Rei Ryghts: Ace Attorney
Turnabout Of The Night
by Derald Snyder
Investigation- Day 2
Court Record:
Demitri's Autopsy Report
Holy Water
Simone's Footprint
Crime Scene Diagram
Crime Scene Photos
Bloody Mace
November 13, 12:42 PM
Lastation Basilicom
Office of Priest John Balder
"Yes, I did indeed consecrate that Holy Water for Miss Simone Rondo," the bald NPC priest nodded. Rei, Willard, and Noire herself were standing in the office with him. "I can't say I've ever seen a vampire myself, but I could sense no deception from her... and I admired her resolve for doing the Goddesses' work."
"Would you be willing to swear an affidavit to that effect?" Willard requested.
"Certainly," the priest agreed.
*Priest's Affidavit has been added to the Court Record.*
"Actually, he just takes the water to me and I infuse it with a small amount of my Share Energy," Noire elaborated as she added her own signature to the affidavit. "By the way, where's K-Sha at?"
"U-ummm... w-well... sh-she's..." Rei hesitated.
"Her Honor had Miss K-Sha detained for questioning," Willard spoke up. "She implied that she would likely have that girl charged with possession of a dangerous substance..."
At hearing this, Noire's eyes shrank to near pinpricks. "She... did... WHAAAAT?!"
"M-milady, please calm yourself!" the priest tried to talk her down. "I-I'm sure the judge thought she had a good reason...!"
"Well, I don't think it's a good reason!" Noire retorted, a blood vein visible on her forehead. "So where's K-Sha now, Heinlein?!"
"M-most likely in a holding cell..." the prosecutor said.
"Fine then! Call the warden and inform him of my intent to post bail for K-Sha!" the CPU ordered. "And once you've done that, you're coming with me to see that judge so I can give her a piece of my mind!"
"A-at once, Lady Noire!" Willard nodded as he pulled out his cell phone.
"S-so what about m-me?" Rei asked cautiously.
"I want you to go to the prison to pick up K-Sha when they let her out!" Noire replied. "And while you're at it, you should ask Simone Rondo for any more information about that supposed vampire running about!"
"Y-yes ma'am!" Rei reflexively saluted. "I-I'll g-get right on th-that!"
"Wait!" Pastor John spoke up. "Before you go... just in case that vampire catches you off-guard..." He handed another jug of holy water to Rei.
"Th-thank you, pastor," the lawyer bowed her head in respect. "B-but hopefully I w-won't need it..."
November 13
Lastation City Detention Center
Holding Cell
"K-Sha, you're out," the warden proclaimed as he unlocked the holding cell door. "Lady Noire posted bail for you. You can pick up your things at the desk."
"Noire did~? Wow, that's so nice of her~!" the schoolgirl exclaimed happily as she stood up and skipped to the door.
"Lucky bitch," another female prisoner muttered, "having the goddess' favor like that..." She promptly clammed up when K-Sha gave her a death glare, before turning and marching out of the cell...
As the former mercenary entered the lobby, she was mildly disappointed to see Rei Ryghts standing there. "Oh. Miss Rei. Where's Noire at?"
"M-most likely g-giving the j-judge an earful f-for having you arrested," the lawyer explained.
"O-oh, right... of course... Noire's so nice to stand up for me~" K-Sha sighed, blushing as a large heart floated over her head...
*Wha-P-SHING!* -only for said heart to be cut down by Rei's slicing finger. "Focus, maggot! We still need to figure out who the guilty party is in this case!"
"Oh! S-sorry, you're right..." the schoolgirl looked down in mild shame. "Um... I guess we should talk to Simone again, while we're here..."
"Exactly what I was thinking," Rei nodded. "Come on, let's get to the visitor's chamber..."
November 13
Lastation City Detention Center
Visitor's Room
"Oh, hello, K-Sha," Simone greeted as she sat down on the other side of the glass. "So they let you out?"
"Lady Noire bailed her out," Rei explained. "B-but that's n-not important right n-now. D-do you have a-any information on th-this vampire y-you were ch-chasing...?"
"You do realize, I didn't exactly get a good look at their face..." the hunter sighed.
"Please, Simone. Anything at all you could tell us would be helpful," K-Sha pleaded. "Even just about vampires in general..."
"Very well," the blonde woman agreed. "First and foremost: the fact that vampires dissolve in sunlight is only partially correct. Sufficiently powerful blood-suckers will only be weakened by the sun, in most cases only being slightly stronger and faster than the average human in such a situation. Only at night can they access their full power..."
"S-so, was th-this vampire in p-particular one of th-these p-powerful ones?" Rei inquired.
"...I'm fairly certain that is the case," Simone said. "At least according to the reaction I got from my aura tracker..."
"Aura tracker...?" Rei looked over at K-Sha, who just shrugged helplessly.
"You did obtain an electronic device of some sort from the detective, did you not?" the hunter pressed.
"OH! That thing..." K-Sha rummaged though her backpack, soon pulling out the device in question. "Is this it?"
"Ah, good. You do have it," Simone nodded in relief. "My brother Richter had this device created by a certain magical scientist from Leanbox... Apparently she had already invented a similar device for tracking magical energies in general..."
Rei managed to get a glimpse at the back of the device, and sure enough, 'MAGES.' was imprinted there. (Should've known...) Aloud she spoke, "S-so this d-device t-tracks vampires, then?"
"Yes. And not just the vampires themselves," Simone expounded, "but it also has a setting that can track the residual dark aura they leave behind, in effect allowing one to follow their trail, like a canine follows an animal's scent. Hopefully with this device, you can track the vampire's movements, and find some evidence that will actually be admissible in court..."
*Vampire Aura Tracker has been added to the Court Record.*
"Thanks, Simone!" K-Sha said happily. "I think this'll really help us out! Right, Miss Rei?"
"I c-certainly hope so..." the lawyer nodded. "I g-guess we should b-begin our search at P-Paler Sunscreen Factory... seeing as T-Tom Hall was a worker th-there... We'll p-probably have t-to ask for p-permission, though."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get this recon mission underway!" K-Sha exclaimed.
"I wish you both good luck," Simone stated.
November 13
Paler Sunscreen Industries
Parking Lot
Rei couldn't help but note that there were a lot more cars in the area compared to yesterday. (So much for re-checking the crime scene...) She then noticed a familiar face standing outside.
"That's Vlad Paler, isn't it?" K-Sha noted. Taking out the aura tracker, she scanned him discreetly, but it showed no reaction whatsoever.
"W-well, that's c-convenient, seeing as we n-need t-to ask him for p-permission t-to search th-the p-premises anyway..." Rei said as they approached. "E-excuse me, Mr. Paler?"
The well-dressed man turned at hearing his name. "Oh, it's you again. I assume vat because you're here, vat you kept vat vool voman from being convicted today..."
"...Sounds he didn't hear about what happened at the end of trial today," K-Sha observed.
"Vat are you talking about?" Vlad raised an eyebrow.
"Well, blah-blah-blah..." K-Sha began.
"...yadda yadda yadda, and then he burst into flames!" Rei finished.
"VAT?! How did such a ving happen?!" Vlad gasped in shock. "Are you sure vat vas really holy vater, and not something more dangerous?!"
"I t-talked t-to the p-priest who originally b-blessed the water t-to b-begin with," Rei said, pulling a sheet of paper from her briefcase.
*Priest's Affidavit handed over to Vlad Paler.*
"Let me see..." the pale man muttered as he looked over the paper. "Oh, even Lady Noire herself has signed this...? Vell, if I cannot trust the vords of the goddess herself, vho can I trust?"
"That's right, sir," K-Sha nodded happily. "You can always trust Noire to keep her word~"
Rei promptly snapped her fingers in front of her companion's face to bring her back to reality, before stating, "Anyway, sir, d-do you know anything about T-Tom Hall? His b-background, w-what he's b-been d-doing recently..."
"I don't know him personally," Vlad shrugged, "but vhen he vas retained as a vitness, I looked at his record in the payroll... he seemed to be an average employee at best... usually punctual, it vould seem..."
"Probably why the vampire targeted him, because he was 'under the radar', in a sense," K-Sha theorized.
"P-possibly..." Rei shrugged. "Anyway, Mr. Paler, we would like y-your p-permission t-to search Mr. Hall's effects at th-the f-factory here..."
"You two ladies vish to enter the men's locker room?" the CEO deadpanned.
"W-we p-promise not t-to p-peep at anybody...!" the lawyer stammered, blushing a little.
"That's right! My heart belongs to Noire and Noire alone!" K-Sha said firmly. "Besides, I'm a master of stealth, so those men won't even know we're there..."
"Hmmm..." Vlad pondered for a bit. "Oh, very vell then. But I vill hold you to your vord on vat." He then told them Hall's locker number.
"Th-thank you very much, sir," Rei bowed in gratitude. "Let's go, K-Sha..."
November 13
Paler Sunscreen Industries
Men's Locker Room
An NPC male walked out of the shower, with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. As he made his way to his clothes locker, his eye caught sight of a large yet nondescript box sitting by the entrance. "Strange... is that the delivery of new uniforms?" Shrugging it off, he went ahead and dressed himself, before walking out of the room.
"(...Okay, I think we're clear,)" a voice whispered from inside the box, which abruptly lifted up, revealing K-Sha and Rei inside. "Good thing I had a box big enough for both of us..."
"I c-can't believe th-that actually worked..." Rei sighed as she stood up.
"You'd be surprised how often it does work," the ex-mercenary shrugged, before starting to look around. "Right, so where's Mr. Hall's locker?"
"L-let's see..." Rei mumbled as she scanned the numbers in each row. "Oh, here we are..." She turned and walked down the row of lockers until coming to one that matched the number she was given. "Th-this is it... th-there's no lock, s-so we should b-be OK..."
So the duo opened the locker and looked through it, unfortunately failing to find anything of note. "Well, that was a waste of time," K-Sha moaned in despair. "So now what do we do?"
"Not necessarily... you d-do still have th-that aura t-tracker, right?" Rei pointed out.
"Oh!" the student gasped, pulling out the device in question. "Of course... we can use this!" Turning it on, the screen showed a small amount of dark aura around the locker. "Hmm... so he did access this locker after becoming the vampire's thrall..." Turning, she gasped as the screen suddenly showed a stronger reaction. "Oh, there's something this way!"
"L-lead the way then... b-but keep your voice down," Rei cautioned. So the two followed the source of the stronger reaction, soon winding up at a different locker. Unfortunately, this one had a padlock on it...
"Uh-oh," K-Sha groaned, "I guess we don't have probable cause to break in, do we?"
"..." Rei bit her lip as she considered her options. "K-Sha, make sure no one's coming..."
"Um, OK, but why?" the ex-yandere asked as she walked back toward the entrance. "I don't hear anyone coming..." Suddenly there was a bright flash, causing K-Sha to turn back, beholding Rei's HDD form! "Wh-what are you doing?!"
"Pipe down, maggot," Chaos Heart growled as she concentrated energy in her finger... *Wha-P-SHING!* The padlock was cut off, falling to the ground with a thud as the CPU pulled out the metal loop.
"Wh-what are you doing?! That's breaking and entering!" K-Sha gasped in dismay. "We won't be able to use any evidence we find in court now...!"
"Only if they can find proof that we broke in," Chaos Heart countered as she held the pieces of the broken lock in her hand... which were suddenly disintegrated by a red ball of energy. That done, the energy dissipated as Rei reverted to normal. "No lock, no proof."
"Th-that's still kinda iffy, I think..." K-Sha grunted in mild disbelief. Meanwhile in Planeptune, IF sneezed.
"You forget, I'm an ex-villain, peon, so is it really surprising that I would take some morally ambiguous actions?" Rei pointed out. "A-anyway, let's see wh-what we've g-got..." So the lawyer went ahead and opened the locker...
...only to spot something she never expected to see- a metal crucifix and small spiked metal ball, joined together by a length of chain. "Wh-what the-?!"
"Ah! This is...!" K-Sha gasped in shock. "...Simone's weapon- the consecrated Combat Cross! And look- there's a small amount of blood on it, just like she said!"
*Simone's Combat Cross has been added to the Court Record.*
(Simone's vampire killer weapon?! But what was it doing here?!) Rei wondered. "K-Sha, you've got Noire's number, right? Call her and tell her to get Detective Thomas down here at once!"
"OK!" the Gold Third member agreed, pulling out her cell phone...
*A short while later...*
"Have no fear, the police are here!" Harold Thomas announced as he and several forensic personnel entered the locker room area.
"About damn time!" a male NPC complained. "These two ladies won't let us go in to get our stuff! Something about 'protecting evidence' or whatever crap!"
"Like I already said, we're just doing what Noire told us to do until he got here!" K-Sha asserted.
"Alright, calm down," Thomas waved his hands in a 'down, boy' motion. "Look, if your locker's not in the row where they found the evidence, then we'll probably let you get your stuff. Otherwise, you're gonna have to wait a bit longer. Now then," he turned to address Rei and K-Sha, "where's this evidence you two found?"
"Over here!" K-Sha gestured as she and Rei led them to the locker. "We made sure not to touch anything after we opened the locker..."
"M-my f-fingerprints should only b-be on th-the latch," Rei added.
"Alright then," the detective nodded, suddenly stopping upon seeing the contents of the locker. "A morning-star whip?!"
"That's right! Simone's whip, the one that went missing!" K-Sha stated.
"Really? ...But if that's the case, what was it doing here?" Thomas grunted with a hand behind his head as the forensics team silently went into action, taking photographs and fingerprints.
"Maybe that Tom Hall guy switched it with the real murder weapon to nail Simone in court!" the ex-yandere postulated.
"That's impossible!" Harold yelled suddenly. "That evidence locker was absolutely secure! No way that guy could've gotten in! Especially if he was a vampire's zombie puppet or whatever!"
"S-speaking of which," Rei cut in, "D-did you g-get an autopsy report on Mr. Hall y-yet?"
"Not quite yet," the bearded man shrugged. "But Mr. Heinlein ordered him to be put at the top of the list for the medical examiner to check... so we should get it today. Actually... hey, you!" He shouted to the NPC that had just set the Combat Cross in an evidence bag. "How 'bout you take these ladies with you back to the precinct, so they can check on that autopsy?"
"Yessir, Detective Thomas!" the shadow-man saluted.
"Good idea!" K-Sha nodded. "After what happened last time, I'm not letting Simone's whip out of my sight again!"
"Don't worry, I'll make sure this doesn't get lost," the forensic technician shook his head. "But if you're gonna be riding with me, I'd like to have Miss Ryghts riding shotgun."
"W-why me?" the lawyer asked, nonplussed.
"Because I'll feel safer if you're in plain sight," the NPC deadpanned, causing Rei to duck her head and sweat-drop...
November 13
Lastation City Police Headquarters
Forensics Lab
"Got some evidence for you, Miss Lyster," the NPC announced as he, Rei, and K-Sha entered the lab.
"Yeah, sure, just set it on the counter over there," the female lab technician said, not even looking up from her microscope. This the shadow-man did, before bowing and walking out.
"Y-you're not g-going t-to examine it?" Rei questioned.
"In case you haven't noticed, I've got a backlog here," the lady said as she straightened up. Turning to look at the duo, she did a mild double-take upon recognizing the former villain. "...Look, I don't care if you are Rei Ryghts, you have to wait your turn like everyone else, got it?"
"But the trial resumes tomorrow!" K-Sha insisted. "What if you don't get to it before then?! My friend could be wrongly convicted!"
"Not my problem," the spectacled brunette said with an uncaring shrug. "You can take it up with my boss, but I doubt he'll listen to you either..."
Suddenly, K-Sha got an idea, pulling out her cell phone and dialing. "...Hello, Noire~? We're at the forensics lab, but this mean lady doesn't want to look at the evidence we brought in~!"
"Ah-ha, nice try," Lyster rolled her eyes. "You're gonna have to do better than that..."
In response, the schoolgirl pushed the speaker button on her phone before holding it up. "She doesn't believe it's you, Noire..."
"She better believe it's me!" a familiar angry voice shouted from the phone. "You don't wanna make me come down there!"
"WAHHH!" the scientist jumped nearly a foot in the air. "L-L-Lady Noire?! I-I'm so sorry! I thought it was a prank!"
"Does this sound like a prank call to you?!" the CPU angrily retorted. "Now listen here, K-Sha is a very good friend of mine, and I don't appreciate you blowing her off like this! So you better get analyzing that evidence on the double!"
"Y-y-yes ma'am! M-my sincerest apologies! I-I'll get right on it!" Lyster babbled.
"Good! And you better not screw it up! Oh, and K-Sha..."
"Yes, Noire?"
"You had better not start making a habit of this!" the tsundere cautioned. "I'm only sticking my neck out here to make sure justice is properly served! All right?"
"Of course, Noire," K-Sha nodded.
"W-we understand," Rei agreed.
"Alright then. Good luck with your investigation."
"Thank you, Noire~! Bye bye!" K-Sha said before closing her phone. She then took the bag containing the Combat Cross and handed it to the scientist.
"A-anyway, we need this t-tested for f-fingerprints, and a-also th-the blood o-on th-the mace itself," Rei instructed.
"Yeah, yeah, I know what to do," the woman sighed. "It's still gonna take a while, so why don't you ladies go do something else?" Just then, the door opened, Willard Heinlein walking in.
"Ah, Miss Ryghts, there you are," the prosecutor greeted. "I was just called by Detective Thomas about what was going on..."
"W-well, let's take this c-conversation out in th-the hallway, s-so the f-forensic analyst c-can d-do her work," Rei suggested.
"Good idea," Lyster muttered under her breath as the trio exited...
November 13
Lastation City Police Headquarters
Basement Hallway
"So, Thomas said you found Miss Rondo's actual weapon?" Willard began.
"W-we did," Rei confirmed. "It was s-stored in an employee's locker at P-Paler Sunscreen..."
"W-what?!" the prosecutor gasped. "But if that's true, how did it end up there?!"
"Exactly," K-Sha spoke up. "It should've been in the evidence locker where that other mace was! In fact... I kinda hate to say it, but maybe somebody switched the weapons in the evidence locker?"
"Th-that's preposterous!" Willard insisted. "The entrance is securely locked, and monitored 24/7! If someone tried to switch the evidence, they'd be on security tape at least!"
"Well, you'll excuse me if I don't take you at your word, Heinlein," Rei shifted to her HDD personality. "How about we check for ourselves?"
"Gladly! I'll take you there myself!" Willard accepted the challenge...
November 13
Lastation City Police Headquarters
Evidence Locker
The actual door to where the evidence was stored was a sturdy chain-link door secure with a lock and chain. Willard promptly walked up to the lock and tugged on the chain, which jiggled but did not give. "See? As secure as ever! You can't even argue that some vampire with super-strength broke in!"
K-Sha looked over the door critically. "Wait a minute..." Walking to the other side, the ex-mercenary pulled at the hinges- which abruptly pulled apart, opening the door! "Ah-ha! I thought so!"
"What?!" Willard screeched in disbelief.
"HAAA-hahahahahaha!" Rei laughed in triumph. "Looks like it wasn't nearly as secure as you thought, worm! So it's very possible that the morning stars were switched!"
"Aaaarrgh!" The white-haired man gritted his teeth. "Damn that stupid detective, he told me everything was fine! He's looking at a pay cut for this oversight!"
"HOLD IT!" K-Sha suddenly shouted. "Um, if that security camera's still working," she pointed at the camera in question, "We should have the culprit on tape, right?"
"...ah, good thinking, Miss K-Sha," Willard calmed somewhat. "Very well then. To the security office!"
"W-wait for me!" Rei said as she jogged to catch up...
November 13
Lastation City Police Headquarters
Security Office
The guard attempted to prevent Rei from entering, only for Willard to state, "She's with me."
The NPC blinked in disbelief. "Sir, with all due respect-"
"I said she's with me. And yes, I know who she is."
"...yessir." The guard reluctantly stood aside, allowing Rei and K-Sha to enter. "But if she goes berserk and levels the place, it's not my fault..." Rei could only sigh and sweat-drop at this.
"I know how you feel," K-Sha sighed. "There are still some people who think I'm going suddenly whip out my machine gun and fill everyone with lead for a minor slight..."
"You did leave your weapons at the lobby, I hope," Heinlein said as he sat down at the computer to access the camera logs.
"O-of course I did!" the ex-yandere insisted. "I know better than to break the rules at the police station!"
"Just checking," Willard nodded. "Okay, here we are... evidence locker footage... date, November 10. We'll start here and fast forward until we see something suspicious..." This he did, going through the 10th and the 11th... but then the footage blacked out briefly. "Whoa!" He stopped and rewound a bit... "What the heck?! It blacks out around midnight on the 11th and 12th!"
"T-try forwarding it t-to where th-the b-blackout c-clears up," Rei suggested.
"Alright," the prosecutor agreed, doing as told... "looks like it clears up about 12:30..." rewinding to that point, the trio watched closely... suddenly the blackness seemed to be swept aside by a janitor on a ladder, his cap pulled low to hide his eyes.
"There!" K-Sha pointed. "Right behind that guy- I saw wings flapping! I think it was a bat!"
"A bat got in and roosted on the camera?!" Wilard muttered in disbelief.
"Or maybe it was a vampire bat," Rei hypothesized. "If you know what I mean..."
"Oh please," Heinlein ducked his head, "despite what happened in the courtroom earlier today, I'm not going to accept a vampire was involved in the evidence locker break-in without solid proof... anyway, I'm going to have a copy made of this tape. It might be useful for evidence later..."
"Y-you'll g-give us a c-copy too, right?" Rei requested.
"Of course."
*Security Camera Footage has been added to the Court Record.*
November 13
Lastation City Police Headquarters
Parking Lot By Front Entrance
"So what should we do now?" K-Sha asked.
"Well," Rei stretched, "we probably should go back to your apartment for now, and see if we can make anything of the evidence we've gathered..."
*BWEEP! BWEEP! BWEEP! BWEEP!*
"Wahhh!" the lawyer jumped a half-foot in the air. "W-what was th-that?!"
"It's the aura tracker!" K-Sha pulled out the device in question. "It's detected a vampire nearby!"
"I-it did?!" Rei gasped in surprise. "Where does it say?!"
"Umm... this way!" K-Sha pointed the two promptly running in that direction... however, when they came to the corner of a building where the path branched into two alleyways, the schoolgirl came to a stop. "Umm... it seems to have lost the trail..."
"How about you t-take the left alley, and I'll t-take the r-right?" Rei suggested.
"You want us to split up?" K-Sha questioned. "But what if one of us gets ambushed? I have my guns, but..."
"I've g-got this," the bluenette held up the jar of holy water, "a-and my HDD, a-as a last resort."
"...Well, OK," K-Sha agreed after a moment. "Just keep your eyes peeled..."
"I will," Rei promised as they separated...
November 13
Lastation City- Dark Alleyway
(Doesn't seem like there's many places to hide around here...) the ex-villain thought to herself as she slowly made her way down the alley... She then heard a noise coming from a dumpster a short distance away. Cautiously approaching, Rei readied the holy water, gingerly placing one hand under the lid and lifting it...
-and screaming in surprise as a rat jumped out, which quickly scurried away. "G-good grief, d-don't scare me like that!" Rei put a hand to her chest as she sighed in relief...
Only for something- no, someone to fall on her from behind, causing her to drop the holy water on the ground! "Ahhhh! HELP!" she screamed, only for the mysterious person to choke her by the neck to cut her off. Then the goddess felt a stabbing- no, biting pain in her neck! (The vampire! He's sucking my blood!) But due to the pain, she couldn't focus enough to access HDD, as her vision began to dim...
*BLAM!* A report suddenly rang out, the vampire crying out in pain as he released his victim, Rei putting a hand up to her neck to stop the bleeding... "You leave her alone, vampire!" a familiar voice called out.
(Uni!) Rei realized, hearing more shots ring out, the shadowy figure disappearing from her vision, the lawyer hearing his rapidly fading footfalls, then she was lifted up, a pair of green power-symbol eyes coming into view.
"Rei! Say something! Are you OK?!" Black Sister cried in near-panic. "No, wait, don't talk, I'm gonna get you to the hospital right away! Hold on!" The two began to rapidly rise into the air, the sudden vertigo causing Rei to pass out...
November 13
Lastation City General Hospital
Patient Room 39
Rei Ryghts slowly regained consciousness, staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling, though it seemed a bit out-of-focus... (Oh, my glasses,) she realized, slowly sitting up... only to put a hand to her neck as it throbbed in pain from the sudden movement. But now she could feel a bandage where she'd been bitten... The lawyer then realized that she had also been hooked up to an IV drip. Looking to her left, she could make out a small table where her glasses sat, quickly grabbing them and slipping them on, as someone came through the door- an NPC nurse. "Oh, Miss Ryghts! You're awake! How are you feeling?"
"A little lightheaded..." Rei groaned after a moment. "And my neck hurts... Um, wh-where's Uni? ...a-and K-Sha?"
"They're waiting outside, I'll go get them," the nurse nodded, turning and leaving.
A few minutes later, the two girls came in. "Rei, are you okay?" Uni asked.
"I th-think so..."
"Oh, Miss Rei, I'm so sorry!" K-Sha lamented, tear streaks visible on her face. "This is all my fault! If only we hadn't separated...!"
"N-no, I'm the one who suggested s-splitting up," the lawyer pointed out. "A-at least now we know w-why th-the aura t-tracker lost the t-trail... th-the vampire must've c-climbed up t-to th-the roof..."
"And then he got the drop on you," Uni finished. "Good thing I got finished with my Quest when I did... I'd wanted to help you out with your investigation... I didn't even get a good look at the guy..."
"Y-you helped out p-plenty," Rei countered.
"Indeed you did, Lady Uni," said an NPC doctor as he entered the hospital room. "Fortunately for you, Miss Ryghts, you only lost a little over a pint of blood- not much more than you would donate at a blood drive. Still, I would recommend no strenuous activity for at least 48 hours, and drink plenty of fluids."
"Oh, that reminds me," Uni cut in, "Noire wanted me to tell you that Mr. Heinlein was willing to get the trial delayed until you were better..."
"...but standing in court isn't exactly strenuous activity, is it?" Rei pointed out.
"Not exactly..." the doctor admitted. "But the way your trials are said to turn out sometimes-"
"Silence, maggot!" the ex-villain cut him off with a glare. "This is personal now. I'll stay the night for observation, but come tomorrow morning, I'm heading to the courtroom come hell or high-water! Got it, worm?!"
"A-as you wish," the NPC agreed, quickly backing away and exiting.
"Well, I can fly you over to court tomorrow, so you don't overexert yourself getting there," Uni offered.
"That'll work," Rei agreed, before suddenly feeling dizzy, flopping back on her pillow. "I c-could use some w-water, p-please..."
"I'll get some!" K-Sha said, quickly leaving to do just that.
"I'll be heading back to the Basilicom," Uni said. "Noire wanted an update on your condition..."
Rei nodded, waving her off. (Damn vampire... he's going to pay for trying to suck me dry... one way or another, tomorrow I'm going to expose that maggot in court! Hopefully he resists, because I would just love having a justification to transform and kick his undead ass! You just wait... you're going to learn what it mean to cross an ex-final boss!)
*To be continued...*