A/N: I do not own Phoenix Wright, Manfred von Karma or Miles Edgeworth; CAPCOM does. The plot, Arty, Arty's mistress Arlene and other incidental characters are mine.
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Phoenix is on his self appointed mission of revenge to avenge the brutal killing of his lover and Sire, Miles Edgeworth. He's waiting for the perfect chance to strike but first will need some information in order to begin his search...
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Chapter 5! :) Retribution is coming and it isn't going to be pretty for those who were involved in Miles' murder, Dark!Phoenix will make certain of it. Some violence. descriptive.
Hope you enjoy! :)
Thanks to my readers and all those who have favourited, reviewed, story alerted, favourite author or author alerted me. I appreciate it more than I can say! :)
Thank you to my beta reader, Pearls1990, for amazing beta reading! Much appreciated! :)
Special thanks to my beloved husband, DezoPenguin, for all his help, support, advice, nagging (when necessary), for helping me out of a plot hole I'd written myself into which turned it into a fresh, new direction and encouragement! I appreciate it more than I can say! Love you!
Comments are appreciated and welcome! :) I'll probably change some things at some point; always room for improvement! :)
The title is a Barry Manilow song of the same name.
Rated Mature for some violence and gore, Tragedy/Angst, male/male relationships, Vampire!Phoenix x Vampire!Edgeworth
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Ten years later... 12:30 A.M.
I had to admit it: the man was good at being hidden and staying hidden. My search, which had been going on for ten years now, had been, thus far, an exercise in futility. Von Karma, no doubt, had heard about the gruesome deaths of the twelve men he had sent to murder Miles and perhaps me as well ten years earlier since he had seemed to have completely vanished from sight. I still wasn't entirely certain if I had been an actual target or if it was purely chance that I had been there with Miles and he had Turned me that night. Thinking about it made me feel sick and I resolved to put it as much as I could out of my mind and concentrate on the job I had yet to do.
My fingers curled into fists, my nails digging into my palms. I had to find that miserable bastard and I had to kill him, extricating payment in full for what he'd done. I had promised both Miles, and myself, that I would make Manfred von Karma's demise as painful and extended as I could.
The twelve's deaths will be birthday parties compared to what I'm going to do to von Karma and I'll make damned sure he pays in full.
For now, perched on the ledge of the fiftieth floor of a hundred story building, I was content to sit here and watch. And wait.
I'd been sitting here for the past four hours, waiting for a certain individual, an associate of von Karma's whom I knew to have been in contact with him quite recently. I knew that he often went out to visit his mistress around two or three o'clock in the morning and it was here, at his mistress' fiftieth story apartment building ledge, that I was sitting and waiting for him to arrive.
My eyes burned a deep crimson as I looked dispassionately over my shoulder at her sprawled and mangled body. She obviously knew who I was since she'd tried to stab me with a stake the moment I opened my mouth to ask her where her lover was. It was with a sigh of regret that I had killed her after I'd torn the information I'd wanted from her mind, tossing her dead body to the floor with no more thought than I would have had I stepped on a bug.
That was the part of being the Undead that I really didn't like and I'd caught myself thinking like this more and more often lately; it was something that I had become more and more aware of as tie passed after I had killed those men eight years earlier: I was beginning to regard some humans as being expendable, of not having value, to be used as I saw fit and then discard them as if they were trash.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, counting to twenty. I had to be careful. I was in Bloodlust right now and I might end up killing the man before I got the information of von Karma's whereabouts out of him.
Kill him only if you have to.
The thought came unbidden as I looked out over the inky blackness of the late night sky. I Heard a soft click come from the door and my eyes flickered over to the window, watching as the doorknob turned and the door slowly open.
My eyes narrowed as I saw the man walk through, a happy smile on his face. I knew that I had met this man somewhere before but I couldn't quite put my finger on when or where; I didn't even remember the man's name but I definitely remembered the swagger and air of entitlement that oozed out of him like a noxious pus.
Miserable bastard, I thought to myself as he walked in and closed the door, tossing his keys on the table by the door. What do you have to do with von Karma? What does he have on you that you're his willing lapdog?
"Arlene," he called out, walking into the foyer where he hung up his jacket and, as he turned, I could see a bottle of very expensive champagne in his other hand. That he was a man of expensive tastes was pretty clear: from the three Armani suit that he wore and the black patent shoes he was wearing and silk tie that he wore with a solid gold stickpin in the shape of a horseshoe. "Arlene, honey, I'm home!"
My mouth twisted in distaste as I remembered now who the man was: it was Arty Shifter, von Karma's right hand business partner. What a crooked investment banker had with an equally crooked prosecutor was something that I couldn't really fathom at this point in time but I intended to find out. One way or another.
I watched in silence as he made his way through the apartment, calling out to his mistress as he made his way from one room to another, searching for her. I could Feel his puzzlement that was slowly turning into palpable concern when silence continued to answer his entreaties.
My lip curled in distaste. I couldn't believe that this miserable excuse for a human being was even capable of caring about another person; I knew his wife Adelle, who adored him, since Miles and I had had occasion to meet with her at various functions over the years. I couldn't help but feel a stab of sympathy for this poor woman who had to deal with an uncaring husband who was deserting his home more and more often in order to be with his mistress.
More memories of this pitiful excuse for a Human as I remembered that neither Miles nor I could stand being in his presence for very long. I always wondered if scorn that was evident although we both did out best to try and hide it when we met him at social functions. Adelle looked more tired and wan than she normally did while Arty reflected schmalzy charm and arrogance; he'd sidled up to us both more than once and was sent off with a flea in his ear on a few of those very same occasions.
That hadn't gone over too well, to say the least. We'd heard that he had sworn he would settle our cases in due time and we would deserve every bit that was coming to us. I never really understood why he felt so hostile toward us both; I considered the problem lay in the fact we had punctured his pride by refusing to give him what he wanted: attention.
In my mind, not to mention Miles', this sounded like a threat and it wasn't a danger that either one of us took lightly. He had connections to many unsavory characters and it wouldn't have surprised either of us that he would do exactly as he had threatened to do. Of course, I didn't know at the time that Miles was a Vampire and that he had had quite a different threat in mind that this man represented to us.
I shook my head as I felt my Anger rising, forcing my mind back into the present. I watched as Arty slowly made his way through the kitchen, his eyes creased with worry. I could see, from where I sat, that his concern for his mistress was turning slowly into panic when she continued to be silent.
I could Feel his heart race, I could Hear the blood rushing through his veins, I could Smell his fear as it rolled off of him in waves and I could Sense his thoughts as they tumbled over one another : "This isn't like her, not to answer! Where is she? Arlene! Arlene!"
He'd worked himself up into quite a frenzy by the time I stood up, turning into mist and drifting in through the small crack of the open window. When I'd materialized to his immediate right, I also noticed that I was standing beside his mistress' body; after due consideration, it felt rather appropriate that I was both standing there beside her and that she had died by my hand.
I hadn't drunk her blood though I was sorely tempted to since I only took pure blood and those who consorted with married men were not on my list to Feed from. I'd tried to Feed on someone like this some time ago and the result had made me very sick and leaving me flat on my back for nine hours.
I waited quietly as he snapped on every light in the apartment, flooding it with a blinding white light. I didn't even flinch when he raced around the corner and screeched to a halt when he saw me standing there, my eyes a bloody crimson, my mouth twisted into a caricature of a smile.
"Come, Arty," I said smoothly, extending my hand and crooking my finger in an invitation to come closer to me, "it's time that we have a little chat."
He turned and tried to flee but he found, to his horror, that he couldn't move. I couldn't help smirking in satisfaction as I Heard his loud cries that increased in volume the closer I came to him. He could see my fangs glisten when I smiled and his eyes widened even further when I allowed him to look down at where his mistress' mangled body lay.
His eyes widened until they were literally bugging out of his head, screaming soundlessly as he desperately tried to break the mental shackles that I had placed on him so that he wouldn't be able to run away when we had our little "chat" but he couldn't which sent him into an extended paroxysm of fear.
"Now then, my dear chap," I went on in a perfectly reasonable tone, letting my hand fall to my side as I walked over to him, ignoring his whimpering, plaintive cries. "We're going to have a little chat, you and I, and I want you to answer the questions I put to you honestly." I smiled grimly while he trembled, his mental state close to collapse as he watched me approach. "And if you lie to me, I will know and I will kill you." I nodded in the direction of Arlene's body. "Like I did to her except your death will be a much more... unpleasant... one." I looked at him straight in the eye, my face only an inch away from his. "Do we understand each other?"
I loosed the mental grip I had on him a little and he was able to nod, once though he was still unable to speak.
"Very well, then." I raised an eyebrow while he stared mutely at me. "What I want to know is this: what business do you have with Manfred von Karma?"
He began to open his mouth to answer but I Sensed the lie behind it. I ruthlessly squeezed the mental link I had established with him until he screamed in agony, sweat running down his forehead in rivulets.
"I warned you, Arty," I said, my voice dangerously low as he sweated and moaned in pain, "that I would Know when you were lying to me and that you would pay for it." My eyes hardened. "What made you think I wasn't a man of my word?"
He had no answer for that-although I already Knew what it was-and wisely kept his mouth shut. I was in no mood to be merciful and even an arrogant rat like Arty knew better than to cross swords with me.
I had no doubt that von Karma had told him exactly what I was and that I was hell-bent on revenge; had I not come here this evening, he would not have sought me out on his own. I also knew that he was trying to avoid me since he'd heard that I was gunning for von Karma's blood and I suspected he'd also heard about what had happened at Miles' and I home that fateful night eight years ago directly from von Karma's own mouth.
"Now, Arty, let's try again and NO falsehoods this time." I glared at him, sending chills running down his spine as he looked mutely on. "My patience grows thin. If you don't tell me what it is I wish to know, I have no compunction of tearing it from your mind which, I assure you, is a vastly unpleasant enterprise and its also quite, quite painful as well." I grinned savagely. "Do you know what happens when I tear through someone's thoughts?"
I chuckled at his horrified expression as I Sent him images of the men I'd killed after tearing through their minds first. "It leaves their minds a bleeding, shattered wreck and its considered a mercy when I kill them afterward since they would eventually perish on their own... and be mindless, gibbering wrecks of humanity until that day arrived. You see-" I extended a hand to him once again, my sharp nail trailing down the side of his cheek, a long well of blood following in its wake - "once I'm done using them up, I just cast them aside and let them fend for themselves or, as in the case of the men I just Showed you, I kill them in quite interesting and extremely painful ways."
He gibbled in fear as I Sent him more images of the men I'd killed that fateful night and nearly vomited when he Saw me skinning the unfortunate five that I saved that particular punishment for alive. I laughed mirthlessly as my Bloodlust grew, my eyes burning bloody crimson holes in his head while he moaned in mingled pain and fear.
"So you see, Arty," I concluded, trailing another sharp nail down the left side of his face, "it all depends on you, now. Either you tell me what it is I want to know or else..." I let my voice trail off but he didn't miss the veiled threat I'd just made and promised to be more cooperative, his eyes flickering down to Arlene's mangled corpse.
"Now then. Shall we begin?"
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1 A.M.
Arty was most cooperative and told me everything that I wanted to know and many other things as well: where von Karma was (holed up in a villa overlooking the bluffs at Carmel); who had told him where Miles and I lived so von Karma knew where to send the men (it was Arty's ne'erdowell pal and associate, Barry Newman) and who's idea it had been to set the dogs on us (of course, von Karma again) as well as who the real murderer of the children of the village had been (Gerhardt Valentine, the local electrician) and his own role in the tragedy that had happened that night.
By the time he was done, Arty had blown the whistle on many of his fellow compatriots and no doubt that they wouldn't be very happy to hear that he had ratted them out although he didn't really have to worry about that since he was about to join the others in death. I was not going to leave them alive after what they'd done.
He stared at me mutely, a stunned expression spreading over his face as I pronounced sentence on him. He'd tried to protest but I'd cut him off ruthlessly, my eyes glittering with the promise of death. I could all but Feel the arrogance roll off of him and I gritted my teeth in rage while I flexed the mental shackles on him a few times in order to cause him pain; this miserable excuse for a human being didn't really care about who it was he had had killed; he'd been paid handsomely for his role and didn't once regret having done it.
If he had shown even the tiniest seed of remorse for his role in Miles' murder, I would have let him live and dropped him off at the first police station we'd come to and hand him over directly to justice. Now, I had decided, he would face MY justice: cold, impersonal and implacable. I explained to him that, while I was grateful for his so willingly told me everything I wanted to know and then some, his life was forfeit for the role he'd played in Miles' murder. I also told him that the others he had mentioned would not escape, either and I would Hunt them down, one by one, and kill them.
"You-you... CAN'T!" he'd wailed, the arrogance immediately replaced with cold, hard fear. "I-I did what you asked...why won't you just let me go?!"
I chuckled mirthlessly. "It is true that you did," I said agreeably, my eyes burning red, "but there is one thing that you seem to forget: and that is that YOU were the one who set the wheels in motion that led to the murder of Miles Edgeworth on von Karma's orders." Arty's eyes widened at these words and I could see his lips tremble and he began to open his mouth again but I clenched my fist as my Anger grew. "Therefore, your life is forfeit and you, along with the others, will pay the penalty. In full."
He didn't have time to formulate another word as I slashed my hand across his throat, blood spraying in a wide arc over the are area where he stood. I watched dispassionately as some the liquid red splashed on my black trench-coat as he slowly bled out, his eyes wide in shock and pain when I flexed my fist during the process, a grim smile on my lips.
He died some minutes later and, as I released my hold on him, he slowly crumpled to the ground, his body draping across that of his mistress. I looked dispassionately down at the bodies for some time before I turned into mist and floated out of the window just as the police broke down the door, exclaiming as they found the bodies.
I materialized on the ledge and watched the process form three floors above, my eyes burning. Adelle would learn the truth about her rat of a husband and I felt badly that she would be hurt by the revelation but she had to have known the truth, if at least in a transitory manner, so it should not have come as a complete surprise to her that her suspicions would be confirmed.
I watched for a few more minutes before I unfurled my wings and took flight, my thoughts racing as I flew through the night. I now knew where I needed to go and what I had to do.
Von Karma would not be left alive at the end of this night... and he would pay. I would see to it.
And then, Miles, will I come to you...