"B-but how can that be?" asked the Judge.
"Miss Hawthorne had a sister, a twin to be exact. That twin is Sister Iris." said Wright.
"But I had thought that miss Hawthorne had been executed in January of this year..." said the Judge.
"So?" asked Godot defiantly. "Death has no meaning in this courtroom!"
The courtroom blew up all over again. "Order! Order!" yelled the judge. "I will have order!"
"H-hold on a second-...H-how can you...My sister- I already lost her-...How can you-" stammered 'Iris'.
"You of all people should know...after all, you are Morgan Fey's daughter." said Wright.
Phoenix explained to the court how Dahlia has been channeled and is currently inhabiting the body of a spirit medium. Wright told the court about Morgan's plan to have Pearl channel Hawthorne, saying that this explained how Iris could have been seen at two different places at the same time. Godot said that the Iris at the witness stand was the real Iris, as she had been kept under watch since her arrest, but Wright said there was a small pocket of time when she could have switched places. The previous day an earthquake had struck and Edgeworth had been incapacitated for a short period of time, giving Iris an opportunity to escape.
"That's enough Mr. Wright. No judge in their right mind would consider the idea of spirit channeling and-" a maniacal chuckle interrupted the judge from his rambling.
"Oh be quiet...It's been a while, Mr. Judge." said Dahlia.
"Th-that voice!" exclaimed the judge.
"It's been a long while...Dolly." said Phoenix in a somber tone.
"Feenie..." she scowled.
"Guess I'll have to ask again." said Godot. "...Upon meeting a beautiful lady, always ask for her name and profession."
Dahlia brushed a hair strand nonchalantly. "Dahlia Arsenia Hawthorne. As for my profession...permanently retired."
"Dahlia Hawthorne, huh?" said Godot. "So...It would seem you're done trying to hide your identity."
"Yeah well~" said Dahlia cheerly. "I'm dead. So what's the point. It barely matters. I was executed, so it's not like I can be punished any harder right? Tell me Feenie~ Did you enjoy watching my execution? Seeing my dead body with a head that didn't quite sit properly on its neck get lowered from the noose? I know you were there with that annoying brat Maya Fey. You were staring me dead in the eye the whole time. Did you like it?"
"Objection!" yelled a slightly shaken Phoenix. "That is...irrelevant to the case."
"How can this be possible?!" asked the judge.
"These instructions detail Morgan Fey's plan that night. Tell me, did you have prior knowledge of this?" said Phoenix.
Dahlia had the audacity to look smug about it. "I did. Although I can't take all the credit for such a nutcase plan. Even though I was on death row at the time, I was still allowed to visit with my mother every now and then. She told me of her plot during one of those visits."
"And what was she planning exactly?" asked the judge.
"She wanted to murder Maya Fey." answered Dahlia. "The idea was that I would kill her, and then Iris would be the one to hanged for it. Things didn't go exactly as we wanted, but it all worked out."
Wright slammed his hands on the defense bench. "You're wrong! Maya is trapped inside the Sacred Cavern, but she's alive!"
"Still such an idiotic optimist." Dahlia smiling serenely. "Oh Feenie~"
Phoenix merely glared at her.
"Let me share a little something with you~ When I met you that day, it was hate at first sight. But after I got to know you and saw the naive faith you have in others I grew to despise you."
Wright's glare hardened. "Why would you kill Maya."
Dahlia smirked. "Hmph. Making her youngest daughter the master is practically all my mother thinks about. But to do that she needed to eliminate the heir to the main family. It's quite simple."
"What's all this master business all about anyway?" asked the judge and slightly dispersing the ever growing tension between Dahlia and Phoenix.
"It's about who would head the small but influential Kurain School of Channeling." explained Godot. "Both Morgan Fey and Dahlia Hawthorne are members of the so called branch family. Where as Maya Fey is the successor to the main family."
"If the main family were to die out then the next successor were to come from the branch family." explained Dahlia with a crazed look. "That's actually the only reason she raised that snivelling little brat Pearl Fey who luckly has strong spiritual powers."
Phoenix saw Pearl gasp from where she was sitting in the gallery, absolutely shocked and heartbroken at the discovery. Wright tried to send her reassuring look before addressing Dahlia again. "Enough! Whether that's true or not, Pearl would never go along with it! She loves and looks up to Maya too much."
"Do you actually believe we cared if she agreed with us? She just had to do what her mommy asked her, be the sweet little obedient prodigy and channel me."
"And after you took over her body, you would be handling the rest." said Godot. "Is that right?"
"Nail on the head." said Dahlia. "I mean, the whole plan was an absolute trainwreck if you asked me."
"Then why did you go along with it?" asked Wright.
"What do you think mr. lawyer? Because I thought it would serve my interests. I had my own agenda to consider y'know?" and then she brushed a hair strand nonchalantly.
"And that is?" asked Godot.
"Pure revenge."
"Powerful force huh...." said Godot.
"Everyday the thought burned inside my brain...That I was sent to die...because of that damned woman."
"Mia Fey." said Wright.
Dahlia's face darkened, head bowed and she softly started punching the witness stand in anger. "I wanted her to face the same humiliation that she put me through, I wanted to make her feel the same kind of pain that I felt every single day of my life." suddenly she lifted her head, face devoid of any emotion. "I was absolutely livid when I found out she died before me. But still...a person's soul will live on into eternity. So in order to harm her soul I would take the life of the one she loved most with my own two hands. And then, I would finally have my revenge!"
The grin that was planted on her face was made of pure malicious glee. "On that night, I crossed the void back into this world, somewhere around 9:30. I quickly pinned up my hair and put on a nun outfit. Then I took the staff sitting next to me and left Hazakura Temple. That moron of a head nun at the temple never suspected that I wasn't Iris. She went back to the main temple which meant I would be all alone with Maya. I was able to corner her in front of the stone lantern. Took out the dagger I found in the storage room and went after her with a smile on my face."
"Wait!" exclaimed a disbelieving Wright. "Does that mean- You stabbed Maya."
"It's weird...Things got foggy and I don't exactly remember what happened next. But I think, maybe I somehow got stabbed instead."
"By who!? Who would stab you?!" exclaimed Wright.
"It was Maya you imbecile. Who else could have done it?" Dahlia then spread her arms in a theatral movement, like this was a show and she was the main antagonist. "She killed me!"
Wright slammed his hands on the defense bench. "That's a lie! Maya would never-"
Dahlia ignored him and simply continued her testimony. "I started to blackout, so I wrote her name on the lantern in blood. I hoped that would draw suspicion to her at the very least. I don't know how long I was unconscious...but when I woke up, I realized I was inside the Sacred Cavern."
"Is that so? But how did you end up there?" asked the judge.
"No clue, grandpa. Your guess is as good as mine...But I did know I wanted the satisfaction of seeing Maya's dead body. However...I couldn't get out. There was a stupid lock blocking my way. It took me hours to get that damned thing opened. It wasn't easy since this annoying porcupine and another brat were trying to open the lock themselves....and almost at the exact moment I stepped out, the earthquake hit. But I was in luck~ because there she was... Iris showed up and to make it even sweeter, she was all alone. I got her to tell me everything that was going on... and then I locked her up in the Sacred Cavern. Shortly after...I put the pieces together."
"What do you mean by that?" asked Phoenix.
"I misunderstood one crucial thing." she lifted one finger and put it vertically between her eyes. "I was under the impression that Pearl Fey had been the one to summon me the night before, but that's not how it went. The person who had actually called my spirit from the other side was-"
"It was Misty Fey." said Phoenix.
"Yeah!" Dahlia clapped her hands exictedly. "So then I realized something... After I had lost consciousness, it was her body left lying in front of the lanter. Even though I wasn't able to kill Maya, I was successful into forcing her to commit one of the most disgusting and vile crimes known. YES! I made her kill her very own mother! And unable to bare the guilt of her sins, Maya Fey took her own pitiful life!"
"You're wrong!" yelled Phoenix. "Maya would never do that!"
"Well Feenie~ If you don't believe me, why don't tell me where she is?"
"I already told you, the Sacred Cavern."
"Wrong. The bottom of Eagle river. After killing her innocent mother, the poor thing threw herself in the river in a fit of despair. And most bodies that end up there, never come out."
"No! She's just been trapped in the cave!"
Suddenly a phone rang across the courtroom. Godot picked up his phone and then announced the most terrible news for Phoenix. "I just received a call from Prosecutor von Karma and Kay Faraday. They had just managed to remove the locks. Unfortunately...the only person they found inside the cave was Sister Iris."
Dahlia laughed at the heartbroken look on Wright's face. "Ahaha, I told you dolt. She's dead at the bottom of the river. If you wanna find her so badly maybe you should take a swan dive after her. Maybe you'll get lucky and find her remains~ "
Phoenix bent over the defense bench and let out a cry of pure anguish.
...
Gregory put a hand to his mouth in shock. He could barely believe what was happening. This was the Terry Fawles case all over again. How many lives did this woman had to ruin before she was satisfied?
Poor Phoenix looked close to crying. He looked over at his son. Miles had his back straight, staring directly at Hawthorne with an eerie sense of calmness. However if you truly knew Miles you could pick up the small signs of stress. The white knuckled grip he had on his arm, the slight twitch of eye and the way he softly tapped his foot, all were signs of concerns for his lover.
He was about to comfort him when he felt Pearl shift in the chair next to his. He turned around to face her only to come face to face with the channeled body of Mia Fey.
"M-miss Fey?" asked a bewildered Gregory. The woman smiled at him kindly before getting and walking towards the door. "Ah! Wait, miss Fey! Before you go, please take this." And he handed the young woman his light brown trench coat.
She smiled kindly at the offered coat and took it with her.
...
Phoenix couldn't keep the grin off of his face when he heard the chief's voice. He looked towards the door and what he saw made him freeze in amazement. There was Mia Fey, channeled by Pearls, wearing Gregory Edgeworth's light brown trench coat. It was like he was looking at a fusion between two out of the three that inspired his lawyer career. Oh, sure Miles and Mia played the biggest roles, but he would be lying if he said Gregory wasn't also a big influence. He always admired the veteran defense attorney and to see Mia, another, if not the most, important person in his career, wear that coat? It was inspiring in more ways than one.
"Mia!" exclaimed Phoenix. The channeled woman smiled at him in response, before giving Hawthorne an icy glare. Mia walked past the witness stand coldly before joining Phoenix at the defense bench. She gave her prodigy a ressurring squeeze on his shoulder before Dahlia spoke again.
"How dare you show your face..." said Dahlia angrily.
"It's been a while~" said Mia teasingly. "Seems like you missed me~"
"So it was you all along, huh?" said Godot like he couldn't believe his eyes.
"It was..." answered Mia, warmly and softly.
"Pfh, you really are something else." smirked Godot.
"But why?!" demanded an enraged Dahlia as she gripped the witness stand. "Why are you here?!"
Mia regarded Dahlia with a cold look. "That night, you backed Maya into a corner outside the Inner Temple. But right before you could kill her, you blacked out, didn't you?"
"YEAH!" exclaimed a livid Dahlia. "That's because that little twat stabbed me, Maya stabbed me!"
"But she lost consciousness at the exact same time." said Phoenix. "Which means it had to have been someone else, a third party. That's who stabbed you."
"A while later, when Maya woke up, she found herself in the training hall." explained Mia. "She wrote a note depicting what was happening and channeled me, asking for help. Unfortunately I didn't have all of the details at the time, but I knew one thing. The fact that you could not be allowed to wander around freely, least of all you find Maya again and actually succeed this time. I wrote down a series of instructions that she had to do. I told her to put on whatever she remembered you were wearing when you came after her, lock herself in the Sacred Cavern and proceed to channel you. To wait there until help arrived."
"So it was that brat that put on the cursed lock?" said Dahlia.
Mia ignored her and continued on. "She had to do it quickly or Dahlia definitely would have been channeled by Pearl. And if that happened-"
"The Wicked Witch of the West would have been able to finally take her revenge." said Godot.
"There's no way..." said Dahlia quietly. "How could I have been-"
"Been such a failure? Because that's all your plan amounted to in the end..." said Phoenix.
"Yes, another to add to the pile I'd say. Typical." said Mia.
"Another?! How dare you?!"
"Tell me Dahlia, have you ever been successful in pulling one of your schemes?" asked Phoenix. "Eleven years ago... The fake kidnapping... Your very first crime. You got your hands on a 2 million dollar diamond. But... after Terry Fawles escaped and went to meet with Valerie Hawthorne... the truth was exposed."
"Shut up! You don't know anyth-"
"And then, you tried to kill me. But instead you ended up killing Doug Swallow! And what did you get from that Dolly? Nothing. Nothing but shame and a death sentence. Admit it, you're nothing but a failure. I don't even know how I could have loved someone like you. Your track record is so bad it's not even funny-"
"SHUT UP YOU RAT!"
"And now this...you messed up once again, because you couldn't fool me." said Mia.
Dahlia finally lost it and let out an enraged scream. "Curse you Mia Fey! I despise you! Why did you have to get in my way again!"
"Oh please...It's not all my fault." said Mia. "The fact is, you will never beat me! Neither in life, or death. Seems like for the rest of time you shall remain known as Dahlia Arsenia Hawthorne, a weak, insecure, pathetic, little creature. That seems like a fitting punishment for a petty, perpetual loser that is not good at anything. And on the day of your execution, your narrow bridge to freedom burned from under you like Dusky Bridge did a few days ago. Letting you fall in the metaphoric river of despair."
"No! You're wrong- It can't be- How could I lose to the likes of you-"
"It no longer matters. The only thing that matters is you getting out of Maya's body, right now!" said Phoenix.
Dahlia let out an unholy screech as she clutched her head in pain. "N-nOt YeT-...nO!...I'm NoT-...rEaDy...To...G-gO!" She screeched more as she clutched her head in pain. A white figure with red hair got lifted into the air and let out a scream before a wave of blue fire suddenly engulfs her and sends her back to the Twilight Realm.
"Nick...and sis?" said Maya before fainting. Mia and Phoenix rush to her side as Godot called for recess. Mia shot him a grateful look over her shoulder before following Phoenix and the bailiffs to one of the lobbies where they were going to check on Maya.