DISCLAIMER: Phoenix Wright belongs to Capcom and is being used here without permission.

Warnings for character death (obviously) and not naming names. (What, you'll figure out who it is by the end of the chapter...)

~ Last Vestiges ~

Devils born in Hell from the carnal sins of other devils have pure black wings from the moment of their birth, but devils who were once human souls start out with red wings that turn a little more black for each evil deed they do in the human world.

She had barely been dead a week and her wings were already almost completely black. One more, just one more act of evil in the human world and she would join the ranks of Hell as a being of pure darkness.

It was nighttime in the human world and she was perched on the roof of a department store, resting after her latest task. She stretched her arms over her head and surveyed the surrounding area lazily, trying to decided where would be the best location to perform her crowning act of mischief.

She spotted another black-winged figure crouching on rooftop a few blocks away. She was surprised; there shouldn't be any other devil initiates working this area and she was sure that it wasn't a full devil because she would have been able to feel his evil aura from this close. She was going to have to go over there and investigate!

Once she got closer she realized that his wings were not actually black but a dark shade of gray, and they were the feathered wings of angel, not the leathery type possessed by devils. However, the ragged figure sitting hunched in the shadow of the building's air-conditioning unit didn't look anything like an angel, if you didn't count the fact that he had wings.

She spoke out, "I thought angels were supposed to wear white robes and have halos and-"

"-and white wings?" the angel finished, sarcastically. "Then where are your horns and tail? I don't see you carrying a pitchfork, either... Only angels born from the Tree of Life in Heaven start with pure white wings. Angels who were once human souls start out with black wings and every time they do good in the human world their wings turn a little lighter. Only once they turn fully white can I truly join the host of Heaven."

"So, angels are like that, too," the devil said thoughtfully. "I was a human soul." She spread her wings, allowing him to see the flash of red at each wingtip. "I have a lot of powers already, of course, but once they turn completely black, I'll be able to command all of a devil's powers."

"How long have you been working on it?" the angel asked sullenly. "I've only been here a week and my wings are still almost completely black."

The devil frowned. "I've been here a week and I've been able to cause enough havoc to become a full devil. I only need one more..."

The angel was starting to look really depressed now. "I guess I'm just no good at this," he said. Then a thoughful look came over his face. "Hey, we both died around the same time, didn't we? And since we're both in this area... do you think maybe we knew each other during our lives?"

"You think our deaths might be connected somehow?" the devil asked. She was curious now. "My human name was-"

"Don't say your human name!" The angel snapped, cutting her off.

"Why not?" the devil asked, nonplussed.

"You'll be cursed," the angel replied grimly.

"I'm a devil, idiot!" She sighed and gave up. If he thought saying their human names would lead to him being cursed, she wasn't going to push the issue. Stubborn angel... "Fine. It's not like I actually have any memories of my human self anyway. My temporary name is Belthier. What's yours?"

"Angels don't do it that way," he replied. "I won't recieve my angel name until I become a full angel."

"Then tell me your human name."

"I can't do that!"

"You do know it, don't you?"

"They told me what my human name was, but I'm not allowed to say it."

"Or you'll be cursed," the devil said, rolling her eyes. This was ridiculous. "Well, I have to call you something..." She looked over the ragged angel again and settled on: "Scruffy."

"Don't call me like I'm a dog!" the angel snapped angrily.

"Scruffy, Scruffy, here Scruffy," the devil teased, beckoning to him with her hand.

"Stop it!" the angel snapped.

The devil suddenly became serious. "Hey, don't you want to find out what you were like as a human?"

"How do you expect us to do that?" the angel asked. He was a little confused by the sudden change in her attitude.

"We know our human names!" the devil replied enthusiastically. "We can start by going to our graves."

~ to be continued ~

A/N: Reviews are love.