Rising Uncertainty

History Repeats Itself

Miles sat behind his desk bored out of his mind. He's been doing nothing but paperwork and reviewing for the trial. Sure, this is what he normally does and, he hates to admit, it never bothered him so much before. He found it a bit lackluster when Phoenix wasn't around making annoying quips or groaning and complaining about having nothing to do. He found it amusing and sometimes humored his friends complaints and dropped his work to play a game of cards.

But today, Phoenix hadn't shown up at his office like he usually does. The other man was busy helping Maya set up something for Pearl. Miles didn't mind of course, he just felt a bit lonely. He had offered to help, but was told that it wasn't necessary and that he needed to focus on the case. He supposed they were right. What was wrong with him? He would have never tried to do anything but work in the past.

"Wright..." he muttered as he signed another form. He placed it to the side before leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. It was almost time for him to leave. Finally.

This day felt as if it was going on forever. He just wanted to lay down in his bed and sleep. He just hoped his nightmares decided to cease again.

He shook his head and began to pack files and copies of evidence into his satchel. His work in the office was finally complete and, in an unusual turn of events, couldn't wait to get out of there. Stress was pressing on him and, without Phoenix there, he had denied himself a break in the day. It was suffocating. He needed to clear his head and some fresh air. Miles finished getting his things together before exiting his office. He locked his office door behind him, not wanting anyone to break in.

"I wonder if he's still busy," Miles muttered to himself. He bit the inside of his cheek and pulled out his phone. He was about to call him when he turned the phone off and put it in his pocket. "He's probably asleep by now."

Miles glanced at the elevator and huffed lightly before making his way down the stairs, refusing to put himself through any unneeded turmoil. He usually would try at least once a month, but he couldn't do it tonight. Too much was already going on. He left the building and smiled slightly when the cold air hit his face. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, enjoying the moment.

Miles opened his eyes again before walking past his car, preparing to go on his nightly walk. He hated breaking routine and tonight felt like the perfect night for sorting out his thoughts.

The air was crisp and the sky was clear. There wasn't a cloud in the night sky. The stars sparkles beautifully across the dark and the moon shone brightly, illuminating the trees and buildings in a silver glow and casting dark shadows on the ground. It was quiet and the city seemed to be asleep. Only the occasional car passed by Miles.

It was peaceful.

Miles relaxed as he walked, enjoying his well deserved break from the stress of work. He could finally let himself empty his mind of the annoyances of the case.

Unfortunately, he was ripped out of his thoughts as three people approached him. They looked familiar, but Miles couldn't figure out where he had seen them before. He half expected them to walk past him, but they stopped in front of him. He gripped his satchel tightly.

"May I help you?" Miles asked as he stopped.

"Yeah, actually, you can," One of the responded. "We need that satchel of yours."

"We're being payed to get it, so no hard feelings," another one said.

Miles took a step back and narrowed his eyes. "Tell O'Weigh to piss off," Miles said.

"We could, but we could also just take that bag and get our money," the first one said. "After all, this is your fault. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for you."

That's when it hit Miles like a ton of bricks. He knew these men. They used to be prosecutors. Julius Robbert, Marco Banks, and Emery Bezzle. Miles had gotten them all fired when he uncovered that the three were stealing money from the office.

Miles took another step back and glanced behind him. He then swiftly turned on his heels and began to run. He knew what O'Weigh wanted from his satchel, but he wouldn't let him have it. Glancing back, Miles felt his stomach drop as he realized they were gaining on him.

He cried out when Emery grabbed his arm and yanked him back, causing him to trip and fall to the ground. Marco and Emery hauled him up and held his arms tightly, not allowing any movement. Julius smiled before picking up his satchel from the ground.

"Thank you for this," Julius said with a falsely sweet tone. "Last time, you didn't have what we needed on you. That's fine, of course, because we're all still very angry. This just opens up an opportunity to continue our lesson from last time."

Miles struggled against Emery and Marco. "Let me go! I don't have anything of importance to him in that bag!"

"Except you do," Julius said as he pulled out a disk. "Is this the only version of this? It'd be difficult to make copies in that office, especially since the disk burner broke."

"You don't have to do this again-"

Miles was cut off by a swift punch to the guy, causing him to fall to his knees. Marco and Emery still had a painful hold on his arms. Julius made a gesture to his two groupies before they dragged Miles into the dark cover of an ally.

"Alright boys," Julius began as he put the disk back in his satchel. "It's our turn to have the fun. We got what O'Weigh wanted, so we can do what we want."

"Finally," Marco mumbled.

"I was starting to worry you forgot," Emery chuckled lightly. Miles pulled against their hold, causing Emery's smile to drop. "Stop trying to pull away."

Miles felt helpless. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't escape.

He grunted as he received another punch to his gut. Pain surged through him as he struggled to breath. He had no time to regain his composure before he was punched in the face multiple times. They didn't care if people saw his bruising this time.

He was given no time to recover as Marco and Emery dropped him to the ground and aided Julius in his attack. He felt his coat behind torn from him and his cravat behind ripped from its place before being slammed to the ground again.

All he could feel was pain and panic. He tried to cry for help, but it was useless. No one was going to help. Miles curled up as kick after kick and punch after punch was landed. He could feel blood dripping from his nose and gashes on his head and body. He tried with everything he had to not succumb to the darkness edging into his vision, but was unsuccessful. He felt himself slip into darkness as a kick landed on his face.

———

Pain. The cold. Those were the only things Miles could feel as he regained consciousness. His labored breathing could be seen in the air and his nose, ears, and cheeks were bright pink along with his fingers. He slowly opened his eyes and tried to sit up. He gasped in pain and laid back down as pain shot through him. Miles clenched his teeth and closed his eyes again, trying to focus on where he actually was. He was definitely laying on grass. He could feel it poking him and his exposed neck.

"Ngh..." Miles opened his eyes again and looked around without moving as much as possible. Every movement caused him to curl in pain and sent a wave of nausea through him. "My... phone..."

Miles went to grab his phone when he realized his coat was gone. He had kept it in the pocket. Tears began to roll down his cheeks as fear began to set in. He didn't want to die out here. He couldn't.

Miles cried out in pain as he forced himself to sit up. He breathed heavily as he let his body adjust to its new position. His head was spinning and he was doing his best to not immediately lay back down.

"Edgeworth? Oh my God!"

Miles couldn't pinpoint who's voice that was or where it was coming from. His eyes closed as he tried still his spinning mind. He was trying, but he failed and few moments later he had passed out once again.