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Chains of the Dragon (4445 words) by thesavagesabretooth Additional Tags: Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Drama & Romance, Eventual Happy Ending, ethical non-monogamy, relationship drama, Established Relationship, Developing Relationship, genre: political thriller and soap opera, POV Multiple, Klavier Gavin-centric, Apollo Justice-centric, Nahyuta-centric, Ema Skye-centric, Trucy Wright-centric, No cheating, Polyamory Endgame, klapollo-centric, klavema-centric, nahyupollo-centric, skyemadhi-centric, klavmadhi-centric, plot heavy It takes almost four months for Apollo Justice's on-again off-again boyfriend Klavier Gavin to find out why he hasn't seen his favorite herr forehead–or their forensic investigator– in town in a while. When he discovers that Apollo has moved to Kura'in without so much as a goodbye or a phone call, the rockstar hatches a plan with Trucy Wright to swoop into action and rescue the derelict lawyer from his self imposed exile.

Meanwhile, Apollo has been building a life in the newly reformed country. After confessing his feelings to his childhood best friend Nahyuta, the two of them have settled into a fond relationship which has begun to grow into to include Ema in its strange dance. Of course, there hasn't been much time for romance while rebuilding the country, and tensions are only growing as a schism spreads through the ranks of the Defiant Dragons.

Klavier and Trucy, along with Trucy's new assistants, Bonny and Betty, arrive on the scene in a Kurai'in situation that's as tense and ready to blow romantically as it is politically.

September 30, 2028– 2:30 pm

It wasn't babysitting. Trucy was almost 18 years old now– practically a woman in her own right– and certainly Klavier's dear friend in her own right.

No– while the rest of the Wright Anything Agency was busy with the Sprocket wedding, Klavier was more than happy to keep his good friend company. Even if he did have to take care of some of the paperwork sitting on his desk in the prosecution office before they actually went out and did anything fun.

Paperwork aside, usually Trucy would be laughing about something or other by this point–sitting on his desk while he worked and going on about something that happened at the Wunder Bar, or something she’d done with Pearl, or hell, some fresh news about the Wright Anything Agency.

Today, though, she was laying face down on his ergonomic chair. Her silk top hat had fallen to the ground, where it rolled in a lazy half circle back around to bump against the chair leg. He heard her whine another. “uuuurghhhh” that was muffled by the cushions.

Klavier got up to noodle a few chords on his guitar in between papers, and he leaned on the display case looking over at Trucy.

"Forgive me for saying so, but you don't exactly seem your perky self today, fraulein. Wedding bell blues?" He glanced over at her, stroking his fingers idly up the neck of his guitar.

Trucy looked up, dark circles around her eyes speaking to a night of little sleep.

“I mean…I’m really, really upset that daddy didn’t bring me to that wedding, sure…I’m the ONLY one in the office who hasn’t been invited! Even Miss EMA got to go! B-but…”

Klavier fingered a low, sullen chord at the mention of Ema Skye. She hadn't been in town for months, and now she was at a wedding without him? He had to admit he was a little hurt about that too.

"But, fraulein?"

“Daddy just told me some stuff that’s been…I d-dunno. A lot.” She sniffled as she wiped her face, and her head dropped back to his fancy chair. “And I don’t even have the chance to catch the bouquet to make up for it.”

"That's no fair. No fair at all, Trucy." He played another low, thoughtful chord and sighed. "Want to tell mr. Klavier what's on your mind? Or should we just drink our troubles away? Soda pop for you, of course."

“Of course,” Trucy said with utter despair. She rolled over with a frown . “I don’t even get to drink the good stuff.“...so, you wanna know something super funny?”

"I always want to know something funny, fraulein." He set down his guitar and he came over and stood beside the chair. "Even if I suspect this isn't the kind of funny that'll make me laugh."

“Oh it’s a doozy though!” Trucy rolled to sit up, her smile strained and twitching as she said “my dead mom has been dead lying to me for my whole life! Or at LEAST the last two years or so!”

Klavier put his hand on the chair and frowned. He had known that Trucy was an orphan– much like himself So this revelation was absolutely a shock.

He put on his brightest smile. "Care to run that by me again, I think I missed it."

Trucy ran her hand through her hair with a laugh. “My dead mom! She’s been lying to me. Because she’s not dead at all, Klavier! She’s still SUPER alive, and SUPER someone we know!”

"Well that's fucked up, fraulein!" Klavier leaned in over her. He paused as the full extent of her words hit him. "Wait did you say someone we know? As in I know your dear departed mother?"

“Uh huh!” Trucy nodded seriously. “I mean…she didn’t know she was my momma right away of course. She had amnesia. But then she remembered and asked Daddy to keep it a secret from me.”

Klavier clenched his knuckles unconsciously. "Oh did she?"

“Yep!” Trucy seemed on the edge of tears, nervously tugging at a lock of her hair “Lamiroir, the Siren of the Ballad is my momma, I guess. She swore daddy to secrecy until ‘the time was right’. And… I mean, that’s pretty crazy right?”

She sniffed softly.

Klavier stood frozen for a moment while the gears of his mind refused to move. Lamiroir– his friend, Lamioir– the siren of the ballad. The woman he'd gone on tour with.

That was Trucy Wright's mother?

And she hadn't told her?

Klavier could only stare for a moment in shock.

"Scheiße…" was all he managed to get out of his mouth.

“And that wasn’t even all of it, Klavier!” Trucy had begun openly sobbing now. Tears spilled down her freckled cheeks as she tried to stop them by holding her hands to her eyes. “there was…was somethin’ ELSE too!”

"Oh. Oh. Oh. Fraulein… come here…" He reached down and he scooped Trucy up into a tight hug as she cried. He was still in shock at the very idea of Lamoiror…. But he couldn't stand to see someone crying… "Tell Klavier what's wrong, okay?"

Trucy’s head thumped against his shoulder as she sniffled and cried for a moment more before he heard her whisper something in a murmur. It was barely perceptible between the tears and the way she pressed her face into his shoulder…but he heard it all the same.

“I got a big brother.”

Klavier's heart thumped in his chest like someone had plucked a guitar string inside it.

"Oh yeah?" he asked hoarsely.

“Y-yeah.” Trucy looked up at Klavier, her eyes red and bloodshot and tears dribbling down her face. She sniffed again, hiccuping before she said, “a ha-half brother who I’m never gonna see again! “

"What? No! Absolutely not true, fraulein," Klavier insisted. His heartbeat was playing a staccato beat now. "Where is this brother? Who is he? He's not dead is he?"

Or in jail? The thought rang loud between the beats in his chest.

“Not yet!” Trucy sniffled “...he’s just gone and sent himself into self-exile in the middle of the mountains forever! ‘Oh no, Trucy. I’m not coming back to LA. I gotta stay here and take up the burden of fixing a whole country’s legal system! Goodbye forever! Apollo FRICKING Justice chooses Khura’in!”

She gently thumped her fist’s against Klavier’s chest…and broke out sobbing once more.

Rockstar Klavier Gavin held the sobbing, thumping young lady against his chest in a gentlemanly manner– while young, confused Klavier internally struggled to keep up with what she had said.

The gears in his mind seemed to stretch too far and go 'sproing' internally.

"Did you say 'Apollo Justice', fraulein?"

Trucy laughed painfully against him, and shrugged her shoulders.

“Oh, I didn't tell you? Turns out Apollo’s my secret half brother, this whole time! Gosh! Good thing that didn’t go and turn awkward, huh? That’d be terrible!”

"Very awkward," he said in a low voice. Normally he would have made a joke about a soap opera perhaps. But he was still too busy catching up. "Apollo is your brother. How funny, fraulein. And is he at that wedding today too? I haven't seen him in… a while."

A while was generous. It had been months. Klavier tried not to be clingy. He tried to give Apollo his space. After all, they weren't really official. They weren't official any more than he and Ema were. It was just an on again, off again thing, whenever they weren't busy.

Even if Klavier would have preferred a little more attention. He wasn't going to be clingy. He'd let Apollo have his space. After all, if he clung too hard, he'd just end up pushing him away. Better to play it casual.

“Oh he’s moved to the himalayan mountains with a monk.” Trucy said dryly as she wiped at her tears. “forever. They’re fixing the legal system after their merry band of revolutionaries initiated an armed rebellion and overthrew their evil queen. Who looked like a sentai villain, by the way.”

Klavier started to laugh, rather helplessly.. "Oh, Trucy that's very funny. Good joke, very good joke! Moved to the himalayan mountains– does Apollo know you're telling people this?"

“No!” Trucy said with a shaky smile “because he’s in the himalayan mountains! With terrible reception and one letter every two months, at most!”

She thumped her hand against Klavier once more, before she started to sob again.

“I miss him so …so so much and now I find out he’s my brother just in time for him to go hide in a temple forever!” She looked up at Klavier with a sniffle and a sharp pout. “You don’t believe me? Ask Ema. Ema’s been there too! She’s been Mr. Sad Monk’s detective for the past buncha trials, including that horrible one with me and Mr. Reus!”

Everything around Klavier was noise. Horrible, out of tune static that filled his head like a screeching amp. He swallowed.

"Trucy," he said quietly to the girl in his arms. "I'm going to sit down alright? Sit down with me."

He didn't exactly wait for her to agree before he toppled backward into his chair, pulling her down with him into his lap.

Trucy thumped against him, before she settled rather neatly into his lap with a hiccup.

“I know it sounds crazy, I–I tried to convince him to come back, but he said he h-had to stay. And now he’s barely even writing! I was surprised to see Ema back but I wasn’t invited to the stupid murder OR the wedding so I– I haven’t really seen her enough to ask.”

Klavier closed his eyes, shutting out the terrible light from the office window that had started to mingle with the noise in his head. Trucy was a reassuring weight in his lap at least as he reeled. He leaned back in his chair, chin pointed at the ceiling..

"So Ema knows where he is. She's seen him recently."

“Probably…she was still lingering in the Kingdom of Khura’in with the intention to continue helping that Nahyuta guy with the prosecution of a bunch of old cases in need of retrial. I think she only just got back…so s-she’s probably seen him recently.”

"Right." He took a deep breath. "So we need Ema. Get to Ema, we get to herr forehead. Your brother."

“My brother. And Ema…..” Trucy nodded against him with another sharp sniff. She paused. “Wait, g-get to him? I mean, Klavier, what…are you saying we should stomp up to the temple gates and yell for him to get his butt out here?”

His eyes snapped open as all the noise in his mind went suddenly quiet.

Stomp up to the temple gates and yell for him to get his butt out here.

He smiled a slice of a smile like the moon hanging in a dark sky.

"Fraulein, we are going to stomp up to the temple gates, yell for him to come out, and if he does not, we are going to force our way in."

Trucy Wright’s tears finally stopped, and she wiped her eyes with a shaky grin.

“...stomp to the temple gates…and if he doesn’t come out…force our way in…” She seemed to mull it over for only a second before she grabbed his shoulders with a grin. “Klavier, have I ever told you that you’re the absolute BEST?”

She fumbled for her phone “I gotta…no, dammit, Pearl’s just started in the police academy. I can't– well I’ll at least say that I’ll be gone for a few weeks…and I'll bring back snacks.”

"Good thinking, fraulein," Klavier nodded, searching for his own phone. "I'm sure they'll have many fine snacks for us to bring back from your brother herr forehead's monastic exile, ja?"

He shot a text to Ema Skye– Fraulein detective, could you see me at the office after your wedding fun? I can pay for your taxi.

He didn't expect a text back soon– but he did expect Ema to be blasted out of her gourd. So she'd probably agree to the taxi.

September 30, 2028– 4:30 pm

Ema Skye was blasted out of her gourd.

The world was swimming, Larry Butz had his ass absolutely kicked by her and the ladies. The bar was free, on the mighty Sprocket tab, and she had missed the bouquet she’d been hoping to catch for a certain pain in her ass…but in return she got to snack on some of the finest appetizers she’d ever had in her goddess-damned life.

Life was great. Fantastic, even.

And then her phone beeped. The letters swam in her vision…but the gist was easily deduced as she murmured. “...so the glimmerous fop wants to see me, does he? And a free taxi at that.”

Miles Edgeworth– technically, technically her date to the wedding, at least in the sense that she was his plus one– swam into her vision with a cocktail in his hand.

"You were saying something, Ms. Skye?"

“Mr. Gavin wants to see me.” She raised her cocktail to her lips with a bleary blink. “at the prosecutor’s office after my ‘wedding fun’. The adora….rible Adorible fop.” She murmured into her cocktail– the combination of ‘adorable’ and ‘terrible’ was sure to be a hit. Just like glimmerous.

"Adorable fop," Miles agreed. He reached out and put a hand on her hand as she went to sip her cocktail. "Maybe we've had enough for this afternoon?"

“Guh.” Ema looked up at him with a grimace. “Don’t stop me now, Mr. Edgeworth, I’m just gettin’ started.” “gotta console myself somehow after that farce of Larry’s. Why’d they even invite that pest?”

She still lowered the cocktail despite her protest, sighing gently.

"I suspect that he invited himself," Miles drawled. He glanced over with a worried look to where Butz was trying to chat up some wedding guests. "Unfortunately. I should probably try to wrangle him. Were you saying that you had a ride home?"

“To the prosecutor’s office, actually.” Ema stretched with a sloppy grin. “My fop needs me, I guess.”

Miles patted her on the back. "Dutiful of you, investigator."

September 30, 2028– 5:35 pm

The warm sun had just started to set when Klavier and Trucy stood outside the prosecutors' office, waiting for Ema's taxi. Klavier leaned on the wall of the building with his hands in his pockets, thinking over the situation and the plans that they'd been making.

After the shock had settled, he'd been able to get a clearer picture from Trucy on exactly what had happened.

Trucy leaned beside him, finally having stopped crying– though she still seemed pensive and hurt as she looked up at the sky. “You really think this’ll work, Mr. Gavin?”

"We'll make it work, fraulein," he said, his jaw tight.

Apollo Justice had been born and raised in a far away country under the tyranny of a strange religious law. He'd been raised by guerilla rebels. He'd been exiled from them to the united states as a pre-teen. And now he'd been summoned back to his foreign homeland, to inherit the work of his surrogate father and put right the country's own dark age of the law.

Klavier's knuckles tightened. Bullshit. It was all bullshit. Apollo didn't belong there.

He belonged here. With him. With his sister, too. Why should he owe loyalty to the family who'd abandoned him? Why should he work to fix the law in a far away land when so much needed to be set right here?

Klavier knew.

Klavier knew that Apollo Justice had been coming apart at the seams for the better part of a year.

This wasn't duty.

It was self-exile.

The taxi drew up under the streetlights in front of the office, and Ema Skye stepped out.

Ema had her familiar labcoat draped over one shoulder, but the dress she wore, high cut on the leg and body hugging with a long red scarf was something altogether new. Klavier was not so entirely distracted that he couldn't appreciate it.

She rubbed one hand on her neck as she squinted into the sunshine, her perfectly pinned hair already starting to fall out of the handsome bun she’d gotten it into.

“....Trucy? Klavier? I only expected one of you.”

Klavier hurried over to steady her, slipping an arm underneath hers, and letting her lean on him. "Well, lucky you, you got two when you imagined one."

“Hey Miss Ema!” Trucy chirped with her usual cheer. “How was the wedding?”

“Missed the bouquet,” Ema grumbled as he felt the full weight of an intoxicated detective fall against his side. “Stupid asshole Larry Butz ruined the whole thing, but the happy couple got to shoot into the sky.”

"Well,we'll see about getting you a bouquet, fraulein, and anything else you want. Maybe an ice pack, ja?" Klavier didn't stumble under her weight. He was used to drunk Ema. "Come on up to the office."

He started to lead her toward the door.

“Ooooh…the bouquet? Were you hoping for something when you caught it, Miss Ema?” Trucy asked cheerfully, though Klavier could tell it was forced.

“....absolutely not.” Ema turned a vivid red as she muttered. She hung on Klavier, resting her head against his shoulder. “An ice pack sounds nice...especially since Mr. Edgeworth cut me off of the free bar.”

"What an absolute villain of a man," Klavier sympathized performatively. He shared a glance with Trucy, and they led her upstairs.

Soon enough, they were situated in the office again, Ema now laid out in the ergonomic chair, which Klavier had pulled back to an almost sofa-life configuration for her, and he'd gotten an ice pack and bottled water for her from his mini fridge.

"There. Now we're on the road to recovery, ja?"

Ema gave him a weak smile, before she pressed her ice pack to her head with a low groan.

“Sorry you two couldn’t have been there. It was…” She trailed off for a moment, before finishing, “...weird.”

“Well, I guess millionaire’s weddings usually are.” Trucy mused as she crossed her arms.

"It's true," Klavier nodded. "The Gavinners played at the wedding of this particular actor one time and it was a very strange affair. I began to worry for the bride…. but that's neither here nor there. You're excused for not talking us along, Fraulein Ema."

Ema sat up with a wince, the world must have begun to spin from the rather nauseated look on her face. She pressed the ice pack firmly against her head again.

“Wasn’t like it was my choice, Klavier Gavin. I was only invited ‘cause Mr. Edgeworth needed a plus one and I’d helped solve the murder. Not like I had the authority to invite anyone.”

“You’re still excused.” Trucy said with a grin.

“Ugh.”

Klavier patted Ema on the shoulder. "Don't worry. There is an easy way to make it up to us."

“Yeah, there super is!” Trucy leaned in towards her.

Ema frowned, glancing between them with bleary eyes.

“....what are you two up to? You’re up to something. This isn’t…you want something, don’t you?”

"I've been missing you, Ema," Klavier purred, leaning down toward her. "Trucy and I have been catching up, and she told me you've been hanging out with herr forehead. You know I was wondering why I hadn't seen him around."

Ema flushed, and for a moment her mouth formed a wibbly little line that was almost a smile.

“I..I mean I’ve missed you too, glimmerous fop. A lo—a little. I was going to come visit after the damned wedding. You know I…My work keeps me busy!” She glanced at Trucy, who smiled angelically at her, before her eyes snapped back to Klavier. Her brow furrowed “I mean…he’s been busy too. In the Kingdom of Khura’in…he didn’t tell you?”

Klavier smiled quite widely, showing all his teeth.

"He did not." Not a phone call. Not a letter. Not a word. Klavier shook his head. "So, sweet fraulein, we humbly beg a simple favor of you. You are going to take us to Apollo Justice."

Ema pressed her ice pack to her eyes, and let herself fall back onto the chair with a low groan and a drunken sniff.

“I should have known this wouldn’t be a pleasure call.”

“We’re asking really nicely?” Trucy piped in, which only seemed to make Ema thunk her head against the chair much to her own regret.

“You wanna see Apollo Justice? Fine. Fine. The idiot didn’t think to tell you, then he’ll have to deal with the consequences. Pack a nice coat. Khura’in’s fucking cold.”

Klavier leaned down, and kissed Ema on the head just above her ice pack. "Thank you, fraulein."

“Sure,” Ema muttered, “I don’t know what you’re thinking you’ll find, though.” Still, she flushed when he kissed her head, despite her grumbling.

“Was extorting plane tickets out of me all you wanted, Gavin?”

"Absolutely not," Klavier smiled. "I'll call Trucy a taxi so she can work on getting her father's permission for time off of school, and I'll help you with your hangover."

“Oough….” Trucy sagged “...I forgot I’d have to get permission. Shoot.”

“The perils of being a teenager.” Ema snickered as the rest of the conversation clearly caught up to her and she flushed. She cleared her throat. “....Ah. oh. ..It is a pretty nasty hangover.”

Klavier reached for his cellphone. "Then it will need a pretty nasty cure, ja? Don't fret. Doktor Klavier is on the case."

September 31, 2028– 9:30 am (Khura'in time)

Apollo was standing in the lobby, leafing through the paperwork for the first case on the docket that day one more time. He couldn't believe they'd been doing this for three whole months– almost four now. It didn't feel like they'd made even a dent in all the cases that had to be retried…

It was a years long list of unjust convictions, but even still the number of people the Ga’ran regime had put behind bars for ‘dissent’ and ‘rebellion’ was staggering…especially when you were still the only lawyer in the country.

His concentration was broken by a soft knock on the lobby door.

"Huh?" he turned as the lobby door opened. There was only one person he knew who made a habit of being polite enough to knock on a public door, and it brought a smile to his face as he saw him enter.

Prosecutor Nahyuta Sahdmadhi smiled at him as he entered the room as serenely as always. Even under the weight of the cases that fell upon both their shoulders, and even under the stress of the life of a palace regent– he still had it in him to project that calming aura of his.

At least until they got into the courtroom.

“Good morning, Attorney Red Pepper.” he said with a teasing edge to his quiet smile.

Apollo felt the same little flustered sting he did every time Nahyuta called him by the silly nickname. At least it didn't feel quite so humiliating any more. Since he knew it was meant with love.

"Good morning, 'Yuta," he said with a deliberate, familiar smile. Then followed it up with his own tease. "I mean Prosecutor 'Yuta."

Nahyuta laughed , before his graceful stride brought him shoulder to shoulder with Apollo

“Careful with the pet names in the courtroom or our esteemed Judge may give us a look again.”

Apollo laughed and leaned his head against Nahyuta's shoulder. "Can't have that. I get enough dirty looks from the judge as it is."

Nahyuta’s hand rested atop Apollo’s head, rustling through his hair.

“Apollo….” his smile took on the barest trace of a wry smirk, imperceptible to most save for Apollo and a handful of others. “That’s because you keep trying to bluff your way through every argument…and startle even the Holy Mother with evidence that seems out of nowhere.”

Apollo laughed awkwardly, and arched against Nahyuta's hand, enjoying the fond touch.

"You'd think after a few months the judge would be used to it," he said with a shrug. "Besides, it's not that often, is it? A lot of these cases really are as straightforward as they looked the first time."

And thank lady justice that they were. Because there was a lot of them.

“I think he’s still reeling from the trauma of your…eccentric former employer and his particular brand of defense.” Nahyuta drawled. “But it’s true. Most of them are fairly simple…which is good, as we have a loaded docket today. Which is in fact what I’d come to talk to you about.”

Apollo's shoulders sagged

Don't tell me they added another case to the docket.

They probably did.

"Ah, yeah, 'Yuta? What's up?" Despite the cynical voice in the back of his mind, he rubbed the back of his neck and looked up at Nahyuta with a hopeful smile.

Nahyuta’s smile was warm, but there was an exhaustion behind his eyes that Apollo knew too well.

“Miss Inmee has asked us to fast track another case for today. A former defense attorney who’s daughter works in the temple. It’s been insisted on by the former Queen Amarta that we add it to the docket today.”

Apollo felt a little weak at the knees at the very suggestion and he swooned against Nahyuta.

Easy there, Apollo. Come on, we can do it. Apollo Justice is fine, right?

Right.

He took a deep breath. "A former defense attorney. That's great. So if we overturn his sentence, he'll go back to defending cases– right? Please tell me he'll go back to defending cases."

So far, not a single person, Dragon or otherwise, they'd exonerated had gone back to practicing law.

“I wish I could read the karma of the man’s choices as well I can the karma of a case.” Nahyuta sighed. “We can hope, at the very least, that you…and I…can convince him.”

Apollo saw how his brow wrinkled just the slightest. It must have bothered him too. All these months and not a single practicing lawyer except Apollo Justice. Not a single prosecutor willing to stay active after the end of the Ga’ran regime except him.

Apollo grabbed Nahyuta's free hand and gave it a tight squeeze, looking up at him.

"Hey, whether we can or not, it'll be alright," he promised. "At least we've got each other."

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another one

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weird anti ideology finally leaking out into the mainstream

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In Justice We Trust (144638 words) by thesavagesabretooth

catch up here

With Simon Blackquill and Athena Cykes assigned as their psychologists, the Phantom and Fulbright must grapple with their identity, their deeds, their future, and their love for the twisted samurai whom they betrayed. All the while, Edgeworth and Wright find their relationship tested as they walk the narrow path between pursuing real justice, and the dark age of the law.

December 25, 5:20 pm

So it's real. It's all real. I really am Bobby Fulbright.

It certainly puts a fresh perspective on things.

Halbicht was lost in their own thoughts as they followed Simon, Agent Ash, and Apollo justice out of the room to give Metis Cykes and her daughter a few minutes of privacy.

Agent Ash was fixing her makeup thoughtfully as she walked out of the room.

“...I’d heard about it, I’d always had a little faith in the supernatural, but seeing it firsthand like that…” She whistled. “...We’ll have to have the girl try to channel Kelso, see what happens to our suspect….or at least see if she can recognize a spirit inside someone.”

Simon was still drying his eyes with the back of his sleeve. Robert grabbed his arm to stop him, and pressed the handkerchief from his pocket into Simon's hand.

"Here, Prosecutor Blackquill."

"Thank you, detective," he murmured. He dabbed his eyes with the cloth. "That was… a powerful experience. Ash-dono, I am sure that our young medium will be able to help in some way at least."

"Yeah…." Apollo murmured. He stumbled, and caught himself on the wall. Halblicht watched him closely. He seemed disoriented. "I'm gonna go uh, I gotta– I'll be in the restroom."

As he limped off without waiting for an answer, they followed him with their gaze.

It was a shocking experience for anybody, I guess, Bobby mused.

Perhaps. At least the matter between us is settled. Of your reality at least.“I hope so.” Sheila watched Apollo slip away with a quiet expression of concern, and a murmured “poor kid” before she went back to applying her makeup. A nervous habit, maybe, given the way her smile seemed forced.

“I’m sure she can. The Small Medium at Large has quite the kick.” she looked up at Simon. “...you gonna be okay? Seeing someone you care about back from the dead…it’s..” she went back to applying her lipstick before she murmured “gotta be one hell of a trip.”

"A hell of a trip indeed, Ash-dono!" Simon barked a laugh, and Halblicht found the prosecutor suddenly half draped on their arm. Surprised, they put it around his shoulders to steady him.

"Easy there, sir," Bobby murmured. He was almost overwhelmed himself, tears threatening to spill from his eyes just in sympathy and stress at the whole event, but Robert helped hold on to him.

A regular conga line of emotional support, Robert thought dryly.

“I wouldn’t know. People I watch die? Stay dead.” Ash drawled with a dry laugh and a smirk “...except Kelso, perhaps.”

She snapped her compact shut and shoved it in her pocket. “You look like you’re about to fall over. I could get you a chair…though Detective Prime Time’s doing an admirable job.”

"I'm happy to help in any way that I can, Agent Ash," Bobby promised with a sad smile. "If you'd like to faint, I can happily catch you."

“Very tempting, Prime Time.” She laughed, pushing her hand through her hair with the old wolfish grin “Watch out, I might take you up on it.”

"Thankfully, I have two arms, ma'am!" he saluted with his free one, to demonstrate. Bobby was riding high on the emotional power of his own confirmed reality, and Robert was swimming in the backwash. Too much so to even protest his silly behavior.

Simon came through for him however. "You're ridiculous as always, Fool Bright." He sniffed into the handkerchief. "This is hardly the time for your witless shenanigans."

“Ah, and there goes my classic tv- faint.” Sheila sighed performatively, and instead dropped herself against the wall “I’d say we all earned the right to laugh while we can.”

"Well, our ghost of honor was certainly laughing I suppose," Simon admitted.

"You made it sound like she was always like that," Bobby commented, curious.

"Oh yes. She always had a very dark sense of humor. Perhaps some of it rubbed off on me."

“A woman after my own heart.” Ash put her hand to her chest “she was a big influence on you, Samurai?”

"The biggest of my life," he said. "Especially if you include the film library that she shared with me."

"Ah! So that's where your love of the samurai comes from, Prosecutor Blackquill?" Bobby beamed at him.

"It reinforced the latent urge, I'm sure," he drawled.

“Ahhhh….” Sheila snickered “it awakened the soul of the samurai in yo—-- no I can’t finish that sentence!”

She broke out laughing in another fit as the door to the private room Athena and Metis had entered opened, and a tear-stained but smiling Athena came slowly walking out with the ‘Small Medium at Large’ trailing behind her.

Bobby snapped to a salute. "Ms. Athena! And Ms. Fey– thank you very much for helping us."

"No problem!" Pearl snapped a salute back to him with a little smile, but Bobby could tell that she looked tired.

Do you think channeling a spirit is draining for her, Bobby? I've never noticed a problem like that between you and I– except accounting for the normal level of exhausted you make me.

Aw, Robert! But um, no, it seems like you're right.

"Are the pair of you alright?" Bobby asked.

Athena wiped at her eyes.

“Y-yeah. I just had to get some stuff off my chest. It was nice to speak with her again. She looked over her shoulder. “...thanks Pearl. It meant the world to me.”

"Of course, Miss Athena! Any time!" Pearl chirped out, despite her obvious fatigue.

"We'll have to plan that party for when Aura is out of jail," Simon drawled. He leaned against Bobby's arm, seemingly unconcerned with disentangling himself for now. Bobby certainly wasn't going to push him away.

"So…" the young medium asked. "What's next? Confirming possessions, right?"

“I’d say…” Athena looked at the two of them with a half smile and a wave. She’d gone a little flushed, but seemed, admittedly, happy in their direction.

“That’s right, Small Medium at Large.” Agent Ash purred. “...but you look tired, hon. You think you can push through?”

"I'm okay!" She nodded. "Seeing ghosts doesn't take energy the way that channeling them does. I can just… you know… see them. So as long as you trust my judgment, we're all set!"

Bobby and Robert were not unaware that Pearl had glanced rather significantly in their direction as she spoke.

“After that display? I’ll trust you to the ends of the earth, kid.” Sheila laughed, glancing sidelong at Robert and Bobby. “Do you boys need confirmation? Or should I take Pearl here to lockup?”

“Oh ah…and to Mr. Apollo.” Athena whispered to her– though in the empty hall it was easy to hear.

"Why don't we hear from Ms. Fey– just for the official paperwork, so to speak," Robert said. He glanced between the medium and Simon.

Wait– did she just say Apollo? Bobby blinked internally in surprise– though it may have shown on their face.

So she did.

That's not a joke? But why would he…

"Why not indeed," Simon nodded.

Pearl chewed on her thumb, and nodded. "Uhuh. I can say for sure. I noticed it right away when I came in to breakfast at the hotel this morning. I was gonna ask Miss. Athen about it."

Athena slapped her hands on her cheeks in surprise. “OH! woah, I guess we had the same idea! We were gonna come find you about it…that…”

Simon said nothing, but favored Halblicht with a rather smug smirk

"Thank you for the confirmation, Ms. Fey," Bobby sniffled. "It means a lot."

Athena glanced at them with a muted but genuine smile “...yeah , that makes a lotta sense. And…And for Apollo?”

Pearl chewed on her fingertips.

"Um…Should I wait until–" She paused as Halblicht heard the sound of footsteps coming around the corner.

It was Apollo Justice returning.

His hair's wet, Robert observed.

Maybe staring at his face in the mirror and splashing it, Bobby suggested. I know the feeling.Athena nervously tugged her ponytail with a bright smile his way. “Hey ah…Apollo? Did…did you want to hear what Pearl had to say?”

Apollo shrugged stiffly. His whole body posture was tense. "I already heard the answer from Trucy last night. I don't have any reason to doubt it now."

While Apollo didn't specifically say yes or no, the answer was obvious. If there wasn't a ghost, there was nothing to tell him. But he'd been told. Therefore.

But what ghost?

Robert– it has to be Clay Terran.

Ah.

Halblicht and Apollo's eyes met.

Simon, meanwhile, shifted his posture. "You as well, Mr. Justice?"

Apollo shrugged.

Athena clapped her hands together with a bright smile and an attempt at levity. “Today’s a rare kind of day huh? Possessions popping out of the wordwork, it’s like spirit week! Hah…haha..”

"Yeah, um, it's actually kind of been freaking me out," Pearl murmured, still chewing on her thumb. "It was super weird to see it with Apollo, but then with Mr. Halblicht too? Like, no offense Miss Agent Ash but if I see a third possessed person today, I might do a little scream."

“Whoopsie.” Sheila laughed as she leaned over and rustled Pearl’s hair. “Scream as much as you need to, Small Medium at Large– because I might have a dead agent I need you to ID just over there.” She gestured towards the hall that lead to the holding cells.

Pearl nodded, and rolled up her sleeves. "Lead me to 'em!"

"That does bring up a rather odd question, though," Simon said. "Why so many ghosts? Why these ghosts?"

"Maybe we should confirm Kelso one way or the other before we ask that question," Robert said.

She's got to be possessed though, right? How else would she know all about Kelso?

I have no idea, but I don't like jumping to conclusions.

December 25, 5:45 pm

Only Agent Ash and Pearl went into the cell with the captured asset, and that left Simon standing outside with Athena, Halblicht, and Apollo.

Surrounded by ghosts on all sides. Not what I expected when I started the morning.

He felt a little bad for Athena– he knew his emotions were everywhere, and he was sure that she could sense it. From the joy of the reunion and revelation with Bobby– and Robert– to the accompanying joy and sorrow of the brief reunion with his mentor. To confusion at this newest strange revelation with Apollo.

The girl didn’t look unhappy…she had a small and muted little smile on her face like she’d worn once upon a time…but she did look tired. The emotional bombardment of the day had clearly taken its toll.

She wasn’t projecting as much outward ‘energy’ as she leaned on the wall and watched the door with concern and curiosity.

He couldn't blame her. He didn't know if this day, or the 20th, or that day so many years ago was the most overwhelming day of their lives– but it was a close race no matter which.

They all stood quietly. No one seemed ready to start a conversation, not even Bobby. Perhaps Bobby least of all, for once

There'd be time to talk later. At least Apollo– or Clay, it seemed– hadn't assaulted him again.

Eventually, the cell door opened, and Agent Ash and Pearl Fey emerged.

Pearl held her hands up, and in a very small, deliberately indoor voice, spoke out a scream. "Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!"

“....Oh.” Athena put her hand to her cheek “I guess that answers that question.”

Sheila walked out with a furrowed brow and a forced smile as she let the door slam behind her. She raised her hands up, and echoed the medium’s sentiment with an “Arrrgh’ of her own.

“This is going to be the worst, strangest paperwork of my life…. And I had to write entire fake family trees.”

Simon touched his chin thoughtfully. "Just how does one do the paperwork on this? And I reiterate, why in heaven's name is this happening? Not that I'm complaining."

"I wish I knew," Pearl squeaked.

Athena bit her lip.

“...I can’t speak for Apollo’s situation, but I have a working theory on Halblicht and …ah..” She gestured to the door, “... Kelso24.”

Sheila rubbed her temples. “...whatever’s going on, it’s utter madness. Three ghosts all wrapped up in the same damned interpol investigation. Maybe more! Who knows who else is packing! At least it means Agent Kelso isn’t…gone? But still!”

Pearl nodded. "I'm sorry I don't have much more information. I really only know a lot about ghosts from the perspective of the Kurain tradition. So mostly when it comes to possessed people I only know how to, you know… get rid of them."

"Kindly don't do any of that at this point, Fey-dono," Simon said quickly. He pushed down the sting of panic that accompanied the thought of someone banishing Bobby, now, after everything.

December 25, 5:55 pm

Athena watched Bobby move a reassuring hand to Simon's shoulder as he replied to Pearl.

"Yeah," Apollo murmured in agreement. "Not right now."

“Yeah…” Sheila held her hands up. “I’d rather we don’t. Frankly, I think this whole thing necessitates a change of plans regarding Miss 24.”

Athena bit her lip, her hand going to her chest. She didn’t chime in out loud, but…she couldn’t help but agree with Simon. The thought of banishing the spirits only sent pings of worry and sadness through her muffled emotions.

If nothing else, she was pretty sure the former assets might need them to adapt and heal from their upbringing…and Apollo’s ‘friend’, who she was certain was far closer than that, shouldn’t be parted from him again so soon.

Pearl nodded, dipping into a little bow. "Of course! Um, I get the sense that this isn't your typical case, you know? I just wish I had more insight… if only Mystic Maya were here…."

“Not at all..” Athena gave her a smile. “don’t worry…I think this gave everyone the proof they needed to figure it out, Pearl! You did great!”

“Mystic Maya?” Sheila raised her eyebrow “someone who has more experience with possessions?”

Pearl smiled back at Athena, and answered. "Mystic Maya is my cousin, the future leader of Kurain village and master of the Kurain channeling technique. If anybody would know, she would– but she's in Kura'in finishing her training, so we can't talk to her…."

"That's a shame," Simon murmured. "There isn't anyone else who would know?"

The little medium chewed on her thumb. "Well…"

“Sounds like a real powerhouse…but getting a hold of anyone in Kura’in is a pain. Especially if they’re related to the monastic orders'.' Sheila hummed “there’s someone else?”

Athena gasped, covering her mouth “Woah…and I thought she was just the Boss’ legendary legal aide…the master of a tradition’s a pretty hu–” She cut herself off and looked at Pearl in curiosity.

Pearl poked her fingers together. "I could call your boss' boss, actually, Miss Athena," she murmured. "Miss Mia Fey– Mystic Maya's older sister. I don't know if she would know, because she left the tradition, but it could be worth a try."

"By call– you mean summon, don't you?" Robert asked, raising an eyebrow.

Pearl nodded. "Uhuh."

“Are you feeling well enough to?” Athena asked with genuine concern. “...you seemed pretty worn out after channeling my mom..”

She rubbed the back of her neck, and smiled. "I'm pretty tired, but… if I fall asleep, you'll carry me back to the hotel, right?"

With a salute, Athena flashed a bright smile.

“Promise, Pearly! I’ll carry you right back to your room!” Sheila chuckled “alright. Well, with that settled, let’s meet this Miss Mia Fey, shall we?”

December 25, 5:55 pm

They gathered again in the unfurnished viewing room in a loose circle around Pearl Fey, Simon having suggested that it was perhaps a little too inappropriate to have a seance right out in the middle of the hallway.

Pearl had put her hands together, and once again that strange aura filled the room, challenging Athena's senses.

And then Pearl was gone, and in her place was a tall, handsome woman with a strong face and large, dark eyes. She looked over them each, a catlike smile written on her face, and a sense of deep amusement radiating out from her.

"Well now! This certainly isn't the usual crowd that I play to," she declared. Her gaze lingered on Agent Ash for a long moment.

“Well, well. Today seems to be the day for pretty stiffs. Hello, Miss Fey.” Agent Ash commented with her wolfish grin as she crossed her arms under her chest, and stifled a laugh. “Hope you don’t mind the new audience.”

Athena’s eyes were wide– this was Mia Fey– the woman Phoenix rarely spoke about at the office, but always with hushed reverence. The one who’d told him the very advice that saved her again and again about a lawyer’s smile. Mia Fey, in the borrowed flesh.

“Uhm h-hello, ma’am!” Athena dipped into an awkward bow.

Simon bowed as well, and Bobby saluted.

"The late Ms. Mia Fey, we presume?" Bobby said with a grin,

"In the flesh!" the woman laughed. "Not mine though. Actually– whose flesh am I in? And where's Phoenix Wright? He's in trouble again, isn't he?"

“Oh no, Mr. Birdman is just fine.” Sheila started to cackle again, slapping the wall. “Is he really that accident prone? No wonder the King of Fop’s such an anxious wreck. snrk!!! ” she stifled the laughter and leaned forward. “Miss Fey, you’ve been called for an assessment with your expertise. We have an increasingly unusual situation. So we’ve asked the Small Medium at Large to help.”

Athena rubbed her neck as she attempted to translate for Sheila’s apparent love of snarky nicknames.

“Phoenix is alright, ma’am. We had Pearl summon you ‘cause she didn’t have any experience with the situation at hand…a rash of possessions in a short amount of time…and Mystic Maya is off training in Kura’in. We were hoping that you could explain some of this. Two…four? Of the parties are in this room. The other’s in lockup.”

Mia looked around at the people in the circle, her gaze lingering now on Apollo and on Halblicht. "So I see. Alright, why don't we sit down and you can bring me up to speed."

December 25, 6:10 pm

At the head of the table, Mia Fey had her hands clasped together and her chin rested on them, as everyone had explained the situation. She had been sitting with her eyes closed, taking it all in.

Finally, she opened them and looked around the table. "I see. So there's an international espionage ring that trains its spies through rigorous dehumanization starting in early childhood. We have two of them here– one in this room, and one in lock up– both who have been possessed by the ghosts of the people that they most recently killed. Is that correct so far?"

“That’s right, ma’am.” Athena nodded seriously as she leaned on the table. “Both were possessed, confirmed by Pearl, though I’m not sure the one in lock up realizes it yet. They’re both a little confused from the sound of the interview.”

Sheila tipped her chair back. “...got to love espionage rings.” she said dryly. “fucking people up so hard the dead get involved.”

"I think you'll find that I do not in fact have to love that," Mia murmured.

“Trust me, neither do I."

Mia pointed at Apollo. "And you two aren't part of this spy business, but had known one another for years, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am," Apollo murmured.

"Alright," she nodded. "I think I understand what's going on."

"Pray enlighten the rest of us poor souls," Simon drawled.

Athena leaned forward, listening carefully. She had a theory, herself– and she wondered if perhaps Mia had come to the same conclusion, from the spiritual angle rather than psychological.

The legendary lawyer smiled and shook a finger. "Before I do, do any of the talented problem solvers among you have a guess?"

"The supernatural isn't my forte, unfortunately," Simon confessed. He leaned a little closer to Bobby. "I'll be just as happy to have the mystery revealed for me this time."

Sheila shook her head, hands raised in the air. “I’m not the woman to ask about emotions, spirits, or attachment I’m afraid.”

Athena perked up with a nervous smile, her hand shooting up “I have a guess, ma’am!”

Mia pointed at her. "I like your attitude, red. Give it a shot for me."

“Red???” Athena squeaked “...better than Miss Edutainment at least.”

Sheila began laughing again, slapping the table with her palm, which only made Athena flush more. She pushed her hair out of her face and took a breath before she answered.

“I’m wondering if it’s because of their unique psychological profiles– 24 and Robert, I mean. They’ve had their personalities and emotions crushed since they were children so they could become anyone, anywhere, right? It’s horrible, and it makes me sick, but it also means that they’d be…psychologically and probably spiritually open with enough mental/spiritual real estate for a spirit or personality to take residence. R-right? I’d thought it just meant there was room to create a new personality, but…”

“...What, like they were some kind of spirit-trap?” Sheila asked with a raise of her eyebrow “...that explains why I never got myself possessed, despite factors.”

"Very insightful, Miss Cykes!" Mia clapped. "That's exactly the conclusion that I'd come to. The training they underwent essentially made the soul in their body small enough to accommodate another one no problem, without any of the usual difficulties involved."

Bobby rubbed the back of his neck. "I see… I suppose that does make sense…"

Mia nodded. "If there's a void, a soul can easily rush in to fill it. Especially if there's an intense enough burst of emotions at the time of death."

Athena's eyes widened, and her heart started to race.

“Like a murder-- Kelso’s burst of horror and despair that echoed again when 24 tried to kill herself…and…” She glanced at Bobby and Robert with a bite of her lip. “Thank you, though ma’am. It makes psychological sense, too.”

Sheila whistled “....who knows how many more of your fellows are walking around with confused ghosts in their heads.”

"An interesting possibility," Halblicht murmured, twisting his fingers together. "Both hopeful and grim, too…"

"Indeed," Simon nodded. "What an ironic fate for both parties."

“Very ironic…” Athena chewed her nails. “A killer and a victim sharing a body, and …if Halblicht is any indication, doing all the better for it. I hope…I hope when we find the rest we can help them too. Starting with Kelso and Miss 24.”

Sheila brushed her hair over her ear.

“Sharing space with your victim. Very interesting indeed.” She glanced sidelong at Mia. “You look young. Murder or illness?”

Mia's eyebrows raised. "Murder or illness what, ms. Interpol?"

“Your cause of death, Miss Fey.” Sheila leaned on the back of her hand.

Athena sat up with a start. “Agent Ash! You can’t go around asking people that kind of thing!”

The agent’s gaze turned towards her, the barest note of confusion in her voice. “I’m looking for an opinion from the other side of the veil on the current situation, Miss Edutainment…and I’d like to know if I’m walking into a landmine. So I felt it prudent to ask.”

The deceased lawyer sighed, and fluffed her hair. "I was murdered. But don't worry about it, just say what you want to say or ask what you want to ask."

“I’d thought so,” Ash leaned on her hand. “My question is this– emotionally speaking, do you think Sam Wan Kelso will suffer sharing a body with the woman who killed her? I know it’s seemed to work out for these gentlemen…”

Ash pointed to Bobby and Robert. “But as someone who died at the hands of another, I’m curious about your opinion. And…also, how does possession work? Have you possessed anyone? Can someone possess another down the line, provided they haven��t passed into rebirth?”

Mia pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Oh dear, this is a lot of complicated questions. And I can feel little Pearl getting tuckered out." She sighed and took a breath. "The important question you asked is about Kelso and her killer. I know that I wouldn't have wanted to get stuck in a body with my own killer. But don't worry– possession is voluntary on the part of the spirit. If Kelso doesn't like it, she can leave any time. If you want to learn more about possession in general, there's an excellent library in Kurain village which I am sure you would be welcome to look over."

“...I’ll keep that in mind.” Sheila Ash held her hands up with a smile. “Sorry for overloading you with questions, Miss Fey. Thank you. Knowing Kelso can leave if she’s unhappy does wonders. Last thing I want is to allow someone to be trapped in a situation they can’t escape.”

Athena wondered exactly why Sheila had asked so many questions so quickly– part of it probably had something to do with the rapid fire and complicated emotions that ricocheted through her voice when she’d asked them.

But either way, she shifted nervously on her chair. “Thank you so much for your time, Ma’am! If you’ve gotta rest, we won’t keep you…I know Pearl was worried about falling asleep.”

"Wait just a minute," Apollo– no, it was Clay– said, sitting forward. "That's great for them, but what about us?"

Mia turned toward Athena's fellow lawyer and his spirit companion. She smiled a rather sad smile. "I didn't mean to leave you out. But you've already probably guessed that your situation is different from theirs."

They nodded. "Yeah, I got that sense. So… can you tell me any more about it?"

"Here's the thing. These guys–" she pointed her finger at Bobby and Robert. "These 'assets'-- it seems like they have what you might call 'bonsai' souls. They've been deliberately groomed and cut and shaped so they don't take up much space. That means there's plenty of room for a full sized soul to move in and share space without disrupting the bonsai. But you, Misters, have two regular full sized souls in you right now."

Athena got the sense from Mia's voice that that was going to be a problem.

“...and a container only has so much space.” Athena murmured quietly, her brow furrowed. “...which is why they’ve been so erratic? Maybe?”

Sheila listened with her fingers against her forehead. “...he’s not going to explode like this was some 80’s horror flick, is he?”

"Nothing so dramatic," Mia promised and waved her hand. "Have you ever seen what happens to two trees when you try to grow them in a tight space? Provided there's adequate sustenance for both?"

"They grow together," Simon said.

"They grow together," Mia nodded. "The two plants twist around one another and grow so closely and tightly as to become inseparable– even indistinguishable from one another, as if they had been one all along. And that, my dears, is what will happen to the two of you if you remain as you are."

Apollo and Clay had gone pale. "How long? How much time do I have?"

She shrugged. "It's impossible to say. A year, perhaps. Maybe two."

Athena bit her lip. “...a mingling of spirits into one. I …I guess that makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it?”

She glanced at Apollo, her brow furrowed as she thought of him and Clay. A short fuse had been placed on them, a timer ticking down to decide if they had to have their final parting…or…

Sheila brushed her fingers through the strands of her pale hair. “...huh.”

"Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, hon," Mia said with a sad little smile. "But that's the way it is. There aren't too many ways out there to cheat death, you know."

The two took a breath. "I understand. Thank you for telling me. I–we'll figure it out. That's all we needed to know."

Athena gave them a sympathetic look and a halfhearted smile “I believe in you guys…”

“Not many ways to cheat death…” Sheila laughed, slapping her table. “Yeah, guess not, Miss Faerie Tale. “

"Sorry, Ms. Interpol," Mia chuckled sadly again. "If that's all you needed from me, then I'll say good luck, and get back to my busy schedule."

Halblicht shook his head. "No other questions from us, here."

“Busy Schedule? and here Cykes Sr. Made it sound like death was the waiting room from hell!” Sheila laughed. She saluted Mia with a grin that Athena thought looked rather forced. “Thanks. Good luck to you too, Faerie Tale. No further questions.”

Athena waved quietly at her with a smile.

“It was nice to meet you, ma’am. Phoenix talks about you a lot, so… She bowed her head “I hope I get to speak with you again someday. Good luck.”

"Knowing Phoenix, I'm sure we will, red. Tell him hello for me, will you?" She blew a kiss to the table, and then– was gone.

Pearl Fey slumped exhausted onto her arms against the table. "Oooh….."

Athena’s concern immediately reasserted itself and she hurried over to put her hand on Pearl’s back. “You alright, Pearl? That probably took a lot out of you..”

"I'm okay!" she said, raising her head a little and giving a shaky thumbs up. "Did Miss Mia help?"

Bobby was already out of his chair, and he saluted the little medium. "She helped a great deal, Miss Fey. Is there anything we can do to help you?"

"Oh good! I want some juice," Pearl said. She giggled exhaustively and returned his salute. Athena could feel pride radiating from her. "And a looooong nap."

"You've more than earned both, Fey-dono," Simon nodded.

Athena nodded with a broad grin “the best juice in Cauli, even.” she playfully punched her shoulder “i’ll even carry you if you still want.”

Sheila laughed and slapped the table “bravo, Small Medium. You really were at Large today. Nickname earned. I’ll have Lang grab you an honorary badge for your service to Interpol today.”

Pearl found the strength to sit up at that. "Really? That would be so cool! Ooohg…" With a dizzy look she leaned against Athena's hand.

“Really.” Agent Ash purred, and pulled out her phone. She typed a message and winked “...sent. Stop in before you leave Cauli and I’ll ensure you get it.”

Athena rubbed her back with a chuckle. “Yeah Pearl… I’m definitely gonna carry you.”

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ihhfhonao3 · 8 days

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do YOU want a 7 year gap wrightworth fic mostly from the perspective of Trucy (and co.)?! Where 50% of her is going wait are they 🤨🏳️‍🌈❓ that’s 38k words and 10 chapters, two new chapters being released every week from this point on?!

I have the fic for you!!

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ihhfhonao3 · 8 days

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Wrote some Claypollo for our friend PepperQuinnSins over on twitter. 18+ only!

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ihhfhonao3 · 11 days

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Can you do an Ace Attorney fanfic where Miles Edgeworth is kept awake because his friends are having a party?

Thanks for requesting! This one kinda spiraled in a WHOLE nother direction, but sometimes fics are just like that!

hope you enjoy, it’ll be under the cut :)

Miles was beginning to really regret his life choices at this point.

The legendary prosecutor was currently holed up in his bedroom with the door firmly shut, pillows stacked in a pile against the door, headphones on his ears and a pillow on his face. Despite all of this, he could still hear the raging party going on downstairs.

The origin of the party started out simple- all he wished to do was invite Phoenix over for some tea. Or coffee, in Phoenix’s case, as the man was a philistine and refused to drink such refined things such as tea without pounds of sugar and loads of honey inside. One of Phoenix’s more negative qualities, in Miles’ opinion.

So Miles invited Phoenix over to his house. They talked for a while, discussing unimportant things such as the deeper meaning of their relationship. But eventually, after a little while of chit-chat, Phoenix got a call from his daughter, Trucy. Now, Miles was not particularly one to assume things regarding the little details of a specific situation- or at least, he wasn’t in most cases. But this was one such instance where he went against that creed- presumably, Trucy had called her father asking for his whereabouts. Phoenix was a mostly honest man, so he explained that he was simply having a chat with a friend. At that point, Miles just assumed that Trucy would simply hang up the phone now that she had that information.

But trouble started to arise when Trucy asked if she could come over to the house.

Of course Phoenix pleaded his daughter’s case, and with Trucy being one of the few people in the world that Miles could actually tolerate, he caved in and let her come over to visit for a little while.

What Miles was not expecting, however, was for her to bring a couple of friends with her. More than a couple of them, actually.

So imagine Miles’ shock when he opened the door and found a hoard of semi-familiar faces waiting to be let inside.

At the front of the pack was Trucy, who was holding a yellow tulip that she most definitely plucked from Miles’ front garden. Behind her stood the woman with orange hair and the man with pointy demon-like hair, both of whom presumably worked at Phoenix’s firm. Miles could recall Mr. Apollo Justice on his own, but Phoenix helped him out in remembering Miss Athena Cykes. After the two of them, some of his own prosecutors followed after- including Mr. Klavier Gavin, Mr. Simon Blackquill and Miles’ own sister. Heading up the rear was none other than Larry Butz.

Miles remembered what Trucy said at that moment, after seeing Miles’ initial look of shock. “I invited a few friends, I hope that’s okay,” is what she said. To his face. Standing in front of a crowd of five people. Of course, Miles was the first to debate the validity of “a few,” but Phoenix welcomed them all inside with open arms. Suddenly, a whole group of attorneys was chatting and laughing and pouring wine for each other. Some of these figures weren’t even 21 yet!

But things only got worse from there, with the group taking it upon themselves to invite more and more people on their own- they invited their friends, their associates, their colleagues, their friend’s friends, and so on. The whole situation went from 10 to 100 in a matter of seconds, with Miles’ doorbell soon ringing constantly and guests filing into his house in a steady stream. Before he knew it, Miles had a party on his hands.

It didn’t take a genius to decipher that Miles wasn’t very keen on big parties. He didn’t like the noise, he didn’t like the crowds, and he most DEFINITELY didn’t like having to always be the designated sober friend. Miles didn’t normally drink too much, and when he did, it was usually only a little bit of a fancy wine. Most of the time, when he went to bars with other people, they would all take the opportunity to get blackout drunk, since they all knew that Miles would surely drive them home later. Yes, Miles had fantasized about leaving his friends passed out at the bar counter before, but he was a good man at heart, and his friends didn’t deserve to sleep in the local jail and wake up with their ears ringing. No matter how much they annoyed him.

So of course, Miles Edgeworth, the man who doesn’t like excessively loud noises, disorganization, large crowds and drunken fools is the one who has to be suddenly surrounded by all of these things simultaneously. Because he hasn’t suffered enough in life already, surely.

But Miles wanted to handle the situation like an adult, so he simply excused himself and went upstairs to prepare for an early bedtime once his living room was almost full. This had occurred around three hours ago. It was now 11 PM, and the party had no end in sight. And Miles could definitely not sleep.

He tried sleeping on his back. Then he tried sleeping on his stomach. He rolled over to attempt to sleep on his side. He even tried sleeping upside down, with his feet on his pillows and his head hanging off of the edge of the bed. But nothing he tried worked- the party was far too loud and chaotic for him to be restful. To make things worse, Miles could not get the paranoid image of his “guests” breaking some of his most valuable possessions out of his head. Larry was known to be a klutz, as well as a perpetual idiot- if he hadn’t tossed around fine china like it was a basketball by now, Miles would be extremely surprised.

Eventually, Miles decided to give up on trying to fall asleep, and in turn went down to check on everything. He wouldn’t be caught dead wearing his pajamas in a crowd, so he instead put on a t-shirt and some shorts to quickly cover himself up. He then hobbled down the stairs, plugging his ears to muffle the pounding music. Unfortunately, it seemed like Prosecutor Gavin had gotten a hold of the speakers, because his recording of “13 Years Hard Time For Love” was blasting throughout the house.

As Miles forced his way through the crowd, he took mental note of a couple of things. Firstly, this party was spiraling out of control, and there were far more guests in his home now than there were when he went up to bed. Secondly, there was far too much underage alcohol consumption going on. He very much did not approve of this, and would normally be worried about the police making a stink about things. Well, normally he would. Currently, most of the Japanifornia Police Department was participating in the party as well, drinking and chatting along with everyone else. This was the exact reason why Miles learned to not be surprised about the city’s high crime rate. Thirdly, Phoenix seemingly had taken full hold of the party’s setup- going into the kitchen, there were bowls upon bowls of chips and dip and popcorn and the like, as well as a whole bowl full of fruit punch, complete with orange slices and cut-up pineapple bobbing around in the suspiciously spiked-looking fluid. Phoenix also had also allowed everyone to take their share from Miles’ own personal stash of brownies, cookies, cake and other sweet treats. Miles cursed Phoenix under his breath and regretted ever opening his treat drawer in front of his rival as he saw a woman take a fudge brownie from his secret stash. Furthermore, if Miles’ nose was correct, someone was grilling a fine barbecue outside. Knowing Phoenix, that was probably his doing, so Miles headed out to check the patio for him first.

To nobody’s surprise, the party had also since spilled out onto the patio and into the yard. Hordes of people Miles had never seen before in his life were chatting to each other with drinks in their hands and standing in his flowerbeds. Almost immediately, Miles spotted Prosecutor Blackquill working at Miles’ grill on the porch, flipping burgers and serving hotdogs to hungry partygoers.

“Prosecutor Blackquill!” Miles shouted over the chatter. “What is the meaning of all this?”

“Ah, Edgeworth-dono,” the prosecutor said, barely looking up. “I was beginning to wonder where you were. Surely you would have come over to eat something by now, is what I thought… but I do suppose that there is no time like the present. Tell me, would you prefer to have a hamburger or a hot dog?”

“I will have nothing of the sort,” Miles strained. “Please, tell me where Wright is.”

“If I recall correctly, I saw Wright-dono in your living room last. I think that he was talking with Justice-dono,” Blackquill said, handing a hotdog on a paper plate to a woman at his side.

“Perfect. He’s probably getting wine on my couch,” Miles snarled. He thanked Blackquill for the information and quickly strode back inside, trying to force his way into the living room.

Upon entering it, he saw a large group of the attendees dancing to the music. He scanned the room for signs of Phoenix, but all he could see was Ema Skye yelling at Klavier Gavin in a drunken rage in a corner of the room. He decided to check around the rest of the house.

Miles checked the stairway, but there was only some young couple there making out passionately. The woman looked very masculine, wearing a pure red biker jacket. The man however looked quite feminine, with ginger hair and a flustered blush. The two of them noticed Miles’ presence after a moment and broke apart, to which the woman smiled warmly and asked Miles if he needed something. Miles stiffened and shook his head, quickly moving into the hall. The only thing he found there was Larry passed out and lying on the floor, so he checked out the closet. There, he found some teenager staring at her phone and guzzling a beer, standing next to a decorated cardboard box that definitely wasn’t there previously. The teen looked up at Miles and gave him a stare so threatening that he apologized and quickly shut the door. Miles sighed and then checked the bathroom, but there was only a man there throwing up in his toilet. Miles realized that the man was Winston Payne by the time he reached the kitchen- but Phoenix wasn’t in there either.

Miles scratched his scalp for a moment. Where could Phoenix be? Miles would have clearly known if someone was upstairs, and the basement…

Oh god. The basement.

Miles practically ran down the stairs to get to his basement, where he found Phoenix Wright, the turnabout terror himself, teetering back and forth on the couch he sat upon, spilling his glass of wine all over the place. He was surrounded by Dick Gumshoe, Apollo Justice, and surprisingly, Lotta Hart, who were all sitting at his feet with drinks in their hands.

“Wright!” Miles cried. “What are you doing down here?! The basement is off limits!”

“Oh… heyyyyyy Miles!” Phoenix hiccuped. “What tookya so long?”

“I was upstairs, trying to sleep. In my own bed, my own room, and my own house, preferably with peace and quiet,” Miles said bitterly. “Unfortunately, that is currently unachievable. Thanks to you.”

“It was TRUCY’S fault!” Phoenix said. “Sheeeeee asked me if she could bring some friends and… I can’t say noooooo to her!”

“Yes, you quite literally can, Wright,” Miles said. “You are her father. It’s your JOB to tell her no.”

Phoenix rolled his eyes and laughed with Gumshoe, as if they were in on some joke that Miles didn’t get.

“D’oh, you don’t know SQUAT about being a dad,” Phoenix said, grinning. “But maybe if we got married you wooooould better understand it…”

The three people sitting at Phoenix’s feet whooped and hollered as Phoenix reclined on the couch, dropping his wine glass on the rug and spilling the contents everywhere. It took all of Miles’ willpower to not shriek out loud.

“Miles, you’re toooooo uptight,” Phoenix burped. “Come on, livealittle! Let’s get a drink from upstairs…”

“I refuse to do anything of the like,” Miles said. “This is absurd.”

Suddenly, Phoenix rose to his feet and stumbled over to Miles. He then wrapped his arm around his rival’s shoulder and grinned in his face. Miles could smell the alcohol on Phoenix’s breath.

“Listen here, MISTER,” Phoenix said, prodding Miles’ chest. “I’m taking you UPSTAIRS, and you’re gonna DRINK with us. And you’re gonna go fuckin’ crazy and have the tiiiiiiiiime of your LIFE.”

Miles tried to protest, but was shushed by Phoenix’s finger pressing on his lips.

“Shhhhhh. Don’t say anything,” Phoenix said. “We’re gonna get you fixed right up! Hey… right up, jus like me, I’m Wright, hehe…”

Phoenix then turned to Apollo, who was also clearly a little tipsy.

“Hey ‘Pollo,” Phoenix said. “Tell everyone that we’re getting Miles drunk and meet us uppppppppstairs!”

Apollo nodded and grinned, before inhaling sharply and yelling “HEY EVERYONE! COME UPSTAIRS! MR. EDGEWORTH IS GONNA GET DRUNK WITH US!!!”

Excited hoots and hollers could be heard as Miles was ushered upstairs while he tried to clean his ears a bit. They felt like they were ringing after being so close in proximity to Mr. Justice’s powerful vocal cords. Before he could regain a bit more of his hearing, they had already arrived back at the ground floor, and Miles felt himself being shoved onto a couch with a glass of beer pushed into his hand. A crowd was starting to form around him, all of them staring intently with slap happy grins and drunken blush on their faces.

“We’re gonna make him chug this thingggggg!” Phoenix shouted. The crowd erupted into a wave of cheers.

“Now really, there is no need for that,” Miles said. “Come now, let’s all be sensible.”

But the crowd had already started to chant “chug, chug, chug,” and Miles knew that if he didn’t down the drink soon they would never leave him be.

So, being nothing more than a stray cat backed into a corner, Miles gave in and gulped the whole thing down.

The crowd exploded again into cheers and excitement, and Phoenix quickly filled up Miles’ glass with beer for the second time. Just as soon as it had stopped, the chanting started up again.

“Please, let’s be reasonable!” Miles begged. But Phoenix was already guiding the beer up to Miles’ mouth.

The crowd went wild again and Miles wiped his mouth. Surely they’ll let me go now, he thought. He thought the same thing about the third beer, and the fourth, and the fifth, until his vision was hazy and his face was red and he was giggling along with the rest of the partygoers.

The rest of the night was a complete blur. Miles vaguely remembered little flashes of events- fruit punch on his rug, Pess frantically eating a burger patty, a bird sitting on his television, a woman cutting her hair, Phoenix dancing on a table.

If there’s one thing that Miles knew, it was that he probably had never had so much fun in his entire life.

~~~

Miles woke up feeling like his skull was cracked open and his brains were being cooked on a frying pan.

Miles groaned as he gradually opened his eyes. The room seemed far too bright for his liking. He squinted in the light and brought a shaky hand upwards to rub at his scalp, then started to work his body to slowly rise from his spot sleeping against the front door.

It took Miles around five minutes to stand up properly as he was terrified of getting a headrush in this state. As soon as he got up, he noticed that Phoenix was still passed out- lying right next to where Miles was sleeping before. Phoenix’s phone was next to him, so Miles tapped it with his foot to turn it on so he could check the time. The phone turned on and presented an unanswered text from Trucy that was sent 11 hours ago. It said “I’m at home now!! 😸” The phone showed that the current time was 9:21 AM. Miles sighed. At least Phoenix could be a good father in some areas- if he was doing his math right, that meant Trucy went home at around 10 PM. Not the best, but presumably before all of the drinking had started, which was good.

Miles hobbled around the house, looking around at the aftermath of the party. People were asleep on his couch, on the floor, in the bathroom, on tables, on the stairs, on the patio, and even in the grass in his backyard. There were empty bottles all over the house, random objects scattered about, numerous stains on his luxurious carpets, and discarded food, plates, and napkins in multiple places that weren’t the trash. The prosecutor rubbed his temple. What did he ever do to deserve all of this?

Miles decided that he wasn’t going to be nice anymore. He started with the people in his yard- gently waking them up one by one and telling them to leave. He then told the people on the patio, and then the people on the tables, and then the people in the bathroom, and so on. He saved all of the people he actually knew personally for a special task that he needed help with.

Eventually, after a good handful of people were woken up and forced out of the house, Miles approached Phoenix to wake him up.

Miles carefully knelt down to Phoenix’s side as he approached, cringing at the pain in his head. He then gently grabbed Phoenix’s shoulder and shook it.

“Wright,” Miles muttered. “Wright, get up. I have a job for you.”

Phoenix blinked in the light and groaned.

“God, owwwww… my head hurts like a bitch,” Phoenix complained. “Man, I wish I hadn’t gotten so… drunk.”

“Oh dear, the consequences of your own actions,” Miles mocked. “Come now, get up. You must help me.”

Phoenix struggled to get up, but when he finally did, he started going around and waking people up, helping Miles kick them out. As instructed, Phoenix was telling a select few of them to stay behind to help clean up around the house. Slowly but surely, the guests became more and more sparse, and Miles’ house looked less and less unkempt. With the help of some of the party’s various attendees, Miles’ house was eventually restored to at least a portion of its former glory. Bottles were thrown away, food was discarded, beverages were dumped, broken objects were swept up and tossed. Phoenix thoroughly apologized for all the alcohol stains on the furniture and carpets, and promised that he would cover any cleaning funds that were needed. Miles let him settle for covering just a quarter of the total expenses- for the rest, Miles said that he could handle it on his own.

Time flew while the group was cleaning. It was approaching noon, and while things weren’t fully tidied up like they were before the party, Miles had priorities on his mind- so he quickly shooed everyone remaining out of the house and told them to come back at 10 AM the next morning if they wished to help him further. Everybody was on board with this, so they all ended up saying goodbye and heading out. Once everyone was gone, Miles breathed a small sigh of relief. He shook his head and then quickly went up to his bedroom, changed into his pajamas, and dove into his bed. Almost immediately after jumping in to rest, Miles was out cold.

It was safe to say that that was one of the best nights of sleep that he had ever had.

#fic request #fanfic request #fanfic #fanfiction #ao3 #ace attorney #miles edgeworth

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