ahaha_wav: (I am elegant as balls)
Beatrice the Golden ([personal profile] ahaha_wav) wrote in [community profile] itsaboxstravaganza2014-10-22 04:35 pm

Turnabout Chessboard: Prologue

[[Next: Chapter 1]]

[The time: Not long after the Labyrinthia Incident comes to a close. The place: Uh... where is this, exactly?]

[Phoenix and Maya find themselves in some sort of parlor, with no clear sense of how they got there, or what they were doing a moment ago. Outside the windows, nothing but a swirling blue void. There is a tray on the table bearing black tea and biscuits. They are both excellent.]

[Before you have too long to consider the strangeness of the situation, the one door to the parlor opens slowly, admitting a woman in a very expensive-looking outfit, pipe in hand, trailing a small cloud of golden butterflies in her wake.]


Phoenix Wright, and Maya Fey. I trust that the summoning was not too unpleasant for you?
itwasfeyt: (Stunned)

[personal profile] itwasfeyt 2014-10-22 11:51 pm (UTC)(link)
[Maya had closed her eyes and woke up in... whatever this was.

Maya blinked slowly, her brain taking a moment to truly connect with her eyes. There was no way this was the office. It was far too expensive looking and tidy.

Slowly, she picked herself off the couch she was sitting on and-Oh! Biscuits. Those look nice. But wait, she was still stuck in some weird place with... who was that.
]

....Hey, Nick? [The spirit medium turned to her friend, who was there too, thankfully.] Where are we? And who's that?
Edited 2014-10-23 00:51 (UTC)
wright_idea: (unnerved)

[personal profile] wright_idea 2014-10-23 01:01 am (UTC)(link)
[Phoenix, for his part, is even more thoroughly weirded out, largedly because he'd been wide awake when he suddenly found himself here. He'd had to blink a bit in order to confirm what he was seeing in front of his eyes was, in fact what he was seeing. And now he was mostly resisting the urge to panic.]

I... I don't know, Maya. Either of those questions. How did we even get here?

[Please tell me there's some other ludicrously implausible but at least natural explanation for this.]

Who ARE you, ma'am?
itwasfeyt: (Thinking)

[personal profile] itwasfeyt 2014-10-23 01:20 am (UTC)(link)
[....Wait. Maya was confused, and it showed in her expression. She rested her head on a hand, thinking for a moment.]

"Golden Witch"...? Huh, I never heard of that one before. [Hmm, but hey! Her face lights up.] Hey! Hear that, Nick? We've got a fan!
wright_idea: (Definitely interested now)

[personal profile] wright_idea 2014-10-23 01:46 am (UTC)(link)
Uh, Maya, I think that's not really the important issue right now.

[He turns to Beatrice.]

What do you mean "fragment?" And how could you possibly know about our experiences in Labyrinthia? We never really told anybody about it!
itwasfeyt: (Shock/Surprise)

[personal profile] itwasfeyt 2014-10-23 02:11 am (UTC)(link)
Whaaaaat?! You want to be our defendant, and the prosecutor?

[Maya shook her head.]

How does that work? I mean, you would have to prosecute yourself, right?
wright_idea: (Fer the luvva Christ.)

[personal profile] wright_idea 2014-10-23 02:16 am (UTC)(link)
[I feel the headache worming its way into my temples already.]

Is there any actual point to this? Because I've got more to do than just play silly games, you know.
itwasfeyt: (Determined/Annoyed)

[personal profile] itwasfeyt 2014-10-23 04:58 am (UTC)(link)
[Despite the insanity of it all, and the brutality of the images presented, Maya found herself listening intensely when she heard Beatrice mention spirits and souls. She clenched her fists in annoyance.]

Wait a second! What gives?! You just decided to make yourself the culprit or something?

[She turned to Phoenix, speaking to him in a hushed tone.]

Nick, this sounds really fishy. All the magic in Labyrinthia was fake, she can't be doing real magic, right?
wright_idea: (Definitely interested now)

[personal profile] wright_idea 2014-10-23 10:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[He turns back to Maya, also speaking quietly.]

Of course magic is fake. Remember? Mr. Layton pretty much toppled that entire theory.

[Even if the solution was almost more improbable than the lie.]

[He turns back to her.]

Speaking of, that's right! Why should we believe this is anything other than smoke and mirrors? And if you just want someone to prove that there's no magic, why not Mr. Layton? I just defended my clients. He's the one that proved what was going on there, which you'd know if you've really seen what happened!
itwasfeyt: (Default)

[personal profile] itwasfeyt 2014-10-23 11:49 pm (UTC)(link)
That's Nick for you! Charges right in and bluffs his way out! He's a natural at it.

[Which is to say that she had the upmost faith in him. They hadn't failed yet, right?

Maya crossed her arms, thinking about what Beatrice just said. It just didn't add up to her, but she couldn't put her finger on just what was wrong.
]

I don't know Nick. What do you think?
wright_idea: so I can credit you!) (Why am I even listening to this)

[personal profile] wright_idea 2014-10-23 11:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[I think I need a really stiff drink right about now.]

I don't really know if we have much of a choice. Regardless of whether magic is real or not, if it's true she's got these people in the palms of her hand, the only thing we CAN do is try to find the truth to help set them free. Not that I understand what any of this MEANS yet.
itwasfeyt: (Thinking)

[personal profile] itwasfeyt 2014-10-24 02:20 am (UTC)(link)
[Maya ran her eyes down the list. There were already a few people on the list she chose to mentally cross off.]

So, there's only that many people on the island? And they were here this whole time. [She frowned in confusion.] Guess we're gonna have to talk to all of them, Nick.
wright_idea: (Default)

[personal profile] wright_idea 2014-10-24 02:28 am (UTC)(link)
[Oh boy. What a fustercluck.]

Looks like it. Except... Wait, which one of these guys is the victim, anyway? It doesn't say in the Court Record.
itwasfeyt: (Default)

[personal profile] itwasfeyt 2014-10-24 02:58 am (UTC)(link)
Whooooooooa! That's a lot of gold! Nick, why don't you have any rich, old, relatives we can get that much money from?

[She smirked coyly, clapping her hands together.]

Aaaaaalright! Just leave it up to Maya the Magnificent, and her assistant, Nick. We can solve that puzzle! We solved a ton of puzzles back in Labyrinthia with the Professor and Luke!

[...Perhaps Maya was a bit too excited about this. And far too trusting in her own abilities.]
wright_idea: (unnerved)

[personal profile] wright_idea 2014-10-24 03:03 am (UTC)(link)
Um, Maya, as happy as I am to see you so excited about this... You should probably read this epitaph.

["The witch shall revive... and none shall be left alive?!]

How... many people are dead at the end of this incident?
itwasfeyt: (Nervous)

[personal profile] itwasfeyt 2014-10-24 03:58 am (UTC)(link)
[Oh.

Maya suddenly felt a sinking feeling in her guts, and it didn't mean she was hungry. It was that cold feeling she felt every so often she was on cases, usually when she saw a body outline.
]

....So, you'll really kill everyone?
wright_idea: (Determination)

[personal profile] wright_idea 2014-10-24 04:10 am (UTC)(link)
[Hang on... can that really be right? Except... there's a clear contradiction between what she said and what this epitaph indicates!]

OBJECTION!
wright_idea: (object to yo face)

[personal profile] wright_idea 2014-10-24 04:19 am (UTC)(link)
[...Er. I guess I was already in the mode... Oh well, might as well keep going.]

The thing is, I can't help but notice two problems already. The first is in the epitaph itself. You indicate that everybody will die when your power reaches its peak. But if that's the case, then the epitaph would have no reason to keep going past the phrase, "none shall be left alive." In other words, somebody HAS to be left in order to completely obligate the prediction in the epitaph.

And the second problem is in your counting. You tell us that thirteen sacrifices are needed in order to fulfill the epitaph.

[He pats the papers with the pictures and descriptions.]

But if you'll look at the evidence you've already provided, there's a clear contradiction. Namely, Ange. According to this, she isn't a part of what happens on the island.

[For lack of anything better to use, he slams a couch arm.]

In other words... there are only twelve people available to "sacrifice" for the ritual, and thus it's impossible to complete!
young_bastard: (Something something chess boards)

[personal profile] young_bastard 2014-10-24 04:37 am (UTC)(link)
[The door to the parlor opens again and this time, in strides a tall young man in a white suit. Despite the intense weirdness of the situation, he seems... pretty relaxed.]

I'm not sure how I like you calling for me just whenever you feel like it, Beato. I'm not one of your servants, you know.

I'm not sure I like you bringing more people into this game, either. I can't object to another cute, young girl, but what's with the old man?
itwasfeyt: (Puffed cheeks/Angry)

[personal profile] itwasfeyt 2014-10-24 04:50 am (UTC)(link)
Hey! [She shot him a glare, cheeks puffed out in anger.] You can't just call Nick stuff like that!

....[Her expression softened.] You think I'm cute, huh? Thanks! I try.
wright_idea: (GAH! -- by Croik)

[personal profile] wright_idea 2014-10-24 04:52 am (UTC)(link)
O-old?! I'm twenty-seven! ...Wait. Did she say... Battler Ushiromiya?
itwasfeyt: (Disinterested/Unamused)

[personal profile] itwasfeyt 2014-10-24 04:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, great. We're here to make things more exciting!

[Bleeeeeh.]

Um, how about.... How many times have you played this game?
wright_idea: (Come again?)

[personal profile] wright_idea 2014-10-25 12:27 am (UTC)(link)
[You mean I'm NOT actually the least respected person in the room? How did THAT happen?]

So Battler here is one of the survivors, then? That sounds rough...
young_bastard: (Something something chess boards)

[personal profile] young_bastard 2014-10-25 02:38 am (UTC)(link)
Survivors? You didn't do a good job of explaining things, did you, Beato? Don't sweat the details too much before we even get to the game board, okay?