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Maya Fey’s bubbly personality and childlike wonder play a large role in makingAce Attorneyone of thegreatest mystery games ever. But underneath her sunny disposition is a dark past filled with misfortune and death. It’s no exaggeration to say that Maya may be the unluckiest character in video games.
Maya holds the record for most murder charges out of any Ace Attorney character and is wrongfully accused of at least one crime in every game she appears in. But make no mistake; her life is not a cautionary tale. The story of Maya Fey is one of tragedy and the unwavering bravery it took to overcome it.
Warning: Spoilers ahead for the Phoenix Wright Trilogy and Spirit of Justice.
What Is Maya’s Backstory?
Born and raised in the mountain town of Kurain Village,Maya comes from a long line of spirit mediums. Her mother, Misty Fey, was the Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique before disappearing shortly after Maya was born.
Determined to find out what happened to their mom, Maya’s older sister, Mia, left the village to pursue a law career. Not only did this leave Maya alone to fend for herself, but it also put hernext in line to inherit the title of master.
For the rest of her childhood, Maya stayed in Kurain Village and vigorously trained to hone her powers of communicating with the dead. Everything changed, however, when she visited her sister’s office in Los Angeles and stumbled upon a devastating surprise.
Arrested For Her Sister’s Murder
Upon arrival at Mia’s office, Maya finds her sister slumped on the floor. After running to her aid,she quickly realizes that Mia is dead, bludgeoned on the back of the head.
Mia’s disciple, Phoenix Wright, arrives shortly after to discover Maya next to the corpse. When the police show up,Maya is promptly arrestedby Detective Dick Gumshoe after he finds her name written in blood on the back of a receipt in Mia’s hand.
Phoenix visits Maya at the Detention Center the next day and asks if she can channel Mia’s spirit to uncover the real killer. Unfortunately,Maya’s powers are not ready for such a task, and she declines without even attempting it.
After some hesitation, Maya agrees to hire Wright as her defense attorney. Thanks to his investigative abilities, he quickly finds the true culprit -a crooked CEO named Redd White, whom Mia was investigating concerning her mother’s disappearance.
Redd White had spread rumors to the press about Misty Fey being hired by the police to help solve a murder, but she accused the wrong person. She was quickly labeled a fraud and went into hiding out of shame.
Given that this is only Phoenix’s second case, he struggles to debunk the airtight argument of genius prosecutor Miles Edgeworth. In a last-ditch effort, Maya musters up all of her strength andmanages to channel her sister’s spiritat the very last second.
With Mia’s help, Phoenix proves Redd White’s guilt, andMaya is declared not guilty.Maya continues to work with Wright at Mia’s request, playing a large role incracking his toughest casesuntil she returns to Kurain Village to finish her training.
Framed By Her Family
Maya and Phoenix reunite a few months later whena gruesome murder is committed in Maya’s house.With the help of her aunt, Morgan Fey, Maya schedules her first professional channeling with a paying client, Dr. Turner Grey.
After Maya and Grey enter the Channeling Chamber and lock the door, she begins to summon the spirit of Mimi Miney, the doctor’s late nurse. Suddenly, Maya is knocked unconscious, and when she wakes up,she finds Dr. Grey’s dead body beside her.
Given that the door was sealed tight and no one else was in the room, Maya concludes thatthe spirit of the dead nurse must have possessed her bodyand killed the doctor, making her an accessory to murder and a failure as a spirit medium.
Phoenix, on the other hand, believes in her innocence and takes on her defense once more.
After a heated trial against prosecutor Franziska von Karma, Phoenix exposesMaya’s aunt as the true mastermindbehind the crime. Morgan’s goal was to frame Maya for murder so that her daughter, Peal Fey, would become the next Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique.
It turns out that Mimi Miney had only faked her death. To cover it up, she teamed up with Morgan Fey to stop the channeling by killing Dr. Grey and framing Maya.
Morgan and Mimi are arrested, andMaya is acquitted for the second time.However, she soon realizes that her aunt’s plan is far from over.
Kidnapped At The Gatewater Hotel
It wouldn’t take long before Maya found herself in another life-threatening situation. While attending a superhero convention at the Gatewater Hotel, Maya is lured away from the crowd andkidnapped by the assassin Shelly de Killer.
She wakes up trapped in a wine cellar, where her assailant greets her. Shelly then calls Wright anddemands his services in exchange for Maya’s life.
The terms are thatPhoenix must defend an actor named Matt Engradeand get a full acquittal. Unbeknownst to Wright,Engarde had hired de Killer to strangle his long-time rival, Juan Corrida, and Maya was being held in the actor’s house.
Despite the hopelessness of the situation,Maya manages to break free of the wine cellarand comes very close to escaping. However, the assassin quickly discovers her and transfers her to a more secure location.
Knowing that Phoenix will eventually find her makeshift cell, Maya leaves a note before she is taken away, telling Wright toensure Engarde is found guilty, no matter the cost.
During the final day of the trial, Phoenix produces evidence thatEngarde had filmed Corrida’s murderand was planning on using it to blackmail the assassin. In a fit of outrage, de Killer terminates his contract and promises to return Maya safely.
With nowhere left to go, Matt Engarde confesses to his crimes, and Maya finally reunites with Phoenix.
Reunited With Her Mother
One year later,Maya reunites with her mother, albeit briefly and under the worst circumstances.
They meet for the first time in years at a channeling dojo called Hazakura Temple, where Maya plans to study. Misty, however, is there to save Maya from a terrible demise.
A few days prior, Morgan Fey summoned her daughter, Pearl, to the prison for an important task -channel the spirit of Dahlia Hawthorne.What she didn’t tell the young medium was thatDahlia was a vicious serial killerwith a vendetta against Maya.
Dahlia was indicted by Mia Fey, which led to her imprisonment and execution. By killing Maya, she hopes to enact her revenge against the Fey Clan.
Under the alias Elise Deauxnim, Misty Fey stays at the temple with Prosecutor Godot to prevent Pearl from summoning Dahlia’s ghost. When that fails,Misty channels the serial killerto prevent the spirit from possessing Pearl’s body.
Dahlia corners Maya in the temple’s garden, brandishing a large knife. Right before the ghost strikes,Maya is saved by Godot,who plunges a sword through Misty’s body. The spirit returns to the afterlife, and Misty dies without revealing her real identity to Maya.
As courageous as ever, Maya won’t let even this stop her from protecting others. To ensure that Dahlia can never kill again,she locks herself deep within the Inner Templeand channels Dahlia’s spirit.
However, the cunning Hawthorne escapes her imprisonment and poses as her twin sister, Iris. To complete her revenge plot, she testifies against Maya in court, claiming she saw Maya kill Misty Fey.
Phoenix sees through her lies and successfully expels Dahlia’s spirit from Maya’s body. With her aunt’s final plan ruined, Maya is finally safe from her wicked family.
The Time Maya Was Found Guilty Of Murder
Nine years have passed.Maya now lives in the Kingdom of Khura’into finish the last part of her training to become Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique. When Phoenix comes to visit, tragedy strikes once again.
This time, Maya is arrested not once, buttwice for murderwhen head priest Tahrust Inmee and his pupil Puhray Zeh’lot are found dead.
Despite Phoenix’s efforts to defend her, the Khrua’inese courts are much stricter and less lenient with defendants, andMaya is found guilty of murdering Tahrust Inmee.
This verdict, however, would be retracted during Maya’s second trial whenshe channels Tahrust’s spiritin court to prove her innocence in both cases.
Thanks to the priest’s testimony, Phoenix proves that Tahrust’s wife, Beh’leeb Inmee, murdered Puhray Zeh’lot and Tahrust’s death was a suicide.
Maya gets acquitted of both crimes, but it won’t be long before her life is put on the line one final time.
Maya’s Role In The Khura’in Revolution
Not long after Maya is released from prison, she finds herselftangled up in a government-wide conspiracy.
She gets kidnapped and held hostageby Justice Minister Inga Karkhuul Khura’in to force Phoenix into retrieving the Founder’s Orb, a mystical relic fabled to bestow spiritual powers on anyone who solves its puzzle.
Things take an even more tragic turn when Dhurke Sahdmadhi, leader of the rebel group Defiant Dragons, tries to rescue Maya, only to be shot to death by Inga.
In his final moments, Dhurke asks Maya tochannel his spirit after he diesso he can help her escape and see his son, Apollo Justice, one last time. With no options left, Maya summons his spirit, who then travels to the United States to reunite with his son.
Apollo and Dhurke successfully keep the Founder’s Orb away from the Justice Minister and the tyrannical Queen Ga’ran. After Dhurke’s spirit departs for the afterlife,Maya testifies during the rebel leader’s murder trialto clear him of any wrongdoing.
Dhurke is acquitted of all charges, and Maya returns home with Phoenix withher new title of Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique.
