Five Times Pearl Learned a Lesson - Or four times Phoenix taught her something, one time Edgeworth did, and one time Pearl taught everyone else.

AN: Because, honestly, the things Pearl gets away with are ridiculous and someone should've put their foot down way earlier. Set during Trials and Tribulations.

Hitting Phoenix

Whack!

Phoenix yelped as Pearl's small fist hit him in the thigh. Hard.

"Pearls!"

"You should be paying attention to Mystic Maya," Pearl said primly.

"Wh-what? Pearls, listen to me," Phoenix said, grabbing her wrists with his own hands to stop her attacking again, "You're not allowed to hit people."

Pearl blinked at him. "But you're looking at that woman..."

"I don't care," Phoenix said sharply, "There is one time – and one time only – that you're allowed to hit someone; that's when you're being attacked yourself. Understand?"

"B-but," Pearl sniffed, "M-Mystic M-Maya..."

The tears welling up in her eyes tugged at Phoenix's heartstrings, but he pushed ahead.

"You can't go around hitting people who aren't doing what you want them to," Phoenix said. He pre-emptively winced at what he knew was going to be a low blow, "You know what we call people like that? Criminals."

Pearl burst into tears and started for the door. Maya quickly caught her and gave Phoenix a dark glare. Phoenix smiled weakly back as he approached the girls carefully and put his hand on Pearl's shoulder.

"It's OK, Pearls," Pheonix said, rubbing her shuddering back, "Just promise you won't hit people."

"I-I promise, Mr. Nick," Pearl mumbled.

"Good girl," Phoenix pulled back and fished around in his pockets until he came across a tissue, "Here, let's go get some icecream, yeah?"

Still sniffling, Pearl nodded.

'Special Someone'

"Pearl, I'd like to clear something up with you," Phoenix said as they waited at the train station.

"Yes, Mr. Nick?"

"You shouldn't keep saying I'm Maya's 'special someone'," Phoenix said, "It's not true."

"Yes it is!" Pearl insisted, determination crossing her face, "You're going to end up married and have lots of children and be happy together!"

She finished her statement with a dreamy sigh and Phoenix began to wish he'd protested properly earlier. However, he was only just starting to get Pearl to see him as an authority figure, so maybe now really was the time to do this.

"I'm not Maya's 'special someone'," Phoenix said, "She's like a little sister to me. We're not going to get married."

"Mr. Nick! How can you say such things!" Pearl gasped, "In front of Mystic Maya no less."

Considering Maya's emptying the station's vending machines, I'm pretty sure she can't hear any of this.

"Pearls, Maya doesn't care," Phoenix said, "She isn't interested in me that way. And even if she was, it's not your job to push us together."

"I'm just so happy for the two of you I can't help it," Pearl said, but she was looking less sure of herself now.

Good.

"Remember what I told you before, Pearls, about you not being able to make people do what you want?" Phoenix waited for Pearl to nod before continuing, "It's like that."

"B-but you and Mystic Maya are so sweet together," Pearl said, not quite ready to give up the fight yet.

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean we have to get married," Phoenix said, "You know I think you and Maya are really cute when you're playing together, but that doesn't mean I think you should get married. It just makes me think how lucky you are to have family like that."

"Don't you have family, Mr. Nick?" Pearl asked.

"I'm an only child and my cousins rarely visited," Phoenix replied, "But that's a topic for another time. I'd just like you to stop gushing about me and Maya and 'special someones', OK? It embarrasses everyone, including Maya."

Pearl's whole body wilted. "I'm sorry, Mr. Nick..." she sniffed loudly, "People often tell me I'm really childish for wanting the best for Mystic Maya."

"That's not what I'm saying," Phoenix wondered how anyone got anywhere with kids, "Of course it's OK for you to want the best for Maya. I do too. And I guess I'm not saying you have to stop believing that Maya and I will end up married one day, after all, I told you that you shouldn't try to force your beliefs on other people."

"Then... what do you mean?" Pearl asked.

"Could you maybe stop telling everyone we meet about Maya and me?" Phoenix asked, "And stop making honeymoon reservations at hotels we pass. It costs quite a bit to take the reservation down."

"O-OK," Pearl said quietly, "Mr. Nick?"

"Yes, Pearls?"

"Does it really embarrass Mystic Maya when I say that?" Pearl asked.

"Put it this way, Pearls. What if Maya found someone who really was her special someone, then you come and tell everyone that I'm Maya's special someone," Phoenix said, "It might confuse everyone."

"I see," Pearl said, "And it might be a problem for Mystic Maya and her special someone. They could have a fight! And then Mystic Maya would be terribly injured saving his life and only then would her special someone finally confess his love for her!"

"Um... what gives you that idea?" Phoenix asked.

Pearl gave him a smile that passed for sly on a nine-year-old. "They have a lot of romance tales at Kurain for story-time."

Phoenix choked. "D-do they?"

Pearl giggled. Thankfully Maya returned before she could elaborate on any of those tales.

Running away

Once they'd reached the other side of Dusky Bridge – Phoenix having held onto the rail as tight as he could, because even though he'd survived the fall once, he still wasn't comfortable with the drop beneath the his feet – Sister Bikini left to the main temple and the other three started down the mountain.

"Pearls, I think there's something we have to talk about," Phoenix said.

Pearl started chewing on her thumb as she looked up at Phoenix apprehensively.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Phoenix asked, "I'm not some kind of monster."

"Mr. Nick, whenever you start talking like that, you tell me off," Pearl replied sadly.

"I do? Well, I am about to tell you off, but do you know what for?" Phoenix said.

"Because I nearly got Mystic Maya killed!" Pearl wailed, tears streaming down her face in an instant.

"I'm fine, Pearly!" Maya said quickly, before shooting a glare at Phoenix, "It wasn't your fault and Nick should know better than to say something like that."

"What? But I didn't say that," Phoenix protested, "I was just... Pearls, I don't like it when you run away."

"Huh?" Pearl sniffed.

"Huh?" Maya repeated.

"There's a lot of times you were out on your own," Phoenix said, ticking them off on his fingers, "When you were following Morgan's instructions. When I found you near the inner temple you ran away. Just after court now. In fact, during the Mask*DeMasque trial, you were off on your own running around the city."

"You're right," Maya said, "But Pearly never came to any harm."

"But what if she did?" Phoenix pressed, "Maya got kidnapped because she was associated with me last year. Plus there have been plenty of issues within the Fey clan recently. Not to mention that there was a murderer running around for the past few days while no one knew exactly where Pearls was."

There was silence except for the crunching of snow beneath their feet as the girls processed that. Slowly, Phoenix saw the more mature side of Maya surface and she nodded firmly.

"Nick's right, Pearly," Maya said, "You shouldn't be running around on your own. It could be dangerous."

Pearl's lip wobbled, but under the combined stern looks from Phoenix and Maya, she looked at her feet and nodded.

"We're just worried about you," Maya continued. "Hey! I've just had a great idea!"

Somehow I don't think this is going to be any good for my wallet.

"How about we get you a cell phone?" Maya said, the childish, Steel Samurai-loving side back in full force, "That way if you're ever out of sight and we start getting worried we can just call you!"

"Really?" Pearl smiled up at Maya.

"Of course, we'd have to get me a cell phone too," Maya said, "But I'm sure Nick can cover the bills."

"Huh?" Phoenix spluttered, "H-hey! Objection!"

The mountainside was full of giggling as two spirit mediums chased down the slope, with a lawyer slipping and stumbling along after them.

Reading

"Mr. Nick? What does this word say?"

Phoenix leaned over the menu Pearl was holding. "That says 'daily'."

He returned to his own menu for a few seconds, then there was another tug at his sleeve.

"Mr. Nick? What does this word say?"

"That says 'specials'."

Phoenix had barely glanced at his own menu before she was interrupting again.

"Mr. Nick? What –"

"Try sounding it out for yourself."

Pearl jumped and Phoenix felt the attention of the whole table turn to them at Edgeworth's words.

"Ap... ap-ate-izzers?" Pearl tried.

"Appetisers," Edgeworth corrected, more gently than Phoenix expected, "It means a small starter course, you probably want something from under the daily specials."

Pearl nodded and started to frown at the menu again. Phoenix wasn't sure what to say.

"You shouldn't pick on Pearly, Mr. Edgeworth," apparently Maya didn't have any trouble finding her words, "She's lead a very sheltered life and hasn't had the chance for a proper education."

"She's known Wright for at least a year," Edgeworth said, "And I'm nearly certain he can read."

"Yes I can!" Phoenix said hotly, "But I've never had to teach. What do you know about teaching children, Edgeworth?"

"Nothing," Edgeworth said with a slight shrug, "But I do know about learning languages."

That's right, he mentioned having to speak fluently to stand as a Prosecutor in other countries.

Phoenix looked at Pearl, who was carefully sounding out words from the menu, then back at Edgeworth, a plan forming.

"So..."

The next day, Phoenix watched in amusement as Edgeworth set a number of books, including a dictionary, in front of Pearl and started his lesson.

"Now, this is an old court case I prosecuted four years ago," Edgeworth said, opening a file in front of Pearl, "I want you to read it to me. When you don't understand a word, that's what this –" he tapped the dictionary, "– is for."

Pearl chewed on the end of her thumb as she looked at the thick file. Phoenix gave her an encouraging nod when she looked over at him.

Figures Edgeworth would use a court case instead of childrens' books.

"BF-8 in-inkident report," Pearl read off the front page.

"The letter 'c', like the letter 'k', can be pronounced hard or soft. A 'kuh' or a 'suh'. In this case it's pronounced softly," Edgeworth said, "So that would be..."

"In-suh-e-dent?" Pearl said carefully, her face lit up as she recognised the word, "Incident?"

"Correct," Edgeworth said. He turned the page, "Now, keep going. This bit should be familiar if you've ever sat through the beginning of a trial."

"Suh-ourt... kuh-ourt... oh! Court," Pearl read, "Court is now in sez-eon..."

Family

The familiar trill of the Steel Samurai pulled Phoenix out of the monotonous paperwork he'd been trying – and failing – to take in. Grateful for the reprieve, he didn't waste any time answering and kicking his feet onto his desk.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Nick?" came a soft voice over the phone.

"Pearls? Are you OK? Is everything all right?" Phoenix was already on his way to the door.

Thanks to Maya's constant asking – not to mention that everyone else at the celebration at Très Bien had decided it was a good idea – Phoenix had bought both Maya and Pearl a cell phone each. He'd done his best to emphasise that they were for emergencies only, but that didn't stop Maya texting him silly pictures every other day.

"I'm OK, Mr. Nick," Pearl said, "I'm on the train to Kurain."

Phoenix let out a relieved sigh and put his coat back on its hook.

"What's the matter, Pearls?"

"It's... it's my mother," Pearl said.

A stab of fear hit Phoenix in the gut. Considering what Morgan Fey had tried in the past, it wasn't unreasonable to believe she'd try and get rid of Maya again, one way or another.

"What about her? Has she tried to get you to follow another plan of hers?" Phoenix asked.

"N-no," Pearl said, "I just got back from visiting her..."

Of course, Pearl said she visits her mother once a month.

"What happened?"

"I asked her why she wanted to hurt Mystic Maya," Pearl said, "She said it was all for me. But... but... I don't want Mystic Maya to be hurt!"

Phoenix had to pull his phone away from his ear as Pearl wailed at the top of her lungs. He switched the phone to the other side of his head before replying.

"She's thinking about things differently," Phoenix said, "She's looking at the politics involved."

"Pol-itics?" Pearl's sobbing calmed down as she latched onto the unfamiliar word.

I can't believe she got lessons from Edgeworth and the word 'politics' never came up.

"It's grown-up stuff," Phoenix cringed at the weak excuse.

"But I'm not a grown-up," Pearl said, confusion coming through clearly.

"You'll be a grown-up one day," Phoenix said, "And that's when Morgan was planning for."

"Even when I'm grown-up I'll still like Mystic Maya!" Pearl said decisively.

"I'm sure you will," Phoenix said, "Pearls... maybe next time you visit your mother, you should take someone with you. Someone who can give you a hug afterwards."

"That sounds nice," Pearl said softly, "Mr. Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"Why is my mother so... so mean?" Pearl asked, "Sister Iris is really nice, but Miss Dahlia wasn't nice at all. We're all family, so why isn't everyone nice like Sister Iris or Mystic Maya?"

"That's just how people are," Phoenix replied, "It's... have you ever heard the expression 'friends are the family you choose'?"

"No."

"It's true," Phoenix said, "You can't help who your family is, but your friends are what make you who you are. Dahlia didn't have any friends and what I've heard about Morgan leads me to think that she doesn't have any either."

"Oh," Pearl said, so quietly Phoenix almost missed it.

"But Pearls, you've got lots of friends," Pheonix continued, "You've got me, and Maya, and Edgeworth, and Larry, and even Franziska was worried about you. Detective Gumshoe's your friend and everyone we've helped defend likes you. Even Godot was nice to you."

"That's true," Pearl said, her voice gaining strength, "So if you're my chosen family..."

"Yes?" Phoenix prompted.

"Does that make you like my dad?" Pearl asked brightly.

"Wh-what!?" Phoenix choked, "No! I'm not old enough to have kids! M-maybe I could be a big brother. How about that?"

"Yay!" Pearl cheered, "OK, big brother Nick!"

That doesn't sound too bad.

"OK, little sister Pearls," Phoenix said, "Are you feeling better now?"

"Yes, thank you, big brother Nick," Pearl said.

It could also get tired very quickly...

"All right then, I'll talk to you another time then?"

"Bye, big brother Nick."

Making Time

"Pearls, what's all this about?" Phoenix asked as Pearl tugged him and Maya toward the Gatewater Hotel, "You haven't booked another honeymoon suite have you?"

"No," Pearl said, sounding almost offended.

I guess she hasn't tried that since I talked to her about it.

"Is it a surprise?" Maya asked, getting into the spirit of things much more than Phoenix was.

"Yes," Pearl said with a smile, "And I'm not going to tell you anything else," she added sternly.

"Great," Phoenix muttered. In his experience surprises tended to end up with at least one body and a ton of paperwork from the resulting case.

Pearl made Phoenix and Maya wait some distance away while she went to ask the receptionist something. Still only barely ten years old, Pearl had to stretch up on her tiptoes to see over the counter, which Phoenix found amusing.

"Hey, pal!"

Phoenix nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden shout behind him. "Detective Gumshoe?"

"NO!"

Phoenix jumped again as Pearl ran over from the reception desk, looking upset. Maya and Gumshoe both looked just as taken aback by the little girl's shout.

"Is something wrong –" Phoenix started.

"You're not supposed to be here yet, Mr. Scruffy Detective," Pearl said fiercely.

"Well, you see, pal, the thing is I used to be late everywhere," Gumshoe explained, "Then Mr. Edgeworth suggested I set my watch fast and I've never been late since."

"Hey," Maya said, looking through the hotel glass doors, "Isn't that –"

"No!" Pearl said, starting to sound genuinely distraught, "Please, Viola Hall's ready, please go there."

She was actively herding them toward the large function room now. Phoenix shared a shrug with Maya, but decided to go along with Pearl for now. He didn't manage to see what Maya had noticed, but he heard something that could be a camera shutter, a whip crack, or both at once.

They were the first ones in the hall. Last time Phoenix had been in here there were dozens of tables heaped with food filling most of the space, but this time there was only one long table sat in the middle of the hall and and significantly less food piled on top of it.

"Pearls," Phoenix said slowly, "Can you tell us what's going on yet?"

And how much this is going to cost me?

"Not yet, Mr. Nick," Pearl said, ushering them toward the table, "We have to wait until everyone's here."

That's a lot of chairs to fill. Does Pearl even know this many people?

With a bemused look at his companions, Phoenix took the seat Pearl indicated. It was right next to Maya's seat and Phoenix had a feeling that she still hadn't entirely given up on the possibility of a big wedding in their future.

Gumshoe took his place several chairs away without any fuss. Pearl gave them a warning to stay where they were, before she quickly ran out of the room. Both Maya and Gumshoe took the chance to dig into the food.

"I hope she's not planning anything... ridiculous," Phoenix muttered to Maya.

"Have more faith in Pearly," Maya said through a mouthful of bread. There was still a bit a doubt in her voice, though that could have just been the bread.

"I'm still here, aren't I?" Phoenix said, "I just wished I knew a bit more about what she wants to do."

They were stopped from discussing it further as Pearl lead Franziska von Karma and Lotta Hart into the hall. They were arguing about something and behind them trailed Edgeworth, looking like he'd much rather be anywhere else.

I haven't seen him looking that desperate since the truth about SL-9 came out.

Phoenix gave Edgeworth a sympathetic smile, then focused on the argument.

"– foolish fools who only seek to drag other foolishly foolish fools into their foolish foolery! I will find you guilty of ruining my perfect perfection and –"

"– it's not like y'all have to be so rude about it! It's a free country an' all –"

Despite Franziska and Lotta's seats being on nearly the opposite ends of the tables to each other, their argument held strong while the rest of the seats were slowly filled.

As far as Phoenix could tell, nearly everyone Pearl had met in the city – and some out of it, since Sisters Iris and Bikini were happily chatting not too far from Maya – were here. Phoenix had no idea how she had managed to get in contact with them all.

The tapping of a knife against a glass caught his attention and the murmur of conversation quieted down.

"Now that I have your attention," Edgeworth said, putting his glass back on the table, "I think it's time we had a few words from the organiser of this evening."

Edgeworth bent down to help Pearl up so she was standing on her chair.

I'd wondered why she'd put herself next to him.

"Thank you all for coming," Pearl said formally, "I'm so glad you could all make it. Now... now I suppose I should say why I've gathered you all here."

Please don't announce something I can't afford. There aren't enough cases in the world for me to take us all to Disney Land.

"I've gathered you all together because we're friends," Pearl said, her voice gaining strength as she spoke, "And we don't see each other often enough. You're my friends and that makes you my family. All of you."

There was a loud sniff from further down the table and Phoenix wasn't surprised to see Will Powers dabbing at his eyes with a handkerchief.

"So, I have a proposal," Pearl said, the extra care she put into the word making Phoenix wonder if someone had helped her with this speech, "I'd like to see everyone again next year and the year after that. And every year after that."

"Hear hear!" shouted Larry from his seat near Franziska – he was already sporting a few nasty gashes.

Pearl faltered slightly, but kept her chin up. "I chose today because it's the anniversary of Mystic Maya and Mr. Nick's first meeting. We might have all lost Mystic Mia that day, but we've made so many friends since then. I think she'd be happy for us.

"So, would you all promise to come here next year too?" Pearl finished hopefully.

There was barely a moment of silence before Maggey was on her feet, clapping loudly. Gumshoe was right behind her, adding in a few whoops. Within seconds the entire assembly was clapping and cheering, even Franziska put her hands together a few times.

Pearl blushed at the sudden enthusiasm, but she was smiling widely. Edgeworth whispered something to her as he helped her back down off the chair.

The clapping petered out, but Phoenix noticed that the conversations struck up after that felt much friendlier. Maybe they could all stand to learn something from Pearl's innocent view on the world.

"Pearly!" Maya enthused, "This was such a great idea!"

"You really think so, Mystic Maya?" Pearl asked, looking very pleased.

"Absolutely," Maya gushed, "I can't believe you kept this secret and managed to find everyone!"

"Mr. Edgeworth helped," Pearl said, "Oh! Mr. Nick! Mr. Edgeworth says he hopes you can cover the hotel bill, since he paid for everyone's transport here."

"What? Objection!" Phoenix reeled back, "But most of them live in the city! What did he do, pay for their bus faire?"

Maya scoffed and Pearl looked so heartbroken that Phoenix couldn't find it in him to resist.

"Don't worry, I'll pay," Phoenix promised.

The cheer Pearl gave was nearly worth the blow to his wallet.

Well, I guess it's no worse than usual. Maybe I can convince some of the others to chip in.