Overflow Post [Cerealia]

[bewrightback]

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[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.]

[feytality]

Yeah, but..... [For a second, Maya actually goes serious. He's talking about Kurain, which.... can only mean her duties as future Master?]

[But wasn't losing his badge a thing of the ancient past for him? When exactly.. Geez, all this time travel is hurting her head]

But.... I mean, I wasn't.... I wasn't officially Master, right? What about Pearly and my aunt? Weren't they around?

[And the rest of it is just plain horrifying]

You mean pointing and bluffing and making everything up didn't work anymore?! That really does sound like the dark age of the law..!

[bewrightback]

Things were complicated. [He frowns. He doesn't think this is the time to tell her about what happened with Morgan.] You weren't officially Master, no, but you were in line to become one. Pearls was always there to help you, but... this wound up being your path, Maya.

[He shakes his head.]

Something like that, Maya. Defense attorneys started to rely on forged evidence and prosecutors on false accusations. It was a terrible time for the law. But I did what I could to help from behind the scenes... and I had another project to occupy my time.

[feytality]

What do you mean? [She can tell he's holding out on her. She'd had her suspicions about her aunt, as much as she didn't want to admit them, but.... Something wasn't adding up.]

[Not that things weren't always complicated]

Aren't prosecutors always playing dirty?! How could... I mean.... Why couldn't you get your badge back! You didn't do anything wrong...

[bewrightback]

[This isn't going well at all...]

I- I mean that... it would up being you, who had to train to be the Master. You... really learned a lot!

[He scratches at his hair guiltily.]

I know that, Maya. I know... Things just reached a whole new level. And I couldn't prove my innocence, not then. I'm sorry.

1/2

[feytality]

[Well, Nick is just as bad as lying as she remembers.]

[...That's kind of comforting, actually, because the cryptic smiling hobo Nick was a mystery to her, most of the time. And not in a good way.]

...Nick...

[feytality]

[But first things first. As much as she's been trying to play dumb here, she does know what happens in his future - parts of it, anyway. But she wants to hear it from him. As much as she wants to know what happens to her, this is more important. She needs to make sure everything really did turn out fine for him before properly hassling him for details on her]

That's not fair! You were framed! You should have gotten a chance to prove yourself...

[Is the dark age of the law really after his disbarring, considering how prosecutors like Von Karma totally got away with forging evidence for, what, forty years?]

So.... what happened?