(A/N: This is a direct continuation to "Pal" set several months after that particular piece. This is a request from a good friend, known as LavLoki on Deviantart and fearlololoki on Court-Records. net.

Phoenix Wright and related characters belong to Capcom…who are nice people and don't want to sue me.

Challenge: Write a Gumshoe Will Powers sequel to "Pal".)

Saturday night found most people out on dates or at clubs here in the city. It also found one Will Powers, the former star of "The Steel Samurai" and current star of "The Pink Princess", sitting in his dressing room trying to coerce his kitten into coming out from under his couch. Will could practically hear the jokes about his current predicament, as he was crouched down in front of his couch with one arm extended towards his kitten.

There was a slight note of panic in his voice as he spoke, "C'mon Pal, we need to get going before that crazy security lady comes in her again and lectures me for two hours. I don't know about you, but hearing her 'youth today don't act responsible about their pets' lecture for the fifth time this week doesn't sound fun."

Ignoring his owner, Pal remained curled up just out of reach under the couch. As Will talked to him, Pal opened one eye briefly before closing it again and thoroughly ignoring his owner's rising panic.

"Pal, if you don't come out, I'm leaving and YOU can stay with the old bag and listen to her talk all night-"

A blur of black and orange shot out from under the couch and into Will's hands at this statement. Having been left to the mercy of Oldbag before, Pal was more than willing to disobey cat logic and listen to his owner than have to go through THAT again.

Chuckling, Will stood up and pet his small, furry little friend, "Guess you don't like her much either, huh, Pal? Well, I don't blame you; she picks on me all the time. She still hasn't let go of the whole Hammer thing…" Will trailed off before smiling down at Pal, "Anyways, when I go on that publicity tour next weekend Penny said she'd take care of you, how's that sound, little guy?"

Laughing at the contented purr his kitten made in his arms, Will picked up his bag and headed out of his dressing room. Since he'd adopted the little kitten from Detective Gumshoe, he'd found he actually liked staying at his apartment instead of going out and having his self-esteem torn to shreds at some dumpy club. One thing he did NOT like about his furry little roommate, however, was his tendency to want to bury himself in Will's rather wild hair. This habit made the car ride back to his place rather perilous as Pal decided he wanted to spend that ride in Will unruly mane, which was irritating and painful for him, and made his driving somewhat erratic. However, they made it back to his apartment with no injuries or fatalities (with the exception of Will's hair, as he had attempted to pry Pal out of his hair and had failed miserably, resulting in missing hair and scratches on his scalp and hands).

As Will drew closer to his apartment, he noticed one scruffy detective shuffling his feet next to the door.

Will grinned and called down the hall, "Hiya Detective!"

Detective Dick Gumshoe turned around to see who had called out to him and grinned, "Hi, pal! I was just coming over to see the little guy."

Will pointed at his hair, "He right in there."

Gumshoe looked confused until Pal decided to poke his head out of Will's hair.

Gumshoe almost fell over in shock, "You weren't kidding, pal! What's he doing up there?"

Will shook his head, careful not to disturb Pal too much, "He's just developed a habit of sitting there, and I can't get him out without getting scratched up, so I just let his sit there. It was kinda funny when he poked his head out yesterday and spooked the crazy security lady at Global. So do you want to come in, Detective?"

Gumshoe recovered and grinned, "If you don't mind pal."

Will's apartment was small and fairly clean, with the exception of one desk covered in unopened letters and a corner with a cat bed and some toys scattered around. Pal jumped down from Will's hair to the counter, where he was promptly picked up by Gumshoe. Gumshoe sat down on one of the stools next to the kitchen counter and began petting Pal.

"I hope you don't mind me askin', pal, but what are all those envelopes stacked on your desk?"

Will looked over at the stack and shuddered slightly, "Oh, those? They're fan letters. The studio redirects them here, and for some reason, a lot of the fans can't figure out it's a man in the costume, so about three fourths of them are rather disturbing love letters…"

Gumshoe continued petting Pal as he looked at them, "Do you actually open 'em or just let 'em sit there?"

Will wandered into the kitchen and started rummaging around in the fridge, "A few, but they all pretty much say the same thing…Hell, half of them sound like they were written by Sal…"

Gumshoe looked at Will, "Sal?"

"Sal Manella, the director. He came up with the whole 'Pink Princess' idea some time during the Hammer murder trial. He mentioned something about a 'cosplay girl', so I kinda assumed that Mr. Wright's aide, Maya, had something to do with it…"

Gumshoe chuckled, "I wouldn't be surprised. She does dress kind of funny…"

Will looked up, "You want to stay for dinner? I was just going to heat something up…"

Gumshoe brightened visibly, "Yeah! That'd be great, pal. I had my pay cut again, so I've been living off of instant ramen, mainly."

Will pulled a face, "I've done that before…it's not that fun. Well then, I have I really good fish recipe…."

Gumshoe found out that will was a rather good chef, as the fish was indeed excellent. The two of them ended up talking for quite a while, discussing Will's acting career, Gumshoe's job and the mutually abuse both took at their respective occupations.

Around ten or so, Gumshoe stretched and stood up, "Well, pal, I better head home. I've got an early shift tomorrow and the last thing I want is to be late."

As Gumshoe headed for the door, Will nodded and stood as well, "Thanks for coming by, Detective. It's been a while since I had a friend over."

Gumshoe looked at the larger man as he walked over, "you consider me a friend, pal? Really?"

Will grinned and extended his right hand, "Yeah, I do. Drop by anytime detective, Pal and I'd love to see you again."

Gumshoe grinned as well, and caught Will's hand in a hearty shake, "Will do, Pal, will do."

(Reviews welcomed and appreciated.)