All of the Ace Attorney characters belong to Capcom, not me. I only own Rebecca and a few others
Chapter 5
A/N: Screw my boring author's notes, this time I'm just going to shut up and let you read.
16 YEARS EARLIER:
"Hey, Becca?"
I felt my best friend Melissa's bony finger prodding the flesh of my arm repeatedly in an attempt to get my attention. I eventually got fed up with her constant bothering and answered her.
"What is it, Mel?"
She immediately directed my attention towards a scene unfolding on the opposite side of the school playground where a small crowd was beginning to gather. It only took me a few seconds to deduce what was going on. And when I did, I couldn't resist letting out a sigh of annoyance.
(Just when I thought today couldn't get any worse..)
There they were yet again. Drew Hill and his crew were at it once more. For the third day in a row. As if this hadn't gone on long enough already.
I rolled my eyes in frustration and ventured closer to see what was going on today, with Mel following closely behind. Their latest victim, a small boy with black hair that stuck out from the back of his head in porcupine-like spikes, was crouched in the same corner as he had been the day before cowering away from the four older kids with tears glistening in his charcoal eyes.
Because of his abnormal hairstyle and his name, Felix or something, I can't really remember, he was now a target for the gang, unfortunately. Since he was different, he was currently getting picked on by Drew, who saw the fact that this kid was unwilling to fight back as a perfect opportunity to have some 'fun'.
"Well, look who it is boys, it's the little Phoenix. Thought you could hide from us today, huh? That we wouldn't find you if you hid in a different corner of the playground? Well, guess what? You thought WRONG."
(Phoenix! That was it. I knew it was something unusual..)
Hearing his name, Phoenix looked up and froze in fear at the four boys above him, pushing himself further into the corner of the wall where he was sat, clearly wanting to be as far away from the gang as possible.
Noticing this, Drew couldn't resist the opportunity to tease him a bit and get him warmed up for what was to come, which couldn't have been anything good. He shook his head and put on a fake sympathetic expression and started to speak in a tone to match it, lowering himself to the younger boy's face level.
"It doesn't look like you can escape from this one, my friend. Your wings are gone and there is no one who can help you now. And don't try to use those spikes on the back of your head to fend us off or frighten us away, because all we'll do is laugh at you for being pathetic, alright?" If he wasn't so tall and frightening and if he tweaked some of his words at points, what he just said to the younger boy could have been seen as reassuring and believable however the smirk that appeared on his face and the way that he glared at the kid after he had finished speaking confirmed to me and everyone else that he was just being sarcastic. Like he always is.
(He always does this before striking, this can't end well...)
"P-Please, don't h-hurt m-me" Phoenix whimpered softly, covering his head in what I assumed was either an attempt to hide his tear strewn face or to protect himself. I wasn't sure, but I did know for a fact that he was terrified out of his wits. The poor kid only looked about seven years old and because the other boys were 4 years older than him, they significantly towered above him and could definitely overpower him since he was both outnumbered and weaker than they were.
The bully stood up again before speaking. "Well, we promised that you would walk away unharmed yesterday and the day before that but I'm afraid.." Drew paused for a moment as he put his hands together and pushed his palms forward, his knuckles making a cracking noise that made both me and the boy on the ground flinch. "..that today, we probably won't be able to keep that promise."
Phoenix gasped in horror and started to shiver, muffled whines of fear escaping his mouth as he did so. Smirking at the sight of his suffering, the bullies began to advance forwards, in a formation that would trap the kid should he attempt to run away from his inevitable fate. The boy buried his face into his own lap, sobs emerging from his quivering form. He was helpless right now and he knew it. All he could do was sit and wait for the bullies to do their dirty work for today and leave, he didn't have any other option. For a second, I was surprised that none of his friends had gone over to help him or back him up or something but then, I remembered.
No one had ever been brave enough to do that.
Drew's gang was so feared by all the kids at this school that he was just left to his own devices to do whatever he wanted to. There were even a few teachers that I could think of that had ignored him in the past as if he were just a normal kid doing what kids usually do. When in reality, he was far from that. I just wished that someone, anyone, would someday get the courage to stand up to that bully and prevent anymore suffering.
"Oh, that poor boy." I turned to my left to see Mel's fearful face, clearly wishing that she didn't have to bear witness to the events that were bound to come. I couldn't really blame her; we had been forced to watch it so many times before that we were both getting fed up with it now.
(Th-This is wrong. Drew shouldn't be allowed to do this and get away with it like he has done before, someone needs to stop him..)
I surveyed my surroundings and the people contained within them, searching for any potential saviours. However, to my dismay, no one seemed willing to act. Young children were gathered in small clumps near me, all with terrified expressions on their faces. Any teachers walking nearby were acting as if they hadn't witnessed a thing, clearly wanting to avoid yet another confrontation with the school's worst group of bullies by any means necessary. I returned my gaze to Mel who just shook her head and directed her eyes away from mine in an attempt to make me lose interest in her and focus on something else.
(Well, if it's going to be anyone, it's going to have to be me. But, I couldn't possibly try to do anything to a group of boys in the year above me, I wouldn't stand a chance.)
"Uh, Becca? Are you okay?"
My feelings must have started to show in my facial expressions because Mel was beginning to inquire after me. I just ignored her as I focused on the small boy in the centre of the circle of bullies.
(Phoenix, he doesn't deserve this. What has he ever done to Drew? Nothing, that's what. And yet, this is what he gets in return. It's just...HORRIBLE!)
The anger was burning up inside of me, I could feel my face gradually getting warmer and redder with every breath I took. I started grunting softly and I gritted my teeth in frustration at seeing this sight unfold before me.
(They can't just do this to people, it isn't fair! Just because he's younger and weaker than them! Why-)
"Becca, seriously I'm starting to worry about you. Please, answer me."
And then, I had an incredible feeling. It was like nothing I had ever felt before and I was overcome by how strong and sudden it was. I instantly felt determined, strong, courageous, like nothing could stop me. I felt like I could do anything. Even though it was only for a second, it felt like time had stopped around me.
It was in that split second that I decided what I was going to do.
The bullies were approaching their victim slowly, as if to make it as painful for him as possible, and I decided to use this to my advantage. Since I was spectating from quite a distance, I knew that I would have to move closer.
"Mel, wait here for a sec, okay?"
Leaving her questioning the meaning of what I had just told her, I moved quickly yet stealthily across the playground, my footsteps so silent that you could have heard a pin drop, until I was as near as I dared to go to the scene. Then, when the bullies got within an arm's reach of Phoenix, I did something that nobody else had ever dared to do, something that I wouldn't have had the courage or strength to do at any other moment.
"STOP!"
I shouted as loud as I could towards the bullies, causing all four to turn to look at me. Upon hearing my scream, the boy curled up in a ball in front of them also lifted up his head, staring at me with his dark grey eyes in shock and wonder.
When Drew saw that it was me who had shouted out to him, he simply shook his head, laughing at me as if I was stupid, which I probably seemed to everyone else around me (including Mel), who were all now staring at me in pure shock. While elbowing one of his minions, the one closest to his right side, Drew sneered "Not to worry boys, it's just little Becky, what harm could she do to us? She would never DARE do anything to defy us, she wouldn't have the guts."
(Stay calm Bec, don't let him get to you..)
Resisting the sudden urge I had to run the last few metres separating me from them and wipe that sadistic smirk of Drew's smug-ass face, I maintained my control over my raging emotions as I simply responded with a small smile.
"Want me to take you up on that, Drew?"
The people around us gasped in surprise at what I had just said to the most feared kid in the whole school, with Mel's concerned shouts rising above all of the others. The boy himself just laughed in disbelief.
"You? Take on me? Pssh! I'd like to see you try." He then started howling with laughter, his followers doing what they did best and copying their leader immediately after. This just enraged me even more.
For that short moment, I suddenly lost my control over myself and couldn't resist any longer. I took the opportunity I had just received and rushed forward while they were all still doubled over with laughter. Adrenaline overpowering my body, I ran faster than I had ever ran before towards the centre of the group.
Towards Drew.
Before I knew what I was doing, I had done the unthinkable. All of my anger showed itself at that moment, all that had built up from the past few years of watching Drew tease and hurt others with words and violence. All of that suffering I had seen, every bit of it caused by that one stuck-up, hurtful, inconsiderate bully. I just couldn't take anymore of it.
So...I punched him. Hard. In the face.
The gasps of the small crowd that had gathered around us intensified and echoed throughout the playground as Drew clutched his right eye. As I recoiled, I looked at him to see what damage I had done and grinned triumphantly at what I saw.
His eye and right cheek had already started swelling up from the blow. When he took his huge hand away from his face, redness and what would eventually become bruising was clearly visible over the area which had collided with my left fist.
(Huh, I never knew that I was strong enough to do something like that. And to someone a year OLDER than me! Wow..)
His gang-mates simply stared at me, wide eyed with shock over what I had just done to their leader. Clearly frightened at the thought of what I could potentially do to them, they began to cower in fear and hide themselves as if to try to escape from the situation that had just presented itself in front of them, in the form of a 10 year old girl. And I must say, their faces were priceless to see. I glanced behind me for a second to observe my best friend's reaction. She was, in a word, stupefied. And little Phoenix, well, his face was a mix of relief and pure astonishment, which I suppose is only natural since he had just come extremely close to a severe beating.
(I suppose if I hadn't have intervened, he'd be the one with the black eye right now, poor kid. I must look like some kind of hero to him, for stopping Drew. It's a good feeling, knowing that I just saved someone, I like it. Maybe I should do stuff like this more often..)
I was broken away from my train of thought by the sight of Drew out of the corner of my eye. He had stopped clutching his eye and had started approaching me and I had to say, he did not look very happy.
I could see the rage portrayed on his half-red/swollen face and as he came closer to me, I noticed a small, anger fuelled twitch beneath his one good eye.
(Oh no, I'm he's going to get me now! Oh, what to do, what's to do...ah!)
I suddenly had a fortunate burst of inspiration from, ironically, Drew himself. I recalled all of the times that he had taunted and bullied people in the past, how he got them worked up through words and threats before actually getting his fists involved. I decided to adopt this strategy to use at this point in time, just to tease and annoy him even more than I already had.
(It's time to give you a taste of your own medicine, Drew Hill!)
"I tried to warn you, Drew but you didn't listen to me and, look where it got you. You ended up with a black eye because of it. Now, let me ask you, how does it feel to get your butt whipped by a girl? Or, even better, a girl who is YOUNGER THAN YOU?" As I began to put my little strategy into place, I could practically feel the anger seething off of him and my god, did it feel good. And even though his pace was quickening and he was looking more and more like a bull charging towards a matador (a.k.a me), I refused to back down. I was going to stand my ground against this...this BULLY.
"Well, now you know how all of those kids feel. All of those innocent, harmless little kids who you taunted just because they were smaller and more vulnerable than yourself. People like you disgust me, thinking that you own the place just because you are in the highest year of this school when really, you're just like the rest of us. Just. A. Kid."
I was cut off there by Drew rugby tackling me to the floor, shoving my back against the uneven tarmac and pinning me there. I felt an intense throbbing pain collect in my spine and threaten to make me scream however I clamped my mouth shut with my lips to prevent any screams from emerging.
(No. Be brave, Becs, don't give in to him.)
I attempted to push myself up from my position on the ground without any success. Drew's iron grip had me stuck there. I wriggled around as much as I could in order to free myself only to end in failure there too. Drew's smirk reappeared on his swollen face, satisfied that he had finally regained the advantage.
"How dare you defy me! Just who do you think you are?!" He screamed just inches away from my ear, the volume of his enraged voice causing me to flinch.
However, I would not be beaten. I stood my ground and simply flashed him a small smile despite the pain in my back injury.
"D-Do whatever you want to me...Drew. Now that people have seen that...you're n-not as powerful as you th-think you...are, more will follow me. Once one kid s-stands up to you, all of them will."
I had gritted my teeth to make my words sound more serious but my voice still came out pained and wavering, tinged slightly with fear. I may have injured him a bit but he was still the strongest kid in the school and he could still hurt me a whole lot more than I had hurt him. I had already been injured once and in this position, he could quite easily strike again.
As I had expected, his reaction to what I had said wasn't a good one. He grunted in anger and raised his fist into the air. "Really? You think so? Well, we'll see about that."
(This is it, I'm in for it now.)
I closed my eyes, preparing myself for the devastating blow to my body that was bound to come. The ringing in my ear that would come from a punch to the right side of my face, that's where he was aiming for after all.
(It's okay, it's better that it's me rather than Phoenix. I deserve it more than he does.)
However, the next sound I heard wasn't my own screams or Drew's taunting voice; it was something else entirely.
It was a new voice; not mine or Drew's, someone else's.
"Hey, g-get off her! Leave her alone!"
(Wh-What?)
I cautiously reopened my eyes to see a sight that I would never have expected. Phoenix was charging towards me and Drew, his little feet pounding the ground at an incredible speed. Once he reached us, he jumped on the back of Drew's right leg where his joint was, exuding all of the force he could onto that single weak point.
"ARGH! Why you little-" Drew exclaimed in pain as he turned to face Phoenix. As he did, I realised that his grip on my waist had loosened. I began to kick at him and wriggle with all of my remaining strength, trying utilise this opportunity and escape.
But Drew was too quick for me.
He focused all of his strength back into his arms, pushing me back to the ground with even more force than before.
He tutted at me, wagging a single finger in front of my face. "Ah, ah, ah, don't you be going anywhere."
In the background, I heard a faint sigh, presumably Phoenix's, at witnessing my failed escape. Maintaining his hold on me this time, Drew turned his head towards the rest of his group and growled at them in frustration.
"Well, don't just stand there then. Get him!"
The bullies, slightly taken aback by their leader's sudden command, each gave a nod obediently in our direction before facing the small boy behind Drew and smirking wickedly. Phoenix gasped in fright as his whole body started to shake with fear. He began to retreat backwards, getting closer to where I was laid. Which gave me an idea.
"Phoenix!" His head snapped in my direction, his eyes wide with terror. While I had his attention I screamed as loud as my coarse throat could take at him to run away. He nodded quickly at me and shot me a faint smile before taking off onto the school field away from his three pursuers. I smiled in relief.
(He'll be safe now; I'm sure he'll be able to outrun those three bumbling idiots. I'm glad he listened to me.)
Drew faced me again, his eyes filled with hatred and a thirst for revenge. He balled up a fist for the second time and lifted his arm into the air. My smile instantly disappeared once again from my face.
"Now, where were we?"
(Oh god, I forgot about my own situation. I'm still going to get punched! Well, nothing to do now but take it.)
This time, I didn't close my eyes because, before I had chance to do so, my ears picked up the distant sound of another set of footsteps approaching us. Drew apparently noticed them too because he looked up from me, his fist still frozen in the air. I tilted my head, following his eyes, to get a glimpse of the mystery person but couldn't twist my neck far enough. But there was no need because whoever it was soon came within my line of vision. I gasped at who I saw approaching Drew because it was the last person I had ever expected to see.
"M-Mel?"
My best friend, my timid, shy yet caring best friend was stood face to face with Drew with her face screwed up in anger. Her pretty blue eyes were filled to the brim with anger, her brow was furrowed and she was breathing extremely heavily. Her features were twisted into a mask of rage, her eyes containing that same desire that Drew's had only minutes earlier. That same desire for revenge. However, Drew didn't seem to be fazed at all by her demeanour. He plastered a fake smile onto his face.
"Ah, if it isn't timid little Melanie. Now, what do you want?"
If it was possible, Mel got even angrier upon hearing Drew calling her that. I could have sworn that I noticed smoke emerging from her ears. She took a deep breath and flashed her eyes to the floor, clearly a bit scared about what could happen to her if she reacted.
(Come on Mel, keep it together. You can do this.)
After exhaling, her eyes lifted back up to meet Drew's. "I-I want you to give me my best friend back!"
Then, for the second time that day (and probably in his life), Drew Hill got hit by a girl who was younger than he was.
Mel's right hand swung round, coming into contact with Drew's sore cheek from my punch earlier and creating a smacking noise that made me flinch.
"Aargh!"
One of Drew's hands reached up and touched the impacted area, his face contorted in pain. Seeing he was distracted, Mel turned to me.
"Becca, run!" He shouted, a sense of urgency in her tone.
I thrashed around until I had completely freed myself of Drew's grip. I jumped to my feet and quickly pumped my fists in the air in triumph, my wavy brown locks of hair bouncing around my face.
(Finally! Freedom, at last!)
As I began to swiftly retreat, I noticed Mel lowering herself to Drew's face level, shaking her head in disappointment at his crumpled form. Then, just before I was out of earshot, I heard her say something else to him, her voice filled with newfound confidence.
"Oh, and don't call me Melanie. It's not my name, you know."
I felt myself start to giggle at Mel's snarky little comment as I listened to her footsteps pounding harder and faster against the playground floor. She quickly caught up to me and as soon as she entered my peripheral vision, I turned my head towards her, my eyes locking onto hers, and shot her the largest grin I could manage. I then raised my arm, palm facing her, asking for a high five. Her hand met mine with a smack. Recoiling almost simultaneously, we shared another grin as we approached the field.
"Great job Mel, that was awesome! Now, let's go and help Phoenix."
"Okay, th-thanks Becca." She brushed a wisp of strawberry blonde hair out of her face before smiling at me again. Then, we sped off in the direction I remembered Phoenix travelling in as he was chased.
Little did either of us know, he would be the one to bring us together again 16 years later.
A/N: How awesome was that?! I bet you didn't know that Rebecca was such a badass, did you? I loved writing this chapter since I had so many ideas for it; hopefully I can keep up this standard of writing for the remaining duration of this book. Anyways, please review telling me your opinion of this book, good or bad I am still happy to hear them. See you in the next chapter!
Gaby :)