Ugh, only two chapters in and there was already a delay. I'm really sorry you guys; you deserve a lot better than that. I made the mistake of starting this fanfic with finals iminent, so when my tests actually came around, I was forced into a very unwanted hiatus. When I finally got past that, I realized there were some scenes in this chapter that I just couldn't seem to get right. Something I hadn't realized about writing a mystery like this was that the importance of making sure every scene works properly in order for everything to make sense. Still, I think I've got the hard part out of the way, at least for a while, so updates should become more frequent again. Until that, enjoy!


Phoenix looked around in surprise. Just a second ago he'd been sitting on the train with Lynne, Maya and Sissel. But now… now he found himself staring at a swirling crimson vortex. He'd seen this place before, he realized, and that could only mean one thing.

"I'm dead again, aren't I?" He couldn't think of any other explanation for being back here.

"Actually, no." Came a reply. Obviously, it was Sissel, padding through the 'air' towards him.

Phoenix raised an eyebrow in interest. "Then how did we get here? I thought this was the 'ghost world' or something like that."

"It's true that you come here when you die." Sissel explained. "But once I've saved someone's life with my ghost tricks, I can talk to them here whenever I want."

"So, what? We're talking psychically or something?" Phoenix looked around. He wasn't entirely sure he believed in this mumbo-jumbo, but Sissel probably knew better than he did. "Does that mean I'm just spacing out on the train or something?"

Sissel blinked his large eyes. "No. When we're in here, I'm pretty sure time stops in the outside world."

"Okay… So what's the point of all of this?"

"I needed to talk to you, and I thought it would be better to do it here so it didn't look like you were talking to yourself. There are some things I want to ask you about."

"Such as…?"

"Just what is that green gem of yours?"

Oh, right. Phoenix remembered Sissel wondering about it when they averted his death. He hadn't been able to remember back then, but now he would be able to answer Sissel's questions. He explained the origin of his Magatama, about how he'd gotten it from Maya and then had it charged with Pearl's spiritual energy, allowing him to see Psyche-Locks. Sissel seemed particularly interested in the idea of 'locks' on the hearts of others.

Sissel looked thoughtful. "There wouldn't happen to be… chains, would there?"

"Yeah, there are." Phoenix nodded. "How did you know that?" Maybe Sissel read his mind?

"I can only know your surface thoughts." Sissel assured him. "I'm not able to actually go digging around in other people's heads for information, and I wouldn't do that even if I could."

"But then how did you know about the chains?" Phoenix asked.

"Mr. Wright, do you know anything about how the Magatama works, or where its powers come from?"

Phoenix was a little annoyed, considering he was usually the one asking the questions, but he answered anyways. Besides, if his witnesses were half as cooperative as he was trying to be, his trials would probably go a lot better. "Besides the fact that Pearls charged it with her energy, I have no idea."

"I see." Sissel replied. (It looks like I'll have to go see what info I can gleam from this 'Pearls.')

"Well, she should be at Kurain." Phoenix shrugged, immediately feeling a little awkward about responding to an idle thought. Well, it was too late now. "But how will you be able to learn anything? I thought you could only talk to people you save."

"You'd be surprised at what you can glean through just watching."

The were both silent for a moment.

"I guess that's it, then." Sissel said, sounding disappointed. "Well, let's go back to the world of the living…

"Wait!" Phoenix said, holding up an arm. "I told you what I knew about the Magatama, but I still don't know anything about where you came from."

"It's a long story."

"Time is frozen."

"Touché."

And so Sissel explained his origin to Phoenix. To tell the truth, there was a lot of confusing time travel that Phoenix couldn't quite wrap his head around. Regardless, he got the gist of it. Apparently, the cat got his powers from a fragment of some meteorite called "Temsik." (That would explain why he's so interested in the Kurain Boulder…) Oddly, Sissel wouldn't tell him much about the meteorite itself. Of course, a lot of that came from the fact that Sissel himself didn't know that much, but Phoenix still got the impression that Sissel was hiding something. This whole "no secrets in the ghost world" thing wasn't really the best way to describe it…

Either way, they'd both gotten the information they wanted, so Sissel brought them back to the world of the living.


"I'm telling you, burgers are the way to go." Maya insisted. "I mean, you have so much freedom with it! Cheese, onions, pickles, bacon, you can practically put whatever you want on a burger and it's still good!"

"Are you kidding?" Lynne replied, looking aghast. "You've clearly never been to the Chicken Kitchen. A boring meat patty can't even begin to compare to their succulent golden-brown delicousness!"

Sissel shot a look to Phoenix, who rolled his eyes. Hmm. Maybe he had more in common with that lawyer than he first thought.

"So Lynne," Phoenix said, quite clearly wanting to talk about something else. "How did a detective like you first get interested in the Kurain Channelling Technique?

"Oh, that's an easy one!" Lynne said, reaching back into her bag and pulling out a newspaper. "Look at this: 'Murder From Beyond the Grave.' Pretty cool, huh? Although I guess the title's a bit wrong. I mean, it says the killer was some prosecutor, not the ghost. It would have been better if the spirit had actually succeeded, right?" She said with a laugh.

"Put that away."

Both Lynne and Sissel glanced at Phoenix and then at each other. The lawyer's calm, if slightly snarky demeanor had suddenly shifted to deadly seriousness. Even a few of the other people on the train looked at him nervously.

"Nick…" Maya said, her eyes downcast sadly.

"S-sorry." Lynne said, hastily shoving the paper back into the bag. Something about that story had struck a nerve in both Phoenix and Maya, but what could it be? Sissel wished he could have read the article himself instead of just getting a secondhand report from Lynne. "Sorry if this is crossing a line, but what's the problem?"

"We don't talk about that case." Phoenix said simply and still serious, before glancing warily at Maya.

"…Nick, it's okay." The spirit medium said, looking up. "You don't have to try to protect me from this. We can't keep pretending like it never happened."

"But Maya-"

"I'm stronger than you think, Nick." Maya said, flashing a smile that Sissel couldn't help but think was at least a little forced. "In the case from that news story." She began, turning to Lynne. "The channeled spirit was trying to kill me."

"O-oh." Lynne said. To say she looked like she regretted her little joke would be an understatement.

"The one who channeled her was my mother, Misty Fey." Maya continued. "She and the prosecutor they mentioned were trying to save me, but…" Her voice cracked. And that look in her eye… it reminded Sissel of whenever Kamila was made to think about the results her failed birthday contraption…

"I can take it from here." Phoenix said gently. Maya didn't say anything, but she nodded, clenching her fists in her lap. He hesitated "The prosecutor and Misty saved Maya… but Misty died in the process."

No one said anything for a time, just sitting silently with the only the sound of the train over the tracks and the soft murmur of the other passengers preventing the entire car from being engulfed in silence.

"I'm so sorry…" Lynne said finally. "The newspaper withheld your name, so I didn't know…"

"That's alright." Maya said, wiping her eyes and smiling again. "They say on TV that sometimes it's best to talk about these things." She looked at Lynne. "So what were you saying about a 'chicken kitchen?'"


The rest of the train ride passed without incident. Lynne clearly didn't want to carelessly open up another can of worms, so she stuck to more… innocent topics. Like the Chicken Kitchen, much to Phoenix and Sissel's chagrin.

"Does she always talk about food?" Sissel asked, slinking after Phoenix as the man exited the train.

"Usually." Phoenix said softly. It looked like he wanted to say more, but must have decided against while still in the same proximity as the few other passengers on the train, especially Maya. Many times Sissel had been tempted to establish a link with Phoenix or Lynne in order to have a conversation to pass the long train ride, but the fact that it froze time would have made it pretty counterproductive.

Strangely, after spending so much time alongside Maya, Sissel noticed that she seemed to have a faint core in her head, similar to Phoenix's and Lynne's. But that didn't make any sense. Sure, Sissel had saved her when he saved Phoenix, but only the person he used to go back in time should have a core. And besides, hers was faint and hard to see, like it was only partially there. Sissel tried to reach out to it spiritually a couple of times on the train, but he was unable to get a grip on the core. Yet another mystery about the users of the Kurain Channelling Technique.

"Well, here we are!" Maya said cheerfully, motioning at the village around her. "Kurain Village!"

(She seems remarkably cheerful for someone whose mother died so recently.) Sissel observed. But that wasn't quite true, was it? The girl had seemed… off since their conversation about Misty Fey on the train. Of course, that made perfect sense. They had inadvertently made her think about the painful fact that her mother was gone. Even if she was acting happy now, it would take a while before she could focus on other things. Sissel understood that much from his observations of people.

Moving on, Kurain Village was like nothing Sissel had ever seen before in his life… or death, for that matter. The buildings looked odd, not seeming to have doors or windows of any kind. Rather, certain walls looked like they were made out of paper, or some similar material. The roofs and supports seemed to be made of wood, but it too looked different than the kind Sissel was used to seeing. There were a few people milling about in robes, but overall the place seemed pretty deserted. Sissel kept an eye out for that hooded woman or the girl that he had seen while possessing the Magatama, but he saw neither. Not that he really expected to. Additionally, there were quaint little ponds and gardens scattered throughout. Frankly, the only things that Sissel could readily recognize for sure were a rather old looking phone booth and bus stop. What stood out the most, though, was a large stone monolith in the distance. (Could that be…?)

"This place is really Japanese for LA." Lynne observed. "I feel like we just walked into a samurai movie!"

Maya rubbed the back of her head and laughed a little. "Yeah, we get that a lot."

Japanese? Was this how things looked in Japan? Sometimes Sissel got annoyed about the things that everyone seemed to understand things better than him. Too bad Missile wasn't here. Despite being a dog, it was times like these that he found him to be more relatable than the people.

"Sorry, but can we hurry this up?" Phoenix asked impatiently checking the clock on his cell phone - a model which seemed horribly out of date even to Sissel. "There's only one more train back to the city tonight, and it's not too long from now."

"Oh, right. Sorry." Maya said. "Jeez, Nick! You need to learn to relax a little!"

"I just don't want our client getting declared guilty tomorrow when we could easily prove them innocent." Phoenix replied.

"I'm sorry for the trouble." Lynne said, looking uncomfortable. "Sissel and I probably could have found our way here ourselves…"

"It's no trouble at all!" Maya said with a grin. "Nick's just a big worry-wart, that's all!"

"Can we just go to the Kurain Boulder please?" Phoenix said, slumping his shoulders once again. It seemed like Maya could really wear the man out. Thinking about it, they actually had a similar dynamic to Sissel and Lynne.

(I feel your pain, Phoenix Wright.)

After they made their way to the Kurain Boulder, the first thing Sissel did was give it a look from the ghost world. As expected, it was giving off radiation quite similar to the Temsik meteorite. Sissel looked around for a core, but could find none. There were a couple on the paper tags draped over it, as for a placard next to it, and a nearby shack, but none on the boulder itself. Not that such a fact particularly disappointed him, considering how much pain one tiny Magatama had put him through.

"So this is the Kurain Boulder, huh?" Lynne asked as Sissel returned his perception to the world of the living. "Doesn't really look much like a boulder to me."

"You know, she has a point." Phoenix observed. "Aren't boulders usually round, instead of so rectangular?"

"Sheesh, you guys." Maya pouted. "What would you call it? Kurain Rectangle?" She paused, looking thoughtful. "Actually…"

"Boulder's fine." Phoenix said in a definitive manner.

"This is it." Sissel said. "It's giving off radiation like the Temsik meteorite."

"So, Maya." Lynne began, pretending not to have heard the cat. "What's the story behind this thing?"

Maya shrugged. "I dunno. Let's check the placard." Phoenix slapped himself in the face.

"That looked painful."

"I really shouldn't be surprised…" The lawyer muttered.

"I was just kidding." Maya said, looking a little annoyed herself. "…Mostly." Sissel caught her glancing at the placard for a just moment before beginning to explain. "Basically, we're not sure where the Boulder came from, but it's said to have been the source of Ami Fey's powers."

"Ami Fey?" Sissel asked.

"She founded the Fey Clan, right?" Phoenix asked Maya.

"Uh, yeah." Maya said, giving Phoenix a look. "How could you forget after everything that's happened?"

"I was… uh… just clarifying for the others." Phoenix said lamely.

"Oh, I already knew that." Lynne admitted. "They mentioned it in the 'Oh! Cult!' article."

"I guess I'm the only one not in the loop here." Sissel muttered, a bit annoyed.

"Anyway," Maya continued, "It's a village tradition that whenever someone is born into the Fey family, it is done in that hut there." She gestured at the small shack by the Kurain Boulder. Sissel didn't know much about human births, but he felt like that thing couldn't possibly be properly accommodated. "Legend has it that at that moment the newborn absorbs some of the spiritual energy of their ancestors."

"Interesting." Sissel thought aloud. "Instead of dying in the presence of the rock, they are born in it." That might explain why her powers seemed decidedly different from his. However, the radiation coming from the rock itself appeared to be slightly different as well. That could very well have something to do with it too. Either way, Maya seemed to have some misconceptions - probably born from generations of superstition and tradition - but her overall theory was sound.

At this moment, a robed woman that Sissel didn't recognize ran up to them. "Mystic Maya! Where have you been? You need to run training exercises for the acolytes."

"Hehehe, oh right. I forgot about that." Maya said, rubbing the back of her head and smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, I was helping Nick with a case. Can't another one of the acolytes do it? Or maybe Pearly? She's pretty good at channeling."

Sissel's ears perked up. (Pearly?)

The robed woman gave Phoenix a disparaging look before saying, "Mystic Maya, you're the Master of the Kurain Channeling Dojo now and thus have a duty to the members of the village. You can't keep running off like this every time Mr. Wright has a case."

Maya looked guilty. "…Maybe you're right." She made to follow the robed woman before turning back to the others. "I'll be done in a bit, you guys. Feel free to head to the Fey Manor and get something to eat." The robed woman shot the group a final dirty glance before leading Maya off.

"What was that all about?" Lynne said.

"Maya…" Phoenix said quietly. "Since she's the Master, she has a lot of things to take care of here in Kurain." He explained. "From the looks of things, more than I thought." He paused. "Well, is there anything else you two need to see?"

"I don't think so." Sissel replied. It looked like there wasn't as much info on the Boulder as he hoped. Still, he could possibly gleam some more insight if he paid a visit to the Fey Manor.


As Phoenix led the woman and the cat to the ancestral Fey Manor, he couldn't help but recall the conversation Maya had just had with that acolyte. Maya had been spending an inordinate amount of time in the city with him, even compared to usual. And now with her duties as the Master… Phoenix couldn't understand what Maya was up to. Hadn't she realized the scope of her newfound responsibilities at the end of Iris' trial? Edgeworth and Mia seemed to think so. Heck, Phoenix himself had thought so.

But was that really fair? After almost two decades of absence, Maya's mother - and only remaining member of her immediate family - finally returned… only to get killed. Maya didn't even get to learn of her identity until afterwards! And then right after, she was expected to take over the Channeling School? Maya was no stranger to self-esteem problems, and she hadn't even had the opportunity to grieve properly. After all, Maya wanted to put on a brave face for Pearls, and the Kurain Channelling School tended to put tradition before emotions anyways. But he couldn't just blame everyone else without accepting some for himself. Phoenix grimaced. Some of that was his fault, considering how much effort he'd put into avoiding bringing up Misty's death. Maya was a strong person, no doubt about that, but if Phoenix himself didn't acknowledge that, it would make sense that Maya would want to avoid her responsibilities.

Phoenix made up his mind. He definitely needed to talk to Maya about this at some point very soon.

"Is something wrong, Mr. Wright?" Lynne asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"It's nothing." He replied. "Were you able to get the information you needed?"

"I'm not sure." Lynne answered. "To tell the truth, Sissel and I weren't really sure about what we were even looking for."

"Yeah." Sissel agreed. "Still, this has already been pretty enlightening. We may not know anything more about the origin of the Temsik meteorite, but it's now clear that there is more than one stone that grants supernatural powers."

"Well, glad we could at least be some help." Phoenix replied. "After saving me and Maya like that…"

"It was nothing." The cat replied. "I'm not the kind of guy who would just let two people get killed if I could save them."

"So what did happen before Sissel changed the past?" Lynne asked.

Phoenix gulped. He really didn't like to think about it. "Uh… I guess the chef led Maya and me to the back room, where he… shot us." He was pretty sure he'd finally been able to remember everything and distinguish between the two timelines, but it still was not a pleasant thing to consider.

Lynne must have sensed his discomfort, because she quickly turned apologetic. "Sorry… that's probably not something you want to think about, is it?"

Phoenix slumped his shoulders again. "Not really."

"You'll have to forgive Lynne." Sissel explained. "She's died so often that she sometimes forgets that it pretty traumatic for most people."

That made Phoenix stand up straight again. "You have?" He hadn't really considered it, but I made sense that Lynne would had to have died before in order to be able to hear Sissel.

"Oh yeah." Lynne nodded with a big smile. "I've been shot, blown up, crushed by a giant chicken, drowned…" She began, counting off on her fingers.

"Wait, what did you just say?"

"Drowned?"

"No, before that."

"Blown up?"

"After that."

"Crushed by a giant chicken?"

"That's the one."

"So?"

"What does that even mean?"

"It's exactly what it sounds like!"

"…"

Phoenix was at a loss for words, but that was all right because a certain somebody arrived to break the silence.

"Oh! Mr. Nick! I didn't know you were visiting. Hello!" Came the voice of one Pearl Fey.

"Hey Pearls." Phoenix replied, dropping to one knee in order to greet the young prodigy who had just run up. "I actually wasn't planning on it either, but Lynne here," He gestured to the detective. "Was researching the Kurain Boulder."

"Mr. Nick." The small girl said, suddenly sounding serious. "Who is this woman?"

Lynne, having never met Pearl before, probably just assumed she was being shy, so she said, "It's nice to meet you. I just met Phoenix, but he's a very good man. You must be happy to know him."

Phoenix recognized the glint in Pearl's eye and backpedaled as quickly as he could. "Wait, Pearl! It's not-"

Too late.

"How could you, Mr. Nick?" Pearl shouted, slapping Phoenix so hard that he tumbled the rest of the way to the ground. "Going behind Mystic Maya's back like that, and even bringing another woman to Kurain instead of her! You're despicable!"

"Mr. Wright!" Lynne gasped.

"M…Maya's training the acolytes…" Phoenix managed, his voice muffled by his face-down position in the dirt.

"O-oh!" Pearl gasped. "So then… you're not being unfaithful?"

"Unfaithful?" Lynne parroted.

"Mystic Maya is Mr. Nick's special someone!" Pearl declared, puffing herself up as big as she could, before swinging her arm at Lynne in an Objection-point that would have made Mia proud. "I won't let you steal him away from her!"

"Oh!" Lynne gasped again, her face turning the color of her hair. "I had no idea that Mr. Wright and Maya-"

"Mystic Maya."

"…Mystic Maya were like that." Lynne finished, sneaking an astonished glance at Phoenix.

"We're not…" The lawyer muttered, still on the ground.

"Well don't worry." Lynne said, kneeling down to Pearl's level. "I think Mr. Wright is a very nice man, but I would never dream of stealing him away from his special someone."

(Oh God, there's two of them…)

"Promise?" Pearl asked, suddenly getting a lot shyer.

"Promise!" Lynne replied, performing a really cheesy pinkie-swear with the younger girl, that seemed to reassure her.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Nick." Pearl said, helping Phoenix back up as best as she could. "But I hope this was a good lesson for you."

"Absolutely." Phoenix groaned, rubbing his face. One of these days, he and Maya really needed to have a talk with her. "Anyways, we were all heading to the Fey Manor to get something to eat. Would you like to-?"

Phoenix's question was interrupted by a sudden intake of breath from the smaller girl. "What a cute little kitty-cat!" Pearl squealed. "Is he yours, ma'am?"

"Ma'am?" Lynne asked, almost looking offended for a second. "You don't need to call me that. It makes me feel kinda old, actually…"

"But aren't you a grown-up?"

"Yes, but you can never be too young at heart!" Lynne declared happily. "Feel free to just call me Lynne."

"Okay, Ms. Lynne!" Pearl composed herself for a second. "My name is Pearl Fey. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Wow, so polite and mature!" Lynne observed, clearly impressed by Pearl's sudden change and seemingly having already forgotten her comment about being young at heart. Phoenix on the other hand, could tell by Pearl's subtle fidgeting that all she really wanted to do was play with the cat. Phoenix decided to lend a hand.

"This is Sissel." Phoenix explained to the young medium. "He's very smart; I'm sure Lynne wouldn't mind if you said hello."

"Of course not!" Lynne said happily. "Go nuts!"

"Really?" Pearl practically screamed. Had Pearl gotten this excited when she met Shoe? Then again, Sissel was a kitten, and even Phoenix found that little red bandana of his a little cute.

But there was one person whose opinion they hadn't taken into account. Someone who had been even quieter than usual.

"It… it can't be." Sissel said quietly, backing away from the medium as she approached him. "You!"

"Sissel?" Phoenix asked.

"What's wrong?" Lynne added.

Sissel said nothing else, but, try as the others might, he absolutely refused to get within arm's reach of Pearl.

"I'm so sorry." Lynne apologized. "He's not usually like this."

Phoenix normally might have made - or at least thought - a comment about how Lynne seemed to be treated Sissel much more like a pet than maybe she should have, but he was too confused by Sissel's reaction. (What could cause him to be so frightened of Pearls?)

Pearl looked perplexed as well, before her face settled into a more neutral expression. Phoenix was almost positive she was trying to avoid letting her disappointment show through. "It's okay. I don't want to bother him if he'd rather be left alone."

"Well… as I was saying," Phoenix began, trying to diffuse the situation. "Maya just said we could go get something to eat at the Fey Manor. Do you want to come with us?"

"Yes please!" Pearl replied, smiling again.


Despite the colorful group of characters, dinner passed uneventfully. Surprising no one, Maya had a stash of pre-cooked hamburgers just waiting to be microwaved. It seemed Lynna was a little disappointed by the lack traditional Kurain cuisine, but Phoenix didn't really mind. Ever since he'd had the misfortune of trying Morgan Fey's infamously bitter tea, he hadn't really had much desire to try any other Kurain dishes. Luckily, Maya had a rather large supply of junk food available whenever he visited, which wasn't even that often since she spent the majority of her time in the city.

But now it was getting dark. Phoenix checked the clock on his phone. 8:00. The last train to LA would be pass through in thirty minutes. Maya was cutting this pretty close….

As if on cue, Maya trudged into the manor, looking completely exhausted. "Man, training those acolytes can take a lot out of you! Pass me one of those burgers, I'm starving…"

"Good timing." Phoenix said, handing her one of the spares they'd pre-heated. "The last train's set to depart in about a half an hour."

"Oh? It's only 7:00?" Maya asked, her mouth already full of hamburger. "It looks darker than that, though."

"It's 8:00, Maya." Phoenix said, already feeling exasperated by the girl. He paused, suddenly getting a nervous feeling in his gut. "The last train is at 8:30, right?"

Maya shook her head. "Nah, they changed the schedule recently. Now the last one comes at 7:30…" Her eyes widened. "Oh no."

No one said anything for about a minute as the implication sunk in.

"We missed it, didn't we?" Lynne finally asked, although she clearly already knew the answer

"Looks like it." Phoenix muttered, his hand on his forehead.

"So… what now?"

"I guess everyone should just stay the night." Maya shrugged. "The manor's got some extra bedrooms, so Nick and Lynne can each take one of those. Nick and I will have to get up early to make it to the trial tomorrow, but you're welcome to stay as long as you like, Lynne."

"Okay then!" Lynne said, smiling. "As long as that's okay with all of you."

"I don't think we really have any other option." Phoenix concluded with a sigh. Well, he'd stayed at Kurain a couple of times in the past, so he wasn't too worried about himself, although he was annoyed at the prospect of having to wake up early enough to catch the train. Hopefully this didn't inconvenience Lynne and Sissel too much.

With that, Maya took Lynne and Sissel (who had been silently staring at Pearl for most of the meal) to show them where they would be staying, and Phoenix headed off towards his own room. This was inconvenient, but other than that, this wouldn't be too bad.


It was night, and, unlike the bustling city, Kurain Village had not a single villager on the streets. However, that is not to say that the place was deserted. In the middle of the road stood two men in almost identical dark suits and fedoras. If anyone had been around to see them, they would likely have called the police on the suspicious individuals.

"So this is Kurain Village." One-Step-Ahead Tengo observed, casting his gaze about. "Looks pretty shabby."

"Hey, I was about to say that!" Nearsighted Jeego muttered. "And I-"

"You can't even see anything, can you?" By now, it was long past midnight, and Kurain village had very few lights on to speak of. Even Tengo was having some trouble seeing in this darkness. He could only imagine how difficult it would be for Jeego.

"I was about to say that too." Jeego muttered, obviously annoyed, not that Tengo cared in the least. "And what's with the boss pairing us up like this all of a sudden?" He continued. "The last thing I want to do is share all these jobs with anyone, let alone you."

"I don't know." Tengo replied.

"I thought you were always supposed to be one step ahead of everyone." Jeego said with a smirk.

"Only when I consider it important enough. That's why I've taken the liberty of asking Commander Sith for a pay increase upon the successful completion of this mission."

"Wha-? You did that before we even completed the mission?"

"I've also taken the liberty of blaming any potential failures on your nearsightedness."

Jeego grimaced. "There won't be any failures."

"For your sake, I hope not. Now, we've wasted enough time. Let's get to work."

"Hey! I was about to-"

"You were about to say that, yes, I know. Let's just get started."

The two suited men quickly set about performing their task. They had a very important mission to complete, and precious little time to do it.


What a tweest!

No, seriously, I'm glad I finally got this chapter over with. I'm still not entirely happy with it, but I got a lot of scenes out of the way that I needed to finish before the full plot can really kick in. If all goes according to plan, the next chapter should be soon, and things will start to pick up!

On an entirely unrelated note, in the process of writing this, I came to the conclusion that Lynne and Pearl are my new favorite duo. They should team up and fight crime! Oh wait, I guess they already do that...