Of Nightmares and Good Friends
Don’t mind the godawful title. Here’s a short Ace Attorney fic! It takes place the night that Bridge to the Turnabout wraps up. No major spoilers, but it does revolve around an event that happens early in the case.
I hope you enjoy it!
Fire. Everything was on fire.
Phoenix frantically looked for a familiar figure, squinting against the blazing heat. The flames were slowly creeping up his pant leg, searing his flesh, and he was wheezing for breath in the thick, heavy cloud of smoke, but he ignored it. All he cared about was finding her.
“Nick! Help!”
Phoenix whirled around to see Maya, her robes ablaze. The panic in her eyes was amplified by the flickering light of the fire. She took a step towards him and immediately collapsed, disappearing from sight.
Phoenix cried out, reaching for Maya, and ran forwards. With a sharp crack, the burning floor, now somehow a long, rickety bridge, gave way beneath his feet, and he was falling, plummeting towards the icy waters below–
With a sharp gasp, Phoenix sat up. He was trembling, he noticed, and when he dragged a hand over his face, it came away slick with sweat. His heartbeat was pounding in his ears, and his head pounded along with it.
Taking a few deep breaths, Phoenix shakily untangled his legs from the blankets and stumbled his way to the kitchen. He tried to pour himself a glass of water but missed the rim of the glass. Sighing, Phoenix grabbed a dish towel and wiped up the puddle before successfully filling a cup with water.
Maya appeared in the doorway, yawning and rubbing her eyes. “Hey, Nick, what’s up?”
Phoenix gave a tiny wave in response. “Hey. Sorry, did I wake you?”
Maya shook her head. “Nah, I came out here to get some water.” She pulled out a glass for herself, squinting at it to make sure it was clean. “Why’re you up?”
Phoenix sighed and slumped over the counter he was leaning on, propping his face up with one hand. “...Nightmare,” he finally admitted.
Maya threw him a sympathetic look. “Wanna talk about it?”
He shrugged in response. “It’s nothing, really. Just…” he waved a hand in a vague gesture. “...memories.”
“Mm.” He heard the tap shut off as she finished filling her glass. “Mind if I sit here with you for a bit?”
“No, not at all.”
Maya pulled a chair up from the nearby table and sat across from him. “You know… I don’t think I’ve gotten to say this enough. Thanks, Nick.”
He suppressed a shudder as the chill of the night air caught up to him. “I’m just sorry you had to go through all that.”
“Yeah.” Maya looked down into her water, staring at the distorted lines of the tile countertop through the bottom of her glass. “It was hard for everyone. Especially Pearl. You too, you know.” He gave a slight nod in agreement, curling in on himself as he shivered again.
“I’m just glad we’re all oka– woah, Nick, are you okay?” He glanced up to see concern written over her features. “You’re all red and sweaty. And you’re shaking. Are you feeling alright?”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Yeah, I’m fine. It was just a nightmare.”
She shook her head. “No, seriously, you look like you’re about to keel over. Physically, are you feeling alright?”
“Oh… I guess my fever might have spiked again.” That would explain the headache and chills.
“Ah. Yeah–Wait. Fever? Again?” Phoenix cringed at her shrill tone, glancing towards the room where Pearl was sleeping. She paused, then continued in a softer voice. “Sorry. But what?”
“Edgeworth and Ms. von Karma mentioned it to you, didn’t they? I caught a cold while you were still… still at the Inner Temple.”
Maya nodded slowly. “I remember them saying something about that. Still, you look pretty bad for a cold. Is it alright if I…?” She held her hand up towards his face, waiting for approval.
“Yeah. It’s fine.”
He felt a cool palm press up against his forehead, but it was jerked away before he had time to enjoy the relief. “Yikes, Nick! You’re boiling! Sit down, I’m gonna go get a thermometer. ”
As Maya rooted through his bathroom cabinet, Phoenix followed her advice and sat down at his table. After a moment, the promise of relief became too much for him to resist, and he rested his head on the cool wood beneath him.
A short while later, he heard a soft “Aha!” and Maya reappeared in front of him. She handed him his thermometer triumphantly. He sat up to stick it under his tongue, and Maya went to go fetch something behind him, muttering, “Pearly must not know about his medicine cabinet yet, she’d never have let it stay such a mess. I’ll have to sic her on it tomorrow.” He smiled a little at the thought.
Suddenly, Phoenix felt a blanket fall around his soldiers. He murmured a “thank you,” around the thermometer. When it beeped, he pulled it out and blinked slowly at the numbers on the display.
“103… that’s kinda high.”
He shrugged slightly. “It’s not too bad. At least I won’t have to go back to the hospital.”
Maya’s eyes widened. “H-Hospital?!”
Phoenix winced. “Ah. I guess we didn’t tell you about that part.”
She gave him a look that was part unimpressed, part worried. “What happened? The whole truth, this time.”
He focused on the lint balls on his blanket, unable to meet her eyes. “I… fell off Dusky Bridge into Eagle River.”
“What?”
“...while it was on fire.”
“WHAT?!”
“I don’t remember any of what happened beyond that. I lost consciousness when I hit the water.” Thankfully. Otherwise, he suspected he’d have that memory to add to his list of recurring nightmares. “Larry and the others found me and took me to a hospital.”
He took a deep breath before continuing. “Everyone was pretty scared, I guess. Eagle River doesn’t have a high survival rate. That’s actually why Edgeworth is here. Apparently Larry called him and told him I was dead.”
Maya snorted. “Sounds like Larry. So Edgeworth came for you?”
“Yeah, I guess. He defended Iris on that first day, too, like he said back at the courthouse. I owe him a lot.”
“Wow.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you all this sooner. I didn’t want to upset you after everything that happened.”
She patted his arm lightly. “It’s ok, I get it. Thanks for telling me. Uh...maybe we should keep this between us for now, though.”
He winced. Pearls’ slaps were reminiscent of Franziska’s whip at times. The longer he could put that off, the better. “Agreed.”
They sat in silence for a moment.
“Was that what your nightmare was about?”
“...yeah.”
“Oh.” Silence fell over them again until Phoenix coughed. “Hey… why don’t we get you back to bed, Nick?”
“That sounds good.”
A few minutes later, Maya had successfully convinced him to take the couch in her place. Phoenix settled under the blankets, swallowing the fever reducer she had given him and set the water glass on the coffee table.
She made her own nest of clean blankets on the floor a little ways away, where she could keep an eye on him and an ear out for Pearl. Her eyes drooped as she curled up under a fluffy comforter. “‘Night, Nick,” she murmured sleepily.
“Good night, Maya. Thanks.”
“Y’r welc’me…” She trailed off, her breaths evening out.
A small smile curled the corner of Phoenix’s lips as he closed his eyes, and he drifted off into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.
