Summary: Miles Edgeworth decides to pay Raymond Shields a visit to distribute a Thank You gift. Raymond decides to use this opportunity to catch up on old times. What he finds out during these five years he's been away abroad becomes something much more grave, the truth about DL-6 and why Edgeworth had come under Von Karma's wing.

Edgeworth approached the door to his father's old law offices. It had been a few days since the investigation of the murder of Horus Knightly inside the prison. Had it not been for Raymond Shields, the truth would have been lost and an innocent man would've been convicted of murder. Despite how much Raymond hated him, the least he could do was thank the man for what he did. Hopefully, he will enjoy the gift.

Opening the door, Edgeworth looked over to see Raymond sitting in his father's old desk with paperwork. The scent of the office brought back so many memories. It took everything Edgeworth had to not cry at this moment. Now wasn't a good time to reminiscence on old memories.

"Prosecutor Edgeworth... is that for Uncle Ray?" Raymond asked, clapping and acting like a school kid on Christmas.

"Y-Yes, I wanted to thank you for helping me out during that investigation. It... was much appreciated," Edgeworth said, handing his wrapped gift to Raymond, who took it happily.

"Well, Uncle Ray can't say no to a gift. What brings you here, Miles? I never see you come here... then again, I was studying for five years abroad."

"As I said, I thought I'd thank you for your help."

"Maybe catch up? It has been five years and it sounds like a lot has happened."

"... you could say that," Edgeworth said, crossing his arms. Has it really been that long? So much had happened during those five years from meeting with old friends, to studying in Germany, to reuniting with Kay, to... well now. Admittedly, he couldn't find himself to admit it out loud. Raymond gave him a frown.

"... say, how about we sit down?" Raymond asked, then bringing out his happy grin.

"What?" Edgeworth responded, taken aback.

"Well, you did just admit that a lot has happened during the past five years. Uncle Ray wants to know!"

"... I suppose it was going to come out at some point," Edgeworth replied, tapping his finger on his elbow.

"Yay! Goody-goody! Well, sit down and let Uncle Ray serve you!"

Edgeworth nodded, then sat down on the couch as Raymond began pouring tea from the old kettle Gregory once used during work. Of course, the tea was a different flavor from what Edgeworth remembered his father using, but he supposed it was more of preference or tastes than anything. Either way, it did smell rather nice. Edgeworth always loved the smell of freshly brewed tea.

Handing Edgeworth his tea, Raymond sat down next to him, then asked, "so, what did Uncle Ray miss? Aside from the fluffy neck scarf, you don't seem to be as defensive or... worshiping Von Karma like before."

That resulted in a grimace. It was clear that Edgeworth did not admire the man as much he once did, but he didn't know how to say it. Raymond picked it up very quickly, then his expression turned serious.

"Scratch that, you look like you hate him and I mean REALLY hate him. Much more than me, and that's saying something," Raymond said.

"You probably would too, if you knew," Edgeworth seethed, his voice sounding both angry, but also hurt. It was the voice of someone that got stabbed in the back by a former partner.

"Do you want to talk about this with Uncle Ray?"

"... Manfred Von Karma was arrested three years ago for murder."

"..."

"I should start from the beginning," Edgeworth said.

"Yes. Not that I'm surprised he murdered anyone, but I'm surprised he was caught and arrested for that."

"... it all started with DL-6."

"DL-6? Wait... do you mean...?"Raymond asked, his face turning pale.

"When Father was murdered. At the time, I... there was a nightmare I'd have about that time that would keep repeating over and over... I was watching the bailiff argue with my father and wanted them to stop. It was becoming hard to breathe. I was shouting at him to stop. I picked up the gun off the ground, threw it, then a gunshot went off. I heard this sickly scream before I passed out."

"... you said you had this... every night?" Raymond asked, his eyes widened in horror at the thought. Edgeworth nodded. "But... that was just a dream! It..."

"It wasn't. It did happen, but... there was a hidden truth I never saw... that was until 15 years later. But... there was one man I did confess to."

"Who?"

"Von Karma. When I first worked for him, it was to dog sit his dog and her pups, while he was working. At the time, he was the only person I had in my life that gave me a purpose and reason to live. I lived alone and those nightmares always came back. I wanted to die at that point."

"That's why you admired him so much. I had no idea. Why didn't you ever come to me?" Raymond asked.

"I couldn't. There were many people I could've told and I didn't. Von Karma... he... he prevented me from taking my own life. After that, he got me to talk. I won't go into details, but..."

"I see... so, what is this hidden truth you're bringing up and what happened between you and Von Karma?"

"... remember when I said I reunited with old friends?"

"Yeah."

"Well... there was an old friend, who saw that I was feeling troubled. He got it in his head that he could save me by changing his career to become a Defense Attorney. Originally, he wanted to work in Performing Arts."

"Wow, that's what I call loyalty right there."

"I suppose. Anyways, we faced off against each other a couple of times. One day... about four years ago, I was arrested on Christmas morning for the murder of Robert Hammond."

"WHAT!? But, you wouldn't...! Though, the name does sound familiar."

"Of course not! Don't be ridiculous! As for the name, Robert Hammond also happens to be the Defense Attorney for the bailiff Yanni Yogi during DL-6."

"... ooooooooooooooooooooooooh. That's right! That was the one when... wait, you were arrested for murder! You... ugh... and I was studying that time! Who was Prosecuting!? Was it...? No, don't tell me it was...!"

"Manfred Von Karma."

"I was afraid of that. Ugh, I should've been there! I would've defended you and given that man a piece of my mind!" Raymond cried.

"I think you'll be wishing more than that."

"What do you mean?"

"Not only did he actually set up the crime scene to make it look like I killed Robert Hammond, but he even had it all planned out for the so called decisive witness to murder him, who turned out to be Yanni Yogi the entire time."

"WHAT!?! That... why would he...? But, you trusted him! You practically worshiped him and he just stabbed you in the back! Ugh! Oh Miles, I should've been there," Raymond said, angry at first, then feeling a huge weight of guilt. It was true, he had planned on using these five years of studying abroad to face against Edgeworth and Von Karma. By doing that, he had left Gregory's one and only son to be set up for murder by the hands of Von Karma. "I'm such an idiot! I... I should have known he'd do that to you. He would do that."

"... honestly, I was surprised too. I knew what he did was wrong, but I never thought he'd set me up the way he did. I even assumed he did so, because he knew..."

"But... you were young and it was an accident!"

"At the time, I didn't consider it that way. Also, looking back, he was probably covering his tracks, knowing what he did."

"What do you mean? Are you talking about setting you up or...?" Raymond asked, looking confused.

"You remember the man I mentioned that became a Defense Attorney for my sake? He took my case. I refused him at first, of course, due to my pride. But, he found out the truth, in his own ridiculous way, about the murder of Robert Hammond and DL-6. Eventually, I confessed to my dream, after I was proven Not Guilty for Robert Hammond's murder, then another trial was commenced. That man pointed out a contradiction to there having been two gunshots fired that day."

"Two... gunshots?" Raymond asked, his eyes widened as Miles nodded.

"The man I heard scream that day wasn't my father, but the murderer... specifically from having shot him on his shoulder. My Attorney was able to use a metal detector to find the stray bullet hidden inside the shoulder of my father's murderer in the courtroom."

"No way! Who was it!?"

"... Von Karma."

"..."

"Looking back, it makes sense now. Why he'd kill Robert Hammond. He was about to have a private meeting with me about DL-6. Von Karma could risk being exposed for his crime, had the meeting taken place."

"You know, I didn't like Von Karma, but I never thought the day would come when I would truly hate that man."

"..."

"Miles, you deserved a better mentor. I can't imagine the pain you're feeling, even now."

"I don't think you could. Father never once stabbed you in the back or betrayed your trust. It's understandable. He loved you as his own student, perhaps even as a son or a younger brother. That's how Von Karma felt about me and yet he..."

"He didn't love you, Miles. He used..."

"He does!" Edgeworth snapped, shaking. "That's why it hurts! He just loved his so called perfect record more than us!"

"Us?"

"He has a family, you know. A wife, children - three actually, grandchildren and a mother. He loves them and takes pride in them, but when it comes to his perfect record, it's like that was the only thing that mattered. After his arrest, he placed dishonor upon his family and it left all of us in a state of confusion. I even anticipated on taking my own life again. Of course, I didn't, but... I thought about it, wrote it down... made people believe I was dead, after forgetting I wrote it down, scared my detective half to death, made Franziska go into a rampage, and use my Defense Attorney as a scapegoat."

"Franziska?"

"She's Von Karma's youngest daughter and a great prosecutor that's working for Interpol."

"Ah! Still, you met with Von Karma's family?"

"Yes. I told you, I started working for Von Karma with dog sitting. I was very close with them. I was like family to them. So, an attack on me was an attack on the rest of them."

"Is that's why you still wear that cravat? Ah, I see. Now, I understand. It has nothing to do with Von Karma or your mentor one. Still, I should've been there."

"You didn't know. There's no way you could. Not even I knew," Edgeworth muttered sadly.

"Hey Miles."

"Yes."

"Thanks for telling me. All this time, I thought you were siding with Von Karma as some sort of act of betrayal or retaliation against your father, but I was wrong. You were probably more hurt than any of us. I should have helped you more."

"It's not like you knew and there was no way I was going to say anything. I'm sure my father would've hated me too, if he were alive."

"Pfft, are you kidding me? He would've hopped onto the next flight to Germany and dragged your ass back here. I should've done that, but... I let my hatred for you rule over what your old man would've wanted," Raymond said, sighing as Edgeworth stood with wide eyes. He had always thought of the look of disappointment from his father, had he known what he did, but doing something crazy like that sounded like something Phoenix would do and sorta did. 

"Honestly, I don't know how you could have. I'm having a hard time imagining my father going after me like that, though I suppose I can't deny it either. Besides, weren't you studying abroad?"

"Yes, but I was doing it, so I could beat you and Von Karma. I thought I would do so to avenge your father's honor, but... I wasn't doing that. The one that was dishonoring your father was me. If I had followed your father's wishes, I would've tried to save you instead of defeating you."

"Mr. Shields."

"Your father loved you more than anything. He'd do anything to get his little boy back. I failed where your friend succeeded. I should thank him. He did a great service to your father."

"If it means anything, I probably would've done what you did, had our roles been reversed. Being under Von Karma and having to study for three years overseas, after DL-6 was resolved, has humbled me greatly."

"Hm... say, there's going to be a grand opening of the Masters Mansion. Have you heard about it?"

"... is it that Gemini Museum?"

"YES! A good friend of mine Katy is hosting it. I'd like to bring you along with me to go see it."

"Th-Thanks, but... I'm not interested."

"It's also the crime scene of the last case your father took before he died."

"Really?" Edgeworth asked with widened eyes.

"Mhm," Raymond replied with his sleepish smile. "Still not interested?"

"... I... have heard about it. Though, it would be nice to see things from the other side."

Raymond clapped his hands in excitement, saying, "yay! Goody-goody! I promise you won't regret it."

Edgeworth felt, for some reason, that he would. Still, he wanted to know the truth about his father's last case. It was the one his father and Von Karma had worked on. He could get the case files for that one, though that would mean paying a visit to a certain perfectionist Prosecutor, who would be anything but happy to see him, to get the password to his filing cabinets where all his past cases were located. Luckily, his Death Sentence wasn't for two more years.

"Thank you, Mr. Shields."

"Of course. And Miles... try paying me visits often. It does get quite lonely here."

"Hm... I'll think about it," Edgeworth said, meaning he would likely visit again. It seemed like his relationship with Raymond had been healed after all these years.

A/N: This is a one shot I've been planning for a while, but didn't know how to write it. It was originally going to be in Merry Deathmas, but I thought this would be a better timeline to place it in. It takes place between The Imprisoned Turnabout and The Inherited Turnabout. A week had passed between those two chapters, so I figured that Edgeworth must've paid Raymond a visit and spilled the beans about DL-6, why he was under Von Karma and about his nightmare. I don't think that Raymond would've apologized to Edgeworth for the way he treated him in The Inherited Turnabout, unless Edgeworth told him about what he went through. Knowing Edgeworth, he would tell Raymond what really happened, since he deserves to know what happened to his father and what had been going on with him.