Title: The Final Trial
Rating: T
Pairings/Characters: Phoenix/Miles, Franziska, Larry
Disclaimer: I don't own anything Ace Attorney, characters, etc., all belong to their respective creators.
Warnings: angst, violence, character death
Summary: Edgeworth finally decides to confront his past in order to begin the process of healing.

A/N: I saw a beautiful piece of art done by caracolsiniestro on Instagram called "Walz," and couldn't believe how it conveyed such tragedy and love at the same time. While this is nowhere near as good, this is an idea that stemmed from wanting to put those two elements together. Also tried out a different style of conveying the story by keeping it contained to Edgeworth's experience, so I hope it comes across okay.

"It started just like any other day. He wondered why I couldn't sleep in when I didn't have anywhere to be. I wasn't prosecuting on the case he'd been working on, Franziska was, and I had decided I could enjoy some time off and start the weekend early. When the alarm went off at seven, he told me I should go back to sleep. I couldn't. It's difficult enough for me to sleep past eight or nine in the morning, regardless of what day it is.

We went about our usual routine. While he was in the shower, I made coffee, retrieved the morning newspaper, took my seat at the table, everything fine and normal. The trial wasn't starting until ten that morning, though he planned on stopping by the office prior to going to the courthouse, get everything he needed in order."

With shirt untucked and tie hanging undone around his neck, Phoenix poured himself a cup of coffee from the kitchen and sat in the chair across from Edgeworth. He smiled and asked, "So what do you plan on doing today? Having fun without me?"

"But of course."

"Sure you don't want to stand in for me at court?"

"I'm a prosecutor, not a bluffing defense attorney."

"I don't know; you did pretty well when you defended Iris. You're probably better at it than I am," he ended with a cheerful laugh. "And I'm sure Franziska would love another chance to go against you."

Edgeworth smirked. "While it's certainly tempting, I must decline. I intend to catch up on some reading."

"Is that all?"

"And what's wrong with that?"

"Sounds kinda boring. You have the whole day to do whatever you want, and you choose that?"

"I see we have very different opinions on what constitutes a good leisure activity. It's a marvel how we stay together."

Phoenix chuckled. "You know, I wonder about that myself too sometimes. But I am really glad you gave me a chance."

"As am I," Edgeworth replied with an affectionate smile.

Once he was done with his coffee, Phoenix finished getting ready and then returned to stand behind his partner still seated at the table. Crossing his arms over the other man's chest in a loose hug, he bent down, kissed his cheek and then pressed his own against the spot.

"Enjoy your day off today, Miles," he said. "I'll be wishing I was here with you."

Edgeworth took one of Phoenix's hands in his and kissed it gently. "We'll have plenty of time this weekend to share with one another if the trial concludes."

"Yeah. Wish me luck. I don't think she'll like what I'm bringing in this time."

"You're making it very hard for her to warm up to you," Edgeworth teased.

"I know, I know. Maybe once we're married, she will," Phoenix casually offered with a grin.

"Right," the prosecutor responded, unconvinced.

"Yes, that's my name." He laughed at the playful slap Edgeworth gave his arm, enjoying the small annoyance he was being.

They kissed one another several times before Phoenix stood and headed for the door.

"Beer and pizza sound good for dinner tonight?" he asked as he picked up his bag on the way.

"I can't really afford anything else right now."

"Sounds fine to me."

"Great. I should be home by five or six."

"Is Maya accompanying you today?"

"No, she and Pearl have a girls' weekend planned, whatever that means."

"In that case, you really do need all the luck you can get." Edgeworth flashed a wicked grin, to which Phoenix feigned a look of hurt.

"Gee, thanks."

"I love you."

Phoenix smiled. "Love you too."

"My apologies. I hadn't prepared for this being such a struggle….I regret so much that I didn't make him stay longer. I should've told him he didn't need to be leaving that early. Had I known what was to come, I would've hugged him one last time. Kissed him with unrivaled passion so he knew just how much I loved him. He was everything to me. He constantly challenged me not only professionally, but personally. He made me better for it. He always gave so much for others, never requiring anything in return. Part of me never wants to speak his name or talk about him ever again. The other part of me worries if I don't….I'll forget him…."

It was only on the third call in a row from Larry that Edgeworth answered. He'd ignored the previous two attempts, not in the mood for whatever shenanigans his immature friend had gotten himself into this time.

"What is it, Larry?" he answered dryly.

"Where are you?! Are you okay?!"

The frantic, terrified tone was completely unexpected, causing the prosecutor to set his book aside and devote his entire attention to the conversation. "Yes, of course I'm fine. I'm at home. Why do you ask?"

"Where's Nick?! Is he okay?!"

"What is this about, Larry?" He could feel his apprehension rising exponentially.

"You haven't heard?! It's all over the news, man! Someone took a gun into the courthouse and just started shooting people!"

Edgeworth nearly dropped the phone and thought his heart stopped. "What?" he replied dumbly.

"People are dead, Edgey! Tell me he didn't have to go there today!" When there was no answer, he demanded, "Edgeworth!"

"Yes," he responded in a tiny voice, his throat constricting and his vision narrowing. "He had a trial this morning." Glancing at the clock, he saw that it hadn't even begun; it was just shortly after 9:30, but he knew Phoenix was more than likely already there.

"Shit, this is bad! What do we do?!"

"I….I'm leaving now. I'll let you know if they allow me in and what I find out."

"You better!"

"I swear it."

After hanging up, Edgeworth immediately tried calling Phoenix, to which there was no answer. There was no luck with Franziska or Detective Gumshoe either, increasing his nausea, and he couldn't shake the feeling that he was going to be devastated over one, or both, of them in some way.

It was total pandemonium at the courthouse. Media crews were reporting on the scene, dozens of cop cars surrounded the building, and multiple ambulances were coming and leaving with the victims. He never did find Gumshoe, though the other officers that recognized him informed him that Phoenix and Franziska had already been taken to the hospital. None of them knew the status of their conditions, whether they had been hurt or not, only that they had already been evacuated from the courthouse.

His heart pounded, blood surged with adrenaline, as he ran into the hospital's emergency room and straight to the reception desk.

"Phoenix Wright. Franziska von Karma. Where are they?" he asked anxiously.

"Were they in the courthouse shooting?"

"Yes. I don't know if they were injured; I was merely told they were here."

After a brief pause, the woman responded, "It looks like one was just taken into surgery. There's a waiting room on the third floor. Follow the signs and you can check in there for them to give you an update."

"Thank you."

He took off running once again, made his way up to the third floor, and passed through various corridors until he arrived at the waiting area. When he saw Franziska sitting alone near a corner hugging herself, tears flowing down her cheeks, he took a deep breath and knew that he had to hold it together for her sake right now. The unbearable anguish he had at the moment would have to be contained.

"Franziska," he said gently as he approached, noticing the blood splatters on her pale face and smeared all over the front of her clothing. The worry intensified, and he wondered why they had allowed her to be here on the third floor, unattended, instead of treating her wounds. She didn't acknowledge him, causing him to repeat her name and kneel in front of her. Her eyes didn't seem to see anything, yet they were alight with fear, grief, and guilt – three things he couldn't remember ever witnessing of her.

Placing his hand lightly on her arm, he asked softly, "Are you hurt? Let me escort you down to the emergency room."

"I'm fine," she insisted weakly. "I'm alright. Because of him…." She closed her eyes and wept openly. "….I'm alright."

Without her even saying a name, he knew who she was referring to. He swallowed the urge to cry with her and instead inquired, "Are you sure? Have you seen a doctor?"

She nodded. "They say it's just shock. I had to argue with those fools to let me come up here with him. They were going to keep me in some room for who knows how long."

Realizing now was the opportunity to discover what had transpired since she was slowly letting herself return from the recesses of her mind, he prodded, "What happened?"

Sniffling several times amid her hiccupped breaths, she explained, "I don't know….It happened so quickly…."

"Please, try and remember it for me, Franziska. I need to know."

She closed her eyes and struggled to take a few deep, calming breaths. Her voice trembled as she began to speak. "There was a crowd of people on the main floor waiting to be seated in the courtrooms. I crossed paths with him near the staircase. We were in the middle of exchanging words when….The shots were so loud, we didn't know what it was until people started collapsing. One person was shooting from the stairs, another from off to the right….There may have been a third, I'm not sure….I saw a bullet hit his shoulder before he grabbed me and shielded me. I know several more struck him as he pushed me down on the floor and covered me with his body, ones that would've hit me if he hadn't blocked them….for me…." She tightened her embrace around herself, the memory obviously painful. "He told me to close my eyes and pretend I was dead. He said he'd do whatever he could to keep me from getting hurt…."

"The blood I saw on her that day wasn't hers….He'd lost so much of it by the time the ambulances arrived. She said once the shooters moved on to the next area, she did her best to keep him awake by talking to him. Made him comfortable by cradling his head in her lap and holding his hand. He was responsive for awhile, even joked with her that he didn't realize he had to die in order for her to finally like him….She didn't appreciate the morbid humor, said she didn't understand why he thought it was funny or how he could laugh at a time like that, but I believe it was because he was trying to shrug off the severity of his injuries. He wanted to distract her, put her at ease as much as he could, didn't want her to have any guilt about the decision he'd made to protect her. Even though she claims she doesn't harbor any, I know she carries it quite heavily….

My memory is hazy about the rest of the events from that day. When we were given the news that he didn't survive….I don't recall much at all. I know I didn't cry, a fact that bothers me to this day. I didn't even weep when they allowed us to see him."

His legs shook, and he wasn't sure how he was managing to keep not only himself upright, but Franziska too. She had an iron grip on his arm, and the two of them slowly entered what had been an empty patient room that was now occupied by a covered body. As they approached it, a nurse went around to the other side of the gurney and said softly, "Let me know when you're ready."

There was a pause while he worked to prepare himself, yet he knew it was absolutely impossible. Nothing was going to prepare him for the reveal. He felt sick to his stomach, the nerves and emotions raging inside of him from knowing Phoenix was under there and that he would never see him awake again. In a matter of seconds, he relived a plethora of memories from his childhood all the way up to that very morning when he heard the last words he'd ever hear from his dear friend.

With a stiff nod, his eyes stared unblinkingly at where Phoenix's face was, and the instant it was visible, he felt the world dissolve around him. The pressure remained from Franziska's hand on his arm, but if anything was said once the nurse uncovered the body down to just slightly passed the shoulders, he didn't know it. There was such tranquility contained within Phoenix's features that it appeared as if he was simply sleeping. At any moment, Edgeworth expected him to slowly open his eyes and smile at him like he often did so many mornings. Absently, he reached out his hand and delicately caressed the man's face, feeling the chill that was settling into the skin.

It couldn't be real….

He took a seat beside the prone form and after brief hesitation, he leaned down, maneuvered his arms under Phoenix's neck to cradle his head, and rested his own on his partner's shoulder. Even while he hugged him, no tears came. His logic was fighting with his heart, was screaming at him that this was reality, that his best friend, professional rival, and lover was truly gone and wouldn't be waking up. A sense of tremendous loneliness and crippling loss settled inside of him, suffocating him.

This wasn't real….

"My only wish now is for you to know how profoundly you affected my life," he whispered. "Forgive me for the many years I never responded, or the times I treated you poorly. I love you with every shred of my existence….I miss you already….I hate that it hurts this much….I love you, Phoenix."

"I don't know how long we stayed there. Franziska eventually convinced me to leave. Neither one of us could bear the thought of spending the evening alone, nor could I handle going home knowing he wasn't coming back, so I stayed the night at her place. She was still immensely upset and petrified from the event that I remained in her room beside her. I don't think we got any sleep. She was terrified and wracked with guilt, and I was haunted by my own thoughts on how I'd be able to come to terms with losing him. It was agonizing. To realize you'll never share another instance with someone you care so deeply about….It's the second time in my life that I've lost someone I love to such random, senseless violence….The gunmen eventually met the same fate at the hands of a rival crime syndicate. It wasn't until later that we learned the reason they came to the courthouse that day was to avenge one of their leaders, who was standing trial for other atrocities. While it doesn't alleviate the pain of his death, I at least find some solace in knowing they aren't afforded the opportunity of living when they snatched his, and the other victims', away so horrifically.

Telling Larry the news was difficult. Telling Maya felt impossible. I'm not sure what I said, but they both continue to comment on how calm I was about the whole thing. It wasn't until months later when it all seemed to finally crash down on me and I wept for days, alone….

I couldn't stay there; the memory of him was too strong. Everywhere I looked or the people that I met….it reminded me of him no matter what. That's why I ended up here, in England. In essence, I ran away, though I suppose that isn't entirely true….He follows me regardless of where I am.

I speak with them often – Maya, Franziska, Larry, Gumshoe. They were very understanding of my decision to leave. I haven't been able to summon the courage to visit, however, which is why I finally decided to try this."

"And what are you hoping to accomplish by being here?"

Edgeworth sighed, sat in the chair opposite the therapist, stared at her with pleading in his eyes, and said with desperation in his voice, "I want to feel normal again."