Thine Poison'd Hearts

Demise

"Sir! Sir! Mr. Edgeworth, sir! Wait!"

            Miles releases a heavy sigh of annoyance as a voice echoes through the hall. He pauses mid-step and spins around on his heels to face the sound. His face contorts slightly with disappointment at what he finds. Before him stands a heaving Detective Gumshoe, crouched over as if he had just run a marathon. Miles rubs a tired hand across his deep grey eyes. His mouth rests in a permanent frown.

"Yes, detective, what is it that you want now?"

"Ah! I figured that you hadn't heard so I came straight away to tell you. Looks like I was right. I sure am glad that I caught you!"

Miles raises a furrowed eyebrow in confusion. The case file resting in his arms appears to sit closer to his chest than before as his foot begins to tap softly. He is clearly showing Gumshoe that he awaits the news and does not care to ask about it on his own. The detective bashfully receives the signal and motions Miles to follow him. With a patronizing sneer, he walks behind Gumshoe. Miles walks much faster than the detective, but in this instance the opposite was true. This causes him to somehow grow more concerned. Nevertheless, he remains cool and collected.

"This had better be worth my time, or you will be receiving a surprise on your next salary assess—"

"There's no time for that, pal! I promise you that you need to see this."

Miles is taken aback slightly at the seriousness of the detective. He cannot recall an instance where the man was ever this stern to him. Miles could easily lose his temper over such disrespect, but in this one instance, he holds his tongue. He is more professional than to do so regardless. Gumshoe leads Miles to Phoenix's office door. Miles feels his stomach drop for a mere moment. This was the one place he had sworn to avoid and now he stands right at the entrance; how truly ironic life can be. A bead of sweat makes its way down his cheek as the detective opens the door. Miles feels an exhale escape his lips as he discovers the office to be empty. He exchanges a skeptical glare with Gumshoe as he crosses his arms.

"He is not here, and this has already been a waste of my precious time. I hope you have a good explanation for why you dragged me to this disgusting place."

"Just...look at his desk. The entire office is going crazy over this."

Miles feels disturbed at how quickly the detective's face sank in that instant. Something clearly was not right in the slightest. With his legs beginning to tremble, he saunters to the desk. He sets the case file in his arms on the coffee table resting near the couch. He spies a letter opener resting on the floor and scoops it up in his hand. Quite unkempt of you, Wright—he mutters to himself. As he approaches his desk, he slides the letter opener back near Phoenix's penholder. From across the room, Gumshoe appears to stiffen up the closer Miles gets closer to the desk. The only unusual thing about this scene appears to be a single sheet of paper resting on the center of the desk. Miles is unable to read it at a distance because of some eye issues recently appearing so he scoops up the paper in his hands. A shadow immediately falls across his eyes as a harsh gasp escapes his lips. The paper slips from his hand and flutters to the ground like a dead flower petal. The shakiness in his legs increases tenfold as he has to rest on the desk for support. A hand clenches his mouth as sweat begins to course down his head. He cannot move a muscle as his eyes hyper-focus on the floor. The words written on the paper loop through his head as if cursed to forever live in his mind. He clenches his eyes shut in an effort to defuse the feelings arising within his core. He wishes to speak on the matter, but no words can escape his lips. How could one single sentence transform a man into a mere shell? The room rests in horrible silence as the words on the page seem to scream their way off of the page:

"Prosecutor Phoenix Wright chooses death..."

♥ ♥ ♥

Phoenix rests on the floor of his temple bedroom, his eyes wide open. As long as the rain can be heard outside, his insomnia will not set him free. His back pain refuses to make this night any easier despite how much he longs to sleep. Beyond the thunder shaking the floor beneath him, he worries if Iris is actually safe. She told him that she would find him as soon as she came back. It has been hours now. But Phoenix has chosen to follow her wishes and resists the urge to search around for her. Perhaps the weather got so bad that she decided to spend the night with Maya. He assures himself that is the scenario.  She told him herself that there was no way anyone could slip off the bridge. But what if her luck decided to run out tonight? Thunder shakes the room once more. It seems to be growing louder in Phoenix's ears. Or perhaps it was just the sound of his own heartbeat. He rubs a soft hand across his chest, wishing for the feeling of Iris's head pressed against his heart. She always seemed to love the sound of his heartbeat. As ominous as that might sound, it is something no one should take for granted. She seems to have a liking for the unorthodox. Just as Phoenix begins to get lost in his thoughts, a beam of light shoots through his window. Lightning has struck nearby. The entire temple seems to shake as if it were a deck of cards. Phoenix leaps out of his skin and his blankets as he finds himself on his feet. The glare of the lightning dies down as quickly as it arrived. Phoenix immediately reaches his breaking point. Iris might be mad at him for doing this, but she cannot stay out there any longer than she has already. Phoenix puts on his overcoat and prepares to walk outside. He still wears his suit because he had not planned on going to sleep until Iris returned so he was properly dressed in a way. Opening the doors, he is met with an unexpected sight. The rain had ceased down to mere droplets. The torrent hailing down seems to have ceased after that burst of lightning. Although this greatly eases Phoenix's nerves, he decides he will find her anyway. He just might face a phobia because of this. The wind still blows rather harshly, chilling an already frozen Phoenix to the bone. The now slushy snow squishes under his feet every step he takes. He works not to slip as he had done many times before on the hike up. As the temple moves farther and farther away from him, he works to find the path to the bridge. The rain has seemingly washed away any signs of footprints. According to Iris, it was not far away at all. As Phoenix works his way farther down the path, a scent hits his nose. It causes his nose to tickle and his blood to run cold. The smell of burning wood fills the air around him. An orange glow appears to be reflecting on the snow. There are very few sources where such a smell and color could arise, but his brain immediately locks onto the worst. Unfortunately, he was indeed correct. Phoenix runs around a patch of trees leading to the base of the bridge. His face goes completely pale as he watches the bridge burn before his eyes. The black sky twinkles with burning ash as his thoughts immediately turn to Iris and Iris alone. If she is still over there, she will be trapped for good. The bridge will be non-existent in just a few minutes. His brain zooms at a million miles per hour as he takes in as much as he can of the area around him. The boards on the bridge still appear intact. He could make it across. His fear of heights seems completely non-existent at that very moment. The smell of the burning wood stings his nose even stronger as he walks to the base of the cliff. The roaring current can be heard below bashing against the rocks. Phoenix blocks out his senses as he stares at the other side of the ravine. The rush of the water, however, cannot be ignored. Only a single word resides within his mind as he feels his body begin to tense: Iris. The word repeats as everything within his ears goes silent for a moment. With a rush of impulse and pure adrenaline, he leaps onto the crumbling bridge. His eyes remain on the horizon for the entirety of his short trek. For after no more than a few seconds, his foot slips through a crack between the boards. He feels his throat tighten and his eyes widen as his body collapses completely onto the bridge. He feels his heart fully stop in a fleeting instant. The crumbling wood beneath his chest melts away into ash as he begins to fall. He feels his stomach drop as the wind begins to pound on his face. All time slows down around him as his vision begins to warp. His eyes work to remain upward as the horizon completely leaves his view. A blood-curdling scream escapes his lips as he falls down deep into the darkness. A sudden excruciating pain rattles its way through his entire body. The last image that crosses Phoenix's eyes is the sight of the bridge above him and the sudden darkness engulfing his body. His fading cries echo throughout the ravine before they disappear in an instant, just like the wind caressing the river.

The murderous cries of the roaring current are all that remain.