IC INBOX | cerealia

[prosecutory]

Good day. This is Miles Edgeworth.

I cannot accommodate you at the moment, but please leave a message and I will respond as soon as possible. 

Comments

[braavado]

I think we could try meeting at a cafe... most of the water's gone now anyway.

Unless you want to meet somewhere else.

[prosecutory]

A cafe would be good. You may choose which one in particular.

[braavado]

I think this one's been cleaned up already... [She gives him the cafe name and directions.]

Want to meet there in half an hour?

[shacklebreaker]

Face to face, if you would. It would not be proper to discuss such weighty matters with a screen betwixt us.

How much has Wright-dono discussed with you already? Or Athena, perhaps?

[prosecutory]

I'll see you there.

[And luckily for Korra, she won't have to wait long. Edgeworth shows up five minutes before his half hour passes.]

[prosecutory]

[No, it wouldn't be proper.]

Not much. Miss Cykes told me I participated in a retrial from the year 2027. Wright told me as much. And you were involved, as well.

He and Miss Blackquill have said you were a convict wrongly accused of a crime.

[shacklebreaker]

Hmph... What they've told you is correct. I do not wish to burden you with that sorry affair, but neither do I wish to withhold information from you any longer than I already have.

Meet me in the gardens a few hours hence, and you will hear the rest of it.

[The CERES gardens are likely to afford more privacy than most of the city, at least.]

[failures]

A...demon tool...

[While he sounds a little skeptical, he's really just trying to make sense of that. Demons?? And he thought the code-pulling that CERES does was weird and fictional-sounding!]

But you saw our world getting wrecked, right? So maybe you were back home for a little bit, then CERES grabbed you.

[It's still weird for him to think that their world is gone, but...well, now's not the time to ponder that mystery.]

So...there was a war where you were? Is that why you had to pick up a sword?

[prosecutory]

[He really doesn't know what else to say about that demon tool. BREW, it was called. And it barely did anything most of the time. When it did do something, the outcomes were often catastrophic.]

Yes, I saw our world destroyed...and yes, I had to learn self-defense. I didn't want to rely on others to fight and keep the rest of us safe. I had to do my part.

[prosecutory]

[He's silent for a moment. Perhaps if he had been younger, he would have been quick to denounce Simon. But he was a different man now. And he barely knew anything about Simon Blackquill.]

Of course. I'll see you then.

[braavado]

[She waves at him from one a table near the window.]

Thanks for coming... even when I called you pretty suddenly and everything.

[failures]

Huh...

[He pauses for a moment, then flashes a little smile at Edgeworth.]

Y'know, that's so totally you. Fighting to keep people safe, I mean.

[Both Edgeworth and Phoenix...as long as Larry's known them, they've always been the justice-y type. Even if Edgeworth's a prosecutor, he's saved people from being suspects or from getting guilty verdicts.]

I guess you couldn't just take the bad guys to court to settle it your usual way though, huh?

[prosecutory]

[He stops when he sees her waving, and nods, walking over to her and taking the free chair.]

It's no trouble; with the city in disarray, it has been quite difficult to work where I normally do.

[The police station is probably in bad shape.]

[prosecutory]

[He blinks. Edgeworth never saw it as him, so that was rather unexpected. Unconsciously he drums his fingers, remembering how callused they were now after constantly holding a sword. Initially his motive was more selfish - to save his own hide - but as he made friends, he realized that he wanted to keep them safe.

Edgeworth lets out a breath and relaxes, leaning back and shaking his head.]

You would give them a feast of souls if you brought them to court. These...these creatures had to be destroyed.

[braavado]

[She nods, a slight frown on her face now.] Yeah... it's going to take a while to clean up everything that got damaged.

Anyway... I wanted to ask you about the tours. A friend of mine said you were collecting information about them before and I should talk to you if I wanted to know more.

[prosecutory]

Ah, yes.

[Edgeworth reaches into an inner pocket of his jacket and brings out an organizer - brand new, as he had to painstakingly rewrite some of his notes damaged from the rain and the flood.]

Not a lot of people spoke to me afterward, so I may not have all the details. Not only that, I personally didn't join the tours. [So it's all hearsay and he only has the word of a few people. At least he trusts a good percentage of them.]

voice; backdated to whenever that crau post happened

[feytality]

Heeeey! Mr. Edgeworth! We need to talk!

[prosecutory]

Yes, Maya? What is this about?

[braavado]

That's okay. [Korra leans forward without even thinking about it, eyes intently studying the organizer.]

I mean, I'm really new to this place. Anything you can tell me would probably help.

[prosecutory]

[He opens the organizer, revealing pages and pages of notes in neat, precise handwriting. They say it's easier to retain information when one writes it down, and there were types around who could hack a CEREvice. Plus, who knew what CERES would do with this kind of information on the network.]

Several people were on the tours, divided into teams. Each team had a different experience and discovered different information. For example, one found history books, but none of them mentioned the Flamines - which, as you remember, were supposedly responsible for the destruction of our worlds.

Other people were gassed and deprived of a particular sense. Still another group was attacked by robots and found an imprisoned woman. It's like finding many pieces of the puzzle that don't quite fit.

[braavado]

I heard about the group that found the prisoner, but the rest of it is new.

[Korra bows her head slightly, scowling down at the table.]

No mention of the Flamines again. This is starting to sound way too familiar. It's looking more and more like the CERES just made them up or something to throw us off the trail.

[prosecutory]

Indeed. [Edgeworth drums his fingers silently on the table, next to his organizer.] I still believe that their story about our worlds being destroyed may not be as real as they claim it is.

[braavado]

So... I guess the real question is, why did they go through so much trouble to bring us here and trick us like this?

[Korra's gaze flicks up to meet his.]

What are they trying to cover up?

[prosecutory]

I don't know. Clearly, another reason for bringing us all here.

[He meets her gaze, his eyes steely.]

Perhaps CERES is mustering an army against a force unknown to us. [But that is just a theory. He knows he has no evidence. Hence the "perhaps".]

[braavado]

Maybe. [Korra quirks a brow at him.]

The way they're acting right now, it's going to be hard to convince people to fight for them, though.

[Especially when the "enemy" they're fighting isn't the Flamines, as CERES has been telling everyone.]