Day 35: Bus 3 (Return Trip)

[secret-orchard.livejournal.com]

Armand wearily climbed the steps of the bus. He was less tired than cold, but it made his limbs ache. He hoped they'd actually make it back to the Institute before dark this time. He hadn't seen either Citan or Morrison in town, so he kept an eye out for either one climbing back  into the bus. He still wondered if Morrison had been able to rest today instead of coming to town. Other than a lunch that he hadn't liked and meeting a new face or two, he wasn't sure at all what he'd gained by the day. Oh well, he was more than used to disappointment and failure.

[waiting for Citan if Fey is backish]

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[ham_fisted]

Gumshoe took care not to hit his head against the ceiling again as he skulked on to the bus. Unlike last time, being frisked was something he had been prepared for. It hadn't come as much of a shock when the woman approaching him had suddenly shooed his hands away and begun to search his pockets. Those nurses could be real harsh when they wanted to be. Made him wonder how much worse they got after nightfall. He hadn't really caught a glimpse of them during the ambush last week, and he couldn't remember ever seeing them in the hallways...

But that was the least of his worries.

He gave the crowd a hasty once-over, failing to spot any of the three faces he'd been keeping an eye out for. Heaving a sigh, the detective walked a few steps before pausing yet again, the sight of grey hair halting him in his tracks. He hesitated, then pointedly hung his head and continued forward, deciding in those seconds that he wouldn't join the prosecutor. Despite this, he slowed down and froze beside said prosecutor's seat. In an attempt to hide his bumbling presence, Gumshoe stiffly turned for the opposite seat and shrank next to the window.

... Having an aisle between them didn't seem like enough, so he pretended to focus, perhaps too much, on the things outside that were now moving past them. He couldn't very well jump up and dive for the back seat now without giving himself away. Unless he'd already done that.

[high-prosecutor.livejournal.com]

Edgeworth caught the familiar silhouette out of the corner of his eye. It was unusual that the detective hadn't taken the moment to sit next to him in his usual boisterous manner, but that would make the task he was up to a bit easier.

At the same time, it didn't seem right to risk getting up and sitting next to him. He didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to himself, even though Gavin seemed perfectly distracted by...yes, that was his roommate. This was a stroke of luck.

In the end, feeling odd about not at least acknowledging Gumshoe's presence, he chose the unusual route of passing a note across the aisle, that read:

Detective: I didn't see von Karma today. Don't worry, I've been keeping my eyes peeled. Also: keep an eye on the blonde gentleman a few rows up from where we're sitting. I'll ask your opinion, and explain why it is important, once we're off the bus.

[ham_fisted]

The moment he suspected Mr. Edgeworth hadn't noticed him at all, he turned in his seat to see the man had extended his hand across the aisle, a slip of paper held between his fingers. The detective stared before finally taking it from him, shaking his head as he gently unfolded it in his lap. He read it over slowly, somehow dreading its contents, and looked up at him. So they were still on good terms? That was a relief, but he wouldn't have blamed him if it were the opposite. The note by itself didn't make him feel like he was safely out of the woods yet, of course.

He opened his mouth to ask about the blond guy, though he managed to shut it in advance of saying anything. If this was a spy mission, he should probably keep quiet... But he sorta wanted to help, and to do that, he'd need all the info he could get!

Without thinking further on it, Gumshoe rose from where he was and slipped into the seat behind his colleague, leaning forward and granting him an inquisitive look.

"What's this about, sir?"

[high-prosecutor.livejournal.com]

Why do I...well, two sets of eyes are better than one, assuming the one set can stay quiet long enough to not ruin all of this. Even if I did tell him I'd explain later, and here he is asking now. Edgeworth sighed, then began to reply, not turning around to look just yet.

"...I thought I'd said I would explain later? No matter. It's about two things, actually." He took a deep breath and blew it out slowly.

"The first - well, I explained in some detail what happened on the night I was taken for that experiment. What I didn't explain...you're familiar with the way the Feys can summon spirits, correct? They tried inducing that ability in me."

He rubbed at the scar on the back of his neck again. "Aside from the scar, they left a second reminder. A voice, actually...my father's. It tends to react when I'm in danger or if I'm overly stressed." As if on cue, the voice piped up in a low groan; the prosecutor had to wait until it quieted down to continue.

"It reacted out of nowhere this morning. I still suspect it's leftover tension from the incident with von Karma last night, because it reacted more strongly then than it has at any time since the initial incident. However, there's one more thing that bothers me, and that's where the blond gentleman speaking with my new roommmate comes in. You remember the time gaps that we talked about yesterday, between my appearance, your appearance, and Wright's reappearance here, correct?"

Edgeworth turned in his seat. "The blond gentleman is from our own world, just seven years later. Wright said that he couldn't get a read on him, which is quite unusual. I'm suspicious."

[ham_fisted]

He listened carefully, knowing the prosecutor hated having to repeat himself, though it became difficult when he started to talk about his 'experiment'; Gumshoe felt like he should cover his ears. But if Mr. Edgeworth wanted to fill him in, the least he could do was pay attention.

He drew back in his seat, genuinely shocked. For Dr. Landel to try something that dangerous...! This was definitely going on his list of charges!

"A reminder...?" he echoed, looking slightly confused. He heard the answer after that, but the meaning behind it didn't register right away. "... Huh!?" He gaped. "Y-y-your father!? Y-you mean...!" He forced himself to calm down; for both their sakes. "... It worked...?" he whispered in awe. "Y-you've been channeling a spirit...?" He glanced to the side. "... B-but that's impossible!" he hissed furiously, looking back at him with a hint of exasperation on his face. "You're not a medium!"

There was another problem. Wasn't the medium meant to take on the appearance of the deceased? That's what they had learned at the trial!

Thrown by the news, he tried to focus on what he was being told, to no avail. "... Wait. I don't get it," he admitted in a low voice, gazing, perplexed, at the back of the stranger's head. "Um, I-I mean, how do you know he isn't some regular Joe?"

[high-prosecutor.livejournal.com]

"I'm well aware of the fact I'm not a medium." There was no hiding the sarcasm in that reply.

"Nonetheless, I...yes. It worked. However, because I'm not a medium, I don't have a lot of control over it. I think that's why it's stuck with me in the form it has. I don't know that I could break whatever bond it's working through, nor do I know what effect it would have on me if I did. None of that is terribly relevant to the matter at hand, What I do know is that it reacted to something this morning."

Here was the part where things had gotten a bit dicey with Wright, and where the reaction would probably get loud, if it was going to. "This is...pure speculation on my part, but I think that the incident last night triggered something with the voice. I wasn't sure what it was reacting to, and I still think it may be tension, but...well, you know Wright. He's perceptive. There are very few people he can't read, and the fact that Gavin is one of them just bothers me."

[ham_fisted]

Gumshoe was well aware of his colleague's thoughts on the Kurain Channeling Technique, having been silenced one too many times for mentioning it in the past. If that experiment had given him the same awesome power as Maya Fey... The detective almost caught himself wishing that she were here. Maybe she'd know how to reverse it!

"Hmmm..." He rested back in his seat, gaze flickering between Mr. Edgeworth and Mr. Gavin in the distance. Then it hit him. His eyes widened. "Sir! D'you think he's working for Mr. von Karma?"

[high-prosecutor.livejournal.com]

"Detective? Need I remind you that von Karma is dead in our own natural timeline?" Edgeworth turned around and frowned, then thought of one potential - but highly unlikely - possibility.

"Unless...my sister wasn't dating anyone when you knew her, was she? I highly doubt it, as it is her way to be married to her work, but that's the only possible connection I can think of between Gavin and von Karma."

He crossed his arms, thinking again. The more he thought, the less likely that seemed. "No. Even if Franziska was dating him, it's not her way to foist her own work onto others. I don't think he's working for von Karma, though Wright thinks he may be a lawyer. Rival defense attorney or prosecutor, I can't say, and he isn't giving up a lot of information. Though he IS talking to my roommate," he added, gesturing to the taller of the two bespectacled dark-haired men. "I'll ask Mikami what he thinks later."