Love is Like Atroquinine: Slow Acting, But Powerful

Chapter 5

"More Turnabout Plotting"

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters and cases/storyline from Ace Attorney, all credits go to Capcom. They own everything. This storyline however, is completely original and was created by me.

*This chapter is a mix from both Ema and Klavier's POV. Normally chapters will be from one or the other.

Ema dialed Phoenix's cell number, hoping he hadn't run out of minutes on his phone plan again. She was dying to tell her friends about her plans to retake the exam. The other line rang several times, and went to Phoenix's voicemail. Oh well, I guess I leave a message. "Hi Phoenix, it's Ema. Just calling to tell you that I decided to retake my forensics test, and I was hoping to enlist you and Trucy to help me study. Call me when you get this, but I may still be at work when you do. Talk to you soon." Ema pressed the end button and then dialed Lana's cell number. Lana picked up after three rings. "Hi Ema, what's up? Everything okay?" Lana had just talked to her sister a couple hours ago, so she was surprised to hear from her again so quickly.

"Hey sis, I forgot to tell you when I saw you earlier. I just decided to retake my forensics exam. Today made me decide I'm tired of doing nothing but detective work for the fop and I want to move on to something I want to do." Once again, Ema's heart rate quickened at the mention of Klavier, but she didn't notice it. "Wonderful, I'm happy for you! Anything I can do to help?" Lana asked. She was excited her sister finally decided to push forward with her career. After Ema failed the test the first time, she became rather moody and reserved, kind of like Lana was when she was involved with the murder scandal nine years ago. "Not sure right now, but I'll let you know. I might have Phoenix and Trucy help me." Ema was bouncing in her office chair with excitement just thinking about it, so much that she was spilling Snackoos onto the floor, but was too jumpy to care.

"You know, someone who could really help you out is the man you 'don't' like. He took the test awhile ago when he passed the bar exam to become a prosecutor." Lana didn't specifically say who she was talking about, but Ema didn't need think hard to guess. "NO way, Lana! If anything, I'm taking this test now to stay away from him. I need to be away from him in order to focus and stay on track with studying. He is the last person I will go to for help." Ema declared. But even as she said them, the idea was wiggling it's way into her head...If he's taken the exam, then he would be a big help, but damn, it had to be anyone, anyone but the fop. ARGH! Ema huffed in annoyance that the one person she was determined to stay far away from was the one person she now knew that would probably be the biggest help. Nope, Phoenix and Trucy are all the help I need. The fop doesn't need to get involved. Although I should tell him so he knows why I'm away from work so much.

On the other side of the building...

Three rings, then four..."Damn it Ava, pick up the phone!" Klavier was pacing around his office impatiently, hoping Ava wasn't purposefully avoiding his call. He hadn't talked to her since before the murder case with Daryan, and he knew she was pissed at him, but this was important. "Wasn't expecting you to call. Especially after what happened. What do you want Klavier?" Ava sounded rather annoyed that she was even talking to him. "Ava, I need a favor from you. Is there any chance you can come back to Los Angeles for a week or two? I need some help with something." Klavier hoped she wouldn't refuse him. He couldn't think of anyone else that would suit what he needed. "Yes, let me do a favor for the man who put my brother behind bars. That's a no brainer." Yes, she is definitely still holding a grudge against me for that. Verdammt, I was hoping she would have gotten over that by now.

"Ava, just hear me out. I'm sorry for what happened with Daryan, but he did that to himself. I'm just as sorry to see Daryan go to jail for what he did as you are, I just played the unfortunate role in bringing everything to light in court. You're pretty much the only person I can turn to for this, so please". Ava heard how Klavier was trying to apologize, and she sighed heavily. "Fine, what is it that you need? I suppose I can take a vacation and come up." Ava had moved back to San Francisco after Daryan's arrest to live with relatives, since she used to live with her brother. "Well, there's this girl at work..." Klavier started. He explained the rest of his plan to her. "Alright, I'll do it. But you realize you owe me big time." "Ja, of course, Fraulein Ava. My sincerest thanks." Klavier was relieved he could go ahead with his plan immediately. Ever since the kiss with Ema in the office, he had a feeling something was going to change with the Fraulein Detective, whether for better or for worse, he didn't know.

A couple days later...

A hesitant knock on Klavier's office door drew his eyes from his paperwork. It wasn't Ema's normal impatient knock, so he knew it must be Ava. "Come in, Fraulein." Klavier called. Ava opened the door and came inside. "Excellent, you're here. You look perfect." Klavier nodded in approval as he examined Ava's predesignated outfit. He wanted her to look perfect in order for Ema to act how he hoped she would. Ava had on white skinny jeans underneath a flowing pink halter top with sky high wedge sandals. Her brown hair was in perfect curls that draped over her shoulders. "Alright, this is what I want you to do..." Klavier explained the plan for today to Ava. She nodded as he told her what he wanted to do. Time to call her up and put the plan in motion. Klavier dialed Ema's extension number and put it on speaker phone so Ava could hear Ema talking. Ava sat on the edge of Klavier's stereo desk near the telephone. Ema picked up after four rings. "What do you want fop? I'm working on the report from the last case, but I'll still be 20 minutes." Ema said in between mouthful's of Snackoos. "Nein, that's fine. Just bring it up as soon as you're finished and then you can leave." Klavier said. "Really? That's awesome, I needed to head over to Apollo's soon anyway." Ema said, and then swallowed her current mouthful. "Ahh. Herr Forehead." Klavier grumbled. Ava mouthed "Who's Apollo?" Klavier waved with his hand to indicate that he'd explain later. Ava nodded. "Just call me when you're on your way upstairs, Fraulein". "Yup." Ema said quickly, and she hung up.

Ava leaned toward Klavier and asked, "So who is this Apollo person? And why are you so angry after her mention of him?" Ava smiled and giggled. "Apollo is a defense attorney who I've seen a few times in court. Ema is friends with him, but lately I'm beginning to think that they have been seeing each other. If she starts seeing him...I don't know.." Klavier grumbled to himself and pulled a guitar onto his lap to help curb his anger he was feeling at the thought of Ema with Apollo. He strummed a couple chords from Guilty Love to himself to take his mind off things. Ava put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. This plan should work if you really think this girl feels that way. I almost can't wait to see the look on her face". Ava grinned as the phone rang again and Ema's extension number popped up. Ema told Klavier she was on her way up and hung up, no room for an answer on his part. With this signal, Ava took her position on Klavier's lap. With her being so close, Klavier noticed that Ava's hair was almost the exact same shade as Ema's. Nein, no time for those thoughts, concentrate on the moment at hand.

When Ema knocked on the office door, she heard an unfamiliar giggle behind the door. What the hell? When she came in, never was she expecting to see someone other than the fop inside, certainly not a beautiful woman like this one, and certainly not one who was perched on Klavier's lap and hanging all over him. This woman was dressed perfectly, and made Ema feel rather ratty and ill-dressed in her old green capris and vest top. Even though she had one of her favorite pairs of heels on, her self-esteem suddenly plummeted and made her feel like she shrank down to the size of a flea. This was someone Ema had never seen before, so she had no idea what to say or how to react. "Uhm, here is the report that you needed, Mr. Gavin." Ema couldn't take her eyes off this woman because she had no idea what to make of her presence. She hadn't recalled Klavier once mentioning a new girlfriend, and she was ashamed to admit that she knew for a fact he hasn't dated anyone for at least two months, up until this point apparently.

"Thank you, Fraulein Detective." Klavier took the report from her hand and put it with his other papers. "Oh sorry, this is Ava, my new girlfriend." Klavier put emphasis on the word 'girlfriend' and looked hard at Ema's expression as he wrapped his arm around Ava's shoulder. Ema's mouth was open into a tiny 'o' and her eyes had an indescribable combination of emotions on her face, but he had to guess it was a mix of jealousy, sadness, and embarrassment. He saw her look down at her feet as she struggled to find her voice. She steeled her face so it had no emotions on it, and extended her hand to Ava. "Hi, I'm Detective Ema Skye. I work with the fop-I mean Mr. Gavin". Klavier noticed she was trying hard to keep her voice centered and professional.

"Hi, so nice to meet you! Klavier has told me so much about you!" Ava gave Klavier a big hug and buried her face in the crook of his neck. Ema's eyes widened ever so slightly as she did this. "I hear you're a scientist too." Ava smiled big and Ema relaxed the tiniest bit at the mention of science. "Oh no, I'm not an actual scientist. I'm just a detective who Mr. Gavin lets do forensic work occasionally. Actually, I forgot to tell you fop, I'm planning on taking my forensics certification exam again, so I may be a bit scarce for a couple weeks." Ema hoped he wouldn't be too upset about that. He normally got rather agitated for some reason whenever she tried to take a bit of time off work. "Ja, that's fine Fraulein. Anything I can do to help you prepare?" But no sooner were those words out of Klavier's mouth did she immediately protest. "NO!...I mean, um thanks but no thanks. I have people lined up to help me out." Ema's eyes darted back and forth between Ava and Klavier, and she started to creep backwards toward the door. "I mean, that is, ahh, I-I don't know!" Ema shouted and grabbed her Snackoos out of her pocket before she rushed out the door without saying a word of goodbye to either Klavier or Ava.

Ava looked down at Klavier with a smirk. "Oh yea, she's very upset by this. She couldn't have gotten out of here fast enough. So what do you have me planned for her next?" Ava asked. "Not sure, just hanging around here and seeing how she reacts. If I could keep you around for another week that would be great". Ava stood up, grabbed her purse and prepared to leave. "And remember, you will be called back on your favor when Daryan goes to trial. We talked about the stipulations of that." "Of course, I would not go back on my word, and I will do everything in my power to get you your wish." Klavier gave Ava a farewell hug and he told her he would call her later about the next step of the plan.

Back in Ema's office...

"What the hell was that? The fop has a new girlfriend? I can't believe this!" Ema was pacing back and forth in her office and her voice was muffled from the mouthful of Snackoos while also trying to be coherent so her sister could understand her. "Ema, calm down. Besides, you're not supposed to care about what Mr. Gavin does, am I right?" Lana was in between trying to calm her sister down and gauge for information. As Ema's sister, she wanted to know what was going on with her younger sibling. "I don't know, but he never used to rub his old girlfriends in my face. I mean, I've never even seen one at the office before. And then this girl magically shows up and she's all over him? I can't believe him!" Ema plopped down in her swivel chair and rocked from side to side, emotionally and physically drained.

"I can't deal with this right now. Scientifically, I need to start studying for my exam now if I'm going to get the optimal preparation time in. The fop offered to help me, but I told him no right away. He won't be helping me, especially if he plans on having his, ugh, girlfriend, around here." Ema trailed off. "Don't count him out just yet. You don't know how well or bad the studying will go, so you may need to reconsider who will help you with this." Lana tried to tell her sister what she wanted to hear, but Ema also needed honest advice about what Lana thought she should do. "Thanks, Lana. The fop said I could go once I was done, so I'm heading over to Apollo's to begin studying. I need to get out of here. I don't know what I'll do if I run into those two together again." Ema grabbed her messenger bag and walked briskly down the hall, hoping no one would stop her for anything. She dialed Apollo's number as she walked, speaking low as not to be heard.

Ema reached her scooter in the parking lot, and she saw Ava pulling away in a dark blue sedan. Ava saw her, smiled, and waved. Ema gave a simple lift of her hand, dropped it back down to her side, and did nothing more. No smile, frown, or anything, just a stone cold emotionless face. Ava saw Ema's face harden as they made eye contact, and knew that Klavier was exactly right about this girl and his plan would more than likely go exactly how he planned.

Ema drove over to Apollo's studio apartment for her first study session. She stopped at a chinese restaurant on the way and got them both dinner. Ema parked in the visitor's lot of the complex and got buzzed in by Apollo. As Ema walked up the three flights of stairs, she thought back to this time last week when her mind was all in a twist thinking she was falling for Apollo. How silly I was, thinking that I thought that way. I mean, it's Apollo, one of my best friends. Must have been a chemical imbalance in my brain, or something logical like that. But now those thoughts were in the same twist, but this time thinking about someone completely different. Now I know I'm going crazy when I start to think about him that way. I must be delusional.

Ema hated herself for even entertaining those thoughts about the fop to begin with. I can't believe I've devoted as much brain time to him as I have. I mean he's my boss for God's sake, technically it's unethical even if the precinct doesn't have a policy against co-worker dating. Not that I've looked into it, and not that I would EVER consider that. I mean, I just can't...can I? No, no way Ema, focus on the test, don't give glimmer boy any more brain cell space. Scientifically I need every available section of my brain devoted to science now. Ema knocked on the door and let herself in. She'd been over to Apollo's place enough times that she felt comfortable entering without waiting for him. Wonder how the fop would feel if he knew that? He seems to get mad at the mere mention of Polly.

"Ema! There's my best friend and soon to be certified forensic scientist." Apollo said as he greeted Ema. Ema blushed and looked at her feet quickly, then back up at Apollo. "I haven't passed the test yet, so let's not get ahead of ourselves." Ema set the food containers down on the coffee table and pulled out her two textbooks from the previous examination. She looked on the website and was happy to find that they still used the same textbooks, so she didn't have to spend money on brand new ones.

"Remember, I flunked the test last time, and right now I'm hoping that this won't be a repeat. Although with thinking about the fop so much it's any wonder I can complete a train of thought..." Ema muttered that last sentence to herself, thinking only she could hear it. "What did you say Ema? Everything okay?" Apollo pulled out the food for each of them and sat down next to her. "I don't know. My head's been such a mess the past month it's a miracle that I've managed to hang on to my sanity intact." Ema huffed as she began to eat her dinner. Apollo did the same while keeping an inquisitive look on his face. "What's been getting you so out of whack? To me, you've always been one of the most focused and devoted people I've met, but lately you've been really spacey and distracted. Not like you. Something been going on at work?" Apollo asked. With that last sentence, Ema's face when blank and became drained of all it's color.

"Ema is something wrong? Do you need something, like medicine?" Apollo asked worriedly. Ema took a deep breath and shook her head. "N-no I'm perfectly fine. Everything is fine, why wouldn't it be?" Ema replied a little to perkily, and Apollo knew she was lying. She was a terrible liar to begin with, but when she tried to, it was even more obvious. "Wanna tell me about it? Maybe I can help." Apollo's bracelet was reacting to Ema, so he knew she had a secret she was trying hard to keep hidden, but nothing got past the bracelet and Apollo's finely tuned perception senses. Ema took another deep breath and began "Well, as much as I really hate myself for admitting it, it's got to do with the fop. He's been particularly annoying lately, and a couple days ago in we argued a lot during an investigation, then later in his office he kissed me and I let him, and today he paraded and rubbed his new girlfriend in in front of me, and then that stupid dream I had won't go away, and it's just aghhhh..." Ema realized she was rambling and drew in a much needed breath.

Apollo had a feeling that it had to do with Klavier. "Well Ema, to be honest, not much of this is a surprise. He's been trying to ask you out for months now and you're just now taking notice of it? I'm not surprised at all that you guys argued again, that's like the pastime of choice for you two, but the fact that he kissed you means that you can't hate him as much as you say you do. I've kept my mouth shut lately, but you change when he comes up in conversation, whether you bring it up or it's someone else that does. You get all distant like something's on your mind and you don't notice how much you smile. I think you're hiding something from yourself." Apollo knew he hit the nail on the head and waited for Ema's response.

"I have absolutely no clue what to think or do. Everything is messed up and I can't fix it. He changed everything the second he kissed me, and now I don't think we can go back to the old ways." Ema finished her dinner and hung her head down in mental exhaustion. Ema finally admitted to herself the impact of the kiss and the implications it meant for both her and Klavier.

"Well, the only thing I can say at this point is don't ignore your gut feelings. I heard you mention a dream in that rant somewhere, and I can only guess it has to do with Gavin. As for this new girlfriend of his, I can't really know how to help you there. Gavin's a sneaky guy and I'm guessing there's a good reason behind his actions, and more than likely they have to do with you. But you seem to know what you want, even if you haven't figured it out yet. But you will soon I think." Apollo patted Ema's shoulder in reassurance. "Now how about we get to studying for your exam? No sense sitting around here and getting nothing accomplished. After all, I don't think your plan was to see your best friend slash shrink today." Ema agreed and nodded.

"You're right. Let's get to this. First chapter, the properties of Luminol..." Ema and Apollo studied for two hours and, in Ema's opinion, it really helped her scientifically identify a good study habit and pattern for her.

But one thing that bugged her was that as much as Apollo tried to help and quiz her on various things, he wasn't as clued in to the science aspect of investigations like Ema was. As Ema thanked Apollo for the help and exited the apartment building, she remember what her sister told her earlier that day. "You know, someone who could really help you out is the man you 'don't' like. He took the test awhile ago when he passed the bar exam to become a prosecutor. Don't count him out just yet. You don't know how well or bad the studying will go, so you may need to reconsider who will help you with this." Damn you, Lana. I really, really, really don't want to be asking him for help, especially after what happened today. But I might have no choice. Let's try working Apollo and Trucy first. Phoenix is a smart man, surely he can be even more helpful than the fop could be.

But much to Ema's disappointment, Phoenix and Trucy weren't much better. Ema studied with them both on three occasions over the next three days. Trucy was never great with the specifics of science, and Phoenix had been out of practice with forensics for so long, that 'rusty' was being generous. But even with their help, Ema found it harder and harder to concentrate on the science.

Klavier had been very insistent on Ema spending time doing work in his office, which meant spending time with Ava too. Ema grew even more uncomfortable with jealousy, resentment, and a bit of regret with each passing day.

Ema considered asking Lana for help, but she was even busier than Ema (if that was even scientifically possible) so Ema was pretty much out of options, save for studying on her own for the next month. Ema hated to admit it, but asking the fop for help was looking like more and more of a necessity...But even if she did manage to convince him to help her, would she get anything accomplished with him in such close proximity? Ema had a feeling the answer was no. But surprisingly, she didn't have quite an angry feeling rising in her chest liked she used to when she thought about spending time with the fop. What do I do now? Ema wondered.

Author's Notes: Ahh, doesn't jealousy suck? How do you think Ema will handle this unexpected turn of events? Will she turn to Klavier for help despite the new 'girlfriend', or will she stick to her original plan of complete avoidance? Will she become so distracted with emotions that she reconsiders her entire plan? Or will she find something out that gives her studying ambition new motivation with the addition of a new exam partner after she finds out the truth? So many questions yet to be answered...This chapter I have a feeling that people will think Ema is really OOC, but doesn't jealousy and anger change a lot of girls personalities? I think so. Ema still eats her Snackoos at mach speed when she's upset, which I think is her number one personality trait when it comes to emotion. Do you think Klavier will tell Ema what he's up to, or will Ema find out on her own? And what will happen when she may or may not find out the truth? Guesses are encouraged in the comments, and we'll see what happens! Stay tuned :D