[RL: You got some splainin' to do - Friday, September 5, 11:00AM | Phoenix; Larry; Edgeworth]

[attorneyatlol]

Phoenix paced the apartment in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that were supposedly his. While they did look like something he’d normally wear, he hadn’t recognized anything, and even more worrying, there was no sign of the sweater Dollie knitted him anywhere.

Sighing, he stopped in the hallway and fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. Miles (or ‘Edgeworth,’ as he evidently preferred being called) had said that Dollie was indisposed for some reason, but refused to give Phoenix any details beyond the fact that she was safe and well. It was frustrating, to say the least. Lunchtime was rapidly approaching and he would have been preparing to spend the next half hour with her under normal circumstances. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much he could do from here, especially given the fact that he didn’t know where ‘here’ was nor did he have any clue what could have possibly detained her. But Edgeworth had asked Phoenix to trust him and Phoenix did.

He stood in the hall for a moment, nervously chewing the inside of his cheek. More than ten years had passed since he last saw Miles; there were so many things he wanted to tell him and even more that he wanted to ask him, but waiting like this was a nerve-racking, necessary evil. He hoped his friend would arrive soon.

With another sigh, he went back to pacing.



((OOC: Backdated to the first day of the mental regression virus, around 11AM.))

Comments

[samuraiprosecutor]

"You have, actually, whether you remember it or not," Edgeworth replied. He eyed the empty side of the sofa for a moment, then tilted up his chin slightly and moved to the other side of the table. Before he settled into the cheap wood seat he deigned to turn it so that he had a fairly comfortable line of sight to both of his companions, though he kept his focus on Wright.

"'This place' is yours. It's been your home for several years."

[attorneyatlol]

It took a moment to sink in, but then Phoenix gawked at him. “Several years!? You mean… You’re trying to tell me I’ve lost my memory from several years!?” Worriedly, he ran his hand through his hair, searching for some type of bump or abrasion, but found nothing. “How…?”

[samuraiprosecutor]

As he expected the explanation to be rejected either way, Edgeworth chose a straightforward approach. He leaned back in his chair and spread one hand out, palm up, across the table. "Through a virus, as we've said. The 'forum' you found online is the source; the viruses originate there, and strike random members at intervals. The effects vary greatly, but are temporary and leave no more lasting damage than whatever embarrassment or other detrimental effects might result from the affected member's actions."

[probablythebutz.livejournal.com]

From the couch, Larry grinned and gave a thumbs up. “Good thing you haven’t done anything embarrassing, yet!”

[attorneyatlol]

Phoenix frowned, his eyes downcast as he set his hand back on the table. “So… you’re saying one of the effects of this virus is memory loss? But how can an online forum cause a virus in the first place? None of this makes any sense…”

[probablythebutz.livejournal.com]

“Chill, Nick.” Larry sat forward on the couch a little, trying to offer his support in the best way he could. “It’ll be over in a few days! Then you can go back to your lawyer things and it’ll be like none of this ever happened!”

[attorneyatlol]

Brow furrowed, Phoenix cast a curious gaze in Larry’s direction. “‘Lawyer things?’”

[samuraiprosecutor]

Edgeworth threw Larry a glare. "Your activities aren't quite so easily categorized, but you are currently a defense attorney and 'lawyer things' comprise most of your professional life."

His tone evened out as he returned his focus to Wright. "Regarding your apparent amnesia, each virus carries with it whatever symptoms are required to attain the apparently intended effect. Some are physical, altering a man's body or the world around him, while others are mental, affecting memory or perception. As for how these things come about...no one actually has an explanation, save for the rare viruses which are claimed by members of the community."

[attorneyatlol]

Phoenix stared at Miles, attempting to absorb everything, yet each time he allowed a little more information to sink in, his mind inevitably kept going back to one thing.

“I’m a defense attorney…?”

[samuraiprosecutor]

"You are," Edgeworth replied. The barest hint of a smile quirked one corner of his lips, then smoothed out as quickly as it appeared.

[attorneyatlol]

Phoenix caught the slight movement. He held his gaze a moment longer, opening his mouth as if to say something, but after a glance in Larry’s direction, he shut it and quickly looked away.

[samuraiprosecutor]

A sudden trepidation overcame Edgeworth, and he mentally chastised himself for the slip. Whatever Wright was prepared to say, the conversation was likely to turn in a direction he had no desire to tread, with or without Larry's unwelcome presence.

...Perhaps not so unwelcome. Edgeworth relaxed back into his chair as Wright backed down. He glanced at Larry, for once grateful for his (occasionally obnoxious and generally extraneous) company, then let his gaze drift to the tabletop.

[probablythebutz.livejournal.com]

Larry waited for someone to say something, but when he looked up from his admiration of the model on the magazine that was setting on Nick’s coffee table, he was greeted with nothing but awkward silence and a couple sidelong glances.

Dude, what did he miss?

Clearing his throat, he sat forward and looked up in thought. “Yeah, so, anyway,” he broke in. “Since you know everything’s gonna be okay, you might as well sit back and relax a little, right? Why don’t we watch a movie or something?”

[attorneyatlol]

Phoenix wasn’t convinced that everything was going to be okay. Not at all.

He dragged his gaze back to Edgeworth, uncertain.

[samuraiprosecutor]

Edgeworth threw Larry a glare. Avoidance wouldn't benefit Wright, and ending the conversation after clarifying only a few aspects of the virus would negate their entire purpose in coming to the apartment. He hadn't left work solely to exchange a few words with Wright that could have been said as easily on the community.

He turned to Wright, intent on continuing his explanations, but his expression gave Edgeworth pause. Confusion was written plainly on his features--Wright had never been adept at concealing his emotions, but their conversation was making it clear that he'd at least improved on that ability since his time in college. There was a plea in his eyes, and Edgeworth frowned slightly in response. "Is there...anything else you wish to know?"

[attorneyatlol]

More than he’d probably be able to put into words, he thought. His gaze fell to the tabletop once more, his mind swimming with information that made no sense whatsoever. It was too dizzying to be terrifying; so dizzying that if it weren’t for the presence of his two oldest friends keeping him anchored, he might very well have passed out.

He shook his head slightly and tried to focus on something that wasn’t quite so daunting, though no less unbelievable. It had been twelve years since he’d last seen Miles, yet here the other man was, sitting at his kitchen table and talking to him like they’d just seen each other yesterday (heck, for all he knew, maybe they had). Looking up, he smiled in spite of himself, though it felt a little off kilter.

“Uh… So, how are you?”

[samuraiprosecutor]

The question caught him off guard, and his mind cast about, momentarily thrown from its expected path. Wright's smile finally drew his focus, and he stared for a moment before averting his eyes.

"I'm...currently well."

[attorneyatlol]

“Good.” Phoenix nervously drummed his fingers against the table’s surface; his head continued to buzz with questions he didn’t think he could articulate in his current state, but his smile softened considerably. “I’m glad.”

[probablythebutz.livejournal.com]

Larry frowned and folded his arms, turning away from the exchange. “Fine. Everyone just ignore me, I don’t care. Don’t know why I bother, anyway…” With a sigh, he leaned forward and grabbed the remote off the coffee table, switching the TV on and flipping through channels on mute.

[samuraiprosecutor]

Edgeworth rolled his eyes, and repaid the convenient distraction by giving Butz what he asked for and turning his attention fully to Wright.

"Do you have any further questions?"

[attorneyatlol]

“Uh…” Phoenix glanced between Miles and Larry before he finally shook his head, casting his eyes downward with a sigh. “Not really. Just… Are you guys sure everything’s going to be okay? This is so… I mean, it feels like I’m in one of those soap operas or something…”

[probablythebutz.livejournal.com]

“Sure we’re sure,” Larry replied before Edgey had a chance. He sat forward again and grinned at Nick. “Just look at me! I turned into a pokaman once and I’m not any worse for wear! Although I do have an odd taste for kelp, now…”

[attorneyatlol]

Phoenix blinked. “‘Poke-a-man…?’”

[samuraiprosecutor]

"The result of one of the more extreme viruses," Edgeworth replied, though he shot a sidelong, warning glare to Larry. "It's not important, except as an illustration of their aftereffects. When this is over you should be left with nothing more than your memories of the event. In a few days' time everything will return to what passes for normal here."

[attorneyatlol]

“If you’re sure…” Phoenix could hardly imagine what ‘normal’ meant when he’d apparently lost several years of his life. What if he didn’t like what passed for normal? What if he snapped out of it and wished he could go back to the way things were before? Frowning, he took a look around the apartment; he’d never dreamed of having a particularly large home, but he had to admit that this place was a little small, and while it certainly wasn’t stationed in the worst part of town, it wasn’t exactly in the best part, either. He supposed it was cozy, though, and at least bigger than his dorm room.

His gaze traveled over Larry and Miles and he was once again struck by how much the latter had aged. Larry had, too, to some extent, but the laugh lines under his eyes were nothing compared to the crow’s feet and dark circles under Edgeworth’s.

“How long has it been?” he wondered aloud.