just this once, everybody lives!

[sageprincess]

Characters: Everyone.
Setting: Anywhere.
Format: Party style.
Summary: Post-Ex Machina catch-all mingle.
Warnings: See individual threads.

[After a long, drawn out battle, the infiltration team returns to the residential portion of the Tower, weary, battered... but victorious. Some catching up is in order.]

Comments

[oathshackledbird]

Will it make you stop giving me that look if I tell you that Ragnarok has been filling the 60th floor kitchen with supplies that are a lot better than what I have scavenged at the moment? If it comes down to it, I can restock from there.

[Seriously, who is being the child here?]

[frilliance]

[Totally Diarmuid is except not. Not that Edgeworth is going to realise that, with the kinda fucked up childhood he had after his father's murder.]

I find that funny......coming from the man who....keeps rolling his eyes.....

So....you're not just being a goody two-shoes......good...that's what I wanted to hear....

[oathshackledbird]

No, I am not just being a goody two-shoes.

[He doesn't wear shoes, Edgeworth. He wears boots. Get it straight.]

There is a method to my madness...

[frilliance]

Indeed. And not a good one.

[oathshackledbird]

As you say...

[He's not going to argue, Edgeworth. He knows that's a fight he can't win.]

Are you feeling any better?

[frilliance]

....Yes, thank you. [And he takes a sip of tea. It's actually pretty good.

As to whether he's okay or not...well, Edgeworth feels that he's got no choice but to 'be okay'. Franziska disappearing in the tower and going back to their destroyed home world did not leave him unaffected. However, he tried to keep his grief at the back of his mind. Not because he wanted to run away from the fact that she was gone or pretend that she never came but because he felt grieving would be wasting the little time he had left in this tower.

He hasn't got the time to be emotional because it won't help anyone in this tower. Or Franziska for that matter. The best way he can help her is search for the truth and help everybody get out of the tower if there really is a way out. And giving into his emotions, as far as he is concerned, could hinder him from finding the truth.]

[oathshackledbird]

[Emotion can be a hindrance, that is true. Diarmuid has learned that the hard way, but it can also be a very powerful motivator. It's all about finding a balance. Hopefully, someday Edgeworth will learn that as well.]

Good. What do you think you will do now? Riki's likely to not let this go without some kind of payback. We're going to have to be on alert...

[frilliance]

[Edgeworth has also learned this lesson the hard way. After all, plenty of innocent people got convicted because the prosecutor used to be warped by his own feelings and taken in by lies. It's not that emotions are necessarily bad but when he's investigating or fighting in court, Edgeworth tries to keep his own feelings in check so they don't distort the truth.

And Edgeworth is trying to do the same in this tower - keep his emotions in a little box so he can find the truth. Finding the truth via emotions is more Phoenix Wright's thing. Will he have time to dwell on his emotions and the friends he has lost? Maybe, if they get out of here, but that is far from a priority. In other words, Edgeworth is a weird human being.

Edgeworth takes another sip of tea.]

Fight to the bitter end.....in whatever way I can. [Because like hell he's going to give up at this point.]

[oathshackledbird]

Obviously...

[Diarmuid finishes off his tea and sets the cup off to the side.]

I don't think any of us are going to give up this close to the end. What I was asking about is if you happened to have any ideas on our next steps. Lots of people are throwing ideas around, but most of us are fighters and we tend to think in the same ways. You aren't a fighter, though, so there is a chance you might think of something we would not.

[frilliance]

I will need...full updates on what has been happening downstairs first. In fact.....that was why I came here anyway. [Edgeworth likes to be all fully organised and know all the details possible without missing a beat before making a conclusion. It's how he works in court, after all.]

[oathshackledbird]

Well, I can't give you full details since I wasn't one of those who went down, but I can tell you what I have heard so far.

[Diarmuid settles onto a nearby chair and begins to relay what he has been told.]

By some miracle everyone made it back alive. That is a big thing considering how these infiltrations usually go. However, the fight was far from an easy one. After deactivating his computers for a short time, they tried talking to Riki, only to have him attack them as soon as they turned their back on him. Obviously, whatever trust that was placed in him was misplaced.

[frilliance]

So Riki is definitely our enemy...[He does not seem surprised by this. He takes a sip of tea.] What I would like to know....is what he was trying to accomplish with the recharge in January. [And that bit worries him.]

[oathshackledbird]

You aren't the only one who wants to know that, believe me. That is one of the main questions that they wanted to get answered. Of course, Riki gave them no real answers, but there is hope analyzing what he was doing with the machine might tell us what he wouldn't.

[Of course, that is a lot of mights and maybes, but what else can they do?]

[frilliance]

Indeed.......[And another sip. Wow, he really is tired...].......the whole thing does make me feel uneasy, though....however, we cannot run away from the truth...

[oathshackledbird]

No, we really don't have the time to run away from the truth. Not anymore. We have to act quickly and decisively. After all, there is still Ruana to deal with and she is even more of a threat than Riki is.

[Though, hopefully, Zo might be able to help with that.]