Sorry the last chapter was so short. It was more of an intro for the upcoming chapter. As an apology, here's the christmas party that McKenna went to prior to her death. Enjoy!
Intermission
One year earlier...
McKenna slowly opened the freezing doors leading into the Prosecutor Building. She had forgotten to wear gloves and a scarf, so her simple red dress was the only thing keeping her warm. She wiped the snow off of her heels and made her way towards the ballroom. The large room was nicely decorated with a Christmas tree in the middle, mistletoe hanging over each doorway and snacks lining the dancing room.
McKenna wandered over to Franziska von Karma, who seemed to be a little on edge in her formal sleek black dress.
"Hello Miss von Karma. I hope you're doing well," she said in greeting.
"Ah, hello Miss McKenna Key. I am doing fine, thank you for asking. I was told by Miles Edgeworth that our presents should go under the Tannenbaum," the silver haired young woman said.
"Oh, thank you," the strawberry blonde thanked the younger girl and took her small present to place under the tree.
"Hello Miss Key," a deep voice said from behind her.
"Mister Edgeworth, hello," McKenna said before turning around.
"I hope that you'll save at least one dance for me?" He proposed.
"Of course. Say, where is Detective Gumshoe? I thought he was the one who set this all up," the female Prosecutor wondered aloud.
"He's running late, Officer Meekins broke something at the precinct again," Miles explained.
"How that man ever became a policeman is the biggest mystery known to man," McKenna sighed.
"I agree," the demon Prosecutor chuckled "Would you like something to drink?" He continued.
"Sure. Anything is fine, thank you," the ex-acolyte smiled politely.
McKenna stood silently until she saw her best friend walk into the party.
"Lana!" she said happily as the tall brunette made her way over to McKenna.
"Hi McKenna. Don't worry, I dropped the girls off at Mia's," the Chief Prosecutor assured the blue eyed young woman.
"Thank you again for taking Ray. Are you sure Mia can handle them?" McKenna said worriedly.
"Positive. Mia is great with kids. And she's got her own little sister to take care of, just like us," Lana assured.
"I hope she can handle Ray. She can get a little antsy when she's separated from me," the Prosecutor said.
"It'll be fine, stop worrying. You should enjoy the party. By the way, who was your secret Santa?" the Chief Prosecutor inquired.
"I can't just tell you!" McKenna laughed.
"Come on, what are we, strangers?" Lana pressed.
"Fine, fine. I got von Karma," the girl in the red dress relented.
"Really? Are you sure you got a present that won't get you whipped?" the brunette joked.
McKenna bit her lip.
"I hope so. But I'm not telling you what I got her," she said obstinately.
"Sure, sure. Well I got Meekins," Lana laughed.
"Oh, good luck. He might break it the moment you give it to him," McKenna said.
"Well, it's kind of hard to break, but I could see him doing that," the Chief Prosecutor nodded.
As if on cue, Officer Meekins ran into the room, wearing a black suit, a red vest and a Santa hat. Gumshoe followed, dressed in his usual attire, with a small poinsettia pinned on his lapel.
"Officer Meekins, glad you're here. Please place your present under the Christmas Tree," Prosecutor Payne said in greeting.
"Yes sir! Thank you sir!" He saluted.
Gumshoe left his poorly wrapped present next to Meekin's, as dinner was placed on the table.
"Scruffy, get over here!" Franziska snapped at the detective, whipping him.
"Franziska, I thought I told you to leave the whip at home," Edgeworth said to his younger foster sister.
"Like I accept orders from the likes of you, Miles Edgeworth," von Karma sniffed.
"Anyways, if you'd all come this way, dinner is ready," Lana said, gesturing towards the dining table.
Dinner consisted of an extravagantly dressed goose, honey roasted ham, lamb with mint jelly, buttered parsnips, freshly baked French bread, asparagus, fig pudding and more apple cider and eggnog than anyone could ever need. Gumshoe almost fainted at the sight of so much food in one place as everyone sat down. Conversation was pleasant, since Gumshoe was strangely quiet. It was probably because of the lingering threat of Franziska whipping him from across the table. McKenna found herself in between Edgeworth and Lana, two of the few people she got along with.
Everyone was full and warm when they headed to the dance floor. McKenna sat to talk to Lana, but her beautiful friend was quickly swept off by none other than Mike Meekins. So the Prosecutor sipped at her spiced cider, enjoying the way it warmed her scarfless throat.
She suddenly saw a hand in front of her, and looked up to see Miles softly smiling down at her.
"May I have this dance?" He asked as she placed her frail hand in his large one.
"You may," she granted.
They walked to an open area and started to waltz to the classical music.
"Have you had any interesting cases recently, Mr. Edgeworth?" McKenna inquired.
"Not particularly, no. Crime is usually rare during this season," he said.
"You'd think. I took a case where a woman incapacitated an intruder dressed as Santa Claus. It turns out it was her ex-husband and the attack was not in self-defense, since he had a key," she said.
"Hm. Interesting. The things that people will do..." He trailed off.
"Miss Key!" A painfully familiar voice said from behind her.
"Please tell me it isn't who I think it is," McKenna pleaded.
"It wouldn't be the truth if I did," Edgeworth sighed.
They danced for a while more, until the song stopped. McKenna whirled around and faced Austin, who bent down and kissed her hand.
"What on earth are you doing here?" She demanded.
He stood up and shrugged.
"I missed my turn and saw lights so I thought 'hey why not?'" Austin said.
"Liar. Can you leave, this is a Prosecutor's ball," McKenna frowned.
"Can I be your date?"
"No,"
"Can I dance with you?"
"I am not dancing with you Mr. Chance,"
She sat down at her table and put her head in her hands.
"Why do you have to ruin everything for me?" She grumbled, but he was already at the snack bar grabbing food for both of them.
Lana came by, slightly limping because Meekins stepped on her feet on numerous occasions.
"So I see that Chance is here," she grinned teasingly.
"Please stop Lana, I'm mortified. I can't believe he would crash this," the strawberry blonde groaned.
"I can. It is Chance we're talking about. Are you sure you don't like him?" the brunette inquired.
"Positive!" McKenna said defensively.
"Uh huh. Well here he comes, I'll sit with you guys," the Chief Prosecutor said.
"Thanks, you're the best," the ex-acolyte sighed.
Austin sat down happily, giving McKenna a mug of hot chocolate and a slice of chocolate cake.
"Thank you Mister Chance," she said stiffly and quietly.
"You're welcome," the defense attorney smiled.
After McKenna was done with her sweet treats, and answering most of Austin's questions with a harsh 'no'. Lana stood up and gathered everyone's attention.
"It's time for us the open the gifts. If everyone would gather near the Christmas tree," she announced.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I came to give you this," Austin said, handing her a small parcel.
"So you didn't miss your turn?" McKenna teased.
"No, not exactly. But Merry Christmas! Don't open it until the party's over okay?" He instructed.
He started walking away when McKenna spoke again.
"Wait! I didn't get you anything!" She exclaimed.
"That's okay! I'll see you later!" Austin called out.
"But it's not okay..." McKenna whispered to herself.
"Come on McKenna, it's time to open the gifts," Lana called her over.
"Alright. We'll go in order of seniority. So that would be Payne, me, McKenna, Edgeworth, Gumshoe, Von Karma, then Meekins. Mister Payne, if you would," The chief Prosecutor explained.
The 'rookie killer' nodded and picked up a small, neatly wrapped parcel with blue snowflakes on the wrapping paper and a thick white ribbon.
He unwrapped it and opened the box to see a dark blue razor resting in a bed of white tissue paper.
Lana tried not to let out her giggles as she spoke.
"So who had Mister Payne?" She inquired.
"That would be me. I know that it is important for a man to have a razor in handy," Franziska said.
Everyone knew the hidden meaning of her gift, and eyes glanced at the ridiculous pompadour resting upon Payne's shiny head.
"Anyhow, it's my turn now," Lana said.
She picked up a bag stuffed with tissue paper.
"Oh, it's sort of heavy," she commented while placing it on the ground in front of her.
She pulled out the tissue paper and a small slip of paper fell out. Upon further research, it was discovered that said paper was a coupon for ramen.
Inside the bag was a pair of red rain boots and a matching red umbrella.
"Oh wow. Gumshoe, you really bought these for me?" she asked.
"Hehe, yeah pal. How'd you guess?" The detective said, scratching the back of his neck.
"U-Um. Lucky guess! McKenna it's your turn!" the brunette said hurriedly.
"O-Okay. Um, which one is mine?" McKenna asked, kneeling in front of the tree.
She soon found the medium sized gift, wrapped with dark green paper and adorned with a pretty red bow.
The spirit medium untied the bow and tore off the paper. She opened the box to see a beautiful cream scarf lying amid nicely folded tissue paper. She gasped and almost immediately wrapped it around her slender neck. McKenna felt a hand helping her, and turned to see Edgeworth finishing the job for her.
"Mister Edgeworth, you-"
"Yes, I purchased that scarf for you. I hope it is to your liking," he answered the question that hadn't even left her lips.
"It's just what I needed, thank you Edgeworth," the strawberry blonde smiled warmly.
She turned back to the box to close it, and then noticed another piece of fabric hidden amongst the paper.
"Hm? What's this?" she asked to herself.
She picked it up and saw a smaller, matching light purple scarf lying in her hands.
"For Ray," Miles explained simply.
McKenna felt a surge of emotion take over her.
It had been a rough winter for her, and she only continued to be strong for Ray's sake. She was homesick, tired, and lost. She needed her mother more than ever, and playing that role for her baby cousin was almost too much for her to bear. This simple act of kindness drove her over the edge, and tears began to pour down her face.
"Sorry, I'm so sorry. Thank you Edgeworth, I'm really grateful," the female Prosecutor hiccupped.
Lana held her close, and nodded at Edgeworth, who was next.
He picked up a blue box hastily tied with a dark blue ribbon, and opened it slowly. Inside, was a pure white, perfectly ruffled cravat.
"I-I thought you might like a new one sir!" Meekins announced loudly.
"That was very considerate of you. Thank you Officer Meekins," Edgeworth said politely.
"YOU'RE WELCOME SIR!" The police officer shouted.
Miles loosened his cravat and laid it on his lap. He took the new one, and tied it into place. He then handed the old cravat to McKenna.
"Here, I have no use of this anymore. Please use it to dry your tears," the demon Prosecutor stated.
"You're too kind, Mister Edgeworth," McKenna sniffed, dabbing at her face with the white fabric.
Next, was Gumshoe. He eagerly opened the package to see a small round container of a black substance. It read Pâté de Luxe on the outside.
"Wow. That's a really good brand of shoe polish," Lana commented.
"Expensive as well," Edgeworth said.
Gumshoe's face brightened.
"Thanks pal! Now my shoes will be shinier than ever!" he grinned.
"Fool, you aren't aware of who gave you the gift yet! Save your thanks," Franziska snapped.
"A-Ah that would be from me. You're welcome," Payne said, pushing up his glasses.
"Miss von Karma, it's your turn," Lana said.
The German Prosecutor nodded and picked up a small white box. McKenna wrung her hands nervously, hoping that her gift wouldn't earn her a lashing.
Inside the box lay a pair of turquoise earrings, with intricate silver patterns on the front of them.
"They're lovely," Franziska praised, holding them up gently.
"I'm glad you like them, Miss von Karma," the strawberry blonde smiled.
"Oh? These are from you? Thank you, Miss McKenna Key," the perfectionist said while showing a rare smile.
"Meekins, you're last," the tall brunette stated.
Mike excitedly grabbed the bag that his gift was in and dug into it. He pulled out a pair of Blue Badger socks and grinned widely.
"Wow! Who gave me these?!" he exclaimed.
"Meekins, use the process of elimination. If von Karma, Gumshoe, Edgeworth, you, Payne and I have already given our gifts, who's left?" McKenna helped him gently.
He immediately blushed.
"R-Really? Miss Skye, you really bought these for me?" the police officer asked.
"Yes, I did officer. I hope you enjoy them," Lana smiled.
"I will! Thank you so much!" He shouted.
After brief goodbyes and well-wishes, the party ended. McKenna walked towards the exit, slowly opening the present Austin had given her. Inside the small black box was a silver bracelet with an amethyst heart charm. She smiled softly as she attached the piece of jewelry to her slim wrist. The prosecutor hid her face in her scarf and braced herself for the brisk cold. She saw a familiar face as soon as she turned the first corner on her journey home.
"Mister Chance! I was hoping I'd see you again," she grinned.
"You were?" Austin questioned.
"Yes, thank you so much for the bracelet. It's so beautiful," McKenna said happily.
"Not as beautiful as you," the British man flirted.
McKenna hid in her scarf once again to hide her blush.
"Anyways, I met you here to give you this," he continued.
"Not another gift! I don't think I can repay you enough already!" she protested.
"No, not for you at least," the Defense Lawyer chuckled, pulling out a candy bar and a large stuffed bunny.
"It isn't much, but I thought Ray would like it," he said.
McKenna attacked him in a hug.
"Thank you thank you thank you!" She mumbled, her face buried in his chest.
"Uh, you're welcome Miss Key," he said uncertainly, rubbing her back awkwardly.
"Seriously, I can't thank you enough. You were one of the first people that were kind to me when I first moved here, and I appreciate it," McKenna said while backing away.
"It's my pleasure, honestly," he smiled.
"Goodnight... Austin," she waved while walking away.
Austin pumped the air in victory.
"Yes! Best Christmas ever!" He cheered.
"I heard that!" McKenna called, laughing softly