Yeah, so I'm going to be changing something… The way I write the thoughts and the phone and stuff, I've wanted to change it for a while. Basically, the only ones changing ARE thoughts and phone. From now on it's going to be
Wright- thought
Wright- Phone
I'll try changing this in the earlier chapters as soon as I can. It's just become a bit hard for me to keep up with, as I keep forgetting to underline the thoughts… (Wow, such a silly little change…)
Disclaimer: I do not own the Ace Attorney franchise.
Iris got off the train and looked around. How many years had it been? Everything looked so different, so foreign. This was the town when she first met Phoenix, the town where she lied, lived, and learned. Seeing it change so much was actually kind of… difficult. It was hard to believe that it had been a whole seven years since she had last been here… at least she wasn't here on trial this time. She continued to walk further into town keeping her eyes open for a place to sleep. Sister Bikini had given her enough money to get by for a while, so she would be alright. Iris noticed how dark it had gotten and glanced at the time. It was getting quite late and she was beginning to get hungry. She figured that she had enough time to stop for dinner and tried to find a place to eat. She soon approached a small building under the name 'Borscht Bowl Club' that looked fairly cheap, which was exactly what she needed. She walked into the little building and looked around. It wasn't much, but thankfully it also didn't look like a complete dump. She began progressing forward when she saw a young girl run past with an exasperated pointy haired kid trailing her.
"Hurry up Polly, we're late!" the girl yelled.
"Yeah, and whose fault is that? Last time I checked, YOU were the one who got sidetracked!" The boy, 'Polly' as the girl called him, responded.
"It's not every day I have someone request a trick from me!"
"Oh, and just telling them to come to your show would have just been pointless!" The boy yelled back while running down the stairs.
"I swear…" Iris looked up and saw a waitress watching them run down. "Those two are going to drive away more customers than they bring in." She looked at Iris. "Sorry about that, welcome to the new and improved Borscht Bowl Club. Now we serve more Russian delicacies than ever, and for a cheap price. May I help you?"
Iris was startled from her thoughts being interrupted. "W-well, yes, but first, what exactly was that all about?"
"Huh? Oh you mean those two kids? Yeah, their names are Trucy and Apollo. Trucy does magic shows here."
"Magic shows?"
"Yep. For a young girl of her age, she's quite good. If you have the time you should hang around to watch her. She'll be coming back up soon, she just needs to see her dad first."
"Does the boy, Apollo, help out as well?"
"Nah, he's a defense attorney." Iris perked up at this. The waitress continued, "He just works for Trucy's dad. The dad also works here, he's a poker player." The waitress smirked "The best one you'll ever find actually, no one has beaten him yet!"
"Poker? But isn't that il-"
"Illegal? We get that a lot. It's not as long as they don't play with real money, which they don't. He's our main attraction. If you're so curious about all this, you should just go down and see for yourself. We're not closing anytime soon."
"Oh, I-"
"Go on! If you see it you won't need to question it!" She nudged Iris to the stairs and Iris walked down.
It was a small room, yet crowded. Everyone seemed flocked around the table. Iris recognized the young girl standing in the back talking to some man in a beanie. She guessed that this was her father. The boy, Apollo if she remembered correctly, was standing in the corner slouching against the wall. She tried to get a better look but people kept running into to her.
"Hey, get out of the way!" A man said from behind her.
"O-oh, I'm sorry…" Iris said uneasily.
"Tch- I can't understand why a woman would be down here in the first place. This is no place for pretty little flowers like you, now get!" He said, shoving her off to the side.
Iris was pushed forcefully into another man, the impact making her lose her balance and fall.
"Damn it, watch where you're going!" The man spat.
"But that wasn't me, I-"
"I don't care about your dumb excuses; I'm just here to play the game. Whose bright idea was it to let a woman in here anyway, pokers a man's game…" He started muttering to himself.
Iris felt her eyes heat up as she began glaring at the back of his head. She gave up though, seeing as it was pointless, and sighed. Why did she come down here anyway…?
"Hey, need some help up?" a kind voice said from above her.
She looked up to see the man with a blue beanie offering a hand to her. She cautiously took it he began to pull her up.
"I saw what was going on, so I figured I should come over. Some of the guys here can be real jerks." Their eyes locked for a brief moment before he averted his. "Anyway, I'm sure you're all right now, try not to get into any more trouble, okay?"
Iris just silently nodded in reply.
"Good, I'll be on my way then." He said before turning and walking off.
"Wait!" Iris cried
The man turned around slightly.
"Uh, thank you." She mumbled.
The man continued walking.
"It can't be…" Iris thought "I recognize those eyes… But still, it must be impossible."
"Another jerk?" Trucy asked after the beanie man sat down.
"Trucy." Phoenix said sternly, not liking his daughters name calling. Even though he did agree with her.
"I just call it as I see it…" She said innocently. "Anyway, thanks daddy." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and quickly ran up the stairs. A frazzled Apollo was following behind franticly.
Iris looked around a bit more before she hesitantly walked back up the stairs.
"Seems the show is about to start." She mumbled as she sat down in the nearest seat. When she really thought about it, she didn't know where her sudden curiosity came from. She had never been the type to indulge in such snooping, however there was something that drew her to those kids, but more importantly, to that man. However, enough was enough. She decided it was time to just stop dwelling on it for now, and just order dinner and see what this 'magic' show was all about.
"For my first trick, I will be using my lovely assistant, Polly!" The girl yelled from atop the stage.
"OBJECTION!" The call was loud and clear and nearly made Iris jump. The boy Apollo was sitting at a table next to hers. He just got finished banging the table with all his might and was now pointing directly at the girl on the stage. "I told you I'm not going to be your assistant!"
"Aw, is Polly scared?" Trucy mocked with hopes of changing his mind.
"When it comes to being YOUR assistant, then, yes."
Trucy looked taken aback. She would have made a retort if it weren't for the fact that the show was still going on. "Well then, fine. Since my 'dear' assistant refuses to help me then I guess we will have to l continue with the same old thing…" She said slightly deflated. A few boos for Apollo could be heard, but then a round of cheering responded when Trucy pulled out a pair of… underwear? She reached her hand in and started pulling out various kinds of goodies and tossing them aside.
Iris looked over at the table Apollo was at. He was leaning back with his arms crossed, obviously a bit irked at being booed. Iris noted how he had the same strong objection as a certain someone she used know. Even if it was over a silly matter, for some reason both put their all into the shout. A light grin formed on her face as she sat back and enjoyed the rest of her dinner.
"Well, that's all everybody!" Trucy yelled out. A round of applause sounded out. Iris lightly clapped along, even though she had stopped watching. "I hope you all enjoyed the show tonight! Once again, I'm Trucy Wright and I'll see you later!"
Iris nearly choked. Had she heard that correctly? "Trucy Wright? Trucy, daughter of the man downstairs. The one who reminds me of… him…" The crowd started clearing out. That was the last show and the restaurant was closing for the night. Iris sat completely still though. "Th-there's no way! I wouldn't run into him here! Isn't he a Lawyer?" The crowd was practically gone by this point and sets of feet could be heard coming up the stairs. "What could have possibly happened? This can't be true…!" She woke from her daze when she saw the beanie man opening up the door. She couldn't hold herself in one place anymore. She quickly stood up and yelled out a simple word "PHOENIX?!"
The man turned his head around slightly. He kept his head down but you could see a small, yet sad smile crossing his face. "It's been awhile, Iris."
Good grief, I did so much experimenting on this chapter! I would write a few hundred words, get unhappy, and then erase it. You know, lather, rinse, and repeat. Oh well, I was wanting to end the chapter on this note, but I couldn't figure out how to do it. I FINALLY DID IT! I am so happy right now! WHOOOHOOOOOO! Chapter 28 = the chapter that caused many nights of torment. BEGONE!
