DISCLAIMER: All characters and settings belong to CAPCOM.
Trucy Wright, the budding magician from the famous Troupe Gramarye, was preparing for another one of her scheduled performances of Trucy in Gramaryeland over at the Penrose Theater. Ever since the first televised run that unfortunately ended in tragedy because of one Roger Retinz, Trucy in Gramaryeland has been a sold out attraction in the theater, featuring different acts from Trucy and her assistants Bonny and Betty de Famme, people have started to take a renewed interest in the Gramarye brand of entertainment.
Only this time, Trucy had a major problem. Bonny and Betty had their own show across town on the same date as her next show, and with Apollo now residing in Khura'in, she was left with Athena and Phoenix to be her assistants, but therein lies her next problem. Phoenix was currently in Kurain Village to visit his now-fiancee Maya Fey, and Athena had jusr taken a week long leave to be with Apollo at the Kingdom of Khura'in, leaving her to possibly conduct her show alone.
Trucy was deep in thought in the Wright Anything Agency when someone started knocking on the door. When she went to open it, she saw it was their good friend and Forensic Detective Ema Skye.
"Hi Ema!" Trucy greeted the detective.
"Heya Trucy!" Ema replied "Is Mr. Wright around today?" she asked, peeking inside the office.
Trucy shook her head and pouted "Nope. It's just me here."
The detective looked surprised "Wha-really? Where'd everyone go? Seems unlike for them to leave you manning the office..." she asked.
"Oh you know, busy attending to their love life." she said sarcastically, her mood pretty much reflected in the tone of her voice.
Ema chuckled at what she heard "Wow...never thought they'd actually leave the agency empty for once."
"Well, daddy's over at Kurain Village to see Maya, and Athena's on leave to go to the Kingdom for Apollo." Trucy then decided to let Ema hear a bit about her dilemma "I'm actually in a bit of a pinch right now, you know...I have a show in two days and because Bonnie and Betty have their own show across town on that same day, I don't have anyone to act as my assistant! I might have to run a show with just me and Mr. Hat!" she cried out, clearly at a loss for what to do.
"Ohhh, so that's why you looked like you had a lot on your mind." Ema had noticed that Trucy wasn't in the best of moods when she came, although if you were to ask her, she honestly sympathized more with Athena and Phoenix "Can't say I blame them though, it's a pretty tough spot after a while."
"Speaking from experience, Ema?" Trucy asked, well aware that Ema herself was in a relationship with Prosecutor Klavier Gavin and that she had to spend most of last year away in Khura'in working on various cases with Prosecutor Sadhmadhi.
"Yeah, well, when you grow fond of annoying fops, you tend to miss 'em when they're not around." Ema replied, referring to her boyfriend by her now endearing nickname for him. "Anyway, what do you plan to do now?" she asked.
"Hmm...I don't really know..." Trucy thought for a moment before a sudden thought hit her "Oh! I know!" she then grabbed Ema's arm, pulling her inside the agency.
"He-hey, Trucy! What's the deal!?" a surprised Ema cried out, struggling to stay on her feet as the young magician had almost dragged her inside. She then watched as Trucy pulled out what looked like a measuring tape and started taking her measurements "Trucy, what exactly are you doing!?"
"I've decided! You're gonna be my special assistant for the show!" Trucy replied, continuing to take measurements from Ema "Which is why I gotta make you your own magician's outfit!"
"What!? How did we get to discussing that!?" a bewildered Ema asked "Look, Trucy, I'd be glad to help in any way, but your assistant? That might be too much, I don't even know what to do there!" while she's watched a few of Trucy's shows already, Ema was not exactly familiar with the role of magician's assistant.
"It's pretty simple, really!" Trucy bubbly replied "You just have to help me with the props up on stage. You won't be put in a box or anything, trust me, Polly's already the man for that job, after all." Trucy, of course, was referring to when Apollo was volunteered to be put in the sliced box trick.
"Okay...but how exactly do you plan on making that costume in a day?" Ema asked, as observing the elaborate details on Trucy's own outfit made it seem unlikely that the magician could actually manage to complete a new one for her in such a short period of time. "I mean, I could help if you want, I know my way around fabrics at the very least, but one day doesn't sound like enough time."
Trucy just smiled and opened a box in the middle of the office, and when Ema looked, she immediately saw why Trucy felt confident in making the new costume. It was a box filled with fabric and materials that resembled those in Trucy's costume. "Troupe Gramarye's always been known for their amazing wardrobe, which is why we have this. The members of the troupe have always been similar and unique in their own fashion senses, after all."
"Wow. This is quite the stash of materials, you'd put a small fabric shop to shame with this. Now I see why you think it's possible." Ema then picked out the small, clear box that held brooches in different shapes and designs "I know I'm gonna have a hard time picking through these, they're all so pretty!"
Trucy then brought the wooden puppet Mr. Hat out from behind her, letting him pull a few yards of fabric as he sprung up. "Now the real work begins! Troupe Gramarye's newest assistant needs to have as fabulous an outfit as we do." Trucy said, looking up to the puppet "Ready, Mr. Hat?"
"Oh yeah, you bet I am!" replied the puppet as they begin their work on Ema's costume.
"Frau Trucy, you know I'd be delighted to come and watch one of your shows!"
"Great! I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Gavin!"
Prosecutor Klavier Gavin recalled his phone call with Trucy last night as he was walking towards the Penrose Theater. He wasn't a stranger to the magician's shows, having seen a couple with Ema in the past, but this time was slightly different. Trucy had specially invited Klavier backstage before the show, something that only fellow members of the Wright Anything Agency were able to do.
Thinking that there must be something special for the show that Trucy wanted him to see, he made his way to the backstage area of the theater, not without encountering a few Gavinners fans along the way, of course. He then knocked on Trucy's dressing room once he finally got there, and the magician opened the door a few moments later.
"Heya, fraulein." Klavier greeted.
"Mr. Gavin! Glad you made it!" Trucy replied, then led him inside the dressing room "Just in time too, the show begins in 30 minutes!"
"Good thing I was able to get through those fans quickly then." Klavier began "Here I thought I came for your show, and still I get mobbed backstage!" He looked around the dressing room and saw most of the smaller props lying around "Anyway, what was it you wanted me to come here before the show for?" the prosecutor asked.
Right as soon as Klavier asked, Ema comes walking from behind a curtain on the far end of the room, carrying a box of props with her "Trucy! Where did you want these again?" she asked. She didn't hear Klavier coming in the room due to the music playing on the dressing room's speakers.
Klavier quickly turned to see Ema, and was momentarily startled. She was already in her magician's outfit, which in itself, was very similar to Trucy's own, only in a different color. Ema's was predominantly pink, in contrast to Trucy's blue, and her robe was held by a red ribbon pin instead of a brooch.
Her signature pink glasses were placed on her magician's hat, under which her hair was let loose and ran down to her waist, and like Trucy, she was also wearing a red scarf, something that Klavier immediately recognized as something that belonged to her sister Lana.
The prosecutor walked towards the magician's assistant and took the box she was holding, setting it down just beside them "Mein liebe, this is a pleasant surprise." they then looked towards Trucy, who was giggling a bit while looking at them.
"How does she look, Mr. Gavin?" Trucy asked, wearing a teasing smile on her face as she noticed Ema's cheeks reddening a little.
This just prompted Klavier to affectionately put a hand on Ema's warm cheek "I'd say it suits her pretty well, easily the prettiest magician I've seen in a while." he said, causing the detective's cheeks to flush into a deeper red.
"Shut up, fop.." Ema was slightly embarrassed, to say the least, and while she was used to Klavier's flirting and all, she still couldn't help but be flustered. "What are you even doing here!?" she cried out.
Klavier raised his hands in defense "Hey, I'm just here for frau Trucy's show. I'll have you know I was personally invited."
"That I did, and that just gave me an idea!" Trucy exclaimed, catching the pair's attention "Do you mind being a surprise guest for the show today, Mr. Gavin?" she asked.
"If it means mein liebe would be assisting you in a trick I'll be involved in..." Klavier began, smoothly putting an arm around Ema's waist, surprising the detective "...then you can definitely count me in on that, frau Trucy."
Trucy clapped her hands together in delight "Great! I've reserved you a front row seat today, so you can enjoy the show before it's your turn to come up on stage."
"That's very nice of you, fraulein. I guess I'll see you two once the show starts then." Klavier started to walk to the exit of the dressing room, but quickly took a step back to plant a kiss on Ema's cheek "Viel glück, mein liebe." he said.
Trucy was fawning over the sight, and Ema just smiled as she watched Klavier leave the dressing room "Danke schön, liebling." she said to herself. Ema then turned to Trucy with a confident look on her face "Right, now that we're all in this, let's make sure it'll be a show Mr. Wright and the others would regret they missed."
"You bet!" Trucy cheerfully replied, giving Ema a high-five.
The show began smoothly, and it was a sold out event as expected. The seats were packed, and Klavier's presence in the front row did not go unnoticed, as he could hear people talking about him when he sat down on his seat after coming from Trucy and Ema's dressing room. Trucy's solo tricks got the crowd going, as did her tricks with Mr. Hat, but now it was time for her special guest to make an appearance.
"Ladies and gentlemen, allow me and Magical Assistant Ema to introduce you to our special guest for today's show!" Trucy's statements got the crowd buzzing, there was no word of a special guest included in the show's schedule, after all. People were looking through their flyers trying to see if they had missed something in the fine print.
The stage lights turned off and the spotlights began to dance around the audience backed by a drum roll until they landed on one particular seat in the front row.
"You know him very well, ladies and gentlemen! Let's all welcome the international prosecutor and former frontman of the Gavinners, Klavier Gavin!"
Trucy's introduction got the crowd cheering, the spotlights following Klavier as he walked up the stairs on the edge of the stage, where Ema met him, offering her hand to welcome him on the stage. Not one to miss a beat, Klavier took the chance to take her hand, bringing it up to place a swift kiss on it, surprising her a bit, but nonetheless making her smile back at him.
"Achtung baby! This Gavinner is going on a magical tour!" Klavier called out as he got up on stage, prompting more cheers from the crowd.
"And now, for our next trick, Magical Assistant Ema and I will be putting Mr. Gavin in the middle of a Grand Edge Crossfire!" a round elevated platform then appeared in the middle of the stage from underneath "Parents might want to cover their children's eyes for this trick, because this is going to be quite the daring sight~"
Klavier, even though he had no idea how the trick was supposed to go, went ahead and stood on the elevated platform. Ema then walked up to him "Listen, for this trick, we're gonna need you to stand completely still. Absolutely still, if you can." she told him in a serious tone.
"Mind filling me in on a few details, then?" Klavier asked. He looked over to Trucy as she rummaged through their prop box on the far end of the stage, but he couldn't really see what she was trying to get. "Just so I know what I'm dealing with."
"There's not much time so I'll just ask you this." she paused to gauge Klavier's reaction, and his curious expression signalled her to go on "Do you trust me?"
The prosecutor simply nodded "Really need to ask, mein liebe?" he replied.
Ema smiled at him before she walked back towards Trucy, who had just finished searching for their next props. The young magician handed her a set of five knives, while Trucy held on to her own set of five. The two raised the knives for the crowd to see, and a collective gasp of shock was heard across the theater.
"You might've guessed it right, ladies and gentlemen! We're going to be throwing these knives at each other with Mr. Gavin standing in between us!" Trucy exclaimed, and more shocked gasps echoed in the theater "Remember, for everyone's safety, please don't ever ever try this at home!" to make her point, Trucy threw one of her knives at a wooden box that was in the middle of the stage, and the knife cleanly wedged itself inside the box.
Even Klavier had to admit, he never expected this "Ema, I just wanna ask...how long did you practice this with Trucy?" he asked as Ema was walking to her spot on his right. Him calling her by her name indicated just how legitimate his concern was.
"One round, tops." was the assistant's flat reply "But I know you trust me." she added, winking at him for good measure.
Klavier wanted to raise an objection at this point, but knowing that it could possibly derail the show, he elected not to. He then watched as five targets on each side of the stage slowly appeared from underneath. The targets were placed very close to each other, but more importantly, he could tell that the path the knives would have to take to reach their targets would pass very, very close to him, if not through him.
He looked at Ema as she readied her throwing knife, and when he saw a confident look in her eyes, he was able to feel a bit at ease.
"Here we go..." Trucy began as she balanced a throwing knife in her hand, and with one swift motion, raised her arm and quickly threw the knife towards her target. The knife passed really close to Klavier's face before it hit its mark dead center. The crowd were obviously holding their breath as they let out a relieved sigh when they saw the knife hit the target.
It was now Ema's turn and when Klavier glanced to his side, he noticed that her eyes weren't on him, instead focusing solely on her target. Although unlike Trucy, Ema threw her knife in the air, sending it towards her target as soon as she caught it by the hilt on its way down.
The extremely flashy style generated louder gasps from the audience, and some parents have actually started covering their childrens' eyes, adhering to Trucy's earlier warning.
After both Ema and Trucy have thrown four knives each, they were down to their last target. Klavier, of course, was still standing cool in the middle of the stage, despite the fact that he had to hold his breath on every single throw, and that he was already sweating quite a bit.
Trucy then addressed the crowd once more. "For the last throw, we're gonna be hitting our targets at the same time!"
The crowd now grew excited for the last throw, especially with the special twist. Both of them readied their final knives, and for added flashiness, Ema, who was feeling the momentum from her previous throws, decided to throw her knife up higher, giving herself enough time to even blow a flying kiss towards Klavier in a really flirty way right before catching her knife and throwing it across the stage at the same time as Trucy, both knives managing to hit their marks at the same time.
The crowd erupted in cheers at Trucy and Ema's successful magic trick with Klavier, and they continued to cheer on as Klavier exited the stage. The momentum their performance generated carried on until the end of the show, and this showing of Trucy In Gramaryeland ended in another standing ovation.
After the show, people were talking about the new magician's assistant who came on to really put on a show. Most of the feedback from the performance were actually people asking if Ema was to make future appearances in Trucy's shows.
Back in their dressing room, Ema and Trucy were celebrating the successful show. The young magician was unable to contain her delight as she hugged Ema tightly "Ema! You were so amazing out there! You should've seen how the people reacted!" she then pulled out her magic panties, grabbing a bouquet of roses from inside and giving it to Ema "Consider me your newest fan, Magical Assistant Ema!"
"Thanks, but it's nothing, really." Ema said as she took the bouquet "I'm just happy we made it without much trouble." while she did enjoy herself performing with Trucy out there, Ema felt relief more than anything, as she really wanted to just help Trucy out with her dilemma "Besides, I was just following your lead!"
"Nah, you did well enough on your own, Ema, you didn't even need me to give you cues!" Trucy replied "Remember, the knife trick was also your idea, I wasn't even planning on using it if you didn't insist."
"I couldn't help it, I've been interested in that trick ever since I saw you and the twins performing it the last time I watched." Ema said "I've been wanting to try it out myself since then."
"That reminds me, I've never really asked how you learned to throw knives that well!" Trucy remembered the one time that they practiced the trick back at the agency, where she was simply stunned at how accurate Ema was. "They don't teach you that on the force now, do they?"
Ema shook her head "Nope, I guess it was just something I've been pretty good with it ever since I was little, throwing stuff and all that. Although Lana did have to resort to hiding the knives in the house to keep me from throwing 'em around."
"I guess it's no surprise you could hit me with a Snackoo at full speed the moment I entered the Criminal Affairs office, eh?" Klavier said as he entered the dressing room "That was a great show you put on, frauleins, even though I legitimately feared for my life for a few moments there. Thanks for informing me about that, by the way..."
Ema pouted "Hey, what's this about, you glimmerous fop? I thought you said you trusted me!"
"I did, up until you pulled that flying kiss and catch gimmick on the last throw! You could've been off by a couple centimeters and end up cutting my nose off!" Klavier retorted. He then walked up to Ema "Speaking of which, I was never really able to answer you on that one, now wasn't I?" before Ema could react, Klavier quickly closed the gap between them and pulled her into a kiss, which she so gladly returned.
"Aww...I bet you've been waiting all day for that, eh, Mr. Gavin?" Trucy just smiled while watching the two, slowly putting a hand over her brooch.
Klavier eventually pulled back, smiling as he felt Ema weakly trying to pull him back in "You can say that again, fraulein." he said "You could even say I've already been completely taken in by Ema the magical assistant."
"Oh stop it, you fop!" Ema said "It's a good thing you didn't actually go winking at me on stage earlier, or I might've actually hit you in the face or something." That might've been the case, as Ema is actually pretty vulnerable to Klavier's flirtatious gestures, something the prosecutor takes delight in, and something Ema would never admit.
"Says the woman flirting with her boyfriend right before throwing a knife at him..." Klavier shrugged, flipping his golden drill lock "Still, is it still my fault if my charm affects you so easily?" Even before they were in a relationship, Klavier had already built up a habit of teasing Ema, which annoyed the detective to no end at first but gradually grew to be fond of...again, not that she would admit any of that.
Ema snickered "Too bad they only work on me, eh?" she then took a couple quick steps towards him, pulling him in for another kiss.
While she enjoyed the two of them acting lovey-dovey for the better part of their time in the dressing room, it was a bit too much for Trucy this time around "Seriously, you two! Get a room!" she cried out at the couple.
"Oh whoops, sorry Trucy." Ema sheepishly said "Don't know if you've noticed, but we just had to find some way to get rid of the Gavinners fangirls peeking through the door." The three went silent for a while and looked towards the door, where they could hear door's lock clicking as it was closed shut, the fangirls' muffled cries of frustration coming from behind.
"Oh hey, you're actually right! I didn't even notice!" Trucy couldn't help but laugh at the situation "I gotta say, you two really know how to put on a show, on and off the stage."
"Well, it's what I do..." Klavier began "Mein liebe, on the other hand, I'm thinking this might be a hidden talent of hers." While no stranger to being up on stage, Ema's confident look up on stage reminded him of his whenever he went up on live tours.
"I seriously had a lot of fun out there, I might try doing this more often." Ema said, then turning towards Trucy "If that's alright with you, of course."
The magician nodded her head fervently "Oh please, I'd love to have my magical assistant on stage anytime! You're a natural, Ema!" she exclaimed "Besides, the people are gonna be looking for you, they loved you so much up on stage. You looked like a true Troupe Gramarye performer out there!"
"I wouldn't go that far, Trucy." Ema humbly replied "I was just having fun out there, like you told me to, remember?"
"Well, that's at least one show done. I can rest easy knowing that daddy and Athena are gonna be back for the next." Trucy then had an idea "Hey, why don't we guys go out and eat? You know, to celebrate the successful show!"
Klavier nodded "Achtung, I just had the idea myself a while ago, you two pick where we'll go, my treat."
Ema eyed him suspiciously "Oh? We suddenly got Mr. Generous all of a sudden, huh?"
"Like frau Trucy said, we're gonna celebrate!" Klavier then sneaked an arm around Ema's waist again "Besides, I can't wait to get through those hordes of fans waiting outside, who knows what they'd do to mein liebe!"
"Wait! Let me change back into my normal clothes first! I'm fine with it on stage, but I'm not going out there in this!" Ema protested, prompting laughter from Trucy and Klavier.
Trucy meanwhile, walked to a corkboard full of pictures from her past performances in the Penrose Theater. The corkboard was placed right beside her mirror in the dressing room, where she also had a printer hidden under the table. Picking up the latest snapshot taken by her brooch, which had a hidden camera in it, she giggled weakly as she pinned the picture on the corkboard.
The picture? Basically a paparazzi's dream snap. It was a picture she covertly took of Ema and Klavier kissing in the dressing room.
- END -
Author's Notes: I was actually inspired to write this story after I saw an art of Ema in a Troupe Gramarye outfit on deviantArt. Not sure if I could pit links here on the fic, so I'll just leave the artist's name here. Look up nohMasked on deviantArt, they have a lot of other Ace Attorney art too.