tvk | 02: [Video/Action for the fight, Dark Hour]

Entry tags:

miles edgeworth

02: [Video/Action for the fight, Dark Hour]

[Two of someone? Again? It's someone you probably haven't seen before either, though the observant might notice that the suit worn by one of him exactly matches the sleeve from that weird post about the cufflinks from this morning. That one is currently facing away from the camera and looking out the window of what appears to be a low-floor room in the hotel. The other one has a suit of a similar but brighter color and a far fancier design, and appears to be starting the recording behind the first one's back -- not to mention that he's the one with the glowing gold eyes and chordal voice.]

Well, well, "Miles Edgeworth". We've been here for less than a day and already you wallow in denial.

[The one who was staring out the window, startled, spins to face the apparent Shadow. Apparently his normal eye color is a steely grey.] H-how did you enter this room?!

[The Shadow sports an evil, smug grin.] Locking oneself into a room does nothing to keep oneself out of it.

[The original looks down his nose at his double, crossing his arms.] When I last checked a mirror, my eyes weren't golden.

[The Shadow chuckles under his breath and shakes his head, clearly unfazed by his original's snark.] You speak of "your" eyes as though you treat them with any respect.

[This earns the Shadow a glare from the original.] Of course I respect them!

Do you? Then tell me, why have you disregarded evidence time and again?

[The original smacks a table he's standing next to with his palm.] OBJECTION! I haven't disregarded evidence since --

Since realizing that we're weighed down by the need for outside aid in unearthing the truth due to our own imperfection? [The Shadow waves his left finger in smug scolding, a gesture that prompts the original's eyes to widen in unease.]

Th-that isn't --

Please, "Miles". We may have accepted the need to force ourselves to trust certain people, but that doesn't mean that we don't resent that such a need exists.

You have no right to call me by that name!

On the contrary, I do for the same reason that no locked door can protect you from me -- I am you.

[The original recoils.] P-preposterous!

[The Shadow shrugs as he shakes his head again.] Hardly. I am a Shadow, the true self. But then, the truth is only of interest to us when it serves our purposes, Those purposes may have changed for the better, but this fact has not.

[This seems to deeply disturb the original; his eyes widen further and he takes a step backward. However, he then manages to reestablish his earlier glare.] Don't be absurd! I strive to uncover the truth behind every case that I handle, no matter the consequences, in tandem with others who would also use the law for its rightful purpose!

[The Shadow gives his original a predatory smirk.] And should that case be decided by the presence of supernatural elements, what then?

[The original grows pale.] Wh-what?...

Would the truth behind the murder at Hazakura Temple have been found had Wright failed to recover from his illness? Particularly once the victim's identity came to light? Why, we didn't even allow ourselves to accept the implications of the Psycholocks' existence.

H-how could anyone else but Wright -- er, anyone else at all know about --

[The Shadow continues to display that smug smirk.] Need I repeat myself? I am you. [He taps his temple.] I embody all that you deny about yourself, and know everything else that you deny as well. I even know that we refuse to reexamine our old cases for purely selfish reasons.

Impossible... [It's not clear anymore whether the original is trying to convince his Shadow or himself.]

[The Shadow chuckles darkly.] "Impossible"? I think not. Impossibility is merely the simplest answer -- the answer that prevents us from becoming a traitor to our father's memory.

[The original staggers further backward with gritted teeth, his cravat fluttering in his wake.] Wh-what?!...

Since the middle of that case, we've reacted to the very concept of the supernatural with resentment, have we not? We may at times cloak it with sarcasm, but the truth stands nonetheless. However, while we were able to delude ourselves into believing that the channelings we've seen were mere acts of showmanship, we couldn't ignore the Psycholocks, nor the impossibility of any solution to the case other than the one that Wright and Mr. Armando revealed. Hatred of the evidence was the only path left to us.

[The original suddenly turns away from his Shadow, looking in the opposite direction while grabbing hold of his arm.] N-no...

To deny the existence of the supernatural is to allow ourselves to continue to consider Misty Fey to be a mere charlatan despite all evidence to the contrary. To face it is to face the possibility that Father may have violated the very beliefs he lived by, post-mortem -- that he, in the end, was responsible for the events of the DL-6 trial!

NNNGGGHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!

[The Shadow points at the window behind the original accusingly.] We hate what we've seen out this window! We hate that I stand in this room! [He steps forward to slam the same table that his original did earlier.] Even were it entirely safe to investigate further, we wouldn't wish to do so --

C-cease speaking in the plural immediately!

-- for fear of obtaining further loathesome evidence, for the existence of the supernatural is a truth that we wish were untrue!

OBJECTION! I realized the folly of such selfish bias over a year ago! Ergo, it's impossible for you to be me!

[The Shadow turns slowly back to his original, his eyes blazing a brighter gold than ever.] GUILTY.

[And with that, the feed cuts out. Sounds of a struggle might be audible to those near room 212 of the hotel after that...]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Well, that sucks to be you. What're you gonna do about it? He'll just come back tomorrow.

Presumably you have an action in mind if you expect me to take one that you cannot.

Isn't it obvious? We've been through this once before; you need only accept me again.

Tch. What it said. Or you could keep running from it every evening, I guess.

[He frowns at Edgeworth.]

I'd leave you alone if I could trust you not to set it off in a murderous rage again. Tch. Maybe I should anyway.

[Guess what, Kanda? The original Edgeworth is now glaring at you.]

What purpose would leaving serve?

[And guess who's unaffected?]

I wouldn't have to deal with your drama.

[And also we all imagine Shadow Edgeworth doesn't need more of an audience.]

Hmph. Point taken. Now, to return to the matter at hand...

[Edgeworth spins and points at his Shadow.] OBJECTION! I've never faced a duplicate of myself making wild conjectures about my thoughts!

Perhaps not as such, but we have struggled before regardless -- merely without any physical personification involved. [Shadow Edgeworth then looks to Kanda.] Last time, it took him nearly a year.

[The original crosses his arms.] I fail to see how my previous crisis bears any resemblance to... this.

[The Shadow is now the one glaring, but at his original.] Furthermore, it isn't conjecture. Ms. Lovelace is right -- were you truly intent on understanding this "Dark Hour", you would step out to investigate regardless of the immediate danger. That you are instead standing here is highly incriminating.

[~~popcorn.gif~~ Kanda crosses his arms. Oh, this is fun. So Edgeworth is arguing with himself about lying to himself in general?]

Tch. A year, huh. Do I even want to ask?

I fail to see how it's any of your --

Our mentor raised us to isolate ourselves, and laced our education with tainted views of the purpose of court and prosecutors, as well as ways to --

That's enough. The only part that's relevant is that I've since come to my senses.

Is it, "Miles"? Or are you simply trying to prevent me from making the point that it's Father's fault that any of that could happen to begin with?

[Oh, that clearly hit a soft spot.] O-OBJECTION! Father was the victim, not the murderer!

OBJECTION! We know full well that it isn't the murder in the elevator that Father committed, but the murder afterward, the one that truly changed our life -- the murder of justice itself!

Th-that's not... he can't be responsible! When that crime was committed, he was already dead!

Edited 2011-11-28 03:17 (UTC)

Is the shouting necessary.

[Ow my ears. But this does sound fascinating.]

That's dramatic. Unless he's an Akuma, how can a dead man commit a crime?

To be blunt, a spirit medium channeled him at --

OBJECTION! Spirit mediums are nothing more than frauds! She merely fabricated that testimony! [Apparently when emotions are running this high, shouting is necessary, Kanda.]

[Meanwhile the Shadow is waving his finger again.] Oh? If channeling doesn't exist, then explain the events at Hazakura Temple a month and a half prior to our kidnapping.

[The original Edgeworth's throat tightens for lack of words.] Grrk...!

...So a medium channeled a murdered man, and he supposedly lied in his testimony.

[Oh okay--]

I'd call bullshit, but it sounds like you actually have decent proof that it's not.

[Each of the two simultaneously grabs his own left elbow with his right hand and turns his head away.]

No...

Far more than we ever wanted.

Hmph. Truth hurts.

[Hey, he's not beyond smacking you one, Edgeworth. Don't try to hide from this conversation. 8|]

So why does it matter to you if the supernatural exists or not?

[Silence reigns for a few seconds. Finally, with strain:]

The... the man who was murdered in the e-elevator...

...the man channeled once the police were at a loss...

...was my father. G... Gr...

...Gregory Edgeworth.

[The original Miles Edgeworth sighs.] ...Indeed. In life, a peerless d-defense attorney, and my idol as a young boy. In death, a man forgotten quickly in the wake of a scandal, whose ideals were instrumental in reconstructing my own...

Edited 2011-11-28 23:09 (UTC)

[Shadow Edgeworth takes over after a short beat, sounding very bitter.]

...and a hypocrite! Were he true to his own ideals, would he not have testified truthfully? That the channeling was a fraud was far simpler to believe, until...

Until what? And why would he lie about his death? Protecting something, maybe?

[Hrmph. Well, it's an interesting story, so he'll stay put. Or maybe he just empathizes, in a twisted way-- honestly, Kanda is far more understanding than he lets people know.]

The dead must have reasons. It's not like the living can affect them anymore.

Until the Hazakura incident.

[When Kanda brings up the question of why Edgeworth's father would have done that, however, both steely grey and glowing gold eyes pop wide open with surprise. The former carries more of a note of being stunned, the latter a greater emphasis on realization. Both utter the same word in unison, albeit with differing inflections:]

Motive?!

[Apparently for the past month and a half he's been too busy suppressing the issue to actually think it through. Good job, Kanda!]

...Of course. Why would a dead man lie? Especially about his own death, about bringing his own damn killer to justice?

[Really. Really. Kanda sighs quietly. Maybe it's just because he's not dealing with the issue himself that he can see it.]

Don't tell me you didn't think about it.

[Well, the original seems to be thinking about it now at least... as uncomfortable as he looks doing so. Kanda's last sentence seems to bounce right off of him. The Shadow, meanwhile, merely crosses his arms and taps his finger on one of them, peering down at his original impatiently.]

[Kanda just gives the shadow a look. The kind that says "I will kick your ass right out the window if I need to".]

[Take your time thinking, Edgeworth. It's obvious you need it.]

[After several long moments of silence, Edgeworth finally looks up. His voice is choked and his lips are quivering, but he presents as steadily as he can manage:]

It was established in the last-minute trial... over two years ago... that the true killer came from outside the e-elevator, after we had all passed out. Ergo, Father could not have actually known who killed him. In a truthful testimony, he... would have stated as much.

However... much like the police, he had n-no reason to consider the idea that anyone outside of the elevator could have performed the deed. F-furthermore... it was after I threw the gun and it misfired through the window and into the killer's sh-shoulder... [...that scream, the one that had haunted him nightly for almost fifteen years...] ...that w-we passed out.

The bailiff, Y-Yanni Yogi... he didn't remember. I... apparently repressed it, whereupon it became... that n-nightmare. But if Father r-remembered, he... h-he...

[Now Edgeworth seems to be trying too hard not to cry to form the rest of his words.]

He would've been trying to protect his still-living son. Whom he thought was more precious than revenge or any sort of judicial construct.

[Kanda rubs his shoulder. It's starting to stiffen up. Drat.]

That's not hypocritical. That's priorities.

[Edgeworth nods slowly, shaking a single tear loose in the process. He didn't entirely agree with those priorities, to be honest -- surely a track closer to the truth would have prevented the travesty of justice that was the original DL-6 trial -- but now, the final questions had been answered.

...However, the Shadow doesn't look completely satisfied, instead looking down his nose at his original.]

That's a start. [The fancier-dressed one looks over to Kanda neutrally while his original chokes back sobs.] Given the circumstances, however, your presence may not be necessary for the remainder.

I wouldn't trust you alone in a room with him any more than I'd trust a fox alone in a chicken coop. Get used to it.

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action] 1/2

[Action] 2/2 Done!

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action] 1/2; cue DL-6 music if you haven't already...

[Action] 2/2 Done!

[Action] I actually cued up "Borderline of Madness" |Db

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

Re: [Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]