BUMP FOR GREAT JUSTICE!!

---

((AUGH!! I'm so sorry, guys. I've just been terribly busy between work and school. Not to mention I believe I'm developing a nasty cold... ))


Judge snorted at Wright's mentioning of sleeping arrangements. With the way the man carried on, you'd think they were planning a blasted slumber party. With a soft sigh, he snatched the bug sweeper from Gumshoe and began the unfortunate task of scanning the room for any sort of cameras or listening devices. It was an annoying process; the device emitted a shrill wail at the slightest hint of anything electronic. He found himself desperately wishing for his sister to call a favor into one of her bureau friends for some better equipment...

"As far as sleeping arrangements go, Mr. Wright, you and Miss Fey are free to sleep as you please. Detective Gumshoe and Officer Shinigami will operate in shifts," he announced, wincing as the sweeper wailed loudly in his ears.

"What about you, sir?" Gumshoe queried, reaching out and taking the contraption in order to continue the search himself.

Judge pushed his rectangular spectacles up the bridge of his nose. "I can remain awake for a maximum of eighty-nine hours, twenty-three minutes and six seconds. I won't require any sleep," he responded dully.

"That's... kinda scary, pal," Gumshoe noted.

"No, what's scary is what your paycheck will look like if you insist on dawdling rather than searching for listening devices," Judge grumbled irritably.

"R-Right, sir!" Gumshoe all but hollered, diving head first into his task.

Judge shook his head, before looking over Edgar. "Can I rely on you to protect Miss Fey and Mr. Wright while I run out to purchase something for everyone to eat?"

-----------------------------------------------------

Jury quietly carried Ayame to her car with Dolores' help. Opening the passenger side door, she reclined the seat and strapped the unconscious woman in before leading Dolores to the back seat. Briefly popping the trunk open, she recovered two of the four emergency blankets she stored there. Keeping her pea coat wrapped around Ayame, she covered her friend with the blanket as well, not at all pleased with how her body temperature seemed to have dropped. When she was satisfied enough with her handiwork, she moved to the other side of the car and threw the remaining blanket over Dolores' shoulders.

She felt the need to say something. The medical examiner looked so... broken. Empty, almost. No doubt she was blaming herself for what had happened.

"Miss Sident..." Jury began, shivering as the cruel winter wind bit through her shirt. "I know it's easy to blame yourself, but there isn't anything you could have done. You're not trained for that kind of situation. I, on the other hand, am. If there is anyone to blame, it should be me and so I ask that you please not direct it at yourself."

Sneezing once, she closed the car door and seated herself in the driver's seat, her now numb hands fumbling with her keys as she started the car, cranking the heat up.

"For now, we need to get both of you to a hospital, but I promise he won't get away with this," Jury assured her, putting the car into drive.

---

((Heh.....I forgot to...))

Geez...He can stay up for a long time..

"I will protect them with my life Judge."

And Edgar would, well, he hoped he would not have to die but if he had to to protect and stop the killer he would at least not die in vain...Geez, Why am I thinking like that. I will protect them and I will not die. Yeah...Aw geez...Now I can't stop thinking about it!
((So short...Dang...))

---

((And now, A post from Le Killer.))

The wintry background of Kurain in the distance was pleasant, but very boring. A figure stared at the entrance of the village, where that wretched woman's car was parked. He had a mind to hook it up with "presents" but he fought the urge. Why kill them now in that fashion? He had something much more diabolical in mind. He approached the train and boarded, heading towards the local burger joint near his "lover's" workplace. He was happy.

In the background, the merry sounds of bells rang.

---

Judge nodded slowly. Watching as Gumshoe continued his search for bugs.

"Then I should be back shortly. If anything should happen while I'm gone, please make sure to call me," he said, handing Edgar a card with his cell phone number. "And don't let them out of your site."

With that, he emerged from Wright & Co. Law Offices and hurriedly seated himself in his car. The wind was bitterly cold and he was glad to be away from it. Thankfully, the burger joint Maya seemed to love so much was in very close proximity to the office, so he didn't need to drive very far at all. Stomping excess snow off his shoes as he entered, he pondered over just what to get. Thankfully, his salary was rather nice, so he didn't have to worry about the cost when he decided on one or two of nearly everything.

"In hindsight, it may have been a decent idea to compose a list of what everyone wanted..." he mused as he fumbled to open his car door around the paper bags full of food.

"Ex-Excuse me!"

Judge closed the car's back door and looked over his shoulder. A man with red hair and warm, brown eyes was looking at him in a most timid manner.

"Yes? May I help you?"

"Are you Prosecutor Lawright? Your... Your office said I might find you somewhere around here," the man admitted.

"That would be me. What seems to be the problem? I'm in a bit of a hurry."

"I have some information... on the Silver Bell Slayings. They said I should contact you."

"Ah, the informant! Yes, yes, I believe we spoke earlier this morning."

"Yes, um... only, I don't want to be seen in public like this. For my own safety, you know. There's a private place we can talk, in the park across the street, if you wouldn't mind."

Judge frowned, checking his watch. He really didn't like being away from Miss Fey and Mr. Wright unexpectedly like this, but on the other hand, whatever knowledge this informant might possess could prove to make their case. With a reluctant nod, he followed the man into the nearby park, taking a long winding path through the woods until they had come upon a snowy clearing. He shivered against the wind, rubbing his arms to keep warm. Admittedly, it was a good place for privacy, seeing as very few were willing to brave the cold for a stroll in the park. He turned to face his informant.

"Now then, what was it you--...?"

Judge paused, mid-sentence, his confused gaze traveling downward. Standing mere inches away, his informant's hand clutched the hilt of some object that was now stuck in-between his ribs up to the hilt. Red droplets slowly fell from the spot, marring the pure white snow beneath them. He met the man's eyes. He felt dizzy.

"Y-You...." he gasped, his knees buckling.

"Yes, me, Mr. Lawright. You know, you're quite good at your job. You were creating the most awful little obstacle in my plans, you see, so I decided you had to be, well, removed," the man informed him with a smile, holding him up by his arm in a painfully tight grip. "And don't worry about those burgers. I'll make sure Miss Fey receives them."

The man pulled a cap from under his coat, fixing it to his head. It sported the logo from the burger joint he'd just been to... he was planning on masquerading as a delivery boy! Opening his mouth to protest, he could only utter a strangled cry of pain as the knife was jerked out of his ribcage and he was dropped unceremoniously onto the snow. The killer stooped down, fishing Judge's cell phone from his frock coat and stowing it in his own jacket.

"Wouldn't want you calling for help, now, would we?" he asked with a pleasant smile. "Especially not that sister of yours. She's quite cute, you know. Waving her little gun around and flashing her badge. I would have liked to play with her a little longer."

"Ju-Jury...!" Judge said hoarsely, his breath hissing between his clenched teeth.

"Oh, don't worry. She's quite alright. At least... I think she is. Explosives can be tricky things, you know," the man said with a shrug. "Hmm, the sun will be going down in an hour or two. I imagine it will become unbearably cold out here... Tsk, tsk. Well, have a very pleasant evening, Mr. Lawright."

Judge groaned, trying to move, but finding he lacked the strength. He watched his own blood pool in the snow around him, he could taste the coppery flavour of it in the back of his throat. He needed to get up. He needed to warn them. But he could barely move. Clutching uselessly at the snow in front of him, he stifled a pained grunt as he tried to crawl forward.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The killer retrieved the burgers, taking them back to his own car before setting off for Wright & Co. Law Offices. Well, that had taken care of at least one problem, but quite a few more still remained. He had to get Miss Fey alone... They needed to be dealt with. And quickly. Parking his car, he grabbed the bags and knocked on the door of Wright & Co. Law Offices.

"Delivery!" he called, unable to keep a smile from making its way to his features.

((Time for action! o:))

---

Last edited by a fortiori on Mon Oct 13, 2008 2:12 am, edited 1 time in total.

((Here we go!!))

"Huh? Delivery? Thats odd....Maybe Judge had to deliver them...?"

Edgar opened up the door to see what appeared to be an employee from the local Burger join holding some bags, probably filled with burgers. For some reason the man had a smile on his face....Was this some sort of new things the employee's had to do? Service with a smile?

"Hello. I did not know you guys did delivery. Is this new?"

Edgar didn't know why but...He had a bad feeling about this guy...

---

This was all just so unbelievable. Dolores absentmindedly cleaned her glasses. Her head wasn't throbbing anymore, but her head still ached, albeit for a different reason. She was just the coroner, and yet she had ended up being deeply involved in the case. How had that man known her? Why had he been able to control her...?

The coroner leaned her forehead against the cold window of Jury's car and watched the glass fog as she exhaled.

------------------

It had been a few hours since Jury had left. Nothing too significant should've developed yet, but Viola felt compelled to check up on her. She walked over to the phone and dialed Jury's cell phone number. Viola thumbed through copies of Holly's suspect files as the dialtone ran. She stopped at a page when Jury picked up on the other line:

The picture was of a kind-looking man with flaming red hair and soft brown eyes.

Name: Christopher Bell
Age: 28
D.O.B.: December 25
Notes: Elusive. No criminal record, but may have had connections to the Rivales. Disappeared from records after my father's death. Further investigation needed...

---

"Oh, uh... hi!" the man said. "I'm Eddie, er... This is Wright & Co. Law Offices, yeah?"

He frowned pathetically, casting a few uncertain glances toward the sign out front, shifting from foot to foot. It was best if he could gain their confidence first. A sweet, yet bumbling delivery boy would be sure to do it. He scratched the bridge of his nose with a slight laugh at Edgar's questioning gaze; he guessed that the officer would be suspicious of just about anyone at this point. Time to lay it on thick.

"Oh, you're probably wondering about the delivery get-up, huh?" he said with a chuckle. "We're having a bit of trouble getting the word around that we do delivery now. I guess people just like the ambiance of that old 50s diner look."

He shifted under the bags.

"So, I was just about to end my shift, see, when this guy comes up to me and says: 'You. Take these to Wright & Co. Law Offices,' and then gets in his car with some dude," he proclaimed. "Said something about an informant or something... Anyway, the guy was kind of a jerk, but see, I'm a huge fan of Mr. Wright's and I, uh... couldn't pass up the opportunity to meet him."

He forced a red flush of embarrassment to his cheeks, laughing a little giddily. Sometimes he even impressed himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth found himself trudging through almost two feet of snow as his beloved dog, Pesu, eagerly lead him through the park. Ordinarily, he enjoyed their walks, but in the bitter cold winter weather he found them to be more torture than anything else. He'd taken an hour-and-a-half for lunch, but had decided Pesu had been cooped up for far too long. Do to his frequent late-night punch-outs, the poor dog wasn't able to take in the air and the sun as much as she should, so he decided sacrificing a lunch break was not an entirely big deal.

Shrugging deeper into his jacket, he allowed his mind to wander. The big news around the Prosecutor's Office these days was the Silver Bell Slayings. Because there were no current leads and therefore no suspects, there was quite a bit of talk of whether it would ever make it to trial at all. Already many prosecutor's were vying for the chance to handle the case, but none were more vocal than the young Prosecutor Judge Lawright. Edgeworth snorted. The boy usually sat second seat to him in trials and always, always complained about it. He said time and again how he could handle cases on his own and maybe he could, but he was a little too ambitious for Edgeworth's liking. Barely a prosecutor for more than six months, he already had his eye on the Chief Prosecutor's seat. Still, his motives were noteworthy, at least.

Pesu suddenly strained at her leash, throwing him forward and stumbling through the snow.

"Heel! I said, heel, Pesu!" Edgeworth hollered.

But the dog wouldn't listen. She seemed driven towards something as though the very forces of nature were pulling her there. Normally she was so well behaved that the sudden change surprised him. At last she came to rest by a mound of snow in a clearing, barking up a storm.

"What on earth's gotten into you, Pesu?" Edgeworth sighed, trying to regain his breath. "There's nothing out here!"

The dog whined, prodding the mound with her snout. And that was when he saw it. Bit's of black fabric sticking out from underneath it. And were those... hands? And blood?! With a sudden sick curiosity, he dropped to his knees and shoved the snow away. The resulting groan as he turned the body over was enough to leave him speechless.

"...Lawright?!" Edgeworth shouted.

"...Prosecutor... Edgeworth?" Judge mumbled blearily, his golden eyes staring dully up at his mentor. "No... no... t-time..."

"What's happened? Who's done this?" Edgeworth demanded.

"N-N-No... You don't... understand... Miss Fey and Mr. Wright... Detective Gumshoe and... Shinigami..." Judge panted, shaking violently. "All in danger... my fault... g-go, please..."

Edgeworth stared. In danger? From what? Or who? He knew at least one thing: Either he saved his protege or he saved his rivals and his friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jury came to a screeching halt outside the doors of the emergency center of the hospital. She chewed on her bottom lip nervously as hospital personnel began swarming around her car in an attempt to help Ayame and Dolores. She flashed the coroner what she hoped was a comforting smile as she followed along.

"Don't worry, they'll fix you right up," she assured her. "And as far as your involvement... please don't beat yourself up over it too much. You were taken and used against your will. You've done nothing wrong."

She jumped suddenly when her cell phone began to ring, the merry tune of the Steel Samurai theme assaulting her ears. Digging into her pocket, she whipped it out.

"Hello? M-Miss Cadaverini! I'm almost relieved you've called. I thought you might like an update," Jury said into the receiver. "I'm... I'm afraid things have taken a turn for the worse on my end. However... I've seen him face to face."


((Beware the Mega Post. I decided it was time to whip ol' Edgey-poo out. He was getting all dusty sitting in a corner. So, let's toss him around like a bad head cold! :D))

---

((I'm only good at controlling non canon characters...))

Trouble getting the word out? They usually do a good job...But that does sound something like Judge would do......

"Huh, So you're a fan of Mr. Wright? So, did he protect you in court? Or was it something else?"

Edgar tried to grab the bags so he wouldn't have to get in. It would be a bad idea to let in anyone that Edgar did not know for certain. And the guy gave Edgar the creeps.

((Huh...It got shorter..))

---

Ayame opened her eyes to see the blinding light of the hospital lamps. She couldn't move well yet and could tell she was being moved to the ICU. She had been here before for random samples and all the like, but never had been a patient. The cold air of the hospital was biting at her conscience. She then shot up, ignoring the blood pour. "J-jury... in his bag......" She hobbled back into the bed. "He had a deliv....er...y b-" She fell out again, as the peramedics rushed her in. Ayame hoped Jury caught what she was saying. For all their sakes.

---

((Yay, Edgey! :D))

Dolores smiled weakly back at Jury as she was being led down a hall by a nurse.

-----------------------------------

Viola's eyes narrowed when she heard Jury's shocking news.

"...Tell me everything."

-----------------------------------

Edgeworth's brows furrowed as he looked down at Judge's pathetic form. Of course, he had to get help for Judge or else he would die. He pulled out his cell phone and called for an ambulence. He pulled Judge out of the snow, despite his weak protests. Edgeworth was shocked to find a deep, gruesome wound at the lower right side of his chest. It was unmistakably a knife wound. As much as he might regret it later, the prosecutor undid his cravat and tore off a strip of the expensive silk and pressed it against Judge's oozing wound. Edgeworth searched his brain for any more of his limited first-aid knowledge. The knife probably had not punctured a lung, because not a lot of blood wasn't pouring out of Judge's mouth. Judge's golden eyes glared up at him.

"You have to be taken care of first. I will not let you die."

((Short. D: And hastily made, sorry.))

---

((That's okay, Game Over. Don't feel pressured to do it or anything. I just sometimes feel it's best to have the main characters available because... well, they're main characters. I'm pretty good at juggling oodles of characters at once (or I try to be, anyway) and fatalfeline and Ayasato-chan seem to be as well, so we're cool. In fact, more characters around just might help with our non-canon character interaction. :P))


Jury did her best to keep up with her friends as they were lead away while explaining the situation to Viola. She ran a hand through her short, snow white hair.

"Well, a friend of mine, Ayame, called and informed me that our man was headed towards Kurain Village and so I drove over there to meet her. When I got there, both Ayame and another woman I've been working with, Miss Sident, were in rather rough shape. Apparently the killer had abducted Miss Sident and used her to incapacitate Ayame..." she explained hurriedly, blue eyes glancing up and down the hallway. "We had a run in with him face-to-face and I should have shot him, but... he informed me that there were explosives under our feet and that if I tried, I might set them off, or he would push the detonator himself. And so I... allowed him to escape..."

As she said it, the fact truly began to sink in. She'd had him, a sadistic serial murderer, in her sights and she'd allowed him to casually stroll away. No, no, no... That wouldn't do. She couldn't afford to be down on herself; not now. She had no other choice. She couldn't have risked the lives of so many innocent people, not to mention her friends. Something positive had come of all of it, after all: They knew his face. There was no way he could get away clean now.

"But as I said, I have seen his face!" Jury said, as though trying to rally her own spirits. "And I'm going to put out an APB just as soon as I'm finished here. Do you have anything on your end that might help? ...What is it Ayame?"

Jury frowned. Even in her poor condition, her friend was straining to tell her something. She watched with a mixture of alarm and sadness as Ayame ignored the pain of her own wounds to try and get some message to her. Something important.

"A delivery... He's pretending to be a delivery boy? To get to Miss Fey?" Jury queried incredulously, cell phone still connected to Viola.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Y-You... idiot!" Judge grumbled, hissing in pain as Edgeworth applied pressure to his wound. He was surprised he could still speak, actually. All he felt like doing now was slipping off into blissful unconsciousness. "The Silver Bell Slayer... he... he's after... after them and I... I... Miss Fey is..."

Edgeworth sighed as the younger men protested weakly, Pesu licking anxiously at his face. Judge didn't understand it, but this was one of the reasons he hadn't been allowed to handle a trial on his own as yet. He was brilliant, that much was obvious, in fact Edgeworth had no doubt that the young man might very well achieve his dream of Chief Prosecutor in the future, but there was one blinding fact blocking his way. He was hasty and overly confident in his abilities. He needed to be cut down to size. True, having to handle a trial himself might very well do this, but Edgeworth felt some level of protectiveness over him. He reminded him of himself, many years ago.

"If anyone's an idiot here, I'm afraid that would have to be you," Edgeworth snorted. "I've called for an ambulance. We can settle this matter quite easily without you stupidly sacrificing yourself in the process. I'll call Detective Gumshoe right now. He's at Wright's office, correct? Then we should have no problem getting a hold of them."

Edgeworth wasn't a fool. He knew why Judge was so insistent. He had seen it in court, the way the younger man would suddenly lose his composure at the sight of the quirky spirit medium. He was smitten with her, for whatever reason.

"Killar has... my cell phone. Tell him... tell him to call it... for proof. Beethoven's 5th... ringtone... should be... easy..." Judge mumbled blearily, blinking hastily to remain conscious.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

The killer handed over a few of the bags quite readily. There was no need to appear hostile, that wouldn't do him any good. If he couldn't get in at the moment, he could at least judge how well they were up on security and how best to overcome it.

"Defended me? Oh, no, see... I'm actually a law student. I'm taking night classes and trying to pay for it with jobs like this during the day," he explained, looking somewhat ashamed. "I mean, he's sort of like... well, kind of like my idol. A role model, you know? I mean, the way he points his finger and yells, "OBJECTION!!" all authoritative-like? It's epic, man, epic!"

Ugh. As-if. Wright was a hack, at the very best. They all were. Law enforcement had done nothing but get in his way his entire life. They were useless.

Detective Gumshoe stared, wondering who the fruitcake at the door was. From the sound of it, he was some kind of Phoenix Wright Fanboy. He didn't really understand the appeal to it. He jumped when his cell phone rang. It was a wonder he could even have something as expensive as a cell phone. Well, the police department payed for it, so... maybe it wasn't a wonder after all.

"Detective Gumshoe, pal."

"Detective, it's Edgeworth. Apparently you have a rather dangerous serial murderer en route to Wright's door step dressed as a delivery boy. I thought I might warn you."

"Oh, er... thank-you, sir!" Gumshoe said, loudly.

"There's no thanks necessary. As it turns out, the killer in question is the one we've been after for quite some time. The Silver Bell Slayer, as they're calling him. He did a rather nice job of stabbing Lawright in the chest, so be aware that he's armed."

"He did what?!" Gumshoe hollered into the receiver. "So that story about Mr. Lawright going off with an informant must've been a lie..."

There was silence on the other line before a very agitated Edgeworth spoke. "Please do not tell me he's there now and you're idly chit-chatting with me."

"Er... maybe," Gumshoe admitted.

"Then do something, you imbecile! The killer has Lawright's cell phone. Have Shinigami call it for proof and detain that man before he makes a move!"

"Actually, sir, it's Shir--"

"I don't care! Do it!"

He winced at the click on the other line and hurriedly made his way to the door. With a no-nonsense look on his face, he stepped out and stood in back of the mysterious delivery boy/potential mass murderer.

"Listen, pal. No funny business now, alright?"

"Funny business? I didn't spit in your food, I swear!" the killer said exasperatedly. Drat. They were on to him...



((Wheeeeeeeeeeeee~))

---

Sweating wasn't common for him. And yet, the sudden ferocity of the detective close to him was too much to bare at the moment.

"W-what are you talking about...?" There was no chance that lawyer survived. Was there? He swallowed hard and silently grabbed the phone in his pocket.

Can't have this betray me...

He proceeded to wipe the phone's memory. Contacts, numbers, ringtones... all gone.

---

{{ XD I Thought this had died, damn - I'll catchup and post when I can get a chance to, Sorry }}

---

Viola's eyes hardened gradually to a deadly glare as she listened to Jury's story. A guard in Viola's line of sight shifted uncomfortably.

"...Tell me what he looks like."

"..."

"Red hair and brown eyes? Thank you, Jury. I finally have Holly's killer..."

She hung up the phone without giving any more information and despite protests from the other line. She stood up and walked to a safe on the other side of the room. She quickly opened the combination lock and removed a sleek pistol and some ammunition from the safe. This was not rational, but it had to be done.

"Miss Viola...?" one of her men whispered.

Viola slipped on a warm black coat.

"I'm leaving. Don't follow me. And do not tell my grandfather about this," Viola ordered the guards sternly.

She walked out the door and a limo pulled up. Viola stepped in and sat in a comfortable leather seat.

"Take me to the Wright & Co. Law Offices," she said to the chauffeur.

---

"Hmm? Whats wrong Gumshoe?"

Edgar was confused, Gumshoe had just got off the phone and now looked agitated and scared...Of the delivery Boy? Gumshoe had to know something Edgar did not know...And whatever it was it scared Gumshoe...It seemed to involve the delivery boy....

((Well, He doesn't know just yet. So he can't do much until told....Yeah...))

---

((......BUMP PLZ))

---

((*wheeze* I'm so sorry! I haven't had access to a computer because, well... my laptop died. But I'm back! So let's do this! As Edgeworth would say: *raises fists* Whoooooooooooooop! o: ))


The killer, Christopher Bell, hurriedly erased all of the phones information. Blats. That pesky brat was turning out to be more of a thorn in his side than he'd anticipated. There was no way he could have survived. Not in those conditions. And yet... he could feel the suspicion closing in on him.

"Hey, what're you doing with that phone, pal?!" Gumshoe demanded.

"Phone? Oh, well, it's new, see, and I've been having a lot of trouble with it. I was hoping to use it to get a picture with Mr. Wright, but... well, it keeps erasing all my stuff! Numbers, pictures... everything! It's a total drag," he replied with a sigh. "And it wasn't cheap, either! I had to save six months' salary to get it!"

Gumshoe nodded in solemn sympathy. The admittance had struck a chord deep down in his instant noodle-loving heart. Oh, wait. Bad guy. Right.

"Well, it looks kind of like a phone a friend of mine has," Gumshoe said, tossing a glance towards Edgar. He hoped the younger officer was catching his drift... but then again, Gumshoe wasn't known for his talent for relaying words via a psychic wavelength.

"Really?" Bell asked, appearing interested. Outwardly, he continued his facade, but inwardly he was growing annoyed and frustrated. This detective knew something. "Hey, is he having the same problem I am?!"

"Well, he's been having problems... Hey! Maybe I should call him and find out for ya, pal!" Gumshoe said, whipping out his cell and dialing.

"No, er... I mean, he probably wouldn't be able to help if he has the same problem, right? Listen, I should really be--..."

He stopped short when the phone in his hand began vibrating. Gumshoe stared at him coldly. He'd erased all that the phone had stored... but he couldn't erase its number. He was trapped. With a snarl, he ripped something from his pocket and threw it to the ground, instantly a cloud of smoke burst forth from the small device, enshrouding them all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jury stared vacantly at her phone as she stood in the middle of the ER lobby. It was strange for Viola to just hang up so suddenly like that, despite all her protests. She pouted before tucking it away in her pocket and drawing a deep breath. Alright, she knew she needed to do something... but just where should she begin? She knew this Christopher Bell character was after Maya Fey. Should she try to contact her? Or... should she remain in the hospital with her friends?

Quite suddenly, a decision was made for her. She had to dive out of the way to avoid being plowed over by an incoming stretcher as it flew through the doors and down the hall.

"I'm sorry, sir, but you'll have to wait in the lobby."

She quirked her head in the direction of the conversation and was met by the sight of a familiar individual.

"Oh! Prosecutor Edgeworth!" Jury called with a wave, bounding over. His brows knitted together as she drew near. "What on earth are you doing here? Have you been involved with the case?"

"...In one way or another, yes," Edgeworth replied stiffly.

"Good! We can use someone like you around, especially at this crucial stage. We're definitely making progress. Not all of it is good, but we're moving somewhere," Jury said reflectively. "Some associates and I had a... run-in with the killer. I've put out an APB on his appearance and I'm getting help from another source, but... Well, not everyone escaped from the encounter unscathed."

She nibbled on the end of her thumb anxiously. Obviously an information any of them had on the case was vital and needed to be shared, but that didn't make it any less embarrassing. It would have been just as effective if she'd admitted to shooting herself in the foot. After all, she hadn't been much use in helping Ayame or Dolores... but that could change, yet.

"Then they're not the only ones," Edgeworth said, glancing over his shoulder.

"There's been another attack?! Was it Maya Fey? Is that who they just wheeled in? But if it was, then where's Nicky-boy? Oh, don't tell me he's been...? I'll get right on it! I have a favor I haven't called in on, Joe down in--"

"Yes, yes, but you need to listen, Agent Lawright," Edgeworth interrupted tersely. "Maya is fine. Wright is fine. You should be paying more attention to that hot-headed fool of a brother of yours."

"Judge? Why? Did he do something stupid again because you got the case and he didn't?" Jury asked with a knowing smile. "Look, Mr. Edgeworth, I know he's a real pain for you sometimes, but he really respects you as a mentor, which is why I suppose he gets so emotional over the--"

"Would you please stop your incessant rambling for one minute," Edgeworth interrupted. "I have been trying to tell you that the reason I'm here is because I happened to stumble upon said fool of a brother laying face down in the snow and slowly bleeding to death in a remote section of the park. That was him they wheeled in a moment ago. You didn't think it all strange that I was covered in blood? Or that he hadn't called in over five hours?"

She stared. "...That's a terribly rude way of informing someone a loved one has been hurt, Mr. Edgeworth."

Edgeworth remained silent.

"How bad is it?" Jury prodded.

"I won't lie, he was bleeding quite profusely and the wound was deep... However, I'm not a doctor, so I can't tell you either way what his condition is," Edgeworth replied guardedly.

"I see," she said simply, pulling absently as a lock of her own hair. "Thank-you for finding him."

"It's not something I want to be thanked for," Edgeworth responded. "I'm heading over to Wright's. The situation doesn't look good at the moment."

"Then I'm going as well," Jury decided. "I can't do anything here. Judge is in surgery, so I can't see him... And I'm sure Ayame and Dolores would rather I was out looking for our man rather than holding their hands at their bedsides."

"I don't know why you feel the need to explain to me," Edgeworth said flatly.

"Well, it's not like I'm just abandoning them..." Jury grumbled. She really wasn't in the mood for this. She needed to be distracted. Otherwise she'd just fret away and be of no use at all. "So... let's go."

She knew if she stayed, if she had to see him in that state, she'd lose it. That quick, calculating appearance she had to keep up, her ability to spring back after anything, she knew it wouldn't stand up to something like that. Her pride had been wounded already. Ayame, Dolores and now Judge... Giving up wasn't an option. Besides, big sister couldn't very well let the bully get away with hurting little brother.


((Haha... I dunno, Jury's "BlablahblahI need to explain stuff" mentality just kind of amuses me when coupled with Edgey's "OMFGSTFUPLZ". xD))

---

(BUMP FOR GREATER JUSTICE!)

---

...Damn, that was close.

Bell was already halfway down the street by the time those fools in Wright's office even realized he was gone. Cars passed by him, even a stretch limo, but he gave them no mind as he began formulating another plan.

I'll have to get her when they least expect me... I'll have to bring her there, where I can finish with no interruptions. I have to, after all. It's almost Christmas. I'll get you, Maya Fe--

BANG!

A bullet grazed his right arm and sent him reeling. He stopped himself from falling and turned around in shock. He clenched his freely bleeding wound with his other hand.

"What...?!"

"Hee... Hee... Hello... Chistopher Bell..." A voice like an icy silk noose.

A dark young woman glared at him with cold, empty eyes, a slender pistol smoking in a delicate pale hand. Even with the darkness and the distance, Bell recognized her and a devilish smaile crept into his lips.

"Hello to you, too... Miss Cadaverini."

Viola scowled.

"Yes," Bell continued. "I know all about you... and your dear, sweet little Holly."

BANG!

"AHAHAHA!" Bell was ready for it this time, and deftly skipped out of the way of the path of the oncoming bullet.

"Sorry about that. You see, you two were the little error in my equation. Little Holly knew too much. She was catching on to me... and for that she had to disappear. Didn't want any outsiders nosing into my plan, even if they were following the wrong lead. After I came for her life, I found out about you... and left a little note so you could find me... I've been looking forward to this."

"You are a fool. You purposefully brought your death upon yourself... Your life ends now." All ice. Viola aimed the gun at Bell again, sure she would not miss this time.

"Ah, ah, ah. Miss Violetta, don't stop the fun yet. I'm not finished. Little Holly must be very important to you. How important you must be to her! Her last moments were... so gorgeous... You must know. I expected her to scream for her dead daddy, but no. She screamed for you, Viola. For you. She cried, she begged for you to save her. 'Viola! Viola!' She called for her Viola as the light left her eyes... Oh god, she was so beautiful. Her tears, her fright, her ivory skin and how it bled... oh magnificent holly red... After creating such a breathtaking death I knew I could never regret my little error..."

Viola's hands shook with rage. "You.... monster!" She shot at him, but he dodged out of the way and towards her like a cat. He misstepped once and a bullet lightly grazed his left temple, but he continued without seeming to notice. She ran out of bullets and he twisted behind her and restrained her with one hand, while holding his switchblade to her jugular vein with the other.

"Miss Viola!" Her chaffeur ran out the car against his orders, cocked his handgun, and aimed it at Bell.

He sneered. "Calm down. I'm not going to kill the Cadaverini daughter, especially if I plan on living. But if you pull that trigger... My hand will most likely slip in a most unfortunate way."

The chaffeur glared, but knew that he had no other choice than to lower his gun.

"That's better. Merry Christmas to you! Ha ha ha..."

He happily dragged his hostage down the sidewalk.

"City sidewalks, busy sidewalks
Dressed in holiday style
In the air there's a feeling of Christmas..."

---

Edgeworth continually glanced in his rearview mirror as he drove along, watching as Agent Jury Lawright followed behind him in her own vehicle. To be truly honest, he didn't know much about the woman. She'd assisted him in the odd number of cases, and of course they came in contact due to her hot-headed fool of a brother and bizarrely close friendship with Detective Gumshoe, but outside that... Well, it wasn't as if he made a sincere effort to get to know anyone he worked with anyway, so he supposed in the end it mattered very little.

Besides, there were far more important things to concern himself with. Such as homicidal maniacs terrorizing the city. While impatiently waiting at a red light, he drummed his fingers along his steering wheel and allowed his eyes to wander along the sidewalk that ran alongside the road. He saw something very small moving rapidly along it and squinted to get a better look. That couldn't possibly be...? No. Could it? Good god, it was! He hurriedly pulled off to the side of the road and all but leaped from his car, taking off after the small object.

"Prosecutor Edgewoooooooooooooooooorth!" Jury yelled exasperatedly, making an effort to catch up to him as she unwisely left her car in the middle of oncoming traffic, slow though it was.

The woman's tremendously loud yell (which was somewhat frightening given her small stature) thankfully helped in one way, by causing the small object to stop dead in its tracks and turn to face him, allowing to catch up.

"Mr. Edgeworth! Are you going to Mr. Nick's?" Pearl Fey asked, not seeming the least out of breath.

"Yes, I... Pearl, what are you doing out here?" Edgeworth demanded.

"I'm going to Mr. Nick's! Mystic Maya is in trouble; Detective Scruffy told me so!" Pearl asserted, clenching her small fists in determination.

That man... Edgeworth grumbled inwardly. Leave it to Gumshoe to go and say something like that. Jury had caught up by now and was seemingly attempting to understand just what was going on. He hastily introduced the two before getting straight down to business.

"Although I loath to bring you to where I know there will be danger, I know you'll get there with or without me. I would rather it be with, so you'll come along with us, Pearl," Edgeworth decided with a sigh. What was it about Fey women that made them so determined, anyway?

"Stand back, Prosecutor Edgeworth!"

He barely had time to react to the command before Jury had placed herself in front of him and Pearl, reaching for her weapon. A quick glance further down the sidewalk told him why. A man had a young woman who he identified as Viola Cadaverini held and knife-point and was slowly making his escape with his hostage. He reflexively drew Pearl closer; if anything happened to her, Wright would have his head.

"That's far enough, Mr. Christopher Bell," Jury called, aiming her gun level with his chest.

Bell turned his head, blinking his warm brown eyes before a smile alighted to his face. "Ah, Agent Lawright, I was wondering when I might get the chance to see you again."

"I could say the same," Jury replied.

"My, my, my! I see you even have the esteemed Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth with you. This is quite the honor," Bell chuckled.

"I'm afraid I can't say the same," Edgeworth growled.

"Are you the one who's trying to hurt Mystic Maya?" Pearl demanded, trying to evade Edgeworth's grasp.

"Hurt her? Oh, no, my dear little Pearl. Not at all," Bell responded, looking almost hurt. "I merely mean to make her a beautiful star in my Christmas tree."

"Not if we have anything to say about it," Jury replied. "Give it up, Bell. There's now way out. The game is over so just let her go and come quietly."

"You know, I would have expected better of you. I mean, you don't really suppose I'll just give up now that I'm so close to achieving my goal, do you?" Bell inquired, although he knew he was now in quite the tight spot.

"You're all talk right now. You know well yourself that there's no possible--" Edgeworth began to say, before he was suddenly interrupted.

"Wh-What's this?!" Jury demanded, feeling the ground begin to shake beneath her.

"My escape," Bell said as people and objects alike began to be tossed about like rag dolls at the mercy of the earthquake.

((Pearl is just so goshdarn cute. :P And as you can see, I feel like giving Edgey a bad time. And providing an easy escape route for le killer.))

---

((MY internet...IT'S finally back!!))

"Aw geez! A smoke bomb?! Where the hell did he get a smoke bomb from?! Where is he?!"

Edgar tried to move the smoke away in vain and was coughing over and over due to the smoke. When the smoke cleared enough Edgar looked around to see the Delivery guy had ran. He saw Wright and Maya and Gumshoe were fine. Now the smoke had finally cleared enough.

"All right Gumshoe. Who was that guy really?"

((Short...So tired...))

---

"Ha ha ha..."

Bell ran with Viola into an alley, seemingly unaffected by the quaking ground.

Then as soon as it began, the quaking stopped.

"Wh-What was that?" Pearl said weakly, starting to sob from being so frightened.

"Wait, what's that...?" Edgeworth was sure he could hear something. Something from beneath their feet. Edgeworth, no longer caring how ruined his clothes were, pressed his ear to the asphalt.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beepbeepbeepbeepbeep--

Edgeworth's eyes widened to the size of saucers and he jumped to his feet.

"EVERYONE, RUN!!" he bellowed. He grabbed Pearl and held her under his arm and seized Jury's hand and started sprinting like he had never had in his life. They made to the intersection, then...

BOOM!

The ground where they had been standing seconds before exploded, sending a brilliant cloud of destruction into the sky. The resulting shockwave knocked them off of their feet.

Blocks away.... Bell had found an abandoned warehouse to rest at for a little while and had Viola tied tightly to a pole. He smiled and playfully bounced a deactivated time bomb in his hand.

"Time bombs. Useful little things to have around, wouldn't you agree, mi Violetta? Good thing a manhole was right there when they found me.... My luck never fails me... Heh heh heh..."

---

((I like your style, lady. :P))

Pearl ceased her crying momentarily as Edgeworth snatched her up, simultaneously grabbing Jury's hand and hauling them away. At first, the agent protested vehemently, wishing to go after Bell, until a sudden explosion knocked them all flat on their faces. As the dust began to settle, she shakily raised herself to her elbows, greeted by the sound of car alarms and screams.

"That... That was..." she gasped.

"A time bomb," Edgeworth finished, trying not to squirm as Pearl gripped him tightly around the neck and sobbed into his jacket.

"Are you alright?" Jury asked, looking over him suspiciously.

"Fine," he stated flatly. He felt a bit shaken up, but at least he hadn't passed out or curled into a ball crying. "Yourself?"

"Same. And how about you, Pearl? Are you okay?" Jury asked gently.

"Uh... Uh-huh," Pearl sniffled.

"Right, well, I'll be off then," Jury said, rising to dust herself off before turning to run down the sidewalk.

"Wait! Just where do you think you're going?" Edgeworth demanded, standing and taking Pearl up in his arms.

"After Bell, of course. Look, Prosecutor Edgeworth, I understand you're used to running the show, but right now we have to split up," Jury replied.

"I don't think that's a wise choice," he informed her.

"I don't think we have any other one," Jury insisted. "Bell's run off with Viola as his hostage, but that doesn't mean Maya and the others are safe. I know Richard's with them, but this guy is beyond cunning. We have no choice but to split up. Do you still have my cell number?"

"Yes."

"Good. I have your, so I'll call you in a half an hour."

"If I don't hear from you before then, I'll assume something's amiss," Edgeworth said decidedly.

"Sounds like a plan," Jury said with a nod. "And make sure you watch Pearl!"

"I've known her longer than you..." Edgeworth said with a hint of annoyance. Pearl frowned, seemingly disliking the fact that they were speaking about her like a child, but that didn't cause her to release her grip on the Prosecutor.

"Stay safe," Jury said, turning to leave.

"And you as well," Edgeworth said, doing the same.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gumshoe coughed, waving away the smoke so he could relieve his poor, oxygen deprived lungs. Having done so, he blinked in response to Edgar's questioning.

"I dunno, pal, he seems to have a whole bag of tricks up his sleeve," he replied.

He blanched when the younger officer asked just who the man was. Well, at this point there was no use hiding it from him. He sighed, looking in to make sure Maya and Phoenix were unharmed, and closed the door a crack.

"He was the Silver Bell Slayer," Gumshoe admitted. "I didn't say anything before because I didn't want to spook him into doing anything dangerous. That sure worked out great, huh? Remember Prosecutor Lawright, the guy that was here before? Turns out the Slayer knifed him and left him for dead, but Prosecutor Edgeworth found him and told me the guy had Lawright's cell phone. I was kind of hoping to catch him red handed..."

Man, oh man. If her knew Prosecutor Edgeworth well (and he did) then the guy definitely would not be happy to find they'd let the killer get away. Then again, they had kept him from getting to Maya, which was their main objective, so that was a good thing.

"Hey, is that Mr. Edgeworth coming this way?" Gumshoe asked with surprise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Judge stifled a groan as he came round. Where was he? A hospital? His body felt unbelievably heavy and sore... not to mention it felt as though someone had lit a fire in his chest. Even lifting his head from the pillow in order to get a better look around required more energy than he had. He felt along his abdomen. Was it covered in... bandages? That's right. He'd been stabbed. And Edgeworth had found him. But then, what about...

Maya!

He sat up quite suddenly, which turned out to be a bad idea.

"Nngh...!"

He dropped back to the bed, gasping for breath and curling into a ball. It hurt... He wasn't used to this kind of pain. Blinking rapidly to clear the tears from his eyes, he saw two other people in the room. One of them he recognized as the medical examiner who'd been working on the case, the other was an old friend of his sister's. What had happened?

"Mr. Lawright? Are you alright?"

He glanced over his shoulder to see a nurse there. Her name tag read "Merrie Holiday."

"No, I need to... Ugh... I need to get out of here," he gasped.

"I'm afraid I have strict orders to keep you in this room," Holiday said with a sweet smile.

"I'm an adult, you can't... you can't hold me here against my will."

"But if you were to leave, Master Bell would be most upset."

Judge's golden eyes widened in comprehension. Before he could make a move, she'd plunged a needle into his arm. Almost instantly, his head grew fuzzy and his eyes heavy.

"You... how could you...?"

"So long as I do what Master Bell says, then I will become his bride. I can't allow you to get in the way of that. Goodnight, Prosecutor Lawright," Holiday said, brushing a hand tenderly over his forehead, playing with his snowy white hair before marching out of sight.

"...this... no... someone help, I... please... Jury... Edgeworth... M-Maya..."

And he slept.

((Accomplices are fun, don't you agree?))

---

((Obsessed fan-girl that woos over the bad guy? THAT'S MY CALLING!))

Merrie cheerfully exited the room, making sure that young Lawright would be out for a while. All the while humming to herself, "Tis the Season". She made a turn over to the anesthetics deoartment and carried a few tranquilizers on her. Then, she went back to the room, and just as cheerfully, she injected a little more into Lawright's blood.

"Numb and sleepy," She giggled. "You won't be a roblem for a LONG while..."

She practically danced out, imangining her glorious wedding moment.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ayame steadily awoke. Completely unaware that Judge was under heavy medication, she got out of bed and checked them herself. The woman named Dolores was fine, if not mentally scarred. Ayame turned to Judge.

"Oh... I'm so sorry..." She looked at him and then at his arm. It had no bandage, and yet it was clear from the puncture something was injected.

"It's slowly bleeding, so maybe a sed- wait, what am I thinking, He was injected with a heavy painkiller!" She hastily ran out of the room, and bumped into the ever-lovable Dr. Turner Grey (AU Remember? XD).

"And what might you be doing at of bed miss Misora?" He had a monotonus, yet chiling voice that no one seemed to like. Ayame face-palmed.

"Why me?" She shoved the doctor aside to retrieve her phone from the desk. Dr. Grey grabbed her by the arm. "I highly doubt your planning to discharge yourself?" He was irritating to no end.

"Why yes I am." She shook him off and grabbed her phone. "Dammit Jury, if you don't answer, I'll feed you hydrochloric acid myself." She hit send and the phone began to ring.

---

Edgeworth arrived at the Wright & Co. Law Offices.

"M-Mr. Edgeworth! It is you! Are you all right, sir? You're covered in blood!"

"...It's not my blood! It's..." he sighed. "That really doesn't matter right now, Detective. We just saw the Silver Bell Slayer but he got away. He was holding Viola Cadaverini hostage. I understand you managed to keep him away from Maya Fey..." He nodded to her curteously. "Detective Gumshoe, I want you to get the police to search the neighborhood. He couldn't have gotten too far away. This man must be stopped at any cost. I will remain here with Pearl Fey and everyone else. Officer Shinigami should provide us adequate protection for now."

"That's Shiragami, sir..." Gumshoe whispered. He winced at the cold glare he got as a response.
"Er, I mean, yes sir! And I see you made it here okay, Pearl." He grinned at the little girl. "I'll be leaving now! You guys stay safe, ya hear?"

The detective bounded out the door.

Pearl waved. "Goodbye, Mr. Scruffy Detective!"

((Edit: Someone should archive the first part of this RP from the InvisionFree forum, since I'm hearing it will close down soon...))

---

...So I was sort of right. He did give me the creeps. Well, Now I know his face. Unless he can change it or has someoen helping him he wont be getting anywhere near Ms. Fey

"Mr. Edgeworth, I will make sure nothing bad happens here. If any happens here that I could've stopped I will resign."

Edgar was not kidding, He would feel horrible if something were to happen that he could of stopped...Better call for back up. Edgar pulled out a special phone that had markings of the the police station on it.

"Pick up...Pick up.....Hey Hiro! You still at that old scene?"

"Edgar? Yeah, I am. The press left and we got everything we need. I was going to go back to the station."

"Come over to Wright's office."

"Wrights office?...You mean phoenix wright's? Sure I'll come over. Mind telling me why?"

"I'll tell you when you get over here and help me make sure no one gets in."

---

((Oh, that's a good point. I'll go see about archiving that, then. Ayasato-chan nice use of AUness! And... serial-killer-fangirliness! 8D I love how all of your are pulling this together. This is the first RP in a while where the majority of those involved were really in sync. Great going everyone! fatalfeline, you're really good at keeping everyone in character; I think I'm in lurve.))

Jury pursued Bell on foot, having left her car parked some blocks away. She only knew the general direction that he'd taken off, and lumbering around in a car wouldn't help her any. All her senses needed to be at their full capacity, and the best environment for that was on foot. Still, she couldn't help but be a bit distracted by thoughts of other things. How was her brother doing? Had he even survived? Were Ayame and Dolores going to be all right? Had Viola been harmed? Were Maya and the others safe? Was Edgeworth as fine as he said he was?

These questions and about a hundred more buzzed around in her mind, making it difficult to concentrate. She came to a stop, leaning against a concrete wall of an old building.

"Come on, Jury, pull it together," she demanded of herself. "This is Day One training; don't let your emotions override your sense of judgement. Clear your head. You're no use to anyone if you're too busy worrying about them to rescue them."

With that, she took off at a run once more, her breath rising as a white puff into the cold December air. She doubled back when she came across what appeared to be a warehouse, thinking that perhaps she should check it out. She was forced to quickly duck back behind the wall as she was met by the sight of Bell and Viola tied to a pole. Thankfully, the killer hadn't seen her, but she couldn't say the same for the hostage. Suddenly, her phone went off. Thank god she'd had the sense of mind to put it on vibrate! She checked the caller ID before picking up.

"Ayame! You're awake!" Jury whispered excitedly. "I'm so glad that you've woken up. You were in pretty rough shape... But listen, whatever it is will have to wait, I'm... in a bit of a tight situation."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Edgeworth sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. All right, at least that had been taken care of. Everyone at Wright & Co. seemed to be doing alright, thankfully, despite the scare of having a serial killer on their doorstep. He plopped himself down in a chair, suddenly worn out by all that had happened in such a short span of time. He really would have to choose who he associated with more carefully; his current choice in company seemed to bring kidnappers and killers galore wherever they trod. Pearl, after making sure everyone was all right, got don to busily detailing his "heroics" to anyone listening.

"And then Ms. Jury told the bad guy that it was all over, just like in the movies but he didn't give up! Then there was this big earthquake and a bomb at the same time and Mr. Edgeworth saved us all by himself! You should have been there, Mr. Nick. You would have been so proud of him!" Pearl said excitedly.

Edgeworth blanched. Just what kind of an impression did that little girl have of him?

"Officer Shinigami, it appears you're calling for back-up. Are you certain that the police can spare an extra man-power at this point in time?" Edgeworth asked curiously. Most of the police force had been assembled to look for the killer, after all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Christopher Bell looked over the ropes binding Viola to the pole to make sure they were secure. Tight as they were, he pulled them just a little bit tighter with a cheerful smile.

"Wouldn't want you escaping now, would we, pet?" he cooed.

Taking out his cell phone he quickly dialed the number of Merrie Holiday, his partner in crime. He didn't really intend on marrying her, of course, but so long as she thought that then she had her uses. Right now, that was keeping an eye on their other set of hostages.

"Yes, Master Bell?" Merrie answered politely.

"Hello, Merrie. I just thought I'd check in and see how the brat and our two lovely ladies are doing," he said.

"...Hmph. You know I don't like it when you talk about other women like that, Master."

"Come now, you know you're the one who has my heart, my winter angel," Bell replied smooth as velvet.

"Oh, Master Bell... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have doubted you."

"You're forgiven. This is important work we're doing, so it's understandable that you might become a little confused," he answered. "Now, what of our guests?"

"I've just taken care of little Lawright a moment ago. He's under with a sedative pain-killer cocktail, so he shouldn't be a bother for much longer. Not with that in his bloodstream. Sident and Misora are still unconscious, but I'll be giving them the same shortly."

"Excellent! Then things seem to be back on track. I had a bit of a run-in with the brat's sister and Miles Edgeworth; it was actually quite entertaining. I hope to play with them again before all is said and done," Bell mused, grinning gleefully. "Well, I'll leave things in your capable hands, my gingerbread cookie."

"Yes, Master Bell. I won't disappoint you."

Ending the call, he stashed the cell phone in his pocket once more, before looking to Viola. This wasn't how he had originally planned things, but it was turning out to be far more entertaining than he'd expected. Of course, his goal of reaching Maya Fey was still his ultimate goal, but seeing as he couldn't reach her at this point in time, there was no sense in letting a good hostage go to waste.

"Of course, I won't kill you," Bell said to Viola, running his fingers through her silky black hair tenderly. "But that doesn't mean we can't have a little fun while we wait, hmm?"

((Again... Pearl is so KEEYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOt~! xD Happy Halloween everyone! :3))

---

Viola jerked her head away from his icy fingers.

"...Don't touch me, you slime."

Bell giggled. "Harsh words. Though I can't say I blame you." He stroked the ivory skin of her neck softly.

"You really are gorgeous. It's too bad I can't kill yo-- ach!"

Viola bit down hard on his fingers. He ripped them away and Viola steeled herself for an oncoming slap or angry verbal beating. But neither came. Instead of expressing his pain, Bell only laughed harder.

"Ha ha ha! Never knew the weak-willed, spoiled little mob daughter had such bite to her! Hee hee hee!"

Then in the corner of of her eye she saw someone dash behind the wall outside of the door. White hair?

Jury...? I'll distract him...

"I know men like you," she said coldly.

"Hm?"

"I've seen them. They believe... that all women are weak. That they can bend them to their will with the slightest effort. They treat them courteously, but they are really looking down on them... Your tricks and seductions may work with other women... but you should know that I will never break to you."

---

((WHY DO I HAVE TO KEEP BUMPING THIS?!))

---

((I don't know! I was actually coming in here to do the same thing. D: ))

---

((To tired...To type up...thingy....gaah...))

---

Can I join?

Name: Jessica Minter
Age: 22
Occupation: Edgeworth's secretary and disguise expert
Description/Picture: Blonde hair, dark eyes, blue jacket with white tank top underneath, black jeans, black boots, curvy figure. If you look at her, she kind of reminds you of Mia Fey.
History: Jessica is the youngest of six and grew up in the countryside. She was a close friend of Miles after meeting him in hospital when she was one year younger than him*cough-DL6 incident-cough* but left soon after that.
When she was sixteen, she studied police work and applied to become a Police officer, but was turned down.
She then met Miles. She recognized him but unfortunately, he didn't. Funnily enough, he hired her as his secretary. He still hasn't recognized her.
Special Skills: She is very good at putting together disguises.
Flaws/Phobias: She is scared easily, has a bad temper and also scared of blood and cars.
Other: She is such a klutz that she's not allowed into Edgeworth's office without him in there himself, so she sneaks in with various disguises, one including the Blue Badger.
She has a crush on her employer but never shows it.

---

((You're a bit late to the show, though... XD But I guess you can join it. Final decision goes to a fortiori, though.))

---

((There's no such thing as too late! Wahahaha! *ahem* Anyhow, I've just been fortunate enough to receive a relatively unused laptop (Wendell 2.0 is GO!!) and I'm back online. So, time to get this thing rolling again!))

Jury was certain that Ayame could hear her every breath through the phone; her face was pressed so close to the receiver that every quick, adrenaline fueled breath left a blotch of condensation on the receiver. She had a plan. The question was, would it work? She'd have to call upon all those years of training, all those years of development for this one, single moment. And it would either make her or break her as an agent.

"Ayame, listen closely," Jury said quietly. "I'm going to leave my phone on so you can listen in on the conversation... and track me, if need be. Bell has taken Viola Cadaverini hostage and holed himself up in a warehouse. I'm going to try to work this out on my own... I hope you and Miss Sident are doing alright. I'll talk to you in a bit."

Setting the cell phone on a crate, she took a deep breath. This was her job, this was what she was supposed to excel at. She couldn't afford to let anyone else down. Straightening up, she walked straight into the warehouse, in plain view. Bell paused in his teasing of Viola, his head quirking at the sound of her boots against the concrete floor. He turned and smiled.

"Why Agent Lawright, how nice of you to join us," Bell said. "However, I'm certain rescue operations are usually performed in secret."

"Rescue?" Jury echoed, looking amused. "You don't really think that's what I'm after, do you?"

Bell remained silent, looking perplexed.

"Viola Cadaverini is nothing more than a spoiled mobseter's grand-daughter. Saving her wouldn't benefit me in any way," Jury explained with a shrug. "I've been analyzing your tactics, Mr. Bell; your intelligence, your resourcefulness... you're quite the impressive specimen. Rescue? hardly. I've come to join you."

Bell stared for a moment, a smile twitching on his lips, before throwing his head back and laughing wildly. Jury watched him, a patient smile on her face.

"Oh, Agent Lawright, you are quite the card, you are!" Bell giggled. "I'm not so stupid as to fall for such a novice trick."

"Nor would I expect you to. You think I jest? Yes, well, that's expected. After all, I'm an FBI Agent; sworn to protect the public and defend justice at any cost. But that's really not my style. I'm a Forensic Psychiatris, a Criminologist, first and foremost. The intricacy of the criminal mind is my true passion, you see, and I have been waiting for just the right individual to come along."

"Please. What about all your friends that I've hurt?" Bell pointed out, unconvinced.

Jury shrugged, looking bored. "I wouldn't call them friends. More like tools to be used at my disposal. I only make friendly with people who can be of some use. When they cease to be useful, I rid myself of them. That brother of mine? It's a shame you didn't get rid of him. He's been a thorn in my side since we were children. Why do you think I abandoned him to pursue my own path so many years ago? Because he was weak. Excess baggage. A nuisance. The FBI has provided me with all the resources I've needed and I'm guessing that having me by your side could be most beneficial."

"Very true. And yet, why is it that I don't trust you, hmm?" Bell asked, approaching her.

"Allow me to persuade you to think otherwise," Jury said, reaching for her holster.

Bell tensed up as she drew her gun, but relaxed as she emptied the cartridge and tossed both the gun and the ammunition on the floor before him. Of course, he wouldn't know about the small, one-shot pistol that she kept strapped to the inside of her boot. And she was banking on him not finding it. She raised her hands over her head with a smile.

"Feel free to search me," Jury said.

"Oh, well, if you insist," Bell said with a chuckle.

She didn't make a peep as he stretched both her arms out, running his hands along their length. He patted her down, sliding his hands along her almost non-existent curves, taking his time around her hips. As he took a knee, feeling along her legs, Jury chanced a look at Viola. She felt so much... emotion, looking at the other young woman. She didn't like having to make it seem as though her life were worth nothing, but it was necessary in order to save her. She tried as best she could to communicate this with a single look, but wasn't sure how much she could get across.

"Hmm, you're quite petite, aren't you? Not much of a figure or a chest to speak of," Bell said with a seductive chuckle, running his fingers through her hair. "But you're really quite cute, you know. I especially love this soft, snow-white hair of yours. So much like the season I'm so fond of. I'm starting to consider your proposal. You don't seem to have any hidden weapons... why don't you take a seat on that crate next to Miss Viola so I can continue our little job interview."

"Of course, Mr. Bell," she replied sweetly. "I would like nothing more."

As she walked to the crate, she couldn't help but feel sick. Sick for what she was doing, and sick for wondering if it would work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Edgeworth sighed, running a hand through his hair tiredly. he quite suddenly had a lot on his mind: a protege who may or may not be dying as he sat there, a midget of an FBI agent trying to take on a serial killer single-handedly, a half-witted detective on the hunt for said serial killer, and death threats and imminent kidnappings galore with Wright & Co. He wasn't sure what would come next. Although... hmm,now that was an idea.

Reaching in his pocket, he retrieved his cell phone. That's what secretaries were for, right? He dialed quickly, waiting for her to pick up.

"Miss Minter? This is Edgeworth. I'm at Wright's office and I seem to have become... tangled up in quite a sticky affair," Edgeworth said. "I need you to do two things for me: first, I would appreciate it if you could bring me a spare change of clothes. I keep them in the closet in my office. Secondly, acquire the status of Prosecutor Lawright from the Hotti Clinic for me. Can I count on you to do that?"

He better be able to. That's what secretaries were supposed to do, after all.

---

Viola never changed her deadpan expression. Jury's acting was surprisingly convincing, enough so that for a moment, Viola felt truly hurt. However, Jury's glance reassured her.

It was a beyond reckless ploy, to be sure. But perhaps that is just what was needed.

Bell paced back and forth, never taking his eyes off of Jury.

"You see, I am an artist. And of all of the times of the year, Christmas is by far the most beautiful. It's my birthday, too. Such a gorgeous coincidence... Anyway, I absolutely love the imagery. White snow... quiet evergreens... red holly and the sound of sleigh bells... As an artist I want to mimic the imagery in a style all of my own. My paintbrush is the the human corpse... my canvas is the city itself. When my work is complete, it will be so breathtaking.

Unfortunately, most of society does not appreciate my masterpieces... I have to live away from the eyes of the world, paint in secret. As a hard worker yourself, you must know that a task must be completed once started... And that is exactly what I need to do."

He stopped pacing and started walking back towards Jury.

"Art is free. Art is expression. And I don't believe in leaving a piece unfinished... it is even rumored that the great Leonardo da Vinci died before finishing the famous Mona Lisa... Oh, what a splendor it would have been if he'd completed it... I don't want that to happen to me."

He crouched down in front of Jury and leaned forward so His face was very close to hers, his nose almost touching hers. Through half-lidded eyes, he stared deeply into her ocean-blue eyes.

"Surely you understand."

---

Jessica was sitting at her desk. As her mobile phone rang out, she quickly pulled it out and pressed the green button.
"Hello?... Alright. I'll get right on it sir."

---

((Hmm, Minter? Do you suppose you could try and beef up your post a bit? It's not that I'm trying to be mean or anything, I just find that it's hard to draw off of a one or two-lined post.))

Jury sat patiently, watching as Bell paced, speaking of his art. She nodded appropriately, resting her chin upon her hand, allowing him to explain fully to her just what he was after. Of course, in some aspects, she was just indulging him in order to further her own plan... but on another level, that professional aspect of her couldn't help but be excited as she listened to him. Interviews with serial killers were rare; even more so when you wanted them to bare their soul to you as he was doing now. It was fascinating. It was thrilling. And it frightened her that she thought so.

"Surely you understand?"

Bell's face was mere inches from her own. She could feel his breath on her lips, the intensity of his chocolate colored eyes staring straight into her own. Not breaking eye contact, she reached out, running her hands along his chest. He was surprisingly muscular, but then, she supposed he'd have to be in order to lift the bodies the way he had. Fisting her hands in his shirt, she stood on tip-toe to press her lips against his, nibbling tenderly on his bottom lip before releasing him.

"I'm probably the only one who can," Jury said softly. "Genius like yours is so rare, so misunderstood, that the individuals who can understand them are just as rare. I suppose you can say we were meant to be."

"Hmm. You're very convincing. And I'm quite ready to give you a chance seeing as you're so... willing," Bell admitted, looking very pleased with himself. "Alright. Keep an eye on our lovely little captive while I search around the premises; can't have those police finding us, right?"

"Of course not. And if need be, I can send them off on a false trail to keep them occupied," Jury added.

"Oh, you are useful," Bell chuckled. "I'll be back in a moment, ladies. Try not to miss me."

Jury sat quietly as Bell walked off to inspect their impromptu hide-out. Even after she was sure he was out of earshot, she sat staring at her hands folded in her lap. She felt dirty.

"I'm sorry, Viola," Jury said quietly, at last glancing at the young woman. "But I promise that I'll see you safely out of this. I won't let him touch you, alright? I know, it seems... wrong of me. And it probably is. It's not anything they taught us at the academy, but I'm willing to do just about anything to ensure your safety. I've seen enough people hurt by this... man. So what I need to know is... can you play along until I can get you out of here?"

She watched Viola carefully, well aware of how she must be feeling. If Jury was feeling terrible, poor Viola must be feeling even worse.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Judge Lawright was in a fog. He wasn't conscious, that much he was sure of. And yet he could still feel everything. He could feel the wound in his side. He could feel his sluggish, comatose body struggling to draw breath. He could feel his temperature rising higher and higher, burning him.

It hurts.

He was scared. Not just for himself. He was frightened for everyone. He knew how much danger they were in. And he couldn't do anything. Because of that nurse... no, because of himself. He'd been foolish. And he needed to fix it. But first... he needed to wake up.

---

Viola nodded sluggishly.

"It does seem foolish, but then... I've been a fool myself. If I had been thinking rationally, neither you nor I would be in this situation. I apologize... and I will help you in any way I can. Hopefully we'll both get out of here alive..." She whispered lowly under her breath, low enough so that only Jury could possibly hear.

Bell could be close by without them even realizing it... and Viola wasn't sure if Bell had ever fallen completely for Jury's ploy.

-------------------------

Slowly and groggily, Dolores Sident rose out of her heavy sleep. She knew she hadn't slept long enough and her head still throbbed lightly, but her mind felt more clear than it had for an entire day. She felt around and found her glasses at the bedside table. She put them on and the room came into focus. She was in a hospital room, the smell of sickness and disinfectants stifling the air. She noticed that she was not hooked up to an IV.

Well, of course not! There's nothing physically wrong with me, after all. Just quite a mental beating... and I'm feeling better now from that too. I should try to get discharged as soon as possible... that killer is still on the loose...

"Oh, I see that you're awake, Ms. Sident."

The sudden voice startled Dolores and she looked towards the door. A sweet-smiling nurse walked in, holding a sanitary tray with a filled syringe resting upon it.

"...What's that?" asked Dolores, indicating the syringe.

"This is your painkiller, of course."

Dolores' eyes widened in disbelief. "P-Painkiller?!" She gawked at the nurse in disbelief.

She was standing next to the bed now. Dolores read the name tag on her chest.

"Ms. Holiday, as you can see I am not hooked up to an IV and there is not anything on me to suggest painful injury. I'm sorry if you heard differently from the higher-ups, but this is a mista--"

"This will also help you sleep," Merrie said firmly, her smile fading a bit.

Dolores sat straight up and stared at Merrie coldly.

"Actually, Ms. Holiday, I'm feeling better rested and more awake than I have in days. I could get up and walk around right now with no problems. I think I should go get discharged as soon as possible..."
Dolores started to get out of bed.

Merrie gently took her shoulder and pushed her back down on the bed.

"I'm afraid you cannot leave this bed, Dolores. Oh... you haven't been told yet?"

Dolores' stomach sunk to her feet.

"Told.... what...?"

"Your blood test results have led the doctors to believe that you are suffering from decembria, a very rare disease that affects the nervous system. It usually has no damaging effect to the brain, but it will cause the affected to experience incredible debilitating, excruciating pain. The only treatment is rest. It will take a few weeks to pass, but these painkillers will help you rest and make your recovery as painless and smooth as possible. A classic sign of decembria is delayed symptoms. The doctor believe you've had it for several days and not felt it yet. It may come soon, so these painkillers will help you to feel as little pain as possible."

"Is... that true?" Merrie nodded. Dolores seized up in fear: pain was her absolute worst fear. She had never heard of decembria, but she didn't pursue her medical career very far before she decided to become a coroner.

I need those painkillers then...

Dolores offered her arm to Merrie.

"Very good. Dr. Bell will be pleased..." Merrie whispered happily.

Dolores mind started turning quickly as Merrie took her arm and found a vein and brought the needle to it.

I'm sure I've met nearly every notable doctor in town, but I've never heard of a Dr. Bell. Is he new to the city? I should have heard something if I'm going to work with him in the future... I'm going to have to ask about him at the office when I get out in a few weeks...

The needle was centimeters from Dolores' skin when she noticed something very wrong. Dolores slapped the syringe out of Merrie's hand and it shattered on the ground, liquid medication splattered all over the linoleum floor.

"Ms. Sident! What in the world are you doing?! That was your medication!" Merrie gasped.

Dolores sat straight up and gave Merrie a death glare.

"That needle had blood on it. I could have gotten hepatitis or HIV from it! I'm going to have to sign for malpractice. Or wait... maybe you're not even a nurse."

Merrie turned her back to Dolores as she kept yelling.

"Yeah, I was too scared to think, but that whole decembria thing sounds fishy. I don't even have it, do I? You made it up! I'm right, aren't I? That's why you can't even look at me. And, Merrie Holiday, who the hell is Bell?!"

"...I said you have to go to sleep, Ms. Sident. I don't want you to feel any pain."

"What the hell are you--mmph!!"

Merrie turned around and shoved a cloth into Dolores' nose and mouth. A strong-smelling gas was rising from the cloth.

Chloroform?!

Dolores shoved Merrie away and scrambled out of bed. Merrie came back at her with the cloth and Dolores struggled to keep her arms away from her. Then in Merrie's other hand, she grabbed a knife from her pocket and slashed at her. Dolores saw it just in time and caught her wrist with her free hand and kicked Merrie as hard as she could in the stomach. Merrie dropped the knife and the cloth and reeled backwards, holding her stomach and moaning.

Dolores picked up the cloth and pinned Merrie to the ground. Merrie looked to be in true pain from the kick and started sobbing.

"What.... what's wrong?" Dolores whispered in shock, suddenly sympathetic to the pathetic woman below her.

"I'm.... pregnant.... Master's.... child...." She started sobbing harder.

"Oh my god." Dolores stared at the stomach she just kicked in horror. "Who's your master...?" Dolores whispered.

"Chris Bell.... God.... Silver bells...."

The Silver Bell Slayer!

Dolores forced the cloth to Merrie's face and soon she was unconcious.

"If she works for the Silver Bell Slayer, then that girl Ayame might be in trouble!"

Donned in only a hospital gown and hospital slippers, Dolores ran out the door.

---

Jessica slipped the phone back into her pocket, wrapped her scarf around her neck and set out for her boss' office. She stepped in and unwound her scarf.
In awe, she trailed her fingers along the framed jacket on the wall. Unfortunately for her, she tripped and the frame swung. She froze and watched it. When it stopped, she let out a sigh of relief. Ironically, the thrad snapped and the frame and jacket crasked to the ground, breaking.
Jessica let out a squeak.
"Eep! Okay, just keep walking backwards... slowly... that's it... nothing could go wrong now, could it?"
Her hand swung and knocked over the vase on the windowsill. She squealed and fell backwards. She then got up and carefully went to the wardrobe. She got out an extra suit and trousers and gently closed it. She packed it into a carrier bag. Nervously, she swept the vase remains underneath the sofa and shoved the jacket into a corner of the room.
Jessica took a look into the office, then swung the door behind her.
Now, time to make the call. I hope he doesn't notice the damage...

---