Date:August 4

Time: 6:28 p.m.

Location: High Prosecutor's Office 1202

Phoenix stared at Agent Lang, shocked. "So the victim in the case I'm working on right now, Kyle D'angelo, was actually a member of a smuggling ring?!" He still didn't know what the smuggling ring was or what it did, but he had a feeling this new information would make the case a lot more serious.

Lang nodded. "Yeah, that's right." He bared his teeth menacingly. "I spent months tracking that scum down myself, and for what?! All that work, just to find out the guy's dead!" He turned to Phoenix. "So, who offed my prey? There's a chance that whoever did it could be the second smuggler."

Phoenix blinked. "You mean the one you couldn't identify?" He had to admit, it was an intriguing idea. However... Phoenix stroked his chin thoughtfully. "But we found a wedding ring left at the scene, and the killer deliberately cut off the victim's finger in order to remove his ring. What reason would an angry smuggler have to spend so much time on something like that?"

Lang shrugged. "Whatever. You can have your theory, and I'll have mine." He clasped his hands. "Lang Zi says: 'if you want to find a wolf, first find his pack.'"

Phoenix stared at Lang. "Again, what?!"

Lang sighed. "The second smuggler is still at large. I came to you because you can tell me about the victim's contacts." He grinned wolfishly. "Odds are, one of them's my man."

Phoenix wasn't exactly sure how that worked, but he didn't feel like arguing with the agent. "Well, in answer to your first question, we've charged Kyle's wife, Marie, with his murder," he said, "and as for his other contacts, I'd have to check the file..."

Lang folded his arms. "Alright, so check the file."

Phoenix sighed. "Okay, okay, no need to get all impatient…" He headed towards the other side of the desk and nudged Ema out of the way. He remembered shoving the files in a drawer for safe-keeping right before the party started, but he couldn't remember which drawer. And, for some reason, Edgeworth's desk had a ton of drawers.

He picked up a shot glass off the surface of the desk and handed it to Lang. "Wanna try some Science?" he offered. "This might take a bit…"

Lang stared at the glowing blue liquid, his face a mixture of disgust and extreme trepidation. "What in the world is that… stuff?!"

Phoenix rolled his eyes. He was starting to get tired of explaining this. "It glows…"

Lang took the glass and sniffed it warily. "Kind of looks like Luminol…" he muttered. "Smells like it, too."

Phoenix shook his head. "Ema said it's definitely not Luminol, and it's most likely not toxic." When Lang raised an eyebrow, Phoenix grinned. "It tastes like strawberries…"

Lang crinkled up his nose, grimaced, and set the glass back onto the desk. "I think I'll pass…"

Phoenix shrugged. "Okay, whatever… it's really good, though…" He flicked on the desk lamp (it was still kind of hard to see with only the black-lights), bent down, and started pulling open drawers and checking their contents. Most of them contained boring, typical Edgeworthian things, like staples, paper clips, spare cravats, fancy fountain pens, and copies of the U.S. constitution, but Phoenix noticed that one drawer on the right side appeared to have a half-open false bottom. Instantly curious, he lifted up the thin piece of wood and discovered… three Steel Samurai Collector's Edition DVDs (seasons two through five), a Steel Samurai graphic novel adaptation, tickets to a Steel Samurai show, and one lonely out-of-place Jammin' Ninja postcard. He narrowed his eyes and slid the false bottom back into its rightful place. He hoped he could kind of just forget about what was in that particular drawer...

After looking through every single drawer in the desk, Phoenix opened the very last one and, lo and behold, spied the files sitting on top of some envelopes and sheets of return address labels. He instantly grabbed the files out of the drawer and started leafing through them, looking for the page that listed Kyle D'angelo's close friends and professional contacts. Upon finding it, he withdrew it from the file so rapidly that he gave himself a tiny paper-cut, and handed it to Agent Lang. Sucking on his finger, he motioned towards the paper with his free hand. "Those are all the people Mr. D'angelo kept in regular contact with… at least, to our knowledge."

Lang studied the paper. "There's only five names on here…your vic must've kept to himself." He grinned. "Well, that should make my job easier, I suppose."

Phoenix rolled his eyes. "Wonderful." He heard a new song start to pound out from the speakers, and everyone else in the room started clapping, cheering, and singing along.

Lang's ears pricked up, and he began to smile. "Hey, I know this song…" He started to rock up and down on his heels in time with the beat. "Thirteen Years Hard Time for Love… it's really popular in Zheng Fa right now."

Phoenix took a second to listen to the song; he actually did recognize this one from somewhere. Maya might have made him listen to it once. He raised an eyebrow. The lead singer sounded oddly familiar...

Suddenly, Phoenix felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, Herr Bangs!"

Phoenix spun around to find himself face-to-face with Klavier the intern. The blond teen smiled; his shiny white teeth were even shinier under the black-lights. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything, but Fräulein Kay vants you to come play a game of criminal-justice-themed charades vith us..."

Lang narrowed his eyes, unimpressed. "In that case, I'm leaving." He held up the list of Kyle's contacts. "Do you mind if I take this with me?"

Phoenix sighed. Lang's expression said that he wasn't really asking permission. "Fine, but make sure I get it back soon," he said. "My trial will be over the day after tomorrow, if not sooner."

Lang grinned. "Right. I'll make sure you never see this paper again." He turned towards the door. "Enjoy your party, Prosecutor."

As Lang left, Klavier turned to Phoenix and grinned. "So, how do you like the Musik?"

Phoenix shrugged. He didn't really listen to this kind of music often… "It's pretty good, I guess."

Klavier smiled. "I'm glad to hear that... I spent months on it."

Phoenix blinked. "Um, what?"

Klavier chuckled. "Hast du echt nicht gewusst? Wie komisch!" He fingered the stylized "G" that he wore on a chain around his neck. "I told you I'm in a band; the Gavinners. This is our first big hit! It vent platinum almost overnight..." He flicked his bangs. "Sorry, I don't mean to brag."

Phoenix stared. When the blonde teen had told Kay he was in a band, Phoenix hadn't believed him. He still might not believe him… "If this song is such a hit," he said, raising an eyebrow, "why are you interning at the prosecutor's office? Shouldn't you be out touring or something?"

Klavier vehemently shook his head. "Nein, nein, sicher ist dieser Beruf viel, viel wichtiger als meine Musik! Das ist ja so..." Noticing Phoenix's blank stare, he smiled sheepishly. "Tut mir leid, sorry. I haven't been back in the U.S. for very long; the last time I came here vas almost four years ago. Sometimes I slip into Deutsch vhen I get excited." He clasped his hands. "Vhat I meant to say is that I vouldn't give this job up for anything… being a prosecutor, I mean. Sure, the band is fun, and we are making a lot of money right now, but it's really more of a hobby to me." He grinned. "Although it is nice to see my face on some teenage girls' pillow covers…"

Phoenix sighed. "I'm just gonna assume that wasn't supposed to sound as creepy as it did."

Klavier blinked. "Creepy? Wieso?" He shrugged it off. "So, vhat about you? You're... not really a prosecutor or something? Sorry, this whole spirit-channeling-body-switching business is really confusing to me."

Phoenix smiled wearily. "Yeah, you and me both." He folded his arms. "I'm actually a criminal defense attorney, and I have my own firm... Wright & Co. Law Offices. Maybe you've heard of it?" He smiled hopefully.

Klavier thought for a minute, then shook his head. "Nein, can't say that I have." He placed his hands on his hips. "My brother Kristoph is a defense attorney too; he's eight years older than me. He recently started his own firm, although I forget vhat it's called exactly." He smiled. "Maybe sometime I can introduce you…"

Phoenix shrugged. "Sure, maybe…" Knowing Klavier, he was slightly afraid to find out what kind of person this older brother was. Maybe he moonlights as a race-car driver or a movie star…

"Hey!" Suddenly, Kay shouted from across the room, waving madly at the two of them. "Are we gonna start this game or not?!"

Klavier grinned. "Moment mal!" He turned to Phoenix. "Vell? Are you coming?"

Phoenix shook his head. "Nah, I'm not really in the mood for… criminal-justice-themed charades."

Klavier shrugged. "Alright, suit yourself." With that, he turned and dashed away, but not before crashing into a corner of the desk.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash as the jolt from Klavier's bump caused the Science beaker to slide off the surface of the desk. Glass and blue glop flew everywhere as the beaker exploded; Phoenix could feel some of it splatter onto his face.

Klavier screeched to a halt and turned to face the mess, eyes wide. "Oh meine Güte…" he mumbled.

Ema stood behind the desk, almost in shock. She stared at spilled Science silently, mouth parted slightly. After a moment or two, her fists clenched and she glared at Klavier. "You jerk!" she screamed. "I worked really hard to make that!"

Klavier took a careful step towards her, hands raised. "Here, let me help… I'll get some paper towels from the bathroom..."

Ema fumed. Apparently, she was taking the spilling of her Science really badly. "Apologize first!" she snapped, hands on her hips.

Klavier folded his arms. "Hey, vhy do I have to apologize? It vas just an accident!" When Ema continued to glare at him, he sighed. "Come on, all I did vas spill some stuff-"

Ema picked up a white block eraser from Edgeworth's desk and threw it at him, nailing the teen squarely on the forehead. She clenched her fists and screamed. "That wasn't just 'some stuff,' you… you… glimmerous fop!"

Klavier stood there, gaping. He looked almost like he'd just been slapped. After a moment or two, he turned away from the desk. "I'll go get some paper towels…"

Phoenix glanced at Ema; she looked like she might cry. He really didn't have the energy to deal with this… "I'll come with you," he said, following Klavier. "From the looks of things, we're going to need a lot."

As he and Klavier headed towards the door, Phoenix passed by Kay and tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, um, could you go talk to Ema for me?" he whispered. "I think there's some drama going on over there…"

Kay rolled her eyes, but she nodded and headed towards the desk. Phoenix felt kind of bad leaving Ema, but he knew he was no good at comforting girls… he only managed to deal with Maya because she was a basket-case.

As soon as Phoenix and Klavier exited the office, the blonde teen veered off towards the elevator. Phoenix frowned. "Hey, isn't the bathroom the other way?"

Klavier paused and glanced over his shoulder. "Ja, but that one doesn't have any paper towels, only a dryer. Ve'll have to go down to the first floor."

Phoenix shrugged. "Alright, you lead the way, Mr. Intern."

Klavier smiled slightly and pressed the call button. After a few moments, the shiny silver doors slid open with a ding, and Klavier stepped into the car. Phoenix followed as close behind him as he could, in case the doors closed on him or something (that had happened more than once at his apartment building). Klavier pushed the button for the first floor, and the doors slid closed.

As the car started to move, Phoenix suddenly felt this sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He couldn't explain it, but somehow, he felt… afraid. As the floor numbers at the top of the car slowly ticked by, he felt his heart start beating faster, and his breathing became swift and shallow. His eyes widened. Wh- What's going on? What is this?!

He found himself fixating on the glowing 'lobby' button. He was starting to panic... he couldn't think clearly anymore... there was a black fuzziness starting to creep into the edges of his vision. He could hear Klavier saying something, but the sound was distorted as though he was hearing it through water.

Suddenly, the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. Phoenix shook his head to organize his thoughts, and realized that he'd somehow ended up on his knees. He looked up and saw Klavier holding the door open with his hand from outside the car. "...he, alles gut? Bist du krank...?" The blonde teen looked concerned.

Phoenix stood up slowly; he still wasn't quite sure what had just happened. He turned to face Klavier and smiled weakly. "...I'm alright, thanks."

Klavier didn't look convinced, but he nodded. Phoenix stepped forward, and in that instant, the blonde intern moved his hand away from the elevator door.

*THUD*

Phoenix flailed as the door closed on him, just barely managing to wriggle out of the car after a second or two. Klavier immediately rushed to his side. "Oh mein Gott, I am so sorry..."

Phoenix sighed. "It's alright... This happens to me all the time..." Inwardly, he was completely and utterly bewildered. Why in the world did he just suffer a panic attack? Was it the elevator? Phoenix couldn't remember a time when he'd ever been afraid of elevators. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. Maybe... He gulped. ...maybe it was the Science. I could totally be tripping right now...

Klavier started to head down the hall to the left. "Achtung, are you coming?"

Phoenix nodded. Yeah... that must've just been too much Science. He started to follow Klavier down the hall to the first floor bathrooms. Now the question is, should I tell Ema?

...probably not.


Date: August 4

Time: 7:06 p.m.

Location: Tres Bien, Back Alley

Pearls stepped carefully over a broken bottle and glanced up at Edgeworth. "Mr. Wright-werth, why are we sneaking around back here?" She grimaced. "It's kind of dirty and gross..."

Edgeworth sighed. "I'm sorry, Pearls, but there was no other way. Butz refused to let us through the front door."

When confronted with the possibility of being forced to actually eat the rest of the now-unedible cuisine, Edgeworth had decided to grab Pearls by the hand and flee the scene. However, Larry had planted himself in front of the door to the restaurant and refused to budge, all the while whining and sobbing about his terrible situation. Edgeworth had been forced to exit through the café's back door, which, surprisingly, opened directly into one of the seedier parts of town.

Edgeworth guided Pearls towards the edge of the sidewalk in order to stay out of the personal space of an angry-looking homeless man. "Don't worry, Vitamin Square isn't very far from here," he said, eyeing the bum warily. "That area isn't nearly as bad, and I think there might be a playground."

Pearls grinned. Suddenly, her stomach growled with a loud rumble; the little girl blushed, embarrassed. "Sorry... I guess I'm kind of hungry."

Edgeworth furrowed his brow. That's right... Pearls hadn't had any sort of dinner, and it was already seven o'clock. "Well, where would you like to eat?" he asked. "Pick any place you'd like."

Pearls gasped excitedly. "Really?! Wow, thanks, Mr. Wright-werth!" She thought for a moment. "Hmm... I guess..." She clasped her hands. "Let's get burgers!"

Edgeworth raised an eyebrow. "Burgers?!" Out of all the different possibilities, she chose burgers?! The Feys must not be a very creative family, as far as food is concerned, anyway. He sighed. "Alright, where would you like to go?"

Pearls grinned. "Well, there's this place that Mr. Nick takes us to sometimes... the burgers there are really good!"

Edgeworth sighed. How typical... Personally, he would have thought Pearls to be a bit more curious about different types of food; 'Mystic Maya' must have trained her well. He started to lead the little girl towards Vitamin Square. "Now, Pearls," he said, "you're going to have to tell me exactly where this restaurant is after we get off at the nearest subway station."

Pearls looked up at him. "Mr. Wright-werth, why don't you just get a map?"

Edgeworth tapped his forehead and smiled wryly. "And admit defeat? Never!"

Pearls giggled. "You don't like to lose to anything, do you?"

Edgeworth shrugged. "Not necessarily… I simply prefer to find the truth myself, solely by my own abilities and logic."

Pearls frowned. "So you're going to use logic to find the right street?"

Edgeworth shook his head and tsked. "Not quite." He tapped his forehead. "I used logic to deduce that, since the last subway we took had a small diagram of the different lines near the ceiling of each car, the one we are about to ride will feature the same diagram. Thus, I was able to determine that, for this particular trip, I will not require a map." He folded his arms. "However, since I have never visited the aforementioned 'burger joint,' I will have to rely on your experience in finding its exact location."

Pearls gaped. "Wooowww…" Somehow, the glaring obviousness of his slightly sarcastic 'deduction' seemed to have gone over her head. She smiled and clasped her hands. "You should teach Mr. Nick how to logic!"

Edgeworth turned a corner and caught a glimpse of a giant plastic strawberry; the subway line was just beyond the Square itself, if he remembered correctly. Turning to Pearls, he shook his head. "Unfortunately, some things simply aren't possible."


Date: August 4

Time: 7:32 p.m.

Location: Two Dudes Burgers

Pearls sipped her chocolate milk happily through a bendy straw. "Thanks for taking me here, Mr. Wright-werth!"

Edgeworth sighed. "You're quite welcome." He stared at the cup of french fries he'd received, sure that something was amiss. He'd ordered a 'small,' yet there were enough greasy, crispy potato-parts stuffed into this cup to feed an entire third-world nation. On top of that, the menu here seemed to consist exclusively of burgers and fries, the former coming in patties no smaller than a quarter of a pound. He'd briefly considered ordering a kid's meal for himself, but he didn't think he'd be able to fool the teen at the register into thinking he was twelve.

Edgeworth studied the receipt; everything seemed correct. Glancing at the french fries again, he decided to look for a fork… he really couldn't bring himself to actually touch those greasy things with his fingers. He turned to Pearls. "I'm going to get a fork; I'll be back in a moment."

Pearls nodded, chewing on a bite of her mini-burger. "Okay…"

Edgeworth got up from their booth and headed towards the condiments. However, after a thorough search of the area, all he could find were napkins, ketchup, mustard, and straws. He ground his teeth. Not a single utensil anywhere! What kind of restaurant was this place?!

He turned around and walked up to the register. The kid who'd taken his order was still there; for some reason, two long antennae-looking strands of brown hair poked straight up from behind his visor. The kid smiled at him, unusually bright for someone working at a fast-food restaurant. "Can I help you with anything, sir?"

Edgeworth nodded. "Would you happen to have any plastic forks?"

The kid thought for a moment. "Actually… I'm not sure if we do… I'll go look in the back!" He whirled around, then suddenly slipped on something and fell to the ground with a yelp.

Edgeworth leaned over the counter, concerned. "...Are you alright?"

"I'M FINE!" the kid shouted, and scrambled to his feet. He then dashed off towards the back of the kitchen. Suddenly, Edgeworth spotted something small and round fall out of the kid's pocket and land on the floor. He wouldn't have noticed it, but the object appeared to be some kind of metal, and it glinted in the light. He quickly snuck behind the register and picked it up; it was a defense attorney's badge.

After a couple of minutes, the kid returned; his antennae appeared to be drooping. "Sorry, we don't have any forks," he said apologetically. "I mean, I feel like we really should, but…"

Edgeworth sighed. "That's alright." He held up the badge. "I believe this belongs to you…"

The kid jumped. "Ah! My badge!" He blushed slightly. "How did you…?"

"It fell out of your pocket," Edgeworth told him. The poor kid looked mortified as he reached over the counter and grabbed the badge. Edgeworth raised an eyebrow. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but I am a bit curious," he said, resting his palms on the edge of the counter. "If you are indeed a defense attorney, why are you working in a fast-food restaurant?"

The kid sighed. "Well, I only recently passed the Bar exam… a couple of months ago, actually. But I haven't been able to find openings at any firms, so I'm working here to make ends meet."

Edgeworth suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for the young cashier; though it had been relatively easy for him to find a position at the Prosecutor's Office, Mr. von Karma had arbitrarily decided not to pay for his senior year of law school, and he'd been forced to work at a frozen-yogurt bar in Nϋrnberg... Suddenly, he remembered something that the intern at the office had told him a couple of days ago. "Actually," he said, "I believe I know of a firm in this area looking for staff. I'm not sure what the name of the firm itself is, exactly, but it was just founded recently by a Kristoph Gavin… perhaps you ought to apply there?"

The kid brightened considerably. "Wow, thank you so much! I'll be sure to do that!" The kid glanced at Edgeworth's lapel and noticed the defense attorney's badge. "So, you're a lawyer too, sir?" he asked excitedly.

Edgeworth nodded, turning slightly to face the booth where Pearls was sitting. "It's been a pleasure to meet you..." He paused for a moment to read the kid's name-tag. "... Apollo."

The kid grinned. "Thank you! Maybe I'll see you around the courthouse some time, Mr...?"

Edgeworth noticed Pearls seemed to be getting antsy; he hadn't really planned on standing around so long. "My name's M- err, Phoenix Wright," he said, inwardly cursing himself for almost messing up yet again, and turned to head back towards the booth. As he went, he snuck a quick glance back at the cashier; the kid's mouth was hanging open, and his eyes were wide in awe.

As Edgeworth sat down at the booth, Wright's cell-phone started to ring. He sighed and answered it. "Hello?"

"MILES EDGEWORTH!"

Edgeworth cringed reflexively; Franziska sounded so loud and angry that he was sure she'd find a way to whip him through the phone. "I suppose you know what's happened, then," he said carefully. "Was it Wright who told you?"

Franziska huffed. "I broke him easily." She snarled. "But I vould like to know vhy you did not feel the need to inform me of this, Miles Edgeworth…"

Edgeworth grimaced. No matter what he said, she was sure to become angry with him. However, he was out of whipping range… "Frankly, I didn't want you to become involved," he said. "I had been informed that this… situation was supposed to be dealt with by the end of the third trial day, at least. I didn't feel it necessary to tell you for such a short time."

Franziska growled. "Is that your only reason?"

Edgeworth thought about it. "...I suppose I didn't want you to whip me, either."

"Hmph." Franziska, luckily, did not explode. "At least you are honest…" She cleared her throat. "But that is not the only reason I am calling you. Something has happened vith the case."

Edgeworth raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You do realize that I am, for now, representing the defense?"

Franziska paused. "I am only telling you this because I don't think it vill help your case," she said finally. "I simply thought that you ought to know." She growled. "The victim, Kyle D'angelo, vas a member of the smuggling ring."

Edgeworth blinked. "The one that was headed by Quercus Alba? I could have sworn we shut them down…"

"Agent Lang came to your office a few minutes ago and told Phoenix Wright about it," Franziska said. "Apparently, there are still some foolish stragglers causing trouble; the victim vas apparently one of them."

Edgeworth's eyes widened slightly. This could change everything! "Are you at my office now?" he asked.

Franziska gasped slightly. "Ah, ja, but… maybe you shouldn't come here..."

Edgeworth raised an eyebrow. It was rare for him to hear Franziska sounding so… guilty. "Well, alright," he said, pretending to sound defeated. "I suppose I'll see you in court tomorrow."

Franziska huffed. "Naturlich. And I vill beat you this time." With that, she hung up.

Pearls glanced up at Edgeworth, her food finished. "What was that about?"

Edgeworth picked up her trash and placed it on the tray, covering his own untouched food. "Would you mind if we stopped by my office before we go back to the apartment?"

Pearls blinked. "Oh! Um, not at all…"

Edgeworth raised an eyebrow. "Was there something you wanted to do first?"

Pearls thought for a minute, then shook her head. "Nope!"

Edgeworth stood up and dumped the trash from their tray into the garbage can and placed the tray on top. "Alright, then." He opened the door for Pearls before heading out himself. "There's something I need to talk to Wright about…"


Author's Note: Yay, another completely unnecessary cameo! :D (Sorry, Polly. Your lack of backstory has given me free reign…)

Internslator:

Hast du echt nicht gewusst? = Did you really not know?

Wie komisch! = That's funny!

Nein, nein, sicher ist dieser Beruf viel, viel wichtiger als meine Musik! = No, no, this job is definitely waaay more important than my music!

Das ist ja so… = That's just so…

Wieso? = How so? / Why?

...he, alles gut? Bist du krank? = ...hey, is everything alright? Are you sick?

And so, now we know why Ema and Klavier don't get along. Although, Klavier really should have sucked it up and apologized. Rude.

I had an elevator door close on me a couple of days ago. And then it almost closed on me yesterday. Elevators are not cool, man.

Also, Two Dudes. Totally not a spin-off of Five Guys.

Oh yes, and I know my timeline is officially screwed up so I went back and fixed some things. To apologize to you guys... have a Klavier gif: ht tp / / fav . me / d6jj7md