On Poker, Villainy and Death (Hell is other people)
Courtney: What a strange title. What is this portion in parentheses meant to be?
Edgeworth: Either a poorly placed comment from the author or a poor choice of subtitle, I would assume. It's par for the course, though, and a definite sign that worse is yet to come.
Maya: What does it even mean? Is there some sort of typo or missing word?
Phoenix: ...Well, maybe the author was trying to personify these words?
Kay: Oh, that's a good one! I wonder who's who...
Phoenix: (...Suddenly, I've got this chill up my spine...)
"Shut the hell up, dude. Can we just get on with this and stop having the discussion we've already had, like, a hundred times?"
"But we've played poker 'like, a hundred times' too and it always ends the same way! You know, with Manny throwing a tantrum, Krissy losing his money AND his marbles..."
"Silence! I said I would win this match in four minutes - no more, no less - and your pointless banter will not stand in my way!"
Phoenix: NO! Why is it that whenever I want to be wrong, I'm not!?
Maya: Wow... I never thought I'd hear Iris' evil twin come up with those names.
Edgeworth: ...Apparently, they've been playing poker for quite some time as well.
Courtney: I don't recall Mr. von Karma having ever participated in a card game.
Edgeworth: He never had, Your Honor.
Phoenix: Urgh... (Stick a fork in me already and spare me the rest...)
Kay: H-hey, Mr. Wright! It's still too early to give in!
Silence fell... for a few minutes, at least. Considering the ensemble at hand, those were some pleasant and peaceful minutes.
Maya: Riiiight... except everyone's giving each other death glares.
They came to an end shortly after Kristoph Gavin's smile twitched.
"I call your bluff!" Gant yelled with a punch to the table that nobody heard over his booming voice. Kristoph responded in a manner as civilised as he could, by throwing his (mediocre) hand up in the air with a "GRAH."
Courtney: My goodness. I could never have imagined the former Chief of Police acting in such a rowdy manner.
Edgeworth: Though the fanfic has said all that needs to be said within the first few sentences, I'll add that it's already falling apart by the 5th paragraph - both in terms of storytelling and in its context.
Courtney: It's indeed shameful. Well? Does the defense have any rebuttal?
Edgeworth: ...Wright, get up and do your job.
Phoenix: Yeah, yeah... just give me a few to weep away my sorrows...
Edgeworth: I could care less if you do, but if you don't say anything, we could jump straight to the verdict. It'll save everyone the trouble, and I won't need to show up to your next sporking.
Kay: Mr. Wright, he's right! We can't let that happen! The picture in the first post says all!
Speakers:
Kay Faraday, if you keep this up, you're condemned to the next one no matter what the verdict is.
Kay: Oh, come on! Not even that's okay!?
Phoenix: (...Okay, here goes...) Your Honor!
Courtney: Yes, Mr. Wright? How do you respond?
Phoenix: The defense has no objections to the poor characterization of these people. However, there is one thing that the fanfic has done right.
Courtney: And that is?
Phoenix: Kristoph Gavin is undeniably terrible at poker!
All: ...
[
Suddenly, they hear a faint scream from the distance, as if someone was calling out his name.]
Maya: W-what was that?
Speakers:
Beware, Phoenix Wright. The further you tread this way, the riskier it becomes...
Phoenix: What the heck are you people up to now!?
Kay: ...Is it me, or are we back for Halloween again?
Maya: But we're already heading into Christmas...
Kay: So... is this like a "nightmare" before Christmas...?
"Please, Mr. Gavin..." The disdain in Dahlia's eyes was further accentuated by the way she flicked her hair. "I find you charming enough, but it's at times like these I have to wonder if you really are clueless as to why most people think you're an idiot."
Kristoph's lips remained nervous, but now the rest of his body was beginning to catch up as well. "What are you..."
Phoenix: ...No. No, I did not just hear that.
Maya: You mean the bit about Dahlia calling Kristoph "charming"?
Phoenix: I said "I did not just hear that", so don't repeat it for me!
Kay: Wow, it's true what they say: love can blossom in even the most unlikely of places.
Maya: Where are they, anyway? The fic didn't ever mention that.
Edgeworth: Indeed. That's another mark off.
Kay: ...Maybe I should have kept quiet.
"Oh, by the way," Gant interrupted, "It's been five minutes, Manny!" The glare von Karma threw him would have made a lesser man break, but not him. No, Damon Gant was accustomed to it.
Edgeworth: ...
Maya: Wow, does this guy have a death wish or something?
Phoenix: Actually, I could imagine Damon Gant calling him that anyway.
Edgeworth: Impossible.
Phoenix: But he came up with the most ridiculous name for you...
Edgeworth: You will NOT bring that up again!
Kay: Ooh! This is the first I've heard of it!
Maya: What is it? What is it?
Courtney: ...I'm a bit curious as well.
Edgeworth: Y-Your Honor, we really don't need to bring that-
Phoenix: It was "Little Worthy", if I recall. Pretty catchy...
Edgeworth: WRIGHT!
Maya & Kay: *ROFL*
[
Suddenly again, they're joined by the faint sound of howling laughter in the distance.]
All: ...
"... So, dudes, this isn't going anywhere, right?" Matt Engarde edged closer to Dahlia, not very subtly. "'Cause I have someone-- some stuff to do and..."
Maya: Whoa! Is this going where I think it is!?
Kay: It has to be!
Maya & Kay: A love triangle!
Kay: This sounds like an amazing pitch for a movie! "In the deepest, darkest recesses of the world, where icky evil stretches its claws upon unsuspecting victims..."
Maya: "...a single beautiful thing blossoms where no one would expect."
Maya & Kay: "Toxic Loooo~ve!"
Edgeworth: ...So now it's a romance story, is it?
Phoenix: Huh? Where did that come from?
Edgeworth: You heard them, Wright. It's no more a parody than it is an excuse for shipping tendencies of the worst kind... excuse the pun.
Phoenix: ...
Edgeworth: This entire fic is a sham from the start. The further we go, the clearer this point is made. You have no hold to grasp.
Phoenix: ...Sorry, Edgeworth, but I'm not throwing in the towel just yet. Even you might not know where this fic will lead.
Edgeworth: Banking on potential chances again, are we? Fine.
Phoenix: (If what Kay said is true, I could use the rivalry between him and this judge... I just need to approach it cautiously.)
Manfred's wrath shifted from Gant to Matt. "You are going NOWHERE until the victor has been decided!"
"Dude, you need to chill."
Maya: Complete agreement. Still, you'd think that someone like MVK would be happy to kick people out. He was really eager to get Nick kicked out of court.
Phoenix: Yeah, but that time, he was trying everything to prevent the truth behind DL-6 from leaking. It's no wonder he'd want me out of the way.
Edgeworth: Nonetheless, Maya's point still stands. This is not how Mr. von Karma would ever act. In fact, he very well ought to have been the first to leave.
Kay: But there's got to be a really good reason why he hasn't. Maybe it'll be revealed later? ...Along with the setting?
Edgeworth: *shakes head* Kay, I'm disappointed. You're drawing a little too much influence from that man.
Kay: Huh!? B-but, I... *whimper*
Phoenix: H-hey, it's not like that. This sense of desperation happens to pretty much anyone at the defense bench.
Kay: ...That doesn't make me feel any better.
Phoenix: (Yeah, me neither...)
Kristoph harrumphed in that professional-sounding, courteous manner that only he ever seemed to manage. It never had quite the same effect on his dead companions that it did in court, but it was still adequate at bringing attention to him.
All: ...Huh?
Maya: Wait a second! What does it mean by "dead companions"?
Kay: Is the author talking about these guys...?
Phoenix: Then... by any chance...
[
As if on cue, there's the sound of someone - or some people - cackling in the distance, followed by what seems to be a roar. Then, there's nothing but complete silence.]
All: ...
Courtney: ...I see the theater management is enjoying themselves.
Phoenix: (Somehow, I don't think they were the Management...)
Maya: This is seriously getting creepy... Mr. Edgeworth, will you protect me if anything happens?
Edgeworth: ...As Her Honor has stated, it's most likely a prank from the Management. There's nothing to fear.
Maya: R-really?
Kay: ...By the way, Mr. Wright, are those spikes of yours capable of dealing damage?
Phoenix: No.
"I, for one, am inclined to agree with Mr. Engarde."
"Afraid to lose, Gavin? You never were the best at poker, were you?" Manfred's smirk made the tone of his words clear even to an outside observer.
"I'm certain you would love it if I gracefully quit now, Mr. Von Karma, but how can I ever decline an opportunity to sully your 'perfect' strategy once more?"
"Just quit it, you two!" Matt leaned back in his chair, scowling, letting his fringe of hair slip off. "You're both losers, alright? It doesn't matter which of you is better at poker or fucking with evidence or testimonies or whatever. In the end, both of you got nailed by that stupid attorney!"
Courtney: *clack* Order in the court.
Edgeworth: We haven't made any clamor, Your Honor.
Courtney: Yes, but it seems the author has failed to warn its audience of vulgar language prior.
Edgeworth: Hm, that is true. Not to mention, an audience of any age could have viewed this fanfic. Inappropriate even to this point; that's yet another mark off.
Phoenix: ... (Even down to the smallest of details, huh? This judge is a nuisance in more ways than one...)
Kay: ...But kids hear swear words all the time.
Edgeworth: Not that they should, especially if they're still young. Besides, even the elderly reserve a right to avoid such vulgarities.
Maya: Um, Mr. Edgeworth? The elderly, reading this stuff?
Edgeworth: Never assume there is no room for exception, Maya.
Phoenix: Yeah, even I can think of just one old lady who might...
The cold silence that followed was only broken by Gant's resigned sigh. "We all were, Matty."
Maya: Aw, no "Guardy"? I was hoping to be able to make a pun with Gourdy.
Phoenix: Don't bother, Maya. No one will be laughing anyway.
Maya: Hey, it's the thought that counts!
Phoenix: (That can easily be debatable...)
"Oh?" Dahlia's smile was almost mocking. "'Feenie' never got me." Her smile turned darker, and she continued. "In fact, I made him weep. I don't think any of you can say the same, can you?"
Maya: Um, yeah, he did. With Sis' help, anyway.
Kay: Who is this lady anyway, Mr. Wright?
Phoenix: No one you or anyone else needs to know.
"Oh, right!" Matt chuckled. "That's right, my bad. I forgot you were tag-teamed by Mr. Attorney and Lady Fanservice."
Maya: Hey! Don't make fun of Sis! She was there when you got nailed too, you jerk!
Phoenix: ...Should we take that as an "accurate imitation", then?
Edgeworth: You're going to need a lot more than that to overturn the current tides.
Kay: But it's a step in the Wright direction!
Phoenix: Kay, please. First my hair, and now my name?
Kay: ...Sorry. I feel like being here makes me want to make fun of the person next to me.
Dahlia was enraged, - oh, she was - but turning away from him was enough for her to recompose herself. "This coming from someone who died as a pathetic, sobbing mess begging for his life?"
Matt paled and shut his mouth.
Maya: ...Hey, Mr. Edgeworth. Did this guy actually get the death penalty later?
Edgeworth: No. His sentence was life imprisonment. He should still be in there even after these 8 years.
Maya: That's weird. How did he end up dead in this fic?
Kay: Maybe they were all pulled into hell and ended up dying that way?
Maya: To play poker for eternity? Wow, that's gotta stink.
Kay: Not as bad as the lava they're playing around, I bet!
Phoenix: (...Thinking about it, the Management hasn't cut in as they usually would. Did something happen...?)
"Come to think of it, I can see some fun times ahead for us when the man finally gets here," Gant said, amused, giving Matt a glance of utter mockery.
Maya: "Fun times"?
Phoenix: This better not turn into some terrible sex joke.
Edgeworth: I wouldn't put it past them.
Kay: Actually, I think this IS the terrible sex joke. It reeks of one.
Maya: Eww... I'm getting some terrible flashbacks...
"I-If he gets here," the dead actor forced himself to say.
"Matt..." The way Dahlia spoke to him now was exactly the same she had adressed Kristoph with earlier. "Everybody dies."
"Let the boy have some hope, will you, Thorny? Ohohoho!"
Maya: Ugh... I almost read that without the "t". This theater has been getting to me.
Phoenix: ...I'd say the same goes for everyone else.
Kay: ...Now that we know they're in hell, suddenly, this all seems like one big sex joke.
Edgeworth: Kay, enough. It's one thing to play with the concept of evil romance; it's another thing to push it beyond that.
Courtney: Agreed. Let us move on.
"Like having to deal with Juan wasn't enough of a bitch already..."
"Ah, but that is the point of this place, is it not? To 'deal with it'..." Kristoph had calmed down by this point, though something about the way he adjusted his glasses gave him a curiously defensive look. "'It' being the results of the supposed sins we committed in life. Such is the nature of our eternal punishment."
Maya: And to be enjoying such a lovely game of poker. The Devil must be on vacation.
Kay: Or maybe they're fated to play poker for eternity?
Maya: ...So, if someone cheats, they get thrown in the pool of lava or something?
Kay: Or stabbed with a pitchfork and roasted over an open fire?
Maya: Or boiled in a vat of flaming tar?
Kay: Or burst into flaming rage screaming their nemesis' name?
[
And there's the screaming again.]
All: ...
Courtney: I suggest you two take that conversation elsewhere. Court is still in session.
Maya & Kay: Yes, Your Honor.
"Do you have to speak so flowery all the time, dude?"
"Besides... 'Supposed sins'? Do you think you did nothing wrong in life, Mr. Gavin?" Upon being met with the man's silence, Dahlia smirked.
"That... hardly matters." The irritation in his eyes was apparent. "Anyhow, I would not be so quick to belittle others about the way one chooses to regard afterlife, Ms. Hawthorne. Regardless of my personal beliefs, I took my fate with grace. I did not come back from the dead in a desperate, pointless attempt to exact revenge."
"Jurists," Gant chimed in, causing the defense attorney to flip the poker table with a "RRRRRRRGH" and stomp off into the distance in rage.
Maya: ...Wow, what a spoilsport. Nick, was he always like this?
Phoenix: No.
Maya: You aren't saying that just because it'd be bad for you?
Phoenix: No. Maya, I've known him for several years.
Maya: But the news said how he went insane in the courtroom. Was that really just made up?
Edgeworth: No, for once, those journalists had it right. We still have recorded footage of that trial.
Maya: Cool! I wanna see it!
Kay: Me too! Can we?
Edgeworth: No.
Kay: ...You aren't saying that just because it'd be bad for you, right?
Edgeworth: I'm saying so because it's confidential!
Maya: ...What a spoilsport.
"Defending me, Mr. Gant?"
"Oh, no." He grinned. "I just like to poke his wounds."
Phoenix: Not that she'd ever trust anyone to "defend" her, for good reason.
Maya: Wow, that was a pretty deep comment, even from you.
Phoenix: ...I'd like to see you do better.
"Hmph, this seems unfair," von Karma grunted.
"What does, Manny?"
"You." When he crossed his arms, one aware of his past losses, as Damon Gant was, would be able to spot the rigidity of his right shoulder. "We are all miserable here - I have to put up with Gregory Edgeworth coming down here once a week only to harass me - but you... you are always, constantly, invariably," his teeth gritted harder as he progressed through several more angry adverbs, "Jolly, as you would put it."
Edgeworth: ...Excuse me? Why is my father's name even brought up within this pile of trash; needless to say, that he would ever be so immature as to "harass" Mr. von Karma?
Maya: And what's he doing in poker hell with them?
Kay: Maybe as a messenger from the heavens?
Phoenix: A messenger who flies down to hell on a weekly basis?
Kay: Dropping sparkly bombs of kindness and other goodness upon the corrupted hearts in hell?
Maya: ...Wow, the image is pretty hilarious.
Kay: Hey, maybe it's actually Mr. Edgeworth Sr.'s work that love could blossom in the depths of hell!
Maya: Whoa, he has that power!?
Kay: I dunno, but it'd be awesome in our movie pitch.
Edgeworth: ...We are not speaking any more of that ever again.
Phoenix: For once, I'm with Edgeworth. I didn't want to be reminded of the potential shipping in this fic...
Kay: Oh, right. It's kinda bad for us, huh?
Phoenix: (In more ways than one.)
"Ah, I wouldn't be so sure, Manny." He tugged at a lock of his hair, a look of vague nostalgia in his eyes. "Try as I might, I haven't figured out how to swim in lava yet..."
Maya: I can understand. It must be too cozy in there to keep your arms above the surface.
Kay: Yeah, and there are always chunks of rock in the way anyway.
Courtney: Actually, it'd be impossible to swim in lava simply because the consistency of the molten rock is too thick to make steady movement.
Phoenix: ...How about the fact that a person would be burned alive in there, Your Honor?
Courtney: What would that matter? These characters are already dead.
Phoenix: (But it'd still be painful, right?)
Edgeworth: Instead of arguing against her on this matter, don't you have a case to make for later?
As Manfred brought the palm of his hand to his face, a sharp-dressed gentleman with bright red skin rivalled only by one of last week's arrivals and a pair of horns not quite as pointy as Phoenix Wright's hair came by. "Hey guys, sorry to interrupt - you all do a really good job, by the way, it's always a blast to watch you - but it's Daily Vent Time. You know the regulations by now, anyone thrown in here by a lawyer or someone related to the law is bound to it. Alright, that's all, carry on."
All: ...
Maya: Um, is this the Devil of this poker hell?
Kay: Wow, even he's dressed up for business.
Phoenix: ...My hair isn't that pointy, is it?
Edgeworth: ...Yes, it is.
Phoenix: (Somehow, hearing Edgeworth tell me that makes it that much more insulting than it usually would be...)
Courtney: ...It's but a minor error, but that word should be spelled "rivaled".
Edgeworth: Your Honor, by this point, any typographical errors are irrelevant.
Courtney: Yes, but it's the first in what was assumed to have none at all.
Edgeworth: ...Very well, if you insist.
Phoenix: (W-what!? We get marked down even something as trivial as that!?)
Von Karma and Dahlia sighed in annoyance, Matt twitched and Gant simply smiled. "Well, it's not like there's a way around it, everyone! Now, in 3, 2, 1..."
The screams of "EEEEEDGEWAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGH," "MIIIIAAAAAAAAA FFFFFFFFFFFFFEEEEEEEYYYYY," "GGGGGggGGUUUUUIIIIIiiiIIIIIITTTTyyyyyYYYYYYYY," a "WWWRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIGHT" from further away and a combination of booming laughter and applause echoed through all of Hell, coming to an end within a minute of their beginning. Except for the laughter - the laughter went on.
"Damon." Manfred groaned, his fingers digging into his arm. "It's over already."
He abruptly stopped. "Hmm? Oh, I know." After a brief pause, he shrugged with a grin. "I just really like Daily Vent Time."
Maya: Well, that's unfair. Everyone else has to unleash their utmost rage, and all this guy has to do is laugh?
Phoenix: That was how he reacted when he was cornered as the culprit in that case.
Kay: I'd say out of all of them, he's the one with the most issues.
Edgeworth: Ironically, he's meant to be the one with the least.
Courtney: Yes, the former Chief of Police was a rather proud and well-respected man before that incident. Even during his conviction, I heard he accepted his sentence with dignity.
Maya: And he didn't get the death penalty or anything, right?
Edgeworth: No, he didn't.
Maya: Welp, I guess Kay was right. No matter what the crime, they're doomed to play poker in hell for all eternity.
Kay: And a beautiful love eventually came to blossom...
Phoenix: Guys, stop that. It was too much already with Edgeworth's dad coming in and raining sparkly bombs.
Edgeworth: Why are YOU the one to bring that up again?
Phoenix: *grin*
Edgeworth: *glare*