I apologize for a little late updates, school is almost starting for me, and I have a few preparations to make. Thank you very much for understanding, but I promised myself that I would definitely finish this story!
Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you drop a review as well.
-drops of jelly
Standard Disclaimer Applies
Second Turnabout
"Are you sure you're okay, Miles Edgeworth?" Franziska looked worried and nervous seeing him tensed while driving.
"I-I-I think I'll be f-fine once we get home." He stammered.
"Pull over and switch with me." She volunteered.
"No, I'm fine Franziska. Trust me." He insisted.
They parked outside the front and went out to the side of the house after hearing faint sounds, but they found something too unexpected.
"Daddy…" the child of magic was sobbing softly, clutching Phoenix Wright's blue blazer, stained with blood at the side.
"What's going on here?" Franziska ran over with Edgeworth who was struck speechless.
"H-he… He was captured… I couldn't stop them…" Apollo Justice stammered, looking a little dazed. He was growing weak at the shock of it all.
"Who's 'them'? What did you see?" Franziska grabbed his collar.
"I-I-I don't know… There was blood, I smelled it. He got wounded, and everything grew dark! I couldn't do anything!" he began to grow unbearably weak, starting to shed a tear or two.
"How… How did you escape Trucy?" Edgeworth began to speak again, after calming himself down.
"Daddy… he pushed me and Polly into the bushes and told us not to say a word. I thought everything was just a game… He told Polly and me that we were going to surprise you when you arrived, Mr. Edgeworth." She cried, hiccuping on every line.
"He knew what was going to happen… and he didn't say a word earlier?! What was he thinking?! That foolishly foolish fool!" Franziska cried, banging her fist onto the wall nearby.
"No… He said something about having to go to your house suddenly. I don't know what came into him, maybe he decided on something on his way back to the offices." Apollo began.
"He… just discovered it on his way back, and decided to meet up with us before this incident would happen? Why didn't he call us?" Edgeworth questioned with guilt.
"Maybe… Mr. Wright didn't want to worry you." Apollo explained.
"Agh! And he got himself injured and kidnapped for that?!" Franziska was almost at the end of her wits. She became annoyed at the fact that she too was worried about him.
"Hello? Yes, Gumshoe… Wright has gone missing. I can't tell you the details yet, but we need a search team after him quickly. He was just abducted now and left no clues, but I know the culprits aren't far from the vicinity yet. Now, we're at my house." Edgeworth began to phone the police.
"I can't believe this… What's going on?" Apollo wiped the tears from his face as he regained composure.
"Maybe… this is connected to the incident recently…" Franziska muttered what she thought, but unknowingly it was audible enough for Apollo to hear. He turned to her.
"What incident?" he inquired.
"Nothing… You both need to get inside and calm down." She led them into the house.
She led them into the living room, turning on all the lights and lighting the fire place.
She went outside to join Miles after.
"… No, please don't spread this. This must NOT leak to the press you hear me?" she heard him huffing the words out.
"Get inside Miles Edgeworth, you will catch a cold." She tapped his shoulder.
He hung up the phone and heaved a stressed sigh.
"Looks like I'm not getting any sleep tonight." He smirked at her half-heartedly.
"He won't die easily, that man. He was stunned by my father, dealt with a professional assassin on a kidnapping, survived a fall from a burning bridge and the cold he caught resulting from that fall, got hit by a speeding car and thrown thirty feet away and even regained his glory after being falsely accused of perjury and falsifying evidence!" she thought of ways to comfort him, quite adorably in fact.
He looked at her for a long time, and pat her head.
"What are you doing, I'm not a child anymore." She pouted.
"You're still the same as always, no matter how much you grow." He sighed.
"WHAT?"
"You have to stay with Apollo and Trucy." He held her shoulders tight.
"And you, Miles Edgeworth?" she glared at him.
"I'm going to be back soon. I just have to know where he is and get him back."
"You know I won't let you go alone!" she barked.
"You have to watch over them." He prompted.
"I can ask Ms. Skye or Adrian to do that for me."
"NO." he cried, frightening her a little and leaving her speechless.
"I… I can't… I can't lose you too. If I make a mistake and lose you… I won't take it… I'll go crazy… I'll…" his grip on her shoulders tightened.
Oh how she wanted to embrace him.
"Calm down Miles Edgeworth. Get a grip on yourself… As you Americans would say." She smiled a little at him.
"Promise me you won't leave me…" he gave her an equally serious look.
"I won't."
"Promise me that you'll stay alive…" he couldn't help but tell her the words he intended to say to her in that lifetime but couldn't until then.
"Of course… you fool." She scoffed.
"Then, Miles Edgeworth… Promise me the same things too."
"I suppose it's fair." He smiled.
"I'll return tomorrow for sure." He placed his hands down, releasing her shoulders.
"Gut." She smirked, saying that German word.
He got inside his car and revved the engine.
"What about dinner?" she knocked on his window.
"I'll have some when I get to the precinct." He looked straight.
"Be careful." He turned once more to her.
"I should be telling you that, fool." She frowned angrily.
He sped away after a few seconds.
She entered the quiet house and found Trucy and Apollo next to each other fighting the sleep away.
"You're both tired. Have you eaten dinner?" she asked hesitantly. She guessed that they might not have the appetite to eat just after that incident.
"I ate something before returning to the offices." Apollo politely replied.
"I'm not hungry…" Trucy was too gloomy to say much. She was still holding on to Phoenix's blazer.
"You both should rest now. It's ten in the evening and you must be both fatigued." Franziska advised them.
"Is it alright for both of us to stay over?" Apollo asked.
"You MUST stay over. No matter what you both have to stick together with me. Miles Edgeworth is scouring the entire city with a search party as we speak and he insisted that we stay together." She replied, taking deep breaths.
"Thank you, Miss von Karma." He thanked her on behalf of himself and Trucy who was still in shock.
Franziska led the two into Miles' guest room on the second floor. She lent Trucy some of her extra clothes which Edgeworth had packed in subconsciously- he packed in too much, and she gave Apollo some of Edgeworth's clothes when he was younger.
"Try your best to sleep well. We're going to find Phoenix Wright." Franziska stroke little Trucy's hair, trying to make an effort to comfort her.
Trucy sniffled and nodded.
"Will you let me hold on to this then?" Franziska motioned her eyes towards Phoenix's bloodstained blazer.
Trucy obediently handed it to her and laid down on the bed.
Franziska decided to use Miles' room while he was out. He only had one guest room in his house and she didn't want to sleep in the living room nor entertainment room. She switched on the dim-toned lights and opened the dark curtains on his large full-length window to shed in some moonlight. She placed her back on a small counter and opened it.
She took some of her things and got inside the bathroom for a warm bath.
She was restless the whole time. She was worried about what could have happened. She had to know…
She put on her ¾ lengthed ruffled, white pajamas and her ruffled night blouse to match, and jumped on to his well-made bed naturally.
She tried to fall asleep, but just couldn't…
After an hour of failed attempts of trying to catch forty winks, she gave up and examined Phoenix Wright's bloody blazer which was placed atop a chair.
The blood on it wasn't too much. The wound wasn't deep for sure. From the hold the knife produced, she determined that he was hit on his side on the lower part of his upper body, but it wasn't too deep a wound.
Still, this made her decide to examine the crime scene. She put on her thick black coat and climbed down the stairs. She put on some warm shoes and stepped outside, to the side of the house where the incident happened.
She examined the whole area carefully and found the bushes where Trucy and Apollo must have been hiding in. The bushes were a good distance from the area where Phoenix had a struggle with the assailants, so if any of the two were to accidentally pop their heads out or fall from the bushes, the criminals wouldn't notice.
Nothing was changed in the scene except for when she and Edgeworth came and left a number of footprints.
She examined the area more carefully and found footprints that she suspected which belonged to Apollo Justice- the prints smaller than Phoenix Wright's. She saw that the prints were scattered. Apollo Justice didn't heed Phoenix Wright's order and decided to help Phoenix Wright after hearing sound of struggle between him and the assailants.
According to Apollo Justice's testimony, stating that everything went dark after he smelled blood, he must have gotten out of the bushes and tried to fight the men hurting Phoenix Wright, but his efforts were to no avail and luckily he was simply hit and not abducted.
Phoenix Wright must have needed two men to restrain him, so they had to leave Apollo Justice alone. They must have been in a hurry since they must have seen Miles Edgeworth's car approaching. He did have the bright headlines on his car that time. She recalled.
She found the precise area where Phoenix Wright had been stabbed. There was a minimal amount of fresh blood on the ground near a window of Edgeworth's house.
She was starting to get an idea of what happened around there. She immediately searched his blazer for any other clues. She found a little memo.
How could this exist? When did he write this?
They planned it all at the Borscht Bowl Club. They targeted you. Sorry it had to be like this, but I'll make you catch these criminals once and for all.
This was intended for Miles Edgeworth… she placed the memo in her pocket angrily.
She stormed back into the house and picked up her cellphone to call someone.
"Hello?... Miss von Karma, we haven't found Mr. Wright yet." Ema's alarmed voice spoke through the phone.
"I need a favor, and don't let anyone, especially Miles Edgeworth know or see you." She began.
"What can I do to help?" Ema asked.
"You must be occupied with the search too, am I wrong?" she asked sternly.
"I am in fact, but…" Ema spoke, until somebody grabbed the phone from her.
"Wenn sie nachforschen werden, habe ich einen ersatz für Fräulein Skye…" Klavier spoke nonchalantly but fondly on the phone.
"Ich benötige jemand, Apollo und Trucy aufzupassen. Ich forsche, ja nach." Franziska responded.
"So sind die Gerüchte, das ist zutreffend, warum Herr Edgeworth Sie nicht uns verbinden ließ…" Klavier commented, realizing the rumors of the serial killings were true and Edgeworth proved that by not letting Franziska join the investigation.
"What the heck did you say?!" Ema blushed, forgetting that she placed her phone on loudspeaker.
Klavier said nothing but let out a playful smirk.
"Sigh… better than nothing. Alright, he said he'll cover for you. I need you to come over and watch Apollo and Trucy since I have some work to do myself. Come to Miles Edgeworth's house now." She instructed Ema.
"Yes, Miss von Karma!" she was surprised then Franziska hung up. It seemed she was in a hurry.
Franziska hurriedly changed her clothes and put on that same coat. She brought along with her Phoenix's blazer and his memo. She didn't want any clues left behind when Miles Edgeworth comes home and decides to come after her. She had to do this herself and she didn't want him to stop her, not now that she had discovered so much.
She took a cab to the first place she could inquire him about- The Borscht Bowl Club.
O-o-O
The next morning, as he promised, he returned to his house. From the frustrated look on his face, no sign of Phoenix Wright has still been found.
He entered the house to find Ema Skye making breakfast.
"Good morning Mister Edgeworth." She politely *bowed to greet him.
(a/n: Japanese reference)
"………No… Tell me she didn't leave!" he started to panic.
"She told me it was important no matter what lately, and Prosecutor Gavin insisted I'd stay here as well." She tried to explain before Miles would throw a fit.
"Did she tell you where she would go?"
"No… And I think she didn't tell anyone else too. I'm really sorry, but why didn't you let her join the investigation, Mr. Edgeworth?" she asked.
"… It's the same reason why Prosecutor Gavin made you come here too." He looked at her, worried.
"Mister Edgeworth… Could it be about the Professional Serial Killings?" she asked in horror. It was going to be her second time involved in a serial killing case. One terrified her half to death enough. She couldn't take a second involvement.
"I'm afraid it might. I haven't found any decisive clues yet… Apollo Justice's testimony was quite vague, but I can tell you… That Phoenix Wright is wounded for sure." He told her.
"It happened here, right Mr. Edgeworth?" Ema looked at him seriously.
"Yes, and I pleaded that no investigation should be made for the meantime. I intend to have Phoenix Wright back to explain everything before we touch anything." He replied.
"Sorry, Mister Edgeworth, but I believe that if we try to investigate now, we may find a clue to his whereabouts." Ema traced a small smile on her lips.
"… Then, maybe we ought to give it a try." His face had a little smile on it too since he knew this was Ema's expertise.
They both went out of the crime scene and searched for clues. They have found the footprints, and had them identified.
Edgeworth had found out the same things as Franziska deducted… He found the bushes, and deducted the same about Apollo Justice's actions, and his failed attempt according to his testimony. They had also found the little amount of blood on the ground with the spray of luminol. It made the stain clearer. Ema created floor plans for notation purposes.
Edgeworth thought there was more to this bloodstain than what meets the eye, but this suspiscion was something he couldn't point his finger at.
*beep beep beep*
It was a text message. Miles Edgeworth casually checked his phone. It must be an update on the search.
It was a picture of a man with green-colored shades and white suit with his back leaned against the same window of Edgeworth's house where the incident happened!
WHITE SUIT!
Men in white suits! They captured those doctors I tell you!
He recalled Phoenix Wright's recent tale.
To make matters worse, on that picture, he saw a reflection of its photographer.
The photographer knew that taking a picture in front of glass will cause a little reflection and have this reflection captured along. The photographer of that picture was on the picture itself!
That alone pulled the trigger.
Miles Edgeworth had established the connection between the Professional Serial Killings and Phoenix Wright's incident.
He scrolled down the message.
He saw pictures of the place Phoenix Wright was held captive in. He scrolled down to see if there was more to the text message.
I've infiltrated their base and I intend to see this through the end. You won't need to come after me unless I say so. Trust me on this.
"Wright, you idiot!" he screamed in anger.
"Mister Edgeworth?! What happened?" Ema was startled and ran to his side.
Edgeworth furiously tapped the keys of his phone trying to send a reply.
I'm going after you, you idiot. You've done the most reckless thing in your life. And by the way, God forbid, if Franziska is there or captured with you, please notify me ASAP.
He pressed the send button and waited a few seconds.
"Ema, I need you to search for this place. Wright is held captive there. I'm going in after him." Edgeworth forwarded Phoenix's text message to Ema.
Ema opened the mail as soon as she received it.
"Got it. I'll search for this place through a network. Shall I call the rest of the team?" Ema asked.
"No. Bringing in the police will worsen his situation. We're dealing with a crime faction here, we have to be a little extra careful until we've caught them in a trap in a firm grip." Edgeworth got inside his car.
"Mister Edgeworth! Do you even have any idea where you're going to head to?" Ema pleaded him to think it over.
"I'm running out of time… And I have to find Franziska… Who knows what could have happened to her…" he was anguished and clearly blaming himself. Sometimes he could really be a stubborn fool.
As he drove past the highway of the city, unknown of his true destination, he tried to contact Franziska on her cellphone.
She's not picking up… Aghhhh! Curses…
*beep beep beep*
Edgeworth frantically opened the text message.
This is bad. I can't see her from where I am. I'm locked in a heavily sealed room, but I can hear her struggling with the ropes tying her up. I was lucky enough to untie myself and find my phone, but I can't talk to her or my cover might be blown and I can't save us both. You have to help her at least. Pretend you don't know me once you get there, and don't let them see you.
It was a rather vague instruction. Edgeworth couldn't find a sufficient reason why Phoenix Wright would choose to endanger himself. Where does he get all that confidence? Is he even afraid of his own circumstances? What is he really doing this all for?
Even if there were too many unanswered questions for now, Edgeworth decided to trust in him, and do what he needs to do most: Find Franziska and take her back- alive.
*beep beep beep*
"Hello, it's Edgeworth." He answered the call.
"Mister Edgeworth! I found the place you inquired about!" Ema told him the news swiftly.
"Great, now we're getting somewhere!" he exclaimed.
As Ema Skye explained to him the address and the directions, Miles Edgeworth sped through the highway like a mad man.
to be continued
I hope I'll be able to find time to update this soon, but just so you know, I WON'T give up on this! Thank you very much!
-drops of jelly