Overflow Post [Cerealia]

[bewrightback]

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[bewrightback]

Trouble? How would I get into trouble? Trouble is like... the opposite of my middle name! [He points for emphasis.

MAYBE IT WAS A BIG DEAL THE FIRST TIME but then you did it like every other week Maya.]

You don't mean... that time with Manfred von Karma? [It's getting harder to think it could be any other time.]

[feytality]

Haven't you noticed trouble always follows you, no matter where you go?

[POT, MEET KETTLE. Also, she left twice, don't be so dramatic!!]

Yeah! We totally creamed that creep! [ALTHOUGH:] Were.... there other times?

[bewrightback]

I have noticed it - it's hard to miss when it's dressed like a spirit medium. [He sighs]

Um... I guess you came and went a few times... [And now she's on another super vaguely handwavey because what the hell Capcom training trip...]

You're so young, Maya. [He blurts that out because it feels so weird to deal with. And sad, in a way. There's a lot of memories of their time together, good and bad, that are gone now. He'll have to be careful about it.]

[feytality]

No, that's the beautiful, amazing, genius spirit medium [In training!] that comes to bail you out when you're in trouble. Honestly, keep up, Nick.

[A few times... That's a little worrying. She had a feeling she wasn't around in the future, but the whole reason she went back to Kurain was to become a full-fledged spirit medium to be of use to him.. Had she not managed that? Did Capcom just not know what to do with her?]

If you keep talking like that, it's all over for you! That's geezer talk!

[bewrightback]

You might be a little right. [He tries a light, teasing grin.] The two tend to blend together, you see... [He does still understand how she might be feeling however.] Even so, you definitely have helped me out of more jams than I could count.

[Good things just don't last forever... Especially when what even, Capcom.]

I just mean... that it's kind of unusual! You know?

[feytality]

[Aww, Nick, trying to cheer her up already] More like totally right! I'm just setting the record straight for that hopeless ol' spiky head of yours.

Unusual for you? You're the guy turning gray right before my eyes! [Though, considering.... from her end, timeline shenanigans were pretty low on the scale of weirdness. If Phoenix Button was the worst thing to happen in Cerealia... well.]

That just means you have to catch me up on all our awesome future adventures, right? And make some new ones before I have to send you to a nursing home.

[bewrightback]

[He tries, and this is the thanks he gets?!

My spiky hair is full of hope, thank you very much!]

Hold on Maya, one step at a time. I don't mind telling you some things about the times we've had... but don't you think it's risky to tell you too much about your own future?

[I can't tell her the truth about her mom. She's not ready for it.]

[feytality]

[He should be used to her by now!!]

[And gosh, Phoenix, what a mother hen]

Eh, eh? The timeline's already messed up! You have to tell me about all the amazing, cool, awesome things future-me does, otherwise... what if I don't do them right? I could send us all spiraling into a doomed timeline where you wither up even quicker than normal!

....Or you totally let yourself go and start guzzling grape juice and dressing like a ratty ol' hobo...

[That would never happen, right?]

[bewrightback]

[...]

Maybe I'll tell you some of the cooler parts, Maya. But I don't doubt your skill to do them right the second time around.

A-and you make that sound a lot worse than it actually was!

[feytality]

You better tell me all the cool parts! Plus, I wanna know all about what you're up to nowadays! [Not that she's super keen to share her own CRAU adventures...]

... Wait... you don’t mean that really happened, do you? [Gosh, how badly did he let himself go...]

[bewrightback]

I'll put together a 'best of' list, Maya. And these days, well... It's almost the same as the way things used to be, aside from having my employees and Trucy to look after... and there was the dark age of the law, too.

[He scratches at his head.]

I mean that I didn't let myself go! But... I did dress casually a lot more often...

[feytality]

I dunno, if you have employees, that's pretty weird. Since when are you the boss? [HE WAS ALWAYS THE BOSS, MAYA....] What about Trucy and the dark age of the law...?

[Makes a face....]

How hard did you hit the grape juice?

[bewrightback]

It's a long story, Maya. All of it's a long story.

[He frowns.]

It all started with kind of a crummy incident. [And then he looks down for a moment, his hand brushing over his badge quietly.]

[feytality]

[Losing his badge... she remembers that, not all that clearly. Klavier's psychopath brother, mostly]

[As he does, she smooths her expression into a supportive smile, snags his arms and - finally - starts to lead them out of this place and towards the snacks]

Alright, let's walk and talk... and then snack and talk! Tell me about it.

[bewrightback]

[There's some nostalgia in his smile. Her priorities are the same as always.

And he meekly goes along as she leads him towards the exit.]

If you say so, Maya. Well, I was hired to defend a magician, who was accused of having killed his mentor. It turned out to be a very complicated and messy situation. My client was innocent, but for once, I didn't have the evidence I needed to save him. ...Or I should say, I thought that I had that evidence.

[He frowns at the memory.]

But... I had been set up.

[feytality]

[Her priorities are exactly right, thanks]

[Good to see he's going along with her whims. This is way better than the sad, smelly, mysterious hobo she's come to deal with....]

No way! It was a trap?!

[Again, it's ringing some bells.. from what she vaguely remembers of Klavier's memories. It's probably better to act like she doesn't know anything.]

[Though, there is one question that's been plaguing her:]

How come I didn't notice it with my awesome Mayavision?! I should have been busting in with the case-breaking evidence or something!

[bewrightback]

[Wow he probably didn't smell! The rest, however...]

I'm sure you would have, Maya. [He says with a fond, nostalgic chuckle.] But that was a case I took on by myself. You didn't find out until it was too late. Your Mayavision was focused in another direction.

There was another lawyer who, out of nothing but pure spite at being turned out by a client, saw fit to give me fake evidence to present.

[Then he glances down, a shadow falling over his face.]

And then it all fell apart. I was charged with forging evidence, and they took away my badge.

1/3

[feytality]

[HE DEFINITELY SMELLED. Along other things]

[Okay, first things first:]

Whaaaat? Why wouldn't you take me with you?! Aren't we partners?!

[feytality]

[He's telling this story all wrong, though.... wasn't he disbarred? Didn't he lose his badge in a bar and then hit the grape juice bottle, making things go way downhill from there, fashion and otherwise...?]

[She's pretty sure that's exactly how it went down.]

[feytality]

N-No way...! They couldn't do that something like that to you, could they?! It wasn't your fault! It was a trap!

[bewrightback]

[And now instead of nostalgia, it kind of hurts to face Maya like this. It almost feels raw again.]

I'm sorry, Maya. But the thing is... We're not going to be partners forever. And it's not because of anything bad. We just... went down different paths.

[He pauses for a moment to collect himself before he goes on.]

It might have been a trap, but there was no way to prove that at the time. After all... that incident was the start of something called the dark age of the law. They even got someone who seemed to be the forger to point me out as the one who ordered the forgery.

And so... I had to hand in my badge. I'm sorry, Maya.

1/2

[feytality]

[. . .]

Don't be silly, Nick. What other path could I possibly have, aside from pulling your bacon out of the fire? I left you alone for one case [At least, she hopes it was one case] and you already fall into a trap? You're totally hopeless without me!

[feytality]

[AS FOR THE REST OF IT]

But... that's not fair! It was obviously a trap! You'd never do anything like that! You shouldn't have had to...! Couldn't you prove your innocence, you-style?!

1/2

[bewrightback]

[The fondness is back for a moment.]

You know, I guess I am. Maybe a Fey could've helped me turn the tables for good. But you should know already... You have a big, big life outside of me. I might have needed you a lot... but so does Kurain.

[bewrightback]

My hands were tied. I did some investigating, but I couldn't find anything that would truly stick. The system was getting too out of control... becoming a place where my tactics wouldn't work anymore.

[Not until I found a light to shine through the dark age of the law... not until Apollo.]