A/N – I'm so sorry this took me so long! What with school and two jobs and trying to figure out which university I want to go to, I've been stupendously busy. But here we are; my version of the truth. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Phoenix Wright. Stop reminding me.

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Chapter 3:

Psyche-Locks

Maya took a step closer to Phoenix. He stood firm, staring at her with an expression that was at once anxious terror and powerful determination. He was framed in the doorway, the light from the outer office shining around him like a golden halo, and for a moment she saw him the way witnesses must see him. Then she reminded herself that he was the witness now, she the lawyer. It wouldn't do to forget that.

She shared a glance with Pearl, who gave her a look so full of strength and faith that the older girl felt bolstered, happy, much more confident than her nineteen-year-old body ever had before. She was glad she'd let Pearl join in on this. Though the little girl had offered to channel her cousin's older (and long-dead) sister, Maya had refused. She wanted to do this herself. And she would.

She turned her attention back to her employer/best friend/whatever he was. He was watching her warily, as though hoping she'd forget about the interrogation. She smirked and clapped her hands together in front of her chest.

"Alright Nick," she said in a falsely sweet voice. "Let's get started."

His face crumpled and he nodded dejectedly. "Do your worst, Maya. This is my secret, not yours."

There are only five locks to break, she thought. Okay, so maybe that's a lot. But I can do it! Her eyes took in Nick's form, then darted into the corner again. I have to do it.

"So, you say you're not in love with Mr. Edgeworth. But you're closer to him than 'just friends'. And this goes deeper than him defending you as kids." Nick's face was now a steely mask of composure. "So, maybe the reason you're so connected to Edgeworth isn't about him at all, but someone else."

The lawyer laughed wryly. "And who would that be, little miss I-know-everything?"

"Well," she began, rummaging around in her pocket as she spoke. "We know it's not Miles. And we already know everything there is to know about his dad, because of that case." She finally found what she was looking for and tugged it out of her pocket. It was a copy of this week's Friday Fact-or; the same one that Nick had bought and tossed aside only minutes before (though she wasn't to know that). "The only logical conclusion I can come to is that you're connected to his mother, Vanna Edgeworth." She waited expectantly for the first of the locks to break, but it did not. Nick's eyes tightened and he gripped the edge of his beanie, but there were no other signs that he was cracking.

"That's a wonderful assumption, Maya," he chided. "But you know what happens when we 'assume'." She rolled her eyes. "So I guess I'm going to have to say prove it. I have no connection to Vanna Edgeworth. I've never even met her; she died before I ever went to school with Miles."

Maya grinned. "Well, I was snooping through your stuff, as usual." Nick glared at her, but she ignored it. "And I came across a very interesting picture." She pulled the image in question out of her channeling clothes and held it out for Nick to see. It was a photo of a beautiful woman with long, dark hair, who was holding two little boys on her lap.

Then Maya pointed to the picture of Vanna Edgeworth in the magazine. The two women were, without a doubt, one and the same.

"If you have no connection to her, why do you have this picture?" Maya couldn't help but stick her tongue out at her boss, to emphasize her triumph.

Nick nearly ripped the beanie in half with the strength of his grip; his eyes narrowed to pinpricks. "Maya . . ." he grunted, half-angrily, half-annoyed. The first lock shattered into a thousand million pieces and disappeared.

Then he seemed to regain control of himself. His eyes softened, he released the beanie --- re-adjusting it so that it sat properly on his head --- and he gave a sad little smile.

"Vanna is dead. Edgeworth told me about her, gave me that picture. She died in a train wreck when Edgeworth was two years old, there's no way I could ever have . . ." He trailed off, frowning. May was shaking her head at him, her smirk widening into a broad grin.

"I asked Detective Gumshoe to look into a few things for me." she told Nick, two more pieces of paper finding their way from her robes into her hand. "One of which was Vanna's death. They never announced it because it's still an open investigation, but the death certificate was forged." She showed him the forged certificate.

His brow furrowed. "Someone died in that crash," he said, his voice stronger. "If it wasn't Vanna, then who was it?"

She passed him the other document; it was an autopsy report. "The medical examiner concluded from the dental records that the dead woman was not Vanna, but Elise French, the Edgeworth's maid."

Nick's hand had jumped up to his hat again, and as he twisted the knit material violently, the second lock smashed and fell away.

"How many locks is that now, Mystic Maya?" Pearl asked, tugging excitedly on her cousin's sleeve.

"Two, Pearly," the older girl answered, grinning down at her accomplice. "There are only three more to break before Nick finally tells us the truth."

Nick glowered at them both, but ignored their conversation. "So, you're saying that Vanna faked her own death? Why would she do that? Where's the motive?" Nick was getting desperate; she could see the little beds of sweat forming on his forehead as he tried to distract her.

Maya smiled, producing yet another piece of paper. She had so many more pieces to present to him, too. It was hard to keep track of them all. "The other thing I asked
Gumshoe to look into for me was this." She passed the paper to Nick. "Vanna Edgeworth was a famous prosecutor, who got lots and lots of big crime bosses put behind bars. That's the list of gang members she'd gotten locked up." Nick swallowed, his eyes moving down the list. "And on the back of that," Maya continued, chuckling as Nick flipped the paper over with alarming speed. "Is a note she received from a certain gang, threatening her life and her family."

Nick's eyes met hers and she saw pure despair in them. She faltered, her heart stuttering a little at the sight of him so broken. But she shook the feelings of pity out of her mind, focusing on what she had to do.

"Vanna had to fake her own death to protect her family. It was the only way they'd be safe."

Nick sighed deeply, passing the list/death threat back to her. He was silent for a moment, and Maya was certain that the third lock was about to dissolve. She could almost hear the sound of it. But then Nick raised his eyes to hers and she took a step back, shocked. There was power, confidence, and . . . condescension on his face.

"Look, Maya," he began, smiling politely. "I know you're trying your best, but you've really proven nothing. So Vanna Edgeworth didn't die on that train, so she faked her own death . . fine. I'll accept that possibility. But what you haven't proven is how this is tied to me."

Maya's jaw tightened. Does he honestly think I'm so unprepared? A newspaper article was thrust into his face before he'd even managed a victorious cackle. "Wha --- what is this?" he demanded, his eyes locked on the headline: Train Wreck Outside of City; Famous Prosecutor and Infant Son Dead.

"Vanna wasn't the only one who 'died' in that crash. Vanna's two-year-old son died, too. And that son obviously wasn't Miles Edgeworth; according to this, Vanna had left one of her twin boys at home with their father." Phoenix's eyes were wide with horror; his hat was off his head and balled up in his fist. Maya stretched out a hand, pointing dramatically into her mentor's face. "YOU were the other son, Phoenix Wright!"

The third Psyche-Lock exploded with so much force that she felt as though she'd be knocked off her feet. Even Pearl, sensitive as she was to spiritual power, gasped. Her young eyes jumped from the medium to the attorney and back again.

Nick was stuttering. "P-p-prove it!" he yelped. "Vanna Edgeworth isn't my mother! Prove that we're connected like that!"

"Alright, I will!" Maya yelled back, her arm still outstretched. She brought it back quickly, diving again into her pockets until she found the final few pieces of evidence. "Here's the marriage certificate between Gregory Edgeworth and Vanna Wright!"

The fourth lock was decimated Nick was sweating bullets now, his beanie crumpled into a tiny knot of wool. "Wright is a very common last name!" he shouted, desperation seeping into his voice, into every action. "It's not at all unlikely that her maiden name was the same as mine!"

Maya grinned evilly and threw the last article at the lawyer. It was a birth announcement in the local paper.

"'Arthur Wright, brother of the late Vanna Edgeworth, and his wife Aina Wright are proud to announce the adoption of their new two-year-old son, Phoenix!' That's dated only weeks after Vanna and her son 'died' in that crash!"

The fifth lock burst. Phoenix slumped. Maya stood, tall and triumphant.

"It . . . it's true." Nick muttered, wiping his eyes. "It's all true." He smiled faintly. "You'll be a great lawyer someday, Maya."

The chains retracted slowly and Maya was left staring at her broken caretaker, while the light in the Magatama faded away.

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A/N – How many of you saw that one coming from the get-go? I think I might have made it too obvious from the very first lock. Oh well!

P.S. 'Aina' is Finnish for 'always'. And people say that I don't have a sense of humour.