Miles Edgeworth was having a hell of a night. Literally.
Earlier that day, he had received a frantic phone call from Phoenix Wright, pleading that he had to come with him to some mysterious house. He claimed it was to save his children.
He had grudgingly (and foolishly) agreed to help Phoenix, ended up parking his now much less beautiful sports car in the middle of the woods, and wound up with more of a mess than he cared to deal with on a Saturday evening.
Despite his current disgruntlement, he followed Phoenix into the next room, dreading what 'horrors' he would find.
The room seemed oddly calm.
It appeared to be an old fashioned dressing room. Rows of dressers and large mirrors lined the hallway. Old ball-gowns and discarded shoes littered the chairs and floor. Edgeworth couldn't say what it was, but something about this place seemed off.
Despite the continuously growing uneasy feeling he had in his stomach, he continued to press forward, determinedly following the trail of footsteps with Phoenix. One cluster of steps… then another… then…
Out of the corner of his eyes, something flashed brightly.
Edgeworth whipped around, shining the flashlight behind him. Nothing was there.
"Miles, are you ok?" Phoenix asked, a concerned look in his eyes.
He grumbled, "Don't call me that, Wright. And yes, I'm fine." Edgeworth hesitated for just a moment more before steadfastly continuing to follow the prints into the next room.
They appeared to be standing in the servant's quarters. Rows of cheap looking beds and nightstands lined the barren walls. Light streamed in through long and narrow windows. At the end of the room, a large standing mirror was affixed to an ornate metal upholstery.
Phoenix followed the prints to the mirror and stopped. "They end here."
"They what?" Edgeworth asked, even though he had clearly heard Phoenix. Leaning over, he followed the steps with his flashlight all the way up to the mirror, where they clearly stopped.
"This… this is creeping me out…" Phoenix's voice was tense next to him. When Edgeworth looked over, he could see the other man's eyes practically bugging out of his head. "Trucy… Apollo… you can't just disappear!"
"Calm down Wright. Acting like a fool won't get us anywhere." Edgeworth commanded. Then, realizing that he was perhaps being a bit harsh on someone who likely believed his children were dead, he said in a somewhat more gentle voice. "They probably aren't dead."
"Miles, you're not helping!" While Edgeworth decided that it was futile to get Phoenix to call him by his surname, the man scrambled behind the mirror, likely checking to see if the prints continued. From the agonized cry of despair, it was clear that there weren't any. "Where could they have gone?"
"Did it occur to you that perhaps we followed the wrong set of footprints?" Edgeworth suggested, sighing. He held out his hand to Phoenix, helping him up from the dusty floor behind the mirror. "Look at it this way. Klavier and Ema have probably already found them by now."
"Yeah, you're right." Phoenix seemed to collect himself after that, brushing the dust off his blue clothing. His disposition seemed to brighten, and he said almost cheerfully, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's meet up with them!"
As Phoenix walked down the moonlit room, Edgeworth smiled for a moment. It was just like Wright, to panic so quickly and in a moment's time turn that around.
Hands grabbed him and pulled him back.
Edgeworth wasn't entirely certain of what happened after that, but darkness seemed to envelop him, and he struggled just to breathe. It felt like he was being pulled through the arctic crust of a ice-covered lake.
Frozen needles seemed to prick him from everywhere. He gasped, willing his eyes open. In the distance, he saw a very blurry and distorted image of Phoenix, walking away. He wanted to reach for him, to call out his name, but he couldn't even move.
Phoenix's image disappeared into darkness. From behind him, he felt icy breath on his neck and heard a chilling whisper, "I know what you fear most, Miles Edgeworth… and your friend Phoenix Wright for that matter… neither of you will make it out of this house with your sanity…"
Just when he thought he could take no more, he was shoved back through the cold crystalline layer again and fell coughing to the dusty floor.
"Tell him Dollie says hello…" The chilling whisper echoed in his head.
Phoenix was by his side immediately. "Miles! What's wrong?!"
"I…" Edgeworth clutched his head, looking behind him.
Only the mirror sat in silent solace.
He shook his head and gasped once more, allowing Phoenix to help him stand up. "Let's get out of this room."
"Agreed." Phoenix nodded, sliding an arm underneath the other man's shoulder to help him walk away.
Franziska Von Karma was less than impressed. Not only was the house far from scary, but Gumshoe withered like a cowardly dog on the floor every time anything remotely frightening happened. Like seeing his own reflection in a mirror.
"Fool! Stop cowering like the foolishly foolish fool you are!" She shrieked, lashing her whip at the pathetic man.
It seemed to give him courage, because he stood up again quickly. "Yes, Ms. Von Karma!"
They had taken the grand staircase to the upper floor. Once upstairs, they had entered the first large promising door to the left and found themselves immediately in a spacious bedroom. Simple quilted bedspreads covered a rather plain bed. The white draperies around the windows blew into the room occasionally from the wind outside, which seemed to be chilling the police detective.
Gumshoe had already begun to cower like a fool next to her, muttering, "That wooshing sound, can't you hear it?"
Franzika turned a shrewd glare on him. "No. Unlike you with your foolish ways, I don't believe in ghosts."
She knew that was it. She was strong, and perfect in every way, unlike that fool Phoenix Wright and his foolish friends.
Miles Edgeworth was quickly becoming one of those fools, she noted with a frown. She would have to change that later.
Room after uneventful room passed by. They ventured through creaky hallways, a research laboratory, and even up into a high tower. Gumshoe wailed and whimpered in every room like the foolishly pathetic scruffy fool he was.
Franziska was still unimpressed.
LateNiteSlacker:
I hope you are not as unimpressed as Franziska.
As I promised, I've updated today. You're welcome!
Please review with your love or hate (and any ideas you may have!) :)