dear Mr. Phoenix Wright, You and your law office are invited to attend our annual Christmas dinner. Please feel free to bring as many guests as you wish, the more the merrier. The party will be held in the ballroom of the Gatewater Imperial Hotel on Christmas Eve. It will be a potluck, so please bring a dish to share. We hope to see you there. Sincerely, The Los Angeles Prosecution Office

“A dinner?”

“Yes, I believe after last year they decided this would be a safer bet.”

Phoenix gave a snort of laughter and tucked the letter away in his jacket, pressing another peck to the prosecutor’s cheek.

“We’d be more than happy to come.”

With that he sidled up beside the man, wrapping an arm around his waist and tugging him towards the door.

“Sooooo, about that dinner...”

His partner gave a scoff and rolled his eyes with a smile.

“Alright, what would you like?”

“That nice seafood place down by the bay. I earned that win, so I’m milkin this for all it’s worth.”

“Pfft, of course you are.”

“...Did you ever even think the defendant was guilty?”

“Oh, not for an instant.”

“Heh, you sap.”

As the taxi turned the corner and a familiar law office came into sight, Apollo felt his heart warm. It had been the better part of a year since he’d been here after all. He rarely had the chance to keep in touch with the others much, kept too busy helping Dhurke rebuild the justice system most days to as much as sit down and write a simple email. Hell, he hadn’t even had the chance to properly plan this holiday visit, having simply begun throwing clothes into a suitcase the instant he got the ok from the former revolution leader. He had managed to shoot Trucy a text while he had been waiting for his plane, so he hadn’t really dropping this whole thing on their heads completely out if the blue, but regardless it wasn’t the most polite of situations.

Still, etaquite was the furthest thing from his mind as the cab stopped before the office and, paying the driver, he stepped out onto the sidewalk with his luggage. As the car drove away he felt his nerves buzz with anxiety. How would they react to him after so long? A million insecurities whirled through his head and he found himself taking a deep breathe to calm himself. Well, no time like the present.

He gave a soft call as he pushed the door open and strode into the entryway.

“Hello? Is anybody-?”

He saw the flash of blue before he heard the footsteps and the door clicked shut behind him just in time for the sprinting figure to leap onto him and send him slamming back into it. The breath escaped him a huff as his bags hit the ground with a thud and his head spun for several long moments, barely registering the arms wrapped tight around him. Finally his brain seemed to reboot and the buzzing in his ears cleared enough for him to make out the muffled words coming from around his chest.

“Polly! You’re back!”

Despite his disorienting entrance, he found himself smiling and wrapping his arms tight around the magician.

“Trucy, is somebody he- Oh!”

At the voice, he glanced over to see Athena standing at the end of the hall, her face lighting up when he spotted her and rushing down the passage to join the hug.

“Apollo!”

He let out a laugh, contorting himself enough in the two’s vice grips to wrap an arm around the other girl.

“I walk through the door and already I’m in trouble. Yep, definitely in the right place.” He snickered and the two gave matching sounds of indignation.

“Ahh, and the young lawyer makes his triumphant return.”

He looked up when a shadow fell over them, grinning at the blue clothed man smiling down at him.

“I’m gone for a year and this is the welcome I get? Wow, I can certainly see you all sure missed me.” He sarcastically joked and the attorney gave a snort of laughter, reaching sown to ruffle the younger man’s hair.

“Welcome back Apollo.”

When the girls finally peeled themselves off of him, Trucy seized his hand and began to drag him down the hall.

“We’re still putting up decorations! Come on Polly, come help!”

The others followed as she pulled him through the next door into the main bit of the office, the room decked out with wreaths, garlands and lights, even sporting a small sparkling tree in the corner beside a light draped Charlie. Releasing his hand, she plucked a box of white lights off the table and dropped it into his arms.

“These need to go up on the ceiling! We’re making it look like snow!” She declared, plopping down on the couch and he affectionately rolled his eyes. With a little help from Athena he set to work draping them from the little hooks the others had screwed into the ceiling earlier, starting at one corner and slowly working his way outwards.

Ka-click

He paused to turn in the direction of the sound, instead finding Trucy still lounging away, phone now out and hands flying over the screen, tongue stuck out slightly in concentration. Shaking his head, he turned back to his task, easily slipping back into his space in the office. As the time passed, he regaled them all with the tales of his many new misadventures in law, gesturing with whichever hand was free as he lost himself in the storytelling.

“So, instead of giving me a day off to catch up on all the sleep I was missing like a normal person, instead Datz just goes “Hey, if we just pour a bunch of energy drinks in his coffee, he should be fine.” And in my exhaustion, I actually drink this monstrosity, so halfway through a trial-“

Reaching out for the next hook, he instead found empty air and glanced over to find an empty space.

“One sec, need to grab some more hooks.” He declared, handing the bundle of light to Athena and clambering odd the step-stool.

“Now, they must be around here som-“

There was a loud crash as the office door behind him was flung open and ricocheted off the wall with a bang. Giving a startled yelp, the red clothes attorney whipped around to look and froze in his tracks.

In the doorway stood an all-to-familiar figure, shaking with over-exertion and clinging to the doorframe, his normally stylish hair and clothes windblown and in complete disarray. He stood there with an incredulous expression, wheezing like he’d just run a marathon and staring at the shorter man like he couldn’t believe his eyes. He paused for just a moment, then his face screwed up in heart-wrenching relief, tears filling his eyes. With a choked sound, he threw himself into the room. Apollo had a mere second to brace himself before he was wrapped tightly in the man’s arms, a face burying into his neck amongst a muttered stream of relieved German.

“Du bist hier ... Du bist wirklich hier...”

At the sound of his voice, the situation finally hit the apprentice attorney and, his own expression twisting into tears, he clung on tight to his companion.

“I’m back Klav.”

They stayed that way for a long time, Apollo gently rocking the two of them from side to side as the taller man held him. Finally the former musician pulled back a bit, one hand sliding up to cup the attorney’s cheek. As the smaller man lean into his touch, he gave a dazzling smile and leaned down to press their lips together. Apollo gave a little sigh and practically melted against him, feeling the last piece of what he was missing slid into place.

“Oh would you two get a room?” Athena chirped, grin in her voice, and the red-clothed lawyer pulled back to fix her in a poisonous glare. His gaze softened however as the blond in his arms broke into quiet laughter, drawing his face back around to plant a soft peck on his forehead.

“Perhaps we should take the Fräulein up on her suggestion, hmm? I have plenty of free room at my place after all.”

The younger man turned red at the suggestion, sputtering as he tried to lace some words together, certainly not helped in his embarrassment by the new bout of laughter the other man broke into.

Flustered, he tried to pull back, only to have the prosecutor’s grip on him tighten. He found himself being dragged towards the couch, Trucy having just enough time to pull her lounging legs out of the way before Klavier plopped down beside her. He pulled Apollo along with him, tugging him into his lap and holding him close like an oversized stuffed animal. The attorney cocked an eyebrow at him, giving an experimental tug and finding himself firmly stuck.

“...You realize you have to let me go at some point right?”

“...No.”

He finally gave up and slumped back against the prosecutor’s chest, earning a giggle from Trucy and an exasperated sigh from Athena.

“Oh, just abandon me to the decorating. Real nice Apollo.”

“Does it look like I can help you right now?” He asked, gesturing to the man playfully nuzzling his neck.

“That sounds like a quitter talking.”

“If there was anything within reach right now I’d throw it at you.”

“Alright children, calm down.” Phoenix cheekily replied, chuckling at the dirty look the two threw him.

“Heh, chaotic as always in here, eh Nick?”

They all paused at the giggle from the doorway and turned, every face in the room lighting up at the sight of the woman in the doorway.

“Maya!” Phoenix cried with a grin, rushing over to wrap her in a hug.

“Don’t forget me!” Chirped a little voice, another shorter figure ducking out from behind the taller girl, and Phoenix’s smile grew even wider, scooping the younger medium up to join the hug.

“Pearls! What are you two doing here!?”

“Well, a little bird told us that there was gonna be a party.”

“Ah, so Ema then.”

“Yeeeep.” The tall medium replied, popping the last syllable with a smile.

“Besides, after the disaster of a holiday last time, there was no chance we were gonna miss another chance to celebrate with you.”

“Ugh, I still feel sorry about that.” The attorney replied, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

“You came back from your training to visit and everything.”

After a moment he brightened once more, planting his hands on his hips confidently.

“Well, guess we’ll just need to make sure we don’t screw it up this time. Your timing is actually perfect by the way. We were just about to head out shopping.”

“Ah, so you got an invitation as well? I look forward to it.” Klavier chimed in from where his head lay on Apollo’s shoulder, the attorney’s hair slightly brushing his cheek as he tilted his head in a confusion.

“Ok, what the hell is this party you all keep talking about?”

“Prosecution office’s holding a dinner tomorrow. Probably thought that if they planned it this year, they wouldn’t accidently get half their best workers trapped in a snowstorm.” Athena called over from where she was stuffing decorations back in the closet.

“So, how’s a lil shopping trip sound? Shouldn’t take very long.” The blue clothed attorney asked, receiving a chorus of agreements. He nodded in satisfaction, crossing his arms with a grin.

“Alrighty then! Everybody grab your coats! A quick run to the store, then we’ll be back here celebrating in no time!”

“Shouldn’t take long, my ass.”

No one seemed to even notice Athena’s grumble, all too busy staring in slight horror at the building before them. What was normally a quiet shopping center had been swamped by a veritable horde of people, transforming it into a sort of holiday battle arena. A seemingly endless stream of shoppers was flowing through both sides of the entrance,

“...To be honest, we should probably have expected this.” Phoenix admitted with a defeated slump of his shoulders.

“Well, it is two days to Christmas, Heir Wright.” Klavier offered and the attorney slumped even farther with a groan.

“Yes, thank you for reminding me.”

Maya bit back a snicker at the dramatics, striding to the front of the group and taking point.

“All right everybody, enough belly-aching. Let’s get the move on. The sooner we start the sooner we can leave.” She declared, turning on her heel and starting for the entrance, the others quickly jogging to keep pace with her.

“Heh, when did you become the voice of reason?” Phoenix chuckled, an amused smile pulling at his lips and she shot him back a smirk.

“Oh trust me Nick, you haven’t seeeen crowded till you’ve been through a Kurainese festival. “

Somehow managing to slip smoothly into the stream of people, the group found themselves quickly sucked into the building. Luckily the place was larger than it appeared and so as the space widened out the crowd thinned, allowing them some room to breathe.

“Does anyone even know where we’re going?” Athena called over the din, wincing at the noise and rubbing her temples to try and ward off the coming headache. As she spoke, Phoenix fished the list out of his pocket, glancing over it.

“Well, we somehow got shouldered with the main dishes, hence lots of ingredients, so this is gonna be a bit of a trek.” He replied, handing the list over to Trucy when she leaned up to look at it.

“I’m not sure if some of these would even count as ‘main dishes’.” She replied and he gave a little snort.

“Well, I did get it from Edgeworth. Sometimes I wonder if he knows things like ‘peach incrusted flambé’ aren’t part of your average dinner lineup.”

As he spoke he glanced out over the crowd, gaze scanning over the surroundings, and suddenly paused, eyes locking on something. For a few moments his expression grew thoughtful, brow furrowing the tiniest bit, before a smile stretched over his face.

“Hmm...Hey, Maya? Mind, uh, checking out something over here with me?” He asked, nodding in the direction he’d been looking and the woman stretched up onto tiptoe to see what he was indicating. She stared for a few seconds, giving several long blinks as the gears seemingly turned in her head, before her face lit up. Without even giving a proper reply, she grabbed him by the arm and began to drag him off into the crowd, the lawyer shouting back over his shoulder to the rest of the startled group.

“Just start makin your way down the list! We’ll find you later!”

“Wait, Boss! Don’t just leave us he- Hey, watch were you’re going!” Athena exclaimed, jumping back from her pursuit to avoid being run over by someone’s cart. The middle aged, soccer mom looking woman driving it snapped around to look at them and the whole group flinched backwards. Her gaze was pure venom and boy, if looks could kill. Still cowering together as she turned her nose up at them and stalked away, the band of wayward shoppers glanced at each other in fear.

“...Everybody stay together?” Apollo proposed, met with some very vigorous nods of reply.

Trying to squeeze their ways down isles and around other shoppers proved to be a bit of a challenge, what with the 5 of them huddled together like they were trying to assimilate into one being, but they managed, slowly picking their way through the crowd. They even managed to pick up most of their ingredients along the way, marking off each item as it was gathered.

It was when they they’d begun to near the bottom that problem arose.

“Ok, says here that we need flour for some Yorksire pudding, whatever the hell that is.” Athena announced from somewhere behind Apollo’s shoulder, having been designated as the official list master at some point along the way.

“It’s a baked dish made using the juices from cooked meats Fräulein. It’s actually quite good.”

“It’s made. Using flour and meat. That’s not a pudding, that’s an atrocity.”

“Alright, enough bickering. We need to focus.” Apollo replied, giving them both a swat.

“Now let’s see, flour must be around her somewhere...”

The young attorney’s powerful eyes swept over their surroundings, scanning each shelf and nook down the long corridor, finally letting out a little “a-ha!” when at last he spotted it. There at the end of the isle, sitting on a high shelf was a bag of plain flour. And as luck would have it, it seemed to be the last one.

“Seems like our lucky day.” He chimed in, pointing it out to the rest of the group. Just as the words left his mouth he was jostled sideways as someone stepped up beside him, his head quickly turning to find the disturbance. It was another woman, this one a bit on the older side. She was staring down at a list of her own, her eyes scanning over it before looking up to glance around. After a moment her eyes also caught sight of the flour, a smile breaking over her face, and Apollo felt his hear sink. This lady seemed nice enough, but they had technically been the ones to see it first. But it was still going to feel like a bit of a jerk move on his part if he just took it. Maybe they could come to a compromise?

“Um...”

The attorney wasn’t even aware he’d spoke till it was too late, and the woman looked over at him. She glanced at his still pointed arm, the flour, the items already stowed way in the groups basket, back to the flour, then directly at Apollo himself. She stared at him for a moment, eyes slowly narrowing. Thank god for all those years of training a quick mind, because the lawyer had just enough time to process what was about to happen and push off before they were both sprinting full tilt down the aisle. Right, this was a store during the holidays, the normal rules of human decency no longer exist here. Apollo tried to keep that fact in mind as he tucked his head and ran, distantly noting the flash of blue trailing close behind him.

The woman was astonishingly swift for someone her age and she easily kept pace with Apollo as they both wove through the minefield of other shoppers. Occasionally one or the other would get caught behind a group of stragglers and fall behind, only to regain their ground as the other met a similar misfortune. It was as they were nearing the shelf that the attorney suddenly noticed a small problem with this whole scenario. The flour was on a high shelf. A shelf neither he nor the woman would be able to reach without the help of a ladder. However...

Apollo spun around and screeched to a halt just short of the shelf, lacing his hands together and bracing himself with a shout.

“Trucy!”

The blur of a girl who’d been following him planted her foot in his hands and, with a vaguely concerning creak of muscles, he flung her up high. They watched as she sailed through the air, arm outstretched. For a moment her fingers wrapped around the edge, and Apollo felt a cry of victory gathering in his throat, only for her momentum to carry her too far and have it slip from her grasp, the corner catching and tearing slightly as it tumbled from the shelf. She made a ten point landing just as the bag fell into the woman’s waiting hands. She gave a hoot, and held it high above her head in victory.

“Ha, too bad for you!” She crowed, voice one of spiteful pride, and the cries of indignation from the rest of the group masked the flash of shadow darting along the top of the shelf. Before they could do a thing however, she swiftly stuffed the object she grasped firmly into her own basket and swiftly made her retreat, disappearing around the corner before they could even think to pursue her.

“Grrr, what is wrong with that woman!?” Athena finally roared, stamping a foot on the ground as she visibly bristled.

“D-Don’t worry! I’m sure we can fix this somehow!” Pearl chimed in and Athena sighed in defeat.

“But how? This recipe specifically calls for white flour, and she just made off with the last bag!”

“Oh, you’re looking for flour? Well, isn’t this a stroke of luck.”

The group paused and looked up as the voice floated down from above them, faces lighting up as they caught sight of the source.

“Kay!”

The girl was lounged across the top of the shelf beside them like the damn Cheshire Cat, with a grin to match. One arm was supporting her head, chin settled in an open palm, while the other casually coiled around a familiar white bag, the torn corner making its identity clear.

“You wouldn’t happen to mean this lil thing?” She asked cheekily, examining it briefly before tossing it to them, leaping down after it.

“Kay, how did you get this?!”

“I’m a master thief, how do you think? Hope that old coot doesn’t mind whole wheat.” She replied, stretching and popping her back.

“You guys grabbin stuff for the party I assume?”

“Bullseye. I take it Edgeworth invited you too?” Apollo replied, carefully tucking their hard-earned prize away, and she shrugged nonchalantly.

“Well, more like I saw the invitation on his desk and invited myself, but yeah. Just gotta grab some cake mix then I’m outta this looney bin.”

“You’re facing this horde solo Fräulein? Quite the gutsy move.” Klavier complemented her and she chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly.

“Appreciate the complement, but even I’m not that reckless. Just lost the second half of my dynamic duo in the crowd a ways back. She should show back up eventually.”

“Kay...I swear to god...I’m gonna kill you...”

The wheezing, tired voice behind them caused the group to turn, catching sight of a familiar figure bend almost in half as she tried to catch her breath.

“Ay, there you are Ema! Thought I might have lost ya for good for a bit there.” Kay cheekily chirped and the older girl’s eyes flashed with annoyance. Darting past the rest of the group, she seized the younger girl by the ear and tugged, the thief giving a little yep of pain.

“Well, you wouldn’t have lost me if you hadn’t decided that walking through the crowd was too much work and climbed off over the shelving. I’m surprised security didn’t catch you and throw you out. Oh, hi to all of you guys by the way.” She growled, pausing her tirade for a moment to greet the others.

“You better have grabbed that cake mix while you were off on your little misadventure.”

“Well I was, till I ran into these guys. So just calm down and gimme a sec.”

Pulling loose of the detectives grasp, the thief stomped off to a nearby shelf, muttering under her breath, and began examining the different types of mixes as Ema gave a sigh and rubbed her temples.

“So, Edgeworth send you along to keep her from tearing the store apart?” Apollo asked with a teasing grin and the girl made an ‘eehhhh?” hand motion.

“Sorta. I got roped into handling the prep for like half this whole party, so I’ve been having to keep track of what all people are bringing. Speaking of, how’s about you guys? Got everything you need?”

“Let’s see...”Athena muttered, smoothing out the list and scanning over it.

“Only thing left is... a goose? Well, if A Christmas Carol could pull it off, so can we. Should be over...”

She looked up at the signs hanging from the stores ceiling and gave a groan.

“...On the other side of the store.”

A wave of despair seemed to wash over the group, all slumping in exhaustion with matching groans.

“Well, no time like the present.” Klavier sighed and the 6 of them set off, Kay giving chase with a large box of black forest cake mix, shoving through the crowd and trying their best not to get flattened by the shoppers. 20 minutes and they finally had to stop and rest, having barely gotten halfway through the store. They were sweaty, sore from the numerous wayward elbows around them and beginning to feel like every step forward was two steps back.

“Ugh, this is useless!” Trucy cried, looking about ready to start pulling her hair ours.

“We’re making no progress! If we even get the goose it’s gonna be near impossible to get it back through here and Daddy is still-!”

Her frustration was cut off by a series of cries and insults beside them as someone came shoving their way through the crowd. As though the mere mention of his name were enough to summon him, Wright came popping out of the horde in front of them, expression one of vague horror. When he spotted them his expression brightened, only to turn to terror once more as the sound of someone moving through the crowd continued behind him.

“Guys, I’m so sorry. I tried to stop her.” He stammered, darting forward and partially hiding behind them.

“What? Mr. Wright what are you-?”

As though on que, Maya emerged before them, wielding a shopping bag stuffed almost to the bursting with...something.

“Uh, Mystic Maya? What is that?” Pearl asked, voice quiet and just a bit terrified as they all stared at the bags.

“A surprise!” She replied and a shiver ran down all their spines at her impish grin.

“So, what else have you guys got to do?”

“U-Uh, just gotta get the main dish.” Apollo replied, mind reeling from jumping from topic to topic. Phoenix perked up at that, smiling and crossing his arms.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. We stopped by the deli section on our way over here. One cooked goose officially ordered and ready to be delivered to the party!...Uh, guys? Are you ok?” He asked, his upbeat spirit delating in confusion as the group gave a massive sigh of relief, looking as though they’d just seen the face of God himself.

“Boss, I could kiss you right now.” Athena groaned.

“Umm, please don’t.”

“Wait, wha- Oh, never mind. Let’s just get the hell out of here.”

“Seconded!” Phoenix squeaked as the crowd began to close in around them, squeezing in from all sides. Doing their best to try and force their way through, they slowly made their way through the surging current of people, gradually advancing towards the checkout area.

“Alright everybody, almost there!” The lawyer at their head called back to them, trying his best to use his height to try and clear a path.

“Oh, wait guys my shoe is- Ah! Help!”

The groups heads whipped around just in time to see Trucy trip and stumble backwards, instantly getting caught in the flood of bodies and begin to be swept away. In an flash Phoenix jolted into action.

“Don’t worry Trucy! Daddy’s coming!” He cried before literally diving into the crown, shoving people out of the way as he disappeared after her.

“Nick!” Maya yelled, trying her best to scramble after him. The force of the crowd proved too powerful however and she quickly lost sight of his spiky hair as the sea of bodies pulled the two groups apart.

“Damn it, get out of the way!”

She tried once more, only to be more-or-less hip checked by what could only be described as yet another stereotypical PTA mom and sent flying back in to the others, almost knocking over Pearl as the woman shot them a nasty look and vanished into the swarm. Klavier shot some particularly nasty German after her as he helped the medium up, muttering angrily under his breath.

“Well now what the hell do we do!?” Athena complained, the lift in her pitch giving away her panic.

“Don’t worry, I got this.” Ema suddenly announced, rolling up her sleeves and turning to face the onslaught.

“This isn’t my first battle with holiday shoppers. It’s all in the way you present yourself. Now, shoulders back, head up, think ‘murder’ and walk.”

With that she began to quickly stride forward, face fierce and eyes blazing. Like some miracle, the crowd began to part before her like the Red Sea, people literally diving out of her path when they met her gaze. The rest of the group simply glanced at each other in surprise before quickly trailing along close behind her.

It didn’t take long to find their wayward companions. The two had taken refuge beside a display, Phoenix keeping an arm wrapped protectively around his daughter as he scanned the crowd. His eyes widened when he saw Ema marching towards him, blinking a few times in disbelief as she moved with ease through the crowd. She reached them and, without missing a beat, seized him by the jacket and began to lead everyone towards the exit.

“Ok, this little field trip has dragged on a bit too long. Time to go.”

A chorus of agreements answered her and the group practically sprinted to the checkout, shoving their items through as fast as the poor overworked cashier could deal with them in a panicked rush to get the hell out of there. The instant they hit the cool air of the parking, a sigh of relief swept through the group, most of them slumping over against the cars in joy.

“None of you guys EVER let me talk us into that again.” Phoenix groaned and Maya let out an exhausted chuckle.

“Aww it wasn’t thaaat bad Nick. Just one more thing to add to our little winter adventure, right Pearly?”

She turned to the space to her left and everyone went silent when they realized it was empty. Slowly they looked back at the store, then at each other in horror, before making a mad dash for the doors.

“Hold on Pearly! The rescue squad is on the way!”

“Hahahaha, less than a day into your visit and you’re already embroiled in trouble! That’s my boy!”

“Dhurke...” Apollo sighed, trying to rub away the headache forming between his eyes as he listened to the uproarious laughter on the other end of the phone.

“Aww, don’t be so glum AJ! Nothin to get the holiday season going like a wild manhunt!” Datz chimed in from the background and Apollo flopped back onto the couch in exasperation. If he’d known when he called that not only was Dhurke listening in, but Datz and Amara as well, he never would have brought the little disaster up.

“Oh, stop teasing him you two.” Said queen jokingly chided them.

“The poor boy has been through enough today as is.”

“Good, at least I have somebody on my side.” He muttered to himself.

“Besides, I’m sure that young detective will tell us aaaall about it the next time she comes to visit Nahyuta.” She continued with mischievous glee and Apollo let out a loud groan.

“Well, they certainly sound like a fun bunch. I can see why you turned out the way you did Herr Forehead.” Klavier called over from where he was making tea in the apartment’s kitchen and Dhurke made a noise of interest.

“Hmm? Is that the young man you were telling us about?”

“Uh, y-yeah, that was Kalvier.” The attorney quietly replied, cupping his had around the speaker to try and muffle the man’s booming voice. Damn these two and their impressive hearing. Too little, too late it seemed though, as the musician quirked an eyebrow, looking over at him with a grin.

“Oh, you’ve been talking about me, hmm?” He asked, moving out around the kitchen counter and striding over to lean over the back of the couch. As he did, his loose hair fell like a curtain around the two of them, faces just a breath apart. Apollo felt his own breath stop, feeling suddenly swept up in the intimacy, eyes slowly beginning to slid shut as the older man leaned in, slowly inching their lips closer and closer together...only for the blond to snatch the phone from his hands with an impish smile, quickly pulling back as the red-clothed man gave a choked noise of surprise and made snatch for it. The prosecutor danced back out of his reach, flicking the device onto speaker phone mode and leaning in.

“Well, I hope he hasn’t been telling you too many of my secrets.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. We’ve heard quite a bit. Once he gets going, well, we don’t really have the heart to stop him.” Dhurke replied, smile evident in his voice.

“And if that picture in his wallet is anything to go by, he’s managed to net himself quite the looker! Way to go AJ!” Datz called once more, and Apollo’s eyes went wide.

“Why were you looking in my wallet?!”

Despite the embarrassment of the situation, he paused when Klavier turned to him with a touched expression, eyes soft.

“You keep a photo of me?” He asked quietly, and Apollo felt his heart warm at the happiness in his voice.

“Um, yeah, maybe...oh would you just give me the phone!” He muttered in return, face warming as he turned sheepish and made a grab for it as the blonde came close. Klavier swept down and pressed a kiss to his forehead as he pressed the phone into the attorney’s hands, pulling back with a soft whisper.

“Gott, ich liebe dich.”

Apollo froze as he let the words roll around in his head, a lovestruck grin slowly spreading across his lips. He was finally pulled from his thoughts by the voice on the phone calling his name.

“Apollo? You there son?”

“Ah, yeah! Yeah, I’m here!” He quickly replied, hearing the man give an amused noise on the other end, voice jovial as he continued.

“Well, he certainly seems like the respectable sort. You’ll have to invite him for a visit sometime soon. What kind of father would I be if I never met the man who my son will be sharing his life with?”

“D-Dhurke!” Apollo squeaked, face flushing brightly as both the old defense attorney and the blonde hovering over his shoulder broke into laughter.

“Aww, is there something you want to tell me Herr Forehead?”

“You are not helping!”

“Well, I’ve used up enough of your time. It’s about time I let you get back to business.” The king finally replied and the boy gave an audible sigh of relief. Finally an end to this embarrassment.

“Yeah, I’m sure those two have plenty of catching up to do.” Datz called and Apollo could practically hear the suggestive eyebrow wiggle in his voice, the young attorney’s face flaring red as his waistcoat.

“DATZ OH MY GOD!”

He had to wait what seemed an eternity for the laughter to settle once more, still hearing Amara and Datz trying to calm themselves in the background as Dhurke finished his chuckling and spoke once more, voice proud.

“Goodnight son.”

Apollo sighed in exasperation or what seemed the millionth time, but couldn’t help the soft smile that crept onto his face.

“Goodnight Dhurke.”

The line clicked off and the young man let out a breath, shaking his head.

“My dad is ridiculous. No, scratch that, my entire family is. That whole damn country in fact.”

“Yes, but you wouldn’t trade them in for the world, would you?” Klavier replied, nudging his head to urge him upright and settling on the couch once he was out of the way. Apollo gave an amused little huff as he was handed a warm mug, soft smile still cemented firmly on his face.

“Heh, you got me there.”

They lapsed into silence as they enjoyed their drinks, simply basking each the presence of each other. As the night went on Apollo felt himself slipping back into the routine he hadn’t even realize he missed. Finish the tea, do the dishes together, shower, keep Klavier from making out with him while he showers so they don’t both slip and die, brush his teeth, riffle through the drawers for some clothes while the blonde does his skin care regiment, find the comfiest space under the covers while he waits.

By the time the singer pulled back the other side of the comforter, Apollo had already begun to doze off, the jet-lag finally catching up with him. Flicking off the light, the two of them settled, the attorney giving a little hum and shifting closer to the chest behind him as an arm wrapped around him. The prosecutor pressed a tired kiss to his neck, nuzzling his hair with a soft whisper.

“Liebling?”

“Mmm? Yeah Klav?” He sleepily mumbled back, teetering on the very edge of sleep.

“Please tell me that photo you have isn’t a Gavineers headshot.”

“What? No! It’s something Trucy took during the party last year.”

“Oh, thank god.”

“So then I got into an argument for like two hours with Mr. Are’bal over which show was better, it’s Steel Samurai of course, and then he...Nick are you even listening?”

The woman sitting at the kitchen table pouted as she turned to the man standing in the kitchen, the lawyer giving a quiet laugh.

“Yes Maya, I’m listening.” He replied, keeping an eye on the small pot bubbling on the stove, stirring it occasionally as he assembled various other ingredients. He was making hot chocolate the proper way damn it, no matter how much Maya tried to convince him doing it in the microwave was easier. His reply seemed to pacify the medium and she set back off with her storytelling once more. He listened as she recounted story after story of her time abroad, everything from little happenings to grand misadventures. (“Maya. Maya please tell you didn’t actually let Datz and the Princess talk you into stealing all of Dhurke’s eyepatches and gluing googly eyes onto them.” “Hey, it managed to get Nahyuta and Apollo to laugh themselves to tears, so I don’t see the problem here.”)

Eventually the drink was finished and he carefully poured it into the oversized mugs Trucy had bought him for just such an occasion, topping them both with a frankly unhealthy amount of whipped cream and marshmallows before joining his old friend at the table.

“How have things been over here Nick? Any adventures of your own?” She asked, taking a large sip and grinning at the taste.

“Oh, with these guys around, every day’s an adventure.” He replied, rolling his eyes playfully.

“And how’s about a certain silver fox we all know? How’re things going between you two?” She asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

“Oh hush you. He’s not even that old.” He rolled his eyes, the girl snickering as he playfully shoved her face away.

“If you really must know, it’s been...good. Better than ever.”

He smiled down into his own drink, swirling it gently around in the cup.

“That court room in Khura'in wasn’t the first time I’ve almost been shot, and it probably won’t be the last, but something about it just...made us realize how much we’ve got to lose.”

He gave a little huff of a laugh, taking a sip.

“So, we’re just living one day at a time. Might as well enjoy the time we got.”

Looking over the rim of his mug, he found Maya smiling warmly at him.

“You’re such a sap Nick.”

“Oh geeze thanks.” He scoffed and she laughed.

“But I think that’s what makes all of us love you so much. You can’t help but give 120 percent all the time. Cause you just care too much not to. It’s the reason you saved me and the reason you saved him... and if there’s one thing I know for a fact, it’s that Miles loves that about you more than anything.”

Phoenix gave a chuckle, giving her a wry smile.

“Who’s the sap now?”

“Oh shut up and drink your hot chocolate.”

With a snicker, he glanced over at the living room. Trucy and Pearl had passed out on the couch together a few hours prior while binging some show (One Upon a something?), and were now collapsed in a tangle of limbs on the cushions, completely dead to the world. They were still speckled with flour and various other ingredients from the cooking spree earlier (Phoenix wasn’t looking forwards to trying to get those out of the couch fabric), the partially completed efforts of their work waiting on the counter in preparation for being finished in the morning. It wasn’t a perfect system, but it worked.

“Heh, Netflix and Conk Out.” Phoenix muttered in response to one of his daughters especially violent snores, if only to make the woman before him make an equally ridiculous noise as she slapped both hands over her mouth and tried to muffle her laughter. He smirked at her for a moment before his smile softened, eyes going soft.

“I missed you.” He quietly breathed, the words out before he could even realize he was speaking. She didn’t even seem surprised, just smiling softly and reaching out across the table to take his hand.

“I missed you too.”

Phoenix felt his chest warm, a wide smile easing onto his face.

For once, all was right with the world and it felt as though nothing could go wrong.

Tomorrow as going to be perfect.

Everything was going wrong.

“Crap, crap, crap...” Phoenix muttered as he ran around the house, the words quickly becoming his personal mantra as he rushed from place to place. Not only had they all slept accidentally slept till 1 in the afternoon after chatting all night, but he’d woken up with dozen less than happy messages from Edgeworth asking where they were. Hell, they hadn’t even gotten up till Detective Gumshoe had come uh knockin in an attempt to find them. And as a reward for his kindness, the poor man was currently getting his arms stuffed with half-finished dishes and various bags of ingredients.

“Ok, just, take those out to the truck. We’ll finish them at the hotel when we get there.”

“Are you sure they’re gonna let us use their kitchen Mr. Nick?” Pearl asked from where she was hurriedly shoving part of the mess on the table into her bag, paying no mind to whether what was falling in was actually hers or not.

“Uh, yeah! I’m sure it’ll be fine Pearls!” He replied with the strained smile that immediately told them all he was bullshitting. Turning his attention back to the task at hand, he rather haphazardly dumped the last of their cold items into the cooler and slammed it shut, eyes scanning over the room.

“Got that, got that, got that, Gummy’s holdin that, goose is getting delivered, ok we’re good to go! Everybody grab your coats and get to the truck!” He shouted, dashing to grab his own from the closet, cooler in hand.

“Daddy!” Trucy chimed in and he paused in his frantic searching to glance at her.

“Huh? Uh, yes Trucy?” He asked, mind going a million miles a minute.

“You’re not wearing a shirt.”

The lawyer froze and glanced down. Huh, would you look at that. Cursing quietly, he handed the cooler to Maya and rushed to the bedroom, reappearing in record time.

“Ok, now let’s go!”

Maya bit back a snort at his appearance (shirt buttoned crookedly so one side of the collar licked his ear while the other nearly dropped off his shoulder, tie lying open over his chest, locket chain somehow tangled in his hair) and made a break for the vehicle as he looked over at the noise. Ignoring her, he snatched up his jacket and rushed to the door, suddenly freezing with a little gasp just as he cleared the threshold, eyes going wide. Spinning on his heel and shooting back inside, they could hear the sound of frantic riffling, then he was back, stuffing something into his pocket as he cleared the step and swung the door shut behind him.

“Ok, everybody ready? We’ve got a lotta dishes to prepare and it’s already...”

He let out another curse as he glanced at his phone. The party started at 6 and his display read 2:30.

“...Detective, I need a favor.”

With a police car leading the way, they got there in record time.

“We’re here! We’re here!” The spiky haired attorney cried as they burst through the door, immediately leaning over afterwards and wheezing as he tried in vain to get his lungs to work properly. Sprinting across a parking lot and up a grand staircase was a bit much for him at the moment. The silver haired man standing nearby jumped a bit at their entrance and turned, starting towards them.

“Wright! Where have you been?” Edgeworth exclaimed, tone both one of annoyance and worry as he drew up before the other man.

“Sorry, time...got away from us...Just gotta finish some stuff...then we’ll be...right as rain...” He replied, perking up to plant a peck on the prosecutor’s lips between his wheezes. The older man’s brows narrowed slightly in concern and he wrapped an arm around the other, leading him to a nearby table.

“Alright, alright, just sit down before you pass out.”

He settled the younger man in a chair and sat beside him, watching with a sigh as he chugged a glass of water.

“...I truly was worried about you.”

“I know. I’m sorry for scaring you.” Phoenix replied, lowering the glass and patting the prosecutor’s hand as the man turned to him with an unamused expression.

“I never said scared. But, when I send you multiple text and receive replies to none of them, you can understand my concern.”

As he spoke he went about fixing the buttons on the younger man’s shirt, flushing a bit when the younger attorney turned his head to plant a peck on his knuckles.

“I promise to make it up to you.” Phoenix replied, leaning over to kiss away the furrow in the man’s brow. The prosecutor relaxed against him, letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding as Phoenix nuzzled his hair.

“Hmm, we really should get to work on that food though.”

“Ah, that’s right. Very well, I’ll go ask speak with the staff about using the banquet kitch-oh.” Edgeworth moved to stand, only to pause as he glanced past Phoenix. The attorney turned in curiosity to see Pearl smiling sweetly as she spoke with a rather bashful looking bellhop, the man grinning dopily and turning to lead the others to said kitchen.

“Well, that one problem dealt with. Now, were we?” Phoenix smirked, leaning in to steal another kiss. He was stopped short by the hand Edgeworth threw up, the prosecutor giving him a stern look over it.

“No, finish your water then got get started. You can enjoy yourself once everything’s ready.”

“Hmph, killjoy.” The blue clothed man pouted, moodily sipping at his drink.

Eventually he did manage to propel himself up out of the chair, brightening as he made his way through the crowd. Apollo and Klavier having already joined in on decorating, and slipped into the small kitchen. The girls had already taken over the place, the counters littered with ingredients and a number of dishes already cooking away.

“So, you guys need any help back here?” He asked, the girls turning towards him in surprise.

“Ah, there ya are Boss! Though you might have gotten lost.” Athena chimed in. She, Blackquill and Fulbright had arrived a short time ago (Terrwyn unfortunately was stuck home with a cold, but sent her warm greetings), and the girl had immediately stolen away to the kitchen, probably trying to get a head start on tasting the dishes. Evidently she’d been roped into helping instead, if the apron around her waist and the bubbling pot she was stirring was anything to go by.

“Nah, I think we’ve got it handled over here. Maya’s over in there though, so you might wanna ask her.” She jerked her thumb towards a door off to the side and he nodded, carefully avoiding their workspace as he made his way through.

Whatever he was expecting to find when he entered the loading bay, this wasn’t it.

“So, what you up to Miss Mystic?” He asked, eyebrow cocked as he got a better look at the scene. The girl was crouched beside a large wooden crate, examining it in curiosity.

“Tryin to figure out what this thing is. They said it was delivered here earlier for us.”

“Delivered?”

“Do...Do you think it’s that goose we ordered?” She asked, cocking her head and he shrugged.

“Possibly. But why would it be in a crate?”

“Maybe to keep it fresh and warm? It comes cooked after all.”

The woman stood and began rummaging around in the drawer of a nearby cabinet, finally giving a little sound of victory and holding up a crowbar.

“Well, only one way to find out!”

As she sunk the claw into the groove of the crate, Phoenix noticed something. A series of holes were drilled in the lid, scattered evenly across the wood. As though to let air in...

His eyes went wide in realization and he leapt forward just as Maya put her weight down on the bar.

“Maya, wait!”

The lit popped loose with a crack, clattering to the floor, and they froze when they glimpsed the inside. Ever so slowly Maya laid down the crowbar and reached in, carefully picking up the contents and holding it out in front of her.

“Bwak?”

“...That’s a chicken.” Phoenix muttered, and Maya turned to him with a scowl.

“Yeah, no shit Sherlock.” She replied, before turning back to the creature in her hands with a worried look. It was a chicken all right, a big one too, it’s feathers a snowy white. It seemed remarkable calm despite having been sealed in a crate, cocking its head at them and leaning down to gently peck at Maya’s sleeve in curiosity.

“What the heck is it doing here?” She asked, voice squeaking a bit with concealed panic.

“There must have been a mix up when we ordered it.” Phoenix sighed, rubbing a hand over his face in sudden exhaustion. Just when they thought their bad luck was over.

“That seems like a pretty big mix up.” She replied with a sigh. Switching the bird over to one arm, she nudged the lid back into place and set him down. He immediately nestled down, calmly looking around at his surroundings, and Maya gave a little ‘aww’, crouching down to pet his head.

“Well, at least you’re a cute one.”

After a moment her expression darkened once more, biting her lip.

“Ok, but now what do we do? We needed a cooked goose, not a live chicken.”

“Well, we could always just...cook this one.” He offered and she looked over at him in confusion.

“What? Nick, you don’t just cook a chicken feathers and all.” She chided him and he rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, I know that. I spent a few summers on my grandpa’s farm when I was a kid. I know how to clean and de-bone a bird.”

“Yeah, but that implies you’re going to...”

They both paused and slowly turned to stare at the chicken, the creature tilting its head cutely at them and staring back with innocent eyes.

“...Nope.”

“Wait, what?” He asked, turning to the girl in confusion.

“Nope, not doin it. I’ve bonded with this creature. He’s mine now.” Maya shook her head, scooping up the chicken and hugging it to her chest.

“Wha-Maya, you can’t just take it!”

“I paid for it, so I can and will.”

“Where would you even keep it?!”

“I don’t know! The village or something!...You aren’t going to eat my pet Nick!” She replied with a stubborn glare and he gave a groan.

“Alright, fine, fine. Keep the chicken.”

She grinned and nodded in satisfaction, turning the bird and holding it out to look at her.

“Hello chicken. Your name will be...Nugget.”

Phoenix gave a sputtering sound and burst out into laughter, the absurdity of the situation finally getting to him. Maya merely stuck her tongue out at him playfully as he clung to the wall for support, hugging the chicken closer to her.

“Don’t worry Nugget, he’s just jealous.”

“Well, you two certainly seem to be having fun.”

The pair turned to the doorway to find Ema watching them, arms crossed and eyebrow cocked.

“Ah, yeeeeah, things ended up going a bit off the rails.” The attorney replied, rubbing the neck sheepishly as his giggles died down.

“We also seem to be suffering from a severe lack of cooked goose.”

“Say no more. I heard it all through the door anyway. Lucky for you, I know a place a few blocks from here that should be able to hook us up.” She replied, gesturing as though to wave away his worries and Phoenix grinned.

“Ah, that’s the Ema Skye we know and love. Always got a solution up your sleeve.”

“Well, it helps that Sis is useless when it comes to cooking meat, so we have to order in for the holidays a lot. I’ll be back in like 10. Call if you need me.”

With a flip of her hand she exited, music from the next room spilling through for a moment before the door closed.

“Well, that’s one problem on its way to being fixed. Whatcha thing, should we help go and decorate? We need to introduce everyone to Nugget after all.” Phoenix chimed in teasingly.

“Yeah yeah, laugh it up Nick.” Maya snorted, rolling her eyes. Her gaze suddenly lit up with realization and a grin broke across her face.

“Ooo, wait, I just remember something!” She chirped happily, setting Nugget down once more and turning to riffle through a bulky bag nearby. Something about it tickled Phoenixes memory and he tipped his head quizzically. Had he seen that somewhere before? A moment later she turned, arms holding a bundle of cloth and his eyes went wide with horrifying realization.

“Oh no. No, no, no. I know for a fact I hid those last night! How did you-?! ”

“C’mon Nick, time for everybody to get festive.” She sang, stalking closer to him with a positively predatory grin.

“Maya. Maya no.” He whispered fearfully and her grin grew frighteningly wide.

“Maya yes.”

She began to close in on him as Nugget watched, backing the terrified lawyer against the wall as she clutched the bundle.

Oh good god, what menace had he released upon the world?

The kitchen door slammed shut behind Apollo as he fled into the kitchen, leaning back against it as he tried to calm his racing heart rate. How had things gone downhill so fast? He looked down at the garment he was now wearing with a groan. It was black, woolen and tacky, with the embroidered image of a dog and the words ‘Bah Humpug!” emblazoned across his chest. It was everything he feared about Christmas themed clothing.

“Ah, so I see she got to you as well Polly?”

He looked up to find Maya and Trucy looking at him with tired amusement, both dressed in only marginally less ugly sweaters. The ginger’s read ‘Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal” and bore the image of some bizarrely buff deer, while the others was decorated with “Meowry Christmas” and a cat wearing a Santa hat.

“Yeah, she’s still out there wreaking havoc. I think some people are holed up in the bathroom, but knowing Maya, that’s not gonna stop her for long.” He replied with a shudder, still hearing the chaos going on outside. The woman had come tearing through the main room a few minutes prior, giggling manically and wielding an overstuffed Santa bag. Apollo had been the closest to the kitchen at the time and thus the first to meet her sweater-y war path, the woman stuffing it on over his head with gusto before moving on to the next victim. Once they’d realized what was happening, most of the others had scattered and run for their lives, many making the mistake of underestimating just how fast the girl could move in geta. Whoever remained was mostly likely getting stalked through the hotel by the woman and her terrible sack of garments like some Christmas-themed horror game.

“Well, not like we can do much about it now. Might as well just bid our time in here till things calm down.” Athena replied with a sigh and shrug, turning back to the pot gently simmering on the stove and giving it a stir as she reached over to tap at something on her phone. The portable speaker on the counter edge began to blare music once more, just as Apollo dimly remembered it had been during his entrance.

“I’ll take your advice! I’ll try to be more nice!”

“Really? You listening to this?” Apollo asked, giving a little laugh and cocking an eyebrow, and Athena spun around to look at him, Trucy seizing the spoon in her stead to keep it from falling.

“What, are you telling me you’ve never heard ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ before Apollo?” She replied and he rolled his eyes.

“Of course I have, who hasn’t? But seriously? This is what you cook to?”

“Oh, you’re just being a Grinch. Besides, fun is the secret ingredient in like half this stuff.” She shot back, hips swinging sassily to the beat as though to egg him on. He let out a chuckle, shaking his head and her eyes glinted playfully, her movements becoming more focused and choreographed as she began to sing along.

“Cause all that it takes is a little re-in-ven-tion!”

She bopped in place a few times before dramatically kicking out a leg, startling Apollo and making Trucy give a laugh.

“It’s easy to change if you give it your att-en-tion!”

“All you gotta do is just believe you can be who you want to be!”

She flung out an arm to point at Apollo, giving a wink and this finally drew a laugh from him, the girl giving a little fist pump of victory.

“Sincerely, Me!”

She smiled cheesily, striking a pose and jerking a thumb towards herself. Apollo gave her some rather sarcastic applause, grinning a bit in spite of himself.

“Very impressive.” He replied and she rolled her eyes. Striding over, she grabbing his hand and pulled him up from where he was leaning against the wall, dragging him towards the open space here she’d been preforming.

“Come on, your turn to dance Mr. Scrooge.” She smirked and Apollo scoffed.

“Pfft, not on your life.”

“Aw come on, have some fun Polly!”

“A-poll-o! A-poll-o!” Trucy chanted, clapping her hands, and the attorney gave a sigh of defeat, voice deadpan as he joined in with the recording.

“Dear Connor Murphy,”

“Yes, I also miss our talks. Stop doing drugs, just try to take deep breaths and go on walks.”

Despite himself, he found his body bouncing along to the beat, smile growing even as Trucy gave a joking “Heh, no” from her perch on the counter.

“I’m sending pictures of the most amazing trees.” (“No!”)

“I’ll be obsessed with all my forest expertise!” (“Absolutely not.”)

Slipping into character, he threw out an arm to point at Athena, her eyes lighting up.

“Dude, I'm proud of you. Just keep pushing through! You're turning around, I can see!”

“Just wait and see!” She sang in reply, quickly stepping up and unexpectedly pullin him into a spin before the two launched into a series of improvised steps.

“'Cause all that it takes is a little re-in-ven-tion!”

“It’s easy to change if you give it your att-en-tion!”

“All you gotta do is just believe you can be who you want to be.”

“Sincerely, Me!”

“My brother’s hot!” Athena chimed in and Apollo gave her a horrified look as Trucy burst into laughter.

“Well, I think Detective Fulbright would agree with you on that!” She called over and now it was Athena’s to look disgusted. Apollo quickly intervening with more lyrics before the full reality of her brother and his detective getting down and dirty could sink in.

“Dear Evan Hansen,”

“Thanks for every note you send.”

“Dear Connor Murphy,”

“I'm just glad to be your friend.” She sang back, shaking off the thoughts. He grabbed her hand and she grinned, the two anchored together as they danced about in a series of hip swings and quick footwork.

“Our friendship goes beyond our average kind of bond!”

Now completely dedicated to the performance, they hugged each other close, before suddenly seeming to realize their position and awkwardly scooting apart.

“But not because we’re gay!”

“No, not because we’re gay!”

“Ha, that’s a lie if I’ve ever heard one!” Trucy snorted and they rolled her eyes.

“We’re close but not that way.”

“That only man that I love is my dad.”

“Pfft, which one?!” Athena chimed in, seeming unable to contain the joke, and he gave her a scowl, shoving her away playfully.

“You're getting better every day.” He sang and she grinned, shoving him back.

“I’m getting better everyday!”

They turned with mischievous twin smirks to Trucy and swooped in, dragging her off the counter and into the dance as she laughed.

“Keep getting better! Every! Daaaaaaay!” They sang, the magician joining in with them at the end. With a whoop the trio jumped along to the music, legs kicking and arms swinging wide as they went along.

“Hey hey hey hey!”

“'Cause all that it takes is a little re-in-ven-tion!

“It’s easy to change if you give it your att-en-tion!

“All you gotta do is just believe you can be who you want to be!

“Sincerely,”

They clung close together, squishing Trucy between them as they cooed jokingly before releasing her with a laugh as they crescendoed.

“Miss you dearly~.”

“Sincerely, Me.”

“Sincerely, Me!”

“Sincerely, Meeeeeeeee!”

“Sincerely, Me!”

They struck a final pose, all breathing heavily and grinning like a bunch of idiots. The music rolled to a stop just in time for them to hear an odd hissing noise and the trio turned to see the nearby pot boiling over, all three giving a squeak and making a dash for it.

“Crap, crap, Ow! Fuck!” Apollo hissed, jerking a seared finger away to suck on as he wrapped a towel around the handle and dragged it off the heat.

“Language.”

They froze at the voice and turned to see Phoenix leaning against the door of the loading area, eyebrow cocked. He too was clad in a sweater, no doubt the first of Maya’s victims, and his was the most ridiculous they’d seen so far, an entire plushy deer head mounted on the front within a wreath.

“...Boss, how much of that did you see?” Athena

“Most of it...do I even want to know?” The attorney asked, giving the tiniest of laughs as they all glanced at each other hesitantly.

“...I’m gonna take that as a no. Well, carry on with your weird musical numbers. I was just passing through.”

“Says the man who I caught listening to Rent on repeat.” Trucy laughed quietly and her father threw a hand dramatically to his chest.

“We swore never to speak of that!”

She stuck her tongue out at him playfully and he grinned, continuing on his way.

“Just try not to burn the place down.”

Slipping out into the banquet room, he found the place in slight disarray, tables pushed at weird angles and the occasional wayward item lying about on the floor. A scattering of people were attempting to right the chaos, all bearing signs of Maya’s rampage. The woman herself was nowhere to be seen however so he emerged from his hiding spot and made a beeline for the silver haired figure redoing the linen on a nearby table.

“Seem you’ve run afoul ol Mrs. Christmas spirit too huh?” He asked, snickering as he leaned around to get a look at the garment she’d chosen for the prosecutor. It read “I like to smile! Smiling’s my favorite!” and was lined hem to collar with images of trees, elfs and candy canes. It was the definition of ironic and one look at the man’s unpleased expression had the spiky haired man in tears of laughter once again. The prosecutor sighed as his partner bend over the table in conniptions, waiting till his giggles calmed down before he spoke.

“Yes, yes, laugh it up. Is the food done at least? Any stragglers should be arriving soon.”

“Yeah, for the most part. Bit of a mix up with the goose though.”

“Ah, yes. Mrs. Fey has been taking quite a bit of pride of showing off her new pet.”

“Yeah, not much I can do about that. Ema is dealing with the rest of it though...she has been gone quite a while though...”

Feeling a tickle of worry up his spine, the spiky haired attorney fished out his phone and dialed her number, frown deepening when the call went straight to her voice mail.

“She’s not answering.” He muttered, brow furrowing and his frame tightened with nervous tension. What could be keeping her? Was there an accident? Was she alright?

Noticing the other man working himself into knots, the prosecutor reached out and rubbed a hand along his shoulder to calm him, voice soft and soothing when he spoke.

“Wright, just think about this logically. I’m sure her battery just died, or something of the like. Ms. Skye is a resourceful young woman. She’ll be fine.”

Phoenix took a deep breath and let it out, feeling the tension drain from him.

“Yeah...Yeah, I’m sure you’re right.”

“Oh, finally emerged from you hidey-hole eh Nick?

They actually flinched a tad at her voice, as though expecting even more sweatery-chaos to be rained down upon them, and turned to see the triumphant prankster striding toward them. The woman of the hour was decked out in her own form of holiday torture and the most gaudy of them all, covered in a visual cacophony of lights, garland and bells, jingling quietly as she walked.

“So, I take it your mission was a success?” Phoenix questioned and she grinned.

“Yep, and I couldn’t have done it without the help of my partner!” She replied and Kay popped out from behind her, grinning equally big and carrying the now empty sack.

“...Kay, how could you?” Edgeworth whispered in betrayal and she puffed out her chest in proud defiance, putting her own sweater on display. It showed the Caped Crusader himself checking over the naughty list, Maya having crossed out one of the names and written “Yatagarasu” in its place.

“The Legendary Thief never turns down a cry for help, no matter how minor!” She declared, grinning widely.

“Also, I promised her cake.” Maya whispered to Phoenix and the man snickered.

“Very honorable of you.” He joked, ruffling the young girls hair. After a moment his expression softened and he stooped down a tad to speak to her face to face.

“Kay, can I actually talk to you alone for a minute?”

This caught the girl off guard and she tilted her head, regarding him questioningly.

“Uh, ok. Fine with me.”

Giving a nod, he quickly herded her off into a corner, leaving Maya and Edgeworth to themselves.

“Do you have any idea what’s going on there?” the prosecutor asked her as the two began to quietly converse, the medium going a shrug and an “I dunno” sort of noise. After a few moments the little thief’s face lit up, looking ecstatically over at Edgeworth for a moment before turning back to the smiling man in front of her and continuing her excited whispers. The prosecutor cocked an eye brow curiously at the exchange. What the hell did that mean? Turning slightly, he caught sight of Maya in his peripheral. She two was grinning widely with pride, and his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“...You know something.” He muttered and her grin grew even wider as she rocked back and forth on her heels.

“Maaaaaybe.”

“I’m never going to get a straight answer out of any of you people, am I?”

“I’d bet my money on it.”

He gave a sigh as the two strolled back over, trying their best to even their expressions.

“Are you two done?” The prosecutor asked, cocking an eyebrow with a deadpan look and the two glanced at each other, almost breaking out into grins once more before stopping themselves.

“For the time being, yeah. Soooo...”

With that, the attorney flopped down into a nearby chair, Kay quickly following his lead.

“Now we just gotta wait for Ema to return and hope whoever you terrorized during your little sweater quest will eventually wander back.”

“Hey, I didn’t scare them that bad...probably.” The medium replied, dropping beside him. All Edgeworth added to the conversation was another sigh as he rubbed at the quickly growing headache in his temples.

Maya wasn’t exactly wrong as it turns out. Over the next half an hour or so, most of the party did indeed come trickling back into the room. Most were sporting tacky new apparel, while a select few had been lucky enough to avoid the woman’s war path long enough for her to run out. (And then there was Fulbright, who seemed to proudly be wearing two sweaters at once, the second Blackquill’s no doubt, by the way the samurai seemed to be keeping an eye on Maya and a hand on his sword hilt at all times.)

They were almost on their third bottle of sparkling juice when Wright phone buzzed on the table, the lawyer jumping a bit before snatching it up. He sighed in relief when he saw “Skye” flicker across the caller ID and quickly answered.

“Hey Ema! I was calling you earlier. Did you have to go to another shop or something? It’s been way longer than 10 minutes.” He jokingly chided her.

The deep laugh on the other end though, far too deep to ever come from Ema, made him freeze.

“Oh, now this is perfect.”

At the darkly amused lilt of their voice, Phoenix felt himself tense.

“W-Who is this? Why do you have Ema’s phone?”

“Ah, so her name is Ema. Pretty name for such a pesky girl.”

Phoenix bristled. He’d heard words far too similar to that during his cases and they made a cold ball of dread fall into his gut. As though on instinct he rose to his feet, the others looking over at him in confusion, his brow furrowed deep in concern and tone one of barely concealed anger when he spoke.

“Where is she? What did you do to her?

“Oh don’t worry. The little detective is fine...for now.”

A shudder went through him as his fears rang true. This was a ransom call.

“...What do you want?” He gritted out, trying his best to keep his voice even and calm.

“Ah, right to the point! I like that. What we want...is you Mr. Wright.”

“...What?” He whispered, and his look of cold shock brought Miles to his feet.

“Phoenix? What’s happening?” He asked, tone steady and concerned, but the attorney was too distracted with the voice on the other end to even register him.

“I will send you an address. Come there in the next hour, or the else.”

“What? But-”

“Bring that silver-haired fop with you as well.”

Phoenix’s blood ran cold, eyes going wide as he glanced over at Edgeworth.

“No, no, leave him out of this. Whatever this is about, he’s had no part in it.” He replied, voice shaking and fearful gaze spurning the other man closer in concern. The kidnapper’s dark chuckle sent a fresh shudder through him.

“Heh, you’d be surprised. The prosecutor comes.”

At that his fear turned to anger and he grit his teeth, phone creaking in his grip as he trembled and squeezed it.

“You bastard...”

“Oh, and if we get a single whiff of you bringing cops, the girl pays the price. You have an hour.”

“Wait-!”

The line went dead and a new wave of dread washed through him as the screen flashed with a text.

“Nick, what’s happening?” Maya beckoned him, tone panicked, and he looked up to see everyone having gathered around.

“Ema...Ema’s being held hostage.” He announced, voice shaking and a number of gasps rang out across the gathered crowd.

“What?! But why?!” Athena cried.

“I don’t know, but they want Miles and I. They said that if we come to them, they’ll release her.” He admitted and the groups faces pales.

“What?!” Gumshoe shouted, shoving to the front of the crowd and causing Phoenix to jump. He hadn’t even realized the detective had returned already, yet here he was, sweating and pale with the information.

“Pal, you can’t! I might not know a ton about ransoms, but I know a trap when I see one! And this is defiantly a trap!”

“I know that! But we can’t just leave Ema with them! If we don’t go to the address they gave me within the hour, they’re gonna...well they didn’t say what they’re gonna do, but it can’t be good!”

“Well then let’s go rescue her! Detective Gumshoe and I will call for back up and we’ll head over there right away!” Fulbright announced with a nod, reaching for his phone. Before he could dial though Phoenix grabbed him by the arm.

“No, wait! They said that if they see any cops, they’ll kill her!”

Miles gave a deep sigh beside him, settling a hand on Phoenix’s shoulder.

“Then, as much as we may hate it, we’ll have to play by their rules.”

Phoenix nodded and slipped his hand into the prosecutors, turning towards the door.

“Then, let’s go.”

Before he could even make it a step, Maya seized him by the sleeve and yanked him back.

“No! No way am I letting you go in there alone Nick! If you go, I go too.”

A chorus of voices agreed, Wright looking from face to face in concern.

“No, you guys, you can’t-”

“And why not?”

He turned to where Blackquill had drawn up beside his detective, gaze sharp and focused.

“According to you, there fiends only ever mentioned the exclusion of police, not other companions.”

“He’s not mistaken.” Edgeworth gently prodded him.

“I know you’re worried about Ema, but we must think about this strategically. We’ll have a much better chance against whatever these ruffians may be planning if we have the advantage of numbers.”

Phoenix stared at him for a moment, conflicted, before giving a long exhale.

“I hate it when you’re right.”

Shaking his head as though to clear it, he looked up with new determination in his gaze.

“Alright. Maya, Blackquill, Apollo and Klavier, you come with us. You too Athena, your hearing might be helpful. The rest of you, stay here with the detectives. If we’re not back soon, send in back up.”

“Daddy, wait! I can-!” Trucy began, stilling when Phoenix shot her a stern look.

“No, I don’t want you in danger if things go sour. Stay here and hold down the fort.”

“You as well Kay.” Edgeworth chimed in, mirroring his partners expression, and the girls glanced at each other in concern as the rescue team began to ready themselves.

Bringing up the trade-off coordinates on his phone, Phoenix jumped as a hand settled on his shoulder, turning to find Miles gazing at him with a gentle expression.

“Phoenix, calm down.”

The defense attorney blinked at him a few times, suddenly growing aware of the shudders still wracking his body. His head fell and he took a few deep breaths, staring down at the carpet as his face screwed up in worry.

“Miles...what if we can’t...?”

He trailed off as the prosecutor stroked a thumb back and forth against his neck, stepping closer to comfort the younger man.

“We’ll going to bring her home. I promise you that.”

“...God I hope you’re right.”

“So this is the place huh? Certainly seems sinister enough.” Apollo sneered, looking up at the building before them.

The directions had lead them out to the industrial area of town, the salty air of the nearby bay blowing in as they stood before their chose destination. It was a warehouse (because whenever was it not a warehouse in these situations?); a small one, admittedly, but still obscure and hidden away amongst all the larger buildings around. The prefect place to hide a person.

“I’ve got bad feeling about this.” Maya grimaced as she climbed out of the truck.

“Have you got any sort of plan Nick? You know, other than “Get Ema and try not to die”?”

“Umm...” The lawyer replied, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly and the woman sighed.

“Of course not.”

“In a situation like this, it would be best to stay together.” Blackquill offered and Wright nodded.

“It’s better than nothing. Now we need to-“

“Ah!”

The small cry and the thud of something hitting the road caused the group to turn, finding a familiar little magician now laying on the pavement, another small figure half leaned out of the now open trunk, frozen halfway through her attempt to stop her companions tumble. Both stowaways slowly looked up at the groups shocked faces, Trucy giving a nervous little giggle.

“Heh, hi Daddy.”

“T-Trucy! Kay! What are you doing here!?” Phoenix cried, snapping out of his stupor and rushing over to them. Kay helped her friend up and the two glanced sheepishly down at the road, biting their lips and looking at each before shrugging and facing back towards at their respective father figures.

“We...We couldn’t let you do this alone.” Trucy finally admitted, holding up a finger when Phoenix moved to speak.

“We know you two just want to try and keep us out of the crossfire, because you care. But if something does happen, we want to be here for it.”

The man stared at the two for a long moment before smiling softly.

“You two are such troublemakers. Edgeworth?”

He turned to the other man and the prosecutor gave deep sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“It’s not like we could stop them if we wanted anyway.”

The two girls gave little sounds of victory and Phoenix stood, gathering everyone up and turning once more toward the building. From what he could see, the only visible entrance seemed to be the front door. Straight into the lion’s den it was then.

“Alright, everybody stay together and keep aware of your surroundings. Let’s go.”

With that, he reached out and grabbed the doorknob.

It was unlocked and the room beyond was dim. It wasn’t a particularly large room, probably about 40 feet square, with rows of cabinets and benches cluttering the shadowed walls, a few flickering florescent bulbs casting a meager glow over its center. Across from them in the gloom, they could see a single door, both unassuming and yet also sinister. They’re footsteps seemed almost dulled by the darkness as they cleared the doorway and gingerly made their way inside.

“Athena, do you hear anything?” Phoenix breathed and the girl closed her eyes for a moment.

“Yeah, I...I think there’s something...”

Her head suddenly leaned to one side for a moment and her eyes snapped open, jerking around to look into the shadows.

“Oh, no.”

The door slammed shut behind them, cutting off what little moonlight from the street had been trickling in, and the group spun around, finding a large burly man glaring at them beside it. As they watched close to a dozen people emerged from their hiding spots in the shadows, each one easily described as a goon. As they closed in, the group huddled together, back to back as they looked frantically from man to man.

“Who are you?! Where’s Em-!?” Phoenix began, cut off by the loud creak of hinges opening.

“Alright, calm down boys. It’s not time for fun just yet.”

Turning to face the newcomer, Wright froze.

“Wha-?...Jack?”

The tall well-dressed man before them gave a chuckle as the door closed behind him, one of the baddies taking up guard in front of it as he strode toward them.

“No, I’m afraid not Mr. Wright. My brother and I do share quite the striking resemblance though don’t we?”

“Wait, you’re his...But the police...”

“They couldn’t find him.”

The growl came from between gritted teeth and they turned to find the silver haired prosecutors face stormy, eyes narrowed in fury.

“Following the trial, the police were deployed to retrieve one Gibson Collins, and yet were unable to locate him upon arrival at the brothers’ place of living. Detective Gumshoe informed me of such this morning.”

“That’s the fun thing about having no one think you’re a witness; No one thinks to keep tabs on you either.” The twin replied with a smile, his expression one of calm amusement.

“But...why would you do this?” Phoenix questioned him and the man’s smile grew a bit wider.

“Ah, that’s the question of the hour now isn’t it?”

With that he began to pace back and forth before them, the rest of his goons backing up a bit to give them some space.

“Well, you see, the bar has always been a good source of financing for we and our boys more, let’s say, ��underground’ pastimes.” He replied, waving a hand about dramatically, and Phoenix felt a shudder of dread go through him. If what he was imply was true, they’d just leapt into a far deeper pool than they’d intended.

“So, you can see why the fact that you not only shut down the place but also locked away my brother-!”

The last bit came out a snarl, the man’s whole frame tightening in anger before he caught himself and relaxed, the mask of calm amusement sliding back into place.

“...Might make us a bit upset.”

“Alright, I get it, you’ve got a grudge. What does that have to do with Ema?” Phoenix replied, and the man gave a shrug.

“To be honest, little. Some of the boys recognized her from the trial while they were out and brought her to me. When I first saw her, oh, I was mad alright, furious even. After all, she is the one who dug up that piece of evidence for you.”

He chuckled, unfolding his hands from behind his back to gesture grandly.

“But then we realized she could serve a much more useful purpose.”

“You could use her to lure Edgeworth and the boss here.” Athena pipped up and the man grinned.

“Ooo, quite the sharp mind, that one. A perfect bullseye.”

“But what do you get out of all of this? What do you intend to accomplish by bringing us here?” Miles replied, moving Athena behind him slightly as he stepped up beside his partner. The smirk the man sent them was enough to send shivers down all their spines as he spoke.

“Oh, it’s quite simple really. I only want to keep things fair. Because of you pair, two precious things were taken from me...”

For a moment, he was a blur of movement, then suddenly the dim light was glinting off the steel of his pistol, the barrel pointed directly at the two men.

“...so I’m going to take two from you. Your lives should do.”

“...You can’t be serious.” Apollo blurted out in shock, and the man’s charming façade spilled away, his face now deathly serious.

“Oh, I’m quite serious, I assure you.”

The grin made a return performance as he cocked back the hammer, but this time it looked like it belonged to the devil himself.

“Now, I advise you gentlemen say your prayers. Hope you haven’t got any unfinished bui-”

Before he could finish the sentence, there was a resounding crack from the door behind him. It bowed outwards for a moment, the metal of the hinges screeching before finally giving way. The whole thing went flying, taking out the man standing guard next to it before hitting the ground and skidding off into a corner. As the dust cleared they all turned to see a familiar figure standing in the empty doorway, leg still raised in position.

“Ok, who’s next!?...Oh, hey, you guys actually came!...What the hell are you wearing?”

“Now is really not the time Ema!” Phoenix shot back, flushing as he suddenly remembered their outrageous state of attire.

“Wha-?! How did you get out?! We had 4 guys guarding you!” One of the lackeys squawked and the detective grinned wolfishly.

“Yeah, well now there’s 4 guys in need of some basic first aid back there. So, which of you idiots wants to join the- Ah!”

The girl gave a little cry as she was grabbed from behind, an arm wrapping around her collarbone and pinning her back against Gibson’s chest. She struggled, reeling back a leg to try and kick at him, but froze when the cold barrel of his gun pressed against her temple.

“Anyone take a single step and little miss detective here gets it!” He growled and the whole room stilled, all eyes on him. He smirked and slowly scrolled his gaze of them, eyes hopping from on frightened face to the other.

“Now then, here’s how things are going to go. Wright and the fop are going to take a little ride with me and the boys, we give the rest of you the girl, and then you never see our faces again. Doesn’t that sound nice? Now then, if you’ll just come along quietly we can get this over-“

The thug paused, eyes narrowing in confusion as he scanned once again over the group, silently mouthing numbers as he counted them.

“Wait, where’s the little witch ki-?”

He let out a startled cry as Trucy dropped onto his back from her hiding place in the rafters, grabbing at his arm and twisting the gun out of his hand.

“Ema, run! And I’m a magician damn it!” She shouted, and the other girl slipped from his grip, the captor’s face screwing up in rage as she escaped.

“Get off of me you little brat!” He growled, reaching back with his free arm and grabbing Trucy by the scruff of her neck. He hefted and she flew forward over him, slamming to the ground on her back with a choked noise of pain, all the air knocked out of her. The man ignored her, looking from side of side in a bid to spot his former prisoner.

“Damn it, where did she-?!”

A crack resounded through the air as he turned just in time to see the flash of blue before him and meet the fist coming towards his face. He toppled with a cry, clutching his likely broken nose.

“Gah! Who-!”

He looked up to see Phoenix towering over him, the man’s face wild and eyes filled with a near demonic light, his voice a rage-filled growl when he spoke.

“Don’t you dare touch my daughter.”

With that, the place descended into chaos.

Gibson dove for his gun, but like a bolt of lightning Kay was across the room, kicking it out of his reach. In a glimmer of sparks it skittered away across the floor and disappeared beneath a set of heavy cabinets. He snarled and she leapt clear of his grasp before he could get a hold on her, getting in a solid blow at his fingers with the steel toe of her boot for good measure. Edgeworth used the distraction to hoist Trucy off the floor and out of harm’s way, slipping behind Phoenix as the attorney squared off against one of the other baddies. As though on cue, more of the kidnapper’s underlings burst through the now doorless doorway, bruises and scrapes gained during Ema’s escape already beginning to show.

“Gib, we tried to grab her but- whoa, what’s happenin?!”

“Ugh, don’t just stand there you idiots! Get them!” The twin yelled and they leapt into action, joining their companions and closing in on the group.

“Wright-dono, there isn’t enough room to defend ourselves in here. We will be overrun if we don’t move now.” Blackquill muttered to him as they were herded together and he gave a nod of agreement. Fumbling behind him, he finally found the handle of the door and quietly clicked it open. He glanced around at his companions, the others quickly seeming to catch on and nodding their agreement. In a flash of speed he threw the door open and took a swing at the nearest enemy, the others following suit, before spinning on his heel, distraction in place.

‘Everybody outside!!”

They flooded through the open doorway and out into the crisp coldness of the street, the enemy faltering for just a moment under their attacks before giving chase. Maya brought up the rear, giving a choked gasp of surprise as she was seized by the back of the shirt and pulled backwards, an obnoxiously tall lackey lifting her off the ground. Her eyes narrowed and with a quiet growl she spun around, the fabric of her sweater twisting in his grip, and drove her geta into his stomach. His eyes bulged and his knees buckled, dropping to the ground and doubling over as he tried desperately not to be ill. His grip didn’t fully release however, so she simply let herself go limp, slithering out of the garment and darting away to safety.

“See, aren’t you glad I bought these damn things now!?” She shouted over to Phoenix and he rolled his eyes, reaching behind his neck and yanking his own off over his head.

“Yeah, real glad! Now just keep fighting!”

With that he balled up the garment and reeled back his arm, launching the weighty bundle at a goon who’s gotten the upper hand on Klavier, dragging the singer back towards him by the hair. The flying plushy deer head took the baddie by surprise and he reeled as he was struck in the face with the projectile, releasing the prosecutor as he stumbled back and fell. The young man shouted a bit of thankful German to Wright before delivering a firm kick to the fallen man’s head, knocking him out cold.

Looking around, Phoenix took stock of the situation. Despite the circumstances, the rag-tag team of rescuers were actually holding their own pretty damn well. Trucy had produced one of her stage swords from somewhere and teamed up with Blackquill, the two easily holding off several men at once with a series of sharp jabs and flourishes. On the other end of things, Kay and Apollo were taking a more physical approach, the girl using her speed to trip their enemies up, leaving them for Apollo to take out with all those skills he’d learned from his years in the mountains. As for Athena , she was...well, being Athena, and as he watched she grabbed a man twice her size and tossed him a good 10 feet down the street, the other baddies backing away from her as she turned in search of new targets. Even Taka was doing his part, circling and dive-bombing anyone who got too close to Ema while the girl took cover behind the truck. As he himself took down another person, Wright felt himself grin. They might just win this.

His internal celebration was cut off however by a sharp crack and he flinched as something ricochet off the light pole beside him. Turning to its origin, he found a battered Gibson nearby. He’d been partially successful in swiping away the blood dripping down his face, though it did little to hide the fact that his nose was most defiantly broken, and it only seemed to intensify the rage on his face as he pointed the pistol once more at Phoenix.

“I don’t care what else happens, you’re still going to die tonight!”

His roar sent a wave of dread through the spiky haired man, eyes flickering from place to place in search of escape as the madman took aim.

“Gibson, please. You don’t have to do thi-” The attorney began, only for his blood to run cold as the hammer clicked back once more.

“Say goodbye Mr. Lawye-”

He gagged on the last word as an elbow abruptly wrapped around his neck from behind, choking him out. Quick as the first, another arm came around and seized the hand wielding the gun, twisting it to a painful angle and forcing him to drop the weapon. He gave a hoarse cough as his throat was released, hacking and heaving as he tried to get his windpipe working once more.

“Wha-?”

The word hadn’t even left his lips before the seized arm was being twisted tight behind his back, the attackers elbow planting itself between his shoulder blades. A sharp kick to his knees and he went down like a sack of bricks, head striking the street with a crack and body stilling.

“I think not.” Edgeworth replied, rising to his feet and brushing the dirt from his sweater. He turned in Phoenix’s direction with a concerned expression, starting towards the man.

“Wright, did he-?”

He paused when he properly saw the defense attorney. If the spiky haired lawyer had looked lovestruck around him before, that his expression now was on a whole new level. His cheeks were flushed and mouth hanging slightly agape, eyes wide with awe. He even had a hand pressed over his heart and despite the dire situation Edgeworth couldn’t help but let out a little laugh.

As though the spell had been broken, the remaining minion cried out to their leader, some rushing over to check on him while others continued their own battles. Shaking his head at the chaos, the prosecutor nodded towards the brawl and looked over at his partner.

“Shall we?”

Phoenix’s face broke into a wide smirk and he pushed up his sleeves as they started once more into the fray.

“Gladly.”

They’d just reached the action and were reeling back to join in on the fun when...

“EVERYBODY FREEZE!”

The whole battle did just that, everyone turning like deer in the headlights to look at the actual headlights now illuminating the area. As they watched the cop stepped out from behind the squad car door amongst the flashing lights they’d somehow failed to notice earlier, lowering his firearm slightly as several more squad cars pulled up as well.

For lack of a better idea, Phoenix smiled and did what he did best.

“Ah, hello officer. It’s a long story...”

“This is not how I imagined I’d be spending Christmas Eve.”

Phoenix sent Maya a deadpan look, everything about his expression and body language just seeming to scream “really?”.

“Yes Maya, I’m sure none of us expected to be spending Christmas Eve in a jail cell.”

The girl gave a shrug the best she could considering she was currently laying upside-down on one of the benches, her legs propped up flat against the wall to form a sort of ‘L’. Across the cell from her, Blackquill gave a snort.

“Speak for yourself Wright-dono.” He rumbled with a wry grin and the attorney winced slightly at the dark humor.

When the police had arrived earlier, they’d though it a blessing, backup sent by the others. That assumption quickly died however when it was announced that they were all charged with disorderly conduct and the conflicting groups were arrested. As it turns out, a spectator had overheard the conflict from their apartment and called the cops, who arrived to the fight having spilled out into the street. He and the others had tried their best to explain the situation, Edgeworth even going as far as pulling his rank as Chief Prosecutor, but twas not to be. The officers remained just as confused about the whole thing as before and they were all promptly wheeled off to the local precinct.

They had been stuck in one of the holding areas a few hours prior, to “simmer down” they’d been told, and then more or less left to their own devices. His own group was split between two different cells, the two sharing a center wall and for the most part had submitted to their fate. (Gibson and his boys had been shoved into a different area entirely, presumably to prevent the two factions from squabbling, and Phoenix thanked the lord for small mercies.) Miles, Trucy, Kay and himself shared one, while the others were scattered around the other, some sitting or lying across the few wide wooden benches available, while others simply sat slumped against whichever available surface. The open iron bars surrounding them at least allowed for easy communication and sight of their surroundings, even if the fact that most of the lights had been switched off for the night limited the latter. The only one of them who hadn’t been locked up was Ema, who’d been taken in for questioning when she mentioned being kidnapped. That had been hours ago however, so who knew what was happening here.

“Ugh, Dhurke is gonna have a field day if he ever finds out about this.” Apollo muttered to himself, Athena chuckling and nudging him with her foot.

“Is that a challenge I hear?”

“Athena, I swear to god I will kill you myself.”

Kalvier gave a little laugh and continued stroking a hand over the younger man’s hair, the defense attorney giving a grumpy grumble and leaning over more heavily against the others thigh.

“What about you Maya? Was this enough of a winter adventure for ya?” Kay called over and the woman tapped a finger against her lips thoughtfully.

“Hmm...could have used more Steel Samurai.”

The chorus of laughter that rang through the room was soon interrupted by the creak of the nearby door opening and they turned to find two familiar faces entering, looking surprisingly chipper despite the circumstances.

“Hello! How’s everybody holding up in here?” Fulbright asked, as white and gleaming as usual in the dim light of the holding area.

“About as well as someone in holding can be.” Phoenix replied from his position leaned back against the shared bars, arms folded behind his head.

“Good to hear! Just let us know if there’s anything we can get you folks! I’d hate for you to be any more uncomfortable than necessary while you’re stuck here.” The detective cheerfully declared, eyes sweeping over the accidental prisoners. His gaze softened as he looked over at Blackquill, the samurai leaned back in one of the corners with Taka in his lap, and moved over to crouch beside him.

“Simon, are you doing alright?” He gently asked, reaching through the bars to touch his cheek, and the prosecutor sighed in mild exasperation.

“I spent 10 years behind bars, Foolbright. I believe I can handle one night.” He replied, his voice one of mock annoyance even as he leaned his head into the touch.

“I know, I know.” The detective admitted with a sigh, stroking a thumb over the man’s cheekbone.

“I just hate seeing you in here. I’m sure Wyn does too. Heh, she said she was gonna stay up all night and wait till we get home when I called to let her know earlier.”

This brought a tiny smirk to the prosecutor lips, the man giving a little huff of laughter.

“As though she doesn’t do that regularly anyway.”

“How’s about you Mr. Edgeworth?” Gumshoe asked, brow furrowing in concern.

“You doin ok?”

“I shall be fine Detective. Do you have any updates on our release?”

“Sorry pal, nada. This whole this is just a big mess, and the rest of the guys are still tryin to put together all the pieces.”

The silver haired man sighed and nodded in understanding. This section of the city was technically under the jurisdiction of the precinct they were currently trapped in, a separate one from that of their friends, creating a new legal hurtle to leap in order to sort this whole mess out. They’d been lucky the two detectives had even been allowed to help in the attempt, considering how convoluted the rules of this sort of thing tended to get.

“Well, please just inform us promptly if there’s any changes.”

“Course Mr. Edgeworth sir. Sooner we can get you guys out of here, the sooner ya can get home and celebrate the holidays.”

The door clicked open once more, an unfamiliar young man leaning out and calling for the trench-coated man.

“Ok, be there in a sec! Well, duty calls!” Gumshoe chimed, giving them all a little salute before marching off after the stranger.

It was quiet for a few minutes, the only sounds punctuating the darkness being the occasional noise from Taka and Fulbright soft whistling as he kept an eye on them. At first it was peaceful, but soon the awkward air about the scene began to get to them, Athena finally giving a loud sigh and breaking the silence.

“Well, hey, if there’s one good thing that’s come out of this whole thing, at least we can claim the title of “Most Adventurous Lawyers”, right Boss?...Boss?” she joked, cocking an eybrow when he failed to reply, seemingly lost in thought.

“...Hey, Fulbright? What time is it?” the blue clothed man suddenly asked and the detective gave a hum, fishing out his phone.

“Let’s see...says here that it’s 11:55. Almost Christmas everybody!”

The defense attorney stared up at the ceiling thoughtfully for a moment before sighing, unfolding the arms tucked behind his head and sitting up.

“Well, now’s as good a time as any, I suppose.”

Shifting up into a knelling position, he reached over and took Miles’ hand. The prosecutor made a little noise of surprise and the others turned towards them, watching as Phoenix gently held it between his own.

“Edgeworth, I’ve been meaning to say this for a long time but...thank you.”

The other man’s head tilted curiously, one side of his mouth quirking up in confused amusement.

“Thank you? For what?”

“For everything.” He replied, expression going soft.

“Without you, I‘d never have become a lawyer. I wouldn’t never have met Mia, or any of the others. I’d never have been able to save anyone. Without you, I’d never be where I am today. Who I am today. I’ve never been more thankful for anything than I am for the fact that you’re here with me...You’re everything to me.”

For a moment his face fell a bit and he released the man’s hand with a sigh, looking down at the ground with sad eyes.

“And to be honest...I’m really not sure I deserve you. That I’ll ever deserve you.”

With a half-huffed laugh, the prosecutor reached down and stroked the other lawyers hair, running his fingers through the silky strands and moving down to cup his cheek. He tilted the man’s face up to look at him, smiling softly.

“Don’t be daft Wright. You know that’s not true.”

The defense attorney gave a chuckle, gaze warm and loving as he looked up, leaning into the touch and nuzzling the man’s wrist.

“I had the feeling you’d say that.” He muttered, hand drifting down to his hip.

With that, he tugged out the item he’d been lugging around in his pocket all night, staring at it thoughtfully as he turned it over and over in his hands. The bench clattered back against the wall as Miles suddenly stood, wide eyes fixed on the small object. Something in his gaze told Phoenix the puzzle pieces were coming together and the spiky haired man took a deep breath to quiet the minuscule shaking that jittering over his frame. In, out, in out. Come on Phoenix, it’s just like being in court. No backing down now.

“So, I guess what I’m trying to ask is...”

He held his breath and flipped the little velvet box open, Miles sucking in a breath of his own as the dim light illuminated the object within.

Two hoops of gold encircled a tangle of silver filigree, polished and gleaming even in the dimness. Imbedded in the very top was a deep magenta stone, flanked on either side by smaller silvery-purple ones, each almost seeming to glow.

He waited for just a moment, hearing the various gasps echo through the holding area, before looking up at the shocked face above him, smiling gently as he gazed at the man.

“Miles Edgeworth, will you marry me?”

For a one terrible, suspenseful moment, the man simply stood and stared at him, gaze wide with shock and disbelief. Then the tiniest of smiles snuck onto his face, a quiet, relieved laugh bubbling up in his throat as bright grey eyes gleamed wetly. The next moment his knees hit the ground, Phoenix having just enough time to draw a breath before a hand again slid into his hair and their lips were slammed together.

He could barely hear the cheers around him through the pure relief buzzing through his head, grinning wide as he wrapped his arms around the prosecutor and pulled him tight against his chest. They knelt there for a long few seconds, each soaking up the presence of the other, every care in the world getting thrown out the window. Then the silver haired man gently pulled away, head dropping down to rest against the youngers chest with a teary chuckle, smile wide and brilliant.

“Of course I will, you fool.”

Planting a kiss on his crown, Phoenix reached down and took the prosecutor’s hand, stroking a thumb along the top as he wrestled the ring out of the box with the other hand, nearly dropping it a few times before he finally manage to slid it into its rightful place.

“For once, I must commend your sense of style. You picked well.” Miles chuckled, twisting his hand this way and that so the sparse light glittered off of it.

“Ha, you’d think.” Maya laughed.

“Poor Nick could barely figure out the difference between an amethyst and an emerald. Took us forever to get everything picked out. Why do you guys think we were missing for so long during that shopping trip?”

“...So much suddenly makes sense.” Athena whispered, staring up at the ceiling, eyes wide with dawning realization.

Rolling his eyes, Phoenix took his partner’s, his fiancée’s, face in his hands and swiped away the tears still rolling down his cheeks, pressing their foreheads together with a soft smile. Before he could get any further though, a shadow washed over them. Looking up, they found Kay hanging over them, having climbed the cell bars, arm outstretched and holding a sprig with white berries.

“W-Where did you even get that?” Phoenix asked, cocking his head in confusion, and Blackquill quietly chuckled, stroking a very smug looking Taka. Mile merely shook his head, lifting an eyebrow with a mildly amused look.

“So, you’ve been plotting against me as well, hmm?” He asked and the girl grinned impishly.

“Maaaaaybe~”

With a giggle, she leaned down beside him, loose hair draping around them as she whispered in his ear.

“By the way, he already asked for my blessing. Go be happy Miles.”

She planted a peck on his cheek before quickly leaning back and he stared after her, gaze softening.

“Kay...”

Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by the distant toiling of the bell tower in the distance. There was a flicker of light in the dimness as a phone was clicked on.

“Midnight, right on the dot. You know what that means.” Fulbright announced, wide grin illuminated by his screen.

“C’mon lovebirds, don’t keep us waiting.” The little thief chimed in, shaking the mistletoe cheekily. The two couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled up in their throats as the younger reeled the other back in. Their noses brushed together as he leaned in, letting out a murmur against the man’s lips.

“Merry Christmas Miles.”

“Heh...Merry Christmas Phoenix, you lovable fool.”

Sweater references-

Maya: https://mom.me/lifestyle/15860-best-ugly-christmas-sweaters-ever/item/man-ugly-christmas-sweater/

Phoenix: https://www.halloweencostumes.com/reindeer-head-ugly-christmas-sweater.html

Apollo: https://www.target.com/p/women-s-bah-humpug-long-sleeve-ugly-christmas-sweater-well-worn-juniors-black/-/A-52481902

Athena: https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Sweater-Alone-Filthy-Animal/dp/B00AEVVQZS

Trucy: https://images.prod.meredith.com/product/ea7622bf8e9baeaeeee04071730dc38a/1510243387130/l/new-directions-cloverfield-6051-green-red-meowy-christmas-sweater

Miles: https://www.amazon.com/Festified-Smilings-Favorite-Christmas-Sweater/dp/B01EIG2OSC

Kay: https://www.80stees.com/products/naughty-list-batman-faux-ugly-christmas-sweater

Klavier: https://www.myuglychristmassweater.com/products/reindeer-vintage-80s-light-up-christmas-sweater-g513

Blackquill: https://www.belk.com/p/new-directions-penguin-with-glasses-sweater/0438593253761.html?CAWELAID=500001660011494316&c3ch=CSE&c3nid=Meredith&cm_mmc=CSE-_-Meredith-_-Women%20%3E%20Petite%20Clothing%20%3E%20Sweaters-_-0438593253761&irgwc=1

Fulbright: https://www.halloweencostumes.com/christmas-present-ugly-christmas-sweater.html

Pearl: https://www.popsugar.com/moms/photo-gallery/42696794/image/42696828/Light-Up-Reindeer-Sweater

Name puns!-

Festos Teatrale: References the descriptive title ‘festas teatrale’ (theatrical festivity) which is used for dramatic and musical works, often those of a celebratory nature.

Jack Collins: A combined reference to the Jack Rose and Brandy Coillins cocktails.

Gibson Collins: Refers to the Gibson cocktail and same as above.

Terrwyn/Wyn (Terrwyn Encontrar): A pun on the term ‘harrowing encounter’ cause of backstory stuff.

Aria's song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2Kh_XMIDPU

Festos's song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsiWOp-ImoE&t=135s

And the song that the kitchen trio sung was ‘Sincerely, Me” from ‘Dear Evan Hanson’, which is an amazing musical and you should all listen to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOYAA13Bm9M

#aass2017 #ace attorney #wrightworth #klapollo #blackbright #There's no way in hell I'm tagging all these characters #My writing #secret santa

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