9.1
Phoenix hummed slightly as he wandered around the office of the Wright Talent Agency. He had Awoken a couple of years into his disbarment, once again too late to stop Kristoph or the phantom. So all he could do now was wait for when Apollo was ready, and try to make changes behind the scenes. Not to mention get cracking on those Europe trips to meet Athena again. Right now, though, Trucy was off at school and...
(? Where the heck did my wallet go?) he wondered, scratching his head.
"Hey, Nick!" a certain voice rang out, before Maya suddenly appeared and jumped him from behind.
"GAH! Maya, what are you-?! Get off!" Phoenix demanded before she finally acquiesced and got off of his back.
(Ow...why'd she do that?!)
"Maya, why did you even do that?" he repeated aloud, rubbing his back. (I thought my spine was gonna snap!)
"I'm hungry, so let's go for burgers!" Maya declared.
(...That was it?)
"Yeah, I'd love to, except my wallet's missing," Phoenix dryly pointed out.
"Psh! That's fine, I'll pay!" Maya grinned, waving it off.
(?! In what universe does Maya ever pay for food?! And I know she's Awake, so it's not a Variant...which can only mean one thing.)
"Wait a second...Maya, you wouldn't happen to know where my wallet is, would you?" Phoenix asked suspiciously.
Maya snorted. "Course I don't! What do you take me for, Nick?!" she denied.
...Which was immediately contradicted when everything flashed black and chains enveloped her, complete with two red locks.
[Mentality Lock ~ Psyche-Lock 2007]
Phoenix sighed. "Maya, you do know I can see the Psyche-Locks, right?" he pointed out.
"...Uhhhhhh..."
Phoenix shook his head in exasperation. Same old Maya... "Look, Maya, just give me my wallet back, and maybe I'll let you bankrupt me."
"N-Now hold on! Where's your evidence that I even took it?!" Maya blustered.
"It's sticking out of your obi," Phoenix immediately said in a deadpan.
"! ...Dangit, Nick..." Maya muttered, before both Psyche-Locks shattered and the chains retreated.
L.003 (Opus J)
Hershel Layton had many things that he had come to care about as he had lived his life. Emmy, whose vibrant personality and gung-ho attitude was worth every moment of concern over her repeated kung-fu mishaps. Inspector Grosky, With all of his bull-headed charm, and charging. Flora, his mostly adopted daughter, whom he had saved from the rather Mysterious Village. And then...
"Hurry up, Professor!"
...There was Luke Triton, son of one of his oldest friends. "Now, Luke, remember, a Gentleman is always patient, no matter how excited he might be." Layton smiled brightly at the ten-year-old, even as he tried not to shiver.
He could see the hat lying on the floor - Luke's favorite blue hat, dirtied by the comings and goings around him. Why hadn't he noticed how dirty it was? Luke, or his mother, never wore such worn and tattered clothes. Had his need to solve the next puzzle, figure out the next clue truly been worth this?
As Luke talked out loud, filling him in on how his day had gone, and the puzzle he was Almost through with, Hershel hoped that the boy missed the shadows in his own eyes. He had lived so many times, over and over - had this been fate's way of reminding him that everything could change? Or telling him that he should pay attention to what really mattered?
Clark had been taken away by Officer Grosky, but it was the bottles that caught Layton's attention. Bottles of a demon that Hershel had never believed Clark could ever drink. They told a story - one that he desperately wanted not to be true, but that his damnable mind refused to stop putting together. Spots of blood on a wall, to low for Luke's mother to have left. Stains where tea had hit, interrupted scars that had likely left a memorial on another moving body. A photo of a child that didn't smile - with just a little bit of a bruise showing.
"...So then I got my test back, and I had an A!" Luke, ever the little Gentleman, had pulled the chair out at the little bistro Layton had offered to take him to. Luke had proven how much he enjoyed spending time here with him, and Layton had found that keeping his apprentice happy required only the barest hint of approval, and regular feeding. Luke was one of the most easy-going children he had ever met.
"A job well done, Luke." Hershel said as he took a seat, smiling as his apprentice's smile became even wider, though it hadn't seemed possible. "I hope you will be able to keep up this impressive improvement with your grades."
"Absolutely, Professor!" Luke crowed, before giving the lovely waitress his order.
Luke had begged so pitiably to become his apprentice all those weeks ago. But Layton had bowed to the wishes of Clark and his Wife, ignoring the odd twinges at the clues that had appeared right in front of him. Luke had simply 'needed time' to be with his family, to 'rest and recover'. And like a fool, he had walked away from his Apprentice, who had sent him the letter to come to the little town in the first place. Hadn't he read the SOS? The Plea for help?
"Will Emmy join us later?" Luke had calmed slightly as they had been waiting for the food, but like any ten-year-old, he was quickly becoming bored - and wondering what else Layton was up to, obviously.
He reached into his pocket as he spoke. "Not today, my boy. Though I know she would love to join us, I decided to spend a bit of quality time with my 'number one apprentice' today." That got the poor boy blushing, which earned another laugh from Layton.
"Professor!" The plaintive cry of an embarrassed preteen earned another chuckle from the man as he drew out the package. He waited a moment, for the boy to spot it, which caused his eyes to light up in curiosity.
He placed the package on the table. "Perhaps a puzzle would be in order?" he questioned his student, even as his mind replayed the consequences of his last Loop.
The plain white sheet had been far too large to cover the still body on the floor, lost of all the perpetual motion Layton was so used to. He had left the boy behind in hopes that he wouldn't be kidnaped in the desert town, or put into danger as he so often had been. The bitterness of that thought stayed with him even as he entered the room that had once belonged to the departed. His eyes tumbled quickly to the letter with his name on it. He had hoped for streams of hatred, of Vitriol that would flagellate his soul. What he found was worse. Apologies for having been so presumptuous as to ask to be his Apprentice. Put downs, calling himself worthless. Agreeing with the drunken rants of Clark, and claiming his minor failures as reasons his father was justified in hurting him. Layton was not made of stone - and he felt, at this point, even a stone would weep. And as his head fell into his hands, he wailed like a broken thing.
"Hhhrrrmmm..." Luke's voice pulled him out of the memory he had fallen into again. He couldn't help but smile at his apprentice, even as he made the promise in his head.
9.2 (Filraen)
"Time for your first magic lesson. First a demonstration." Trucy then spread a card deck in front of Apollo. "Choose any card."
Apollo did so and looked at it, it was, "It's the five of hearts, isn't it?" Trucy stated, interrupting Apollo's thoughts.
"What?! But how-?" Apolo spluttered, clearly being thrown off. "Did you have the cards marked?"
"No, this is a normal playing deck," Trucy countered. "Normally shuffled too."
"Then how-?"
"Let's do it the other way, I'm sure you can do it fast enough." Trucy then picked a card at random from the rest of the deck and looked at it. "OK, now what card am I looking at?"
"The King of..."
"No, Polly, this isn't guessing," Trucy said as she looked back to Apollo. "The trick for this is simple: we both can see very well, but you've only been using your sight when focusing with mom's bracelet. For trials it's fine; I've used it sometimes there too; but you have to remember that you don't need your bracelet to use your sight. Now, perceive and tell me: what card am I looking at?"
Perceive what? Even if that's the solution, Trucy isn't lying so the bracelet won't work here. Trucy had already given him half of the answer, so the only question remaining is what to focus on... (Think, Justice!)
...Wait. Could it be-?
Focusing on Trucy, who was still looking at her card, Apollo started to Perceive her eyes. In was difficult at first, but there was definitely the reflection of something there... "The six of clubs?"
"Ding, ding! We have a winner!" Trucy beamed. "For the trick to work, you have to be fast because the other person won't look at his card for long. But since he'll be looking at the card, he won't be focusing on how you're looking at the reflection on his eyes. And it isn't like many people know about our sight anyway. It also helps, with a bit of training, to Perceive things quickly. For example, next time you meet Simon he won't have time to throw Taka at you."
"Point." Although Apollo was grateful to Trucy, he couldn't help but think how this whole looping business made things complicated. Wasn't he supposed to be the supporting big brother?
"And now you've learned your first magic trick," Trucy said with a sense of finality.,"that means you've earned yourself this, your very own hat and cape."
Then Trucy, from what looked like thin air, produced a hat and cape combo in the style of Trucy's own but colored red like his waistcoat. "Nice fit too, thanks Trucy."
It was then when Apollo realized Trucy had taken a step back to look up at him, Trucy was a lot younger physically than Apollo after all.
"Polly, brother..." Trucy eventually said, eyes shining with tears. "Welcome to the troupe."
The hug that followed was long and heartfelt.
L.004 (GarnettFoxy)
'No wonder they call this the 'Endless Wonder',' Layton mused, gazing out at the neverending interior of the warehouse. His dark eyes darted from object to object: the Hindenburg, the Trojan Horse, the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben. And those were just what he could see from here! Loop memories told him that there were wonders beyond what he could see from the vantage point he had from the office.
'Luke would love it here.' He sighed, disheartened at his apprentice not being a part of this loop. Pulling himself away from the infinite landscape, Layton strode into the empty office, frowning at how lonely it seemed here. He sat at the desk with a sigh, picking up papers to look through the files of two people, the head of this warehouse who was a rather charming woman by the name of Miss Frederic…
He'd barely got past the first page of Myka's file when the lights went crazy with a heavy thumping noise coming from the cover of the main power supply to the warehouse.
Startled, Layton cautiously opened it, blinking when the LEDs spelled out a message.
KNOCK KNOCK WHO'S AWAKE?
"...Curious..."
9.3 (jxz)
Miles Edgeworth glared at Fluttershy.
Fluttershy Stared back.
Behind a bullet-and-stare-proof window, Twilight Sparkle, Phoenix Wright, Maya Fey and Rainbow Dash were sitting and eating popcorn.
"Remind me; how did this get started?" Maya asked Phoenix.
"Edgeworth said his glare was the best tool to find the truth..." the Ace Attorney started.
"And somehow that ended with a Stare War between him and Fluttershy." Twilight ended. "They've been in this since Rainbow's trial, and they keep going."
"I'm amazed that he could prosecute me without breaking eye contact with Flutters," Rainbow said between munching her bag of popcorn. "I bet Edgeworth loses."
"C'mon, Nick! Bet for Miles!" Maya said.
(Knowing my luck, whoever I bet for will lose...) "No, I'll pass this time."
And so, time passed.
When the loop ended, one of them blinked.
L.005 (Filraen)
"But, you see, Inspector Chelmey, the supposed power of the Samarian Scepter is not as it seems," Hershel Layton said as he started pacing around the room. "The first use of its 'power', the vanishment of people around town was simply the use of the rainwater sewer ducts under the town. People can easily fit if they pound the manhole covers hard enough."
"And the great scar in the sky the scepter made to let that alien fleet trying to attack Earth?" Inspector Chelmey pressed. "Everybody saw it."
"A massive hallucination made by contaminating the water source with a powerful suggestive agent." Layton proposed. "Since everybody was expecting the alien fleet to appear during the eclipse, seeing the act with the scepter made everybody rationalize the rip in the sky and the alien fleet itself."
"And the flying alien commander?"
"The figure was real, that's true, but it it was just someone wearing a disguise. Luke, please bring the costume." As Luke did so, the Professor continued. "Since the alien attack suggestion was already active, a simple costume was enough to convince everybody of an invasion commander."
After examining the costume, Inspector Chelmey realized something. "But that doesn't explain the flying part."
"I'm aware of that." Layton nodded in acceptance.
"Then, Layton, what's your explanation?"
"That was magic. You see, I've been pacing around this room this whole time and you've yet to hear any footsteps." Then Professor Layton pointed down, "that's because if you look at my foot they've been floating about a foot over the floor this whole time."
"Oh."
9.4 (Thanatos's Scribe)
Miles Awoke behind his desk in the Prosecutor's Office, and let out a sigh as he recalled both his Loop memories and the memories of the past Loop. Thankfully, what happened previously in this Loop seemed to be a baseline Loop that just had Phoenix win his first case, which meant there was plenty of time to prevent a repeat of last Loop. With Gumshoe's death, the courts started their fall into the Dark Age of the Law much earlier than usual, though it was a small mercy Edgeworth didn't see it happen. For some reason, the Loop ended shortly after Gumshoe's funeral, four days after the detective's death.
Edgeworth was drawn from his thoughts as he heard the sound of someone running in the hallway outside. A few seconds passed before the door was slammed open.
"Mr. Edgeworth!" Gumshoe panted as he stumbled into the room, "Thank goodness you're alright!"
"What's the matter, Detective Gumshoe?" Miles asked as he looked at the man with a raised eyebrow. Considering how early it was in the Loop, there shouldn't be any threats to him. Yet.
"Well, sir, the last thing I remember was being in complete darkness," Gumshoe began to tell Edgeworth, making the prosecutor pale at Gumshoe's words, "When all of a sudden, I was walking down the hallway to your office." This last sentence made Gumshoe stop for a second before asking Edgeworth, "For that matter, didn't you quit being a prosecutor after-"
"Detective Gumshoe." Edgeworth interrupted with a hint of his Court Voice infused in his words, making the detective freeze. Taking a deep breath to compose himself, Edgeworth looked at Detective Gumshoe and asked him, "Could you please tell me what you remember before being in my hallway or in the darkness, as you put it?"
"Well, if we're not including the darkness, sir," Gumshoe reminisced, "The last I remember was von Karma pulling a pistol on you after it was revealed he was there at your father's murder, and I jumped in the way of the gunfire." Edgeworth scowled as his suspicions were confirmed, but watched as Gumshoe rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish grin on his face as he said, "But since I'm here now unscathed, that must mean that he didn't get a chance to fire, huh, sir?"
"No, he did fire a bullet." Edgeworth interjected, making Gumshoe blink at this sentence.
"Guess that explains the gunshot I heard before the darkness," Gumshoe muttered aloud, but then grinned and said, "Well, then I guess he was a poor shot then, huh?"
"The bullet destroyed a good portion of your right lung, as well as shattering several of your spinal discs. You were in a coma for 46 days before eventually dying," Edgeworth told Gumshoe, keeping his expression straight the entire time.
"Wait, what?" Gumshoe exclaimed after a few seconds as he reared back, before asking aloud, "But if I died, then how are you here? You didn't die as well, did you, Mr. Edgeworth?"
"No, it's not that," Edgeworth said, before telling the detective, "To explain this, I must tell you of the Loops-"
"But you already told me about the Loops, sir." Gumshoe interjected, "Y'know, back in the darkness?"
Edgeworth blinked at this, before exclaiming, "What?! You remember that?"
"Why shouldn't I, sir?" Gumshoe asked, rubbing the back of his head in confusion.
"Perhaps it is because that was shortly before you died, and were in a coma at the time?" Edgeworth testily said in reply.
"Oh."
An awkward silence permeated in the room for a few seconds, before Gumshoe eventually asked, "So, about these Loops: who else is Looping that we know?"
"If you exclude you and I," Edgeworth said, "then it's Wright, Maya Fey, a certain von Karma-"
"WHAT?!" Gumshoe shouted, "That psycho's Looping?"
"No, his daughter is. You remember Franziska, don't you? Though I have to say, the von Karma you first remember was much more psychotic than normal," Edgeworth assured the angered detective.
"Alright, then. If you say so, Mr. Edgeworth," Gumshoe said, though he still seemed uneasy of it.
"Regardless, I'm quite sure that Wright and the others will be pleasantly surprised to find you Looping," Edgeworth told Gumshoe with a smirk.
"Hey, y'know what they say about me, sir!" Gumshoe said as he gave a grin in return. "Like gum on your shoe, I'm impossible to get rid of!"
9.5 (XeroM52)
"Jean, we need to talk about something," the voice of Phoenix Wright, who was once again looping as the Phoenix Force, said inside of Jean Grey's head. Coincidentally (or not), she had also adopted the name Phoenix.
"What is it, Nick?" Jean asked, using the same pet name Maya used for him. It was kind of appropriate since they had been like this for several years now.
"It's about you…and…you know…dying all the time," Phoenix said, almost weirded-out by the sentence coming from his 'mouth'.
"I know it is very strange…but you'll always be there for me to bring me back, right?" Jean said, not really seeing the issue.
"Jean, I can't keep bringing you back from the dead, it is very, VERY tiring!" Phoenix complained. It wouldn't be an issue if this only had happened two, maybe three times, but he had already revived her 5 times that year alone. "I feel as if you have been taking me for granted!"
"What?! That's not true, Nick!" Jean defended. "It's just that we X-men face very dangerous people all the time, and I can't bear the thought of someone else dying knowing I could do something to prevent it!"
Phoenix sighed. "I feel you, Jean." He could understand the sentiment at least; he too went out of his way to help the people in need. Defending people and believing in them to the end was the job of a Defense Attorney. "Let's try to be more careful from now on, okay?"
"Yes." Jean nodded before a thought suddenly came to her. "Maybe we could save ourselves some trouble if you try to lend me more of your power when the situation needs it!"
"Jean!" Phoenix shouted. "You know how reckless that is! Doing something like that is very dangerous!"
"I believe I can handle it!" she said, "and more importantly…I believe in you. You never let me down Nick!"
"Oh alright, Jean." Phoenix ended up accepting rather reluctantly. He was beginning to suspect that girls asking for his help were some sort of weakness for him. "But only in very DIRE circumstances, ok?"
"Thank you, Nick!" Jean answered with a very big smile. "I know you'll never let me down."
Later, during one epic fight
"Jean! Are you alright?" Storm asked worriedly. Jean was currently being enveloped by energy in the form of flames.
"No…I…I can't…CONTROL IT!" Jean shouted as she exploded into flames.
"JEAN!" was the general scream of worry from everyone around her.
After the fire died down, a new figure appeared from within. A figure wearing a green business suit with a yellow tie and very VERY spiky hair had appeared.
"Lawyer Phoenix Rises!" announced Phoenix Wright, who was now in control of Jean's body.
9.6 (GammaTron)
Phoenix blinked twice. The Judge raised a brow.
"What is it?" Franziska demanded.
"Um...Might I ask why you have those three with you, Ms. von Karma?" the Judge asked.
Franziska looked at her side. Sitting beside her were three yellow beings in overalls, goggles, black shoes, and black three-fingered gloves...the smallest of them hugging a teddy bear and the medium one of the three short beings tuning an ukulele.
"These are my Minions," Franziska informed them. "They were looking for work, so I gave it to them as my assistants."
"Bello!" the smallest waved.
"Bob. Boss makalaku," the 'tallest' scolded, "Shhh."
(Only Franziska would have Minions following her. She's got the 'Evil Vibe' right for them,) Phoenix sweatdropped before two whips hit him, "OW!"
"Your aim's improved, Kevin," Franziska smirked at the 'tall' Minion.
"Yay!" Kevin cheered.
(This is going to be a long trial…) Phoenix sighed.
9.7 (Filraen)
Metis Cykes was seated by the desktop by her lab, enjoying a cup of coffee and the morning newspaper before starting her workday at GYAXA. Today, the plan was to double-check the Mood Matrix algorithm, the three emotion analysis -joy, sadness and fear- wasn't working as well as she hoped. Maybe adding a fourth emotion to the algorithm?
Her plans were suddenly thrown off-course when her daughter Athena appeared in the lab still in her pyjamas, panting with exhaustion. After locking their gazes on each other, Athena threw herself towards Metis to hug her fiercely as if she were to vanish otherwise. Metis returned the hug when she realized Athena started crying; she was quiet as a mouse but her sudden movements and tears were obvious enough.
From that, some minutes had passed and Metis's legs were getting numb from her awkward position.
"Athena," Metis said with deliberate softness, petting her daughter's head. "What happened?"
Athena loosed her grip slightly but didn't let go. "Please don't. I don't want to see if this is a dream, not yet."
A minute or two later, Athena took a big sigh to compose herself and finally spoke. "Mom, do you know of cases of someone dreaming a whole life in a night?"
"Was that a strange nightmare?" A nightmare would explain Athena's strange behavior today.
"Yes, but I remember a huge dream. There are too many things, too detailed, too consistent for it to be a mere dream."
"Have you been reading my psychology notes?"
"No," Athena struggled to keep speaking. "It's that in my dream you died and I spent almost a decade becoming a lawyer and a psychologist to save Simon."
"What?"
"You see..."
The fact that Athena was clearly in pain pushed Metis to press Athena's knowledge from her nightmare, even when she mentioned how Metis herself had died, at the hands of an international spy? However, apart from that bit of nonsense, Athena had followed her claim: the memories were, at first glance, very consistent and extensive.
But that wasn't the only thing strange. Athena's behavior was different, and that wasn't only when she talked about her dream. It took a moment to realize, but when it happened she wasn't sure what to do with it: the whole tale was filled with ideas and concepts that should be beyond Athena's ability to comprehend and yet there they were, the feeling of loss and the drive to save Aura's brother from death were real, even if the tale itself was not. What was happening here?
"Mom, I think I'm in a dream right now," Athena eventually said, sadly. "I still remember the pain of the memories after your death, the release at finally saving Simon. It's all too vivid to make me think it's just a dream."
Metis took her daughter's hand with her. "Athena, please. What you see now, what you feel now, it's real. Don't lose yourself to a dream."
"There's nothing more I want, mom. But I can't..." Athena's gaze stopped at the newspaper "unless, I'm part of a paranormal event."
"Paranormal?" Metis was a known skeptic. She believed one of the key parts of being a proper scientist was to always question the world and not take answers such as 'magic' or other nonsense.
"Yes, paranormal. I can only consider my memories as truth, but reality as I'm experiencing it now is contradicting it. And I know you'll want proof of the paranormal being real too; it's a good thing I was also a lawyer." After circling an article in the newspaper Athena returned it to her mother. "Take that, mom. I may not know what exactly happened to me but at least I can give you conclusive evidence about the paranormal. I'm going to dress and then we'll leave to the District Court, we don't have much time!"
Surprised at how much energy her daughter seemed to have, Metis looked at the highlighted article.
...A new lead in the case of Mia Fey's murder was discovered yesterday by the notorious Redd White, Bluecorp's President. The prosecution is confident this new development will lead to the conviction of the true murderer, even after releasing the former defendant Maya Fey after her innocence was proved yesterday...
9.1 - Maya, Maya, Maya. When will you ever learn?
L.003 - Never Again
9.2 - Apollo's first magic trick, and a bond between siblings.
L.004 - Fused Loop with Warehouse 13, I believe.
9.3 - Remember, Edgeworth once defeated his own reflection in a staring contest! It's no wonder he's going up against the other famous starers/glarers out there.
L.005 - Try to remember that Layton lives in the same universe as Phoenix, who has run into real supernatural events. Not to mention, Layton himself actually has as well.
9.4 - Welcome to the Loops, pal!
9.5 - "Why the heck did I say that?"
9.6 - Franziska has Minions. This can only end well.
9.7 - Well, well. I wonder what happened here?