kayssistant | inbox | prismatica

[Kay grins and gives him two thumbs up.]

I'd say that's o-Kay, Mr. Edgeworth!

[Look, regardless of the gravity of their impending conversation, she just had to make that pun.]

( He busies himself with preparing their tea, putting the kettle on and setting up two cups. At Kay's pun, he turns his head and offers her a small, tight smile. While this might be a serious situation, Edgeworth nonetheless appreciates what the girl is trying to do. )

What I want to talk about with you today is an event that occurred back on our own world.

( A pause, and he swallows thickly. )

I refer to the death of my father.

( He knows that Kay is from his future, whatever that implies, and that she might know more about him than he knows about himself. Asking her (and Gumshoe) for more information is the closest he'll ever get to uncovering the truth in this place, with the resources he has, and doesn't he owe it to his father to follow those leads? )

[Oh. Her smile and any semblance of cheer on her face instantly vanish. Occasionally it occurred to her that Edgeworth might want to know about his future considering that both she and Gumshoe were from it, but as time passed in this world, she no longer contemplated it as other things took over - becoming the Master of a powerful being from legend, joining the Moon Knights, the truth about this place, staying alive...

But now, Kay tenses. She remembers how Ray Shields acted when he first saw Edgeworth again, how he had accused Edgeworth of being a traitor. Today, she's facing an Edgeworth who was still following von Karma.

It would be best to be careful with what she said. She lowers her hands and places them on her lap.]

...What about it? [Her brow furrows in sympathy, and her voice shrinks from its usual, taking on an almost somber quality. After all, she could relate all too well to Edgeworth losing his father.] That's the DL-6 Incident, right?

( He keeps his attention focused on the brewing tea. Perhaps he should turn properly to face her, look her directly in the eyes, but for whatever reason, he cannot bring himself to do so. )

That's correct. The DL-6 incident.

( So she knows about it. That's a start.

His hands are shaking. )

The last time I spoke with our mutual ... acquaintance, Detective Gumshoe, the topic came up between us.

( He's still not sure how, entirely. Perhaps there had been something in the water. A funny joke, that. )

He informed me of several details I had not previously heard regarding the case. Seeing as you are my only other source of information in this place, I wanted to hear what you knew of it.

[She looks over at Edgeworth, not surprised that he's concentrating more on the tea. While she wants to stand up and offer a reassuring hand, she doesn't. Besides, he's busy.]

It took place after the IS-7 Incident...the case your dad was investigating. Mr. von Karma was the prosecutor.

Your dad was killed...his client was put behind bars...

[Her voice trails off.]

Mr. Edgeworth. Gummy told you who killed your dad, didn't he?

( He doesn't remember much of the days before and after his father's death. They're hazy, as though seen through a window with frosted glass.

The only moments he remembers with any real clarity are the ones that haunt his nightmares. Fingers tensing on the handle of a teacup, he answers: )

He did.

( And then he waits, to see if Kay will continue. )

[She swallows hard, looking at him, scrutinizing his body language. Then she balls her hands resting on her lap into fists.]

Mr. von Karma had a motive to kill your father, who had exposed what he was doing about the IS-7 incident...the lengths he went through to declare Jeff Master guilty when Mr. Master really wasn't.

[Kay lowers her head from where she had been focused on Edgeworth.] He spent years in jail because of Mr. von Karma.

( If Prosecutor von Karma was capable of murder, surely he would be capable of tampering with evidence. Still, while his mentor knew all the loopholes in the book, it was difficult to imagine the man breaking the rules so flagrantly.

There must be something he's missing.

He picks up his tea cup, sets it down again. )

Why would he need to go to such lengths... ?

He had a perfect win record, didn't he?

[Her tone remains subdued but also matter-of-fact. She has learned enough about this man from Edgeworth (in the future), Gumshoe, and Ray.]

It'd be a shame if someone figured out that Mr. Master was guilty and Mr. von Karma was wrong about him.

But I was taught, what he taught me... a case should never have made it to trial if it were not foolproof. Prosecutor von Karma is perfect, he would not have made a mistake.

( It's a struggle to collate his thoughts. Focusing intensely on their teacups, he carries their beverages slowly to the table. )

[It makes her feel bad, seeing Edgeworth torn up like this. She bites her lip and likewise looks at the teacups instead of his face.]

Well...it's more than that. [Wanting him to feel at least a bit better, she decides to tell him something more.] You solved that case your father left behind. You proved that Mr. von Karma really was wrong to suspect Mr. Master.

( He sits heavily down at the table, staring at his tea as though he might find the answer to all the questions he has in his depths.

He doesn't.

There are no words, just a lump in his throat.

Slumping over the table, he cradles his head in his hands. )

... Why are you telling me this?

( Does she mean to make him feel better, knowing that Master had received justice too late? )

[Well, she had tried to make him feel better, considering that Master never bore any hard feelings for Ray or either Edgeworth despite being incarcerated wrongly for years.

Finally, she lifts her head to face him with a solemn expression.]

To let you know that Mr. von Karma isn't perfect, and you're better than he is. I look up to you not because of whatever you learned from him, but because of who you are.

( While Edgeworth is flattered by Kay's faith in him, he can't help but feel that it is misplaced. Still not looking at the girl across the table, he answers: )

Kay... I'm not who you think I am.

Edited (misplaced a word) 2019-09-29 23:06 (UTC)

[She sets her jaw and shakes her head. Normally she would be slamming Edgeworth's table and shouting "OBJECTION!" but at a time like this, she figures he has to hear it from her unadorned.]

Mr. Shields - who used to be your dad's assistant - kept calling you "von Karma" when I first met him, in your future. You think I don't already know all that other stuff about you?

( Edgeworth remembers Raymond Shield, and blanches when he thinks about how the other man would regard him if they were to meet today. )

You can't possibly know everything.

( How could she truly understand the depths of his self-loathing, know how hard he has tried, and failed, to make sense of everything that has happened to him? )

[He's got her there, so she hesitates.]

Maybe I don't. But that doesn't matter. [Kay shakes her head.] I don't have to, to look up to you. You're still the man who helped me put my dad's killer behind bars, solved the mystery of the Yatagarasu, among other things.

[Those other things, after all, were much further than Gumshoe's point in time. Only she knows about them right now.]

( Slowly, he starts to straighten and reaches for his teacup, taking a steadying sip. )

But I haven't done any of that yet.

Not yet!

[Kay responds adamantly, balling her hands into fists. Setting her jaw, she adds:]

But you will. I know. You'll even keep me from going to jail on murder charges twice!

( Edgeworth remains unconvinced. )

You don't believe that future can change?

If it does, shouldn't I already be feeling something weird in my memories by now?

[That causes her to pause, the slightest flicker of distaste crossing her expression. The experience of losing her memories was something that she wouldn't be able to just forget, which sounds quite ironic.]

I don't believe it'll change. I believe you'll get to exactly where you should be in seven years.

( Honestly, he's uncertain whether those words are reassuring or terrifying. If he will be exactly where is he needed, how much do his own actions matter? )

Perhaps there are multiple realities.

( His tone is flat; he's not really in the mood to discuss time-travel theories right now. He'd gotten the information he'd needed from Kay, but even he knows it would be rude to simply kick her out, so haltingly, he asks: )

How is your tea?

It's good. [She nods approvingly after sipping at it. Some things don't change, or have never changed, and that included Edgeworth preparing tea very well. The mention of multiple realities causes her brow to furrow.

Granted, the path to her point in time was probably not easy, especially for Edgeworth. But it was the one that ended in her, Gumshoe and Edgeworth becoming a trio of unstoppable (at least, in her mind they were unstoppable) seekers of truth. It's a little selfish, but the Edgeworth there was certainly in a much better place than when he was with von Karma.]

There are a lot of different worlds, aren't there? It's mind-boggling to think that another Kay Faraday might show up here too.

( He can't help but scoff at the mental image, but it's a welcome distraction from thinking too deeply of the perils of time-travel. )

You truly think that possible?

( A beat, and he then answers his own question: )

I suppose this place does make one feel like anything can happen.

Who knows? [She chuckles.] Maybe it hasn't happened yet. There's still a lot we don't know about this world, after all.

inbox | prismatica

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

Re: action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

Re: action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;

action;