rainbowfudge | picture prompt meme!

[Even as the other Edgeworth makes his objection, this one pulls his badge out and points it at the ground behind and beside his twin. Once the rather predictable objection is fully stated, the so-called "atheist cleric" begins to mutter something in Latin about one's footsteps finding no more purchase than one's arguments while making bizarre shapes with his free hand...

Suddenly, ice spreads rapidly with a faint pastel blue glimmer from the spot this Edgeworth is pointing his badge at, growing into a ten-foot radius ice slick right under his double's feet over the course of less than a second. Watch your step...]

[The first Edgeworth looks at where his...his doppelganger is pointing his badge (at this point, the badge looks genuine but it could be a clever fake), and watches with an unnerved, disbelieving and flabbergasted expression as the ice spreads, glancing back to see what the other Edgeworth was doing. More trickery? What on earth was he even up to...

(And that was Latin, wasn't it? Furthermore, he had just begun to argue - )

Unfortunately, just as he focuses on the ice again, it spreads right under his feet. This fact registers with his feet a split second after he sees it happen - and one of his legs suddenly jerks out from beneath him. With no ice skates and no inkling that this strange series of events would happen now, Edgeworth lets out a yelp and slips, falling ungracefully onto his bottom. He flinches when he makes impact at the pain and the humiliation and the...ugh, he really didn't know what else to think...]

[His emotions soon become frustration and rage at being taken advantage of, somehow...and he can't help but slam a fist onto the ice before struggling to get back onto his feet.]

What...what is the meaning of this?! How did you - whoa!

[As he slowly raises himself back up to a standing position, his right foot shoots toward the right, and he falls back onto the slick with a snarl.]

My apologies, but there are only so many ways I could have demonstrated my capabilities in a sufficiently blatant and incontrovertible manner without bringing you to any serious harm. I am prepared to mend any scrapes or bruises you've suffered as well, of course.

[Edgeworth finally gets back onto his feet, his legs shaking as he adjusts his stance. He still looks particularly ticked off and very, very embarrassed.]

[I doubt he would be able to mend the scrapes or bruises that my pride has suffered.]

I think you've demonstrated enough. If you can create an ice rink, then you can just as easily get rid of it!

It shouldn't last much longer. I encourage you to observe for yourself.

[Indeed, mere seconds later the ice melts faster than seems natural given that the other Edgeworth doesn't feel any increase in heat in the area.]

[And Edgeworth watches the ice, with skepticism...but now, with a touch of fascination and intrigue. It did melt far too fast for normal ice...

He glances down at the ground, bending down and sometimes crouching to check it for any signs of special effects equipment, hidden magic tricks that technically would only be illusions and smoke and mirrors...and needless to say, his immediate search proves futile. Edgeworth straightens up again, grateful to have a more solid footing again.]

Thank you. [His tone is a biting one, more frigid than the ice he had just made a fool of himself on.] Now, I demand an explanation!

[Fortunately, between entirely expecting this, tending not to be moved by others' opinions of him, and having been raised in ~~the House of Glaring~~ the von Karma manor, this Edgeworth seems entirely unmoved by the outrage his double is directing at him.]

As anyone reasonable would. I should warn you, however, that this truth will be difficult for you to accept. Certainly it was for myself.

Quite simply, within the physics of this world, there are additional forces at play. Some lend themselves to ordinary scientific analysis, yielding as they do to objective rules. Others... give the impression of being selective, to the point that superstitions have grown around them, and are experienced in largely subjective ways that typically reflect those same superstitions.

[Edgeworth decides to humor this...this other Edgeworth, but it's clear from his expression and his stance that he still doesn't buy any of it. Forces that were "selective" and thus gave rise to superstitions...preposterous! It was like saying some people were gifted with the so-called "third eye" and only they could see ghosts.]

...Would any of these "forces" happen to be unwanted doppelgangers? [He looks his double in the eye and glares; clearly, he had expected an explanation for that, first. Why was this man assuming his identity and tying it with a foundation he had never heard of...and dubbing himself as an "atheist cleric"?!]

Do be careful, lest you accidentally come across as a racist.

[This Edgeworth pulls out his organizer and pen even as he tosses out his quip, however, and proceeds to begin writing something down.]

But yes, that someone was imitating me was my first thought as well when I found you last night. From my own perspective, the contents of your wallet and the lack of any evidence that your form is not your own were proof enough of your identity. From your perspective, however, something more personal still is required as proof, is it not?

[The Edgeworth with a cape then removes the page he's been writing on, folds it twice, and offers it to his double.]

Racist? E-Excuse me -

[The more bewildered Edgeworth raises his eyebrows at the quip regarding being a racist.]

Hold on! Hold it! You went through my wallet?!

[He doesn't take the page, and instead chooses this moment to root into his pockets and make sure everything was still there. Edgeworth even brings out his wallet to make sure all his money and ID cards are complete.]

And when, pray tell, did you first find me?

[And the Edgeworth who cast an apparent spell earlier waits coolly as the self-examination goes on, continuing to hold whatever he wrote between his fingers all the while. Every item is exactly where it should be; indeed, the only indication of anything amiss is a fine trace of what seems to be fingerprinting dust on one of the credit cards of the Edgeworth on the defensive.]

Last night at roughly 8:30 PM. I don't suppose you took note of any of the inn's proprietors on your way out?

(Though if he did, he likely dismissed them as mere midgets given that he isn't completely surrounded by a population primarily of that size as I was.)

[After all, halflings aren't as obviously nonhuman as gnomes.]

Last night, I was too busy leaving an inn I somehow found myself in to notice anything at all.

[This Edgeworth's brows furrow in thought. What happened last night...he had awakened in an inn, yes, for some reason he can't quite place. Did he end up falling asleep somewhere, and a kind soul had him placed there? As he left, no one had asked him for payment, so...

Whoever put him in the inn had also paid for it?]

I did recall someone at the reception desk, but I could only see the top of his or her head. I assumed he or she was only bent over, picking something up from underneath.

Is it safe to also assume that you left me in that inn?

[Edgeworth takes the page this time from his double.]

Edited 2013-05-10 04:57 (UTC)

Precisely. There was hardly any guarantee that you would awaken quickly, after all. Given that you say you awoke "last night", however, I presume that you did at the very least awaken well before dawn and have, in all likelihood, been investigating Hatheril ever since?

[Not that there's a lot to investigate in the middle of the night. Hatheril, after all, is basically just a small hub for farmers and transportation. One would have to think to look closely at the everbright lanterns to realize that they weren't any Earthly sort of streetlight, the crests of some of the dragonmarked houses around would mean less to him than the absence of the logos of any familiar corporations, and even now the local population is still waking up and opening shop, so any chances to observe anything strange about them would have been limited. The biggest thing out of place to find would have been the line of blue, runed pyramids cutting through the center of town that constituted the lightning rail track.

As for the paper, its contents are written in German:

Your dog's name is Pess. This cannot be considered common knowledge because you don't discuss your personal life unnecessarily. You suspect that Kay Faraday does not so much wish to be a thief as a ninja. Among the various shows of the Steel Samurai franchise, your least favorite is Nickel Samurai because of the lead actor. You know how to play Aria of Roses and Steel, which was first introduced on Pink Princess, on your flute. Ultimately, you value the truth over the letter of the law as recorded by fallible human hands.]

Correct. Hatheril...is that the name of that...that medieval fair I somehow found myself in? I had no idea those events were already beginning.

[Edgeworth unfolds the paper as he speaks.]

[His eyes progressively widen as he reads the notes. They were in good, conversational German. For a moment he looks as if he's ready to throw down the page, or avert his gaze lest he be hypnotized or led astray.]

Th...this is...

[Exactly right.]

Hatheril is the name of this village you've somehow found yourself in.

I presume we'll be burning that note before the day is through, if not within the hour. After all, it's as invasive and personal to me as it is to you.

(And while I haven't taught German to anyone during my time here, that won't deter a sufficiently motivated spellcaster.)

Hatheril? I've never heard of it. Not in all my years of traveling.

And, why go through the trouble of burning the note, when I'm certain that I can safely keep any evidence that finds its way into my hands? [If it's indeed invasive and personal, then shouldn't keeping it on his person be sufficient, as long as he didn't lose track of it?]

You wouldn't have, given that not only is this a relatively minor location, but until yesterday you'd only traveled on Earth. [This Edgeworth pauses and sighs, rubbing his temple.] But then, I suppose you dismissed this planet's ring in the night sky as some sort of holography show for the purposes of this so-called "fair". (I'm beginning to appreciate how difficult Althea found me when we first met.)

If you're certain that this evidence will be of later use, I certainly won't demand that you destroy it -- merely keep in mind that not knowing German won't necessarily prevent someone from reading it.

...

[This Edgeworth is looking even more skeptical now.]

"Until yesterday you'd only traveled on Earth"...

[And I'm aware that a note, even though written in another language, can still be used against me!]

While given the timeframe of your investigation it's entirely possible that you haven't heard any of the natives speak, certainly you've had the opportunity to take note of the prevalence of an unfamiliar alphabet to the exclusion of all familiar ones. You'll find as you continue that this is no mere matter of decoration; any book you find will likewise be written in such a script.

Furthermore, there is the matter of the natives themselves. I assure you that the vast majority of them are precisely what they appear to be. As for those few who are not... there is a reason why I said it was racist to speak of "unwanted doppelgangers", and why I dusted one of your credit cards for prints.

...On that note, it is not merely because this is a rural location that you've been unable to find an ATM. For one thing, plastic hasn't yet been invented on Eberron.

...

[Edgeworth opens his mouth, but closes it to grit his teeth. He folds the page savagely and inserts it into his organizer. This was far too much fantastical information to take in.]

Hold it! Before you weave your fantasy tale further, give me a reason to believe that you are not the one behind this...this farce, and further proof of your identity!

[Sure, the page had accurate information, but...he just had to be 100% sure at this point that he wasn't dreaming and that this was...truly another Miles Edgeworth, magical powers and all.]

Edited 2013-05-14 12:24 (UTC)

If I had any indication as to who or what is responsible for our presence so far from where each of us ought to be, I assure you that I'd offer it. However, I can provide further proof both of my identity and of the fact that this is not a farce of any kind.

[As he makes his second statement, this Edgeworth fishes out his own wallet, as well as his badge, and offers them to his double.]

It's only fair that you should have your turn, is it not?

[The wallet still includes paper money from Earth, as well as credit cards whose numbers exactly match the other Edgeworth's, complete with holographic foils and the faint horizontal scuff marks that come of regular swiping. However, its coin pouch is stuffed with coins the other Edgeworth wouldn't recognize, and in amongst the Earth paper money are a few folded items that look like small notarized legal documents in the same script he's seen around the village, whose stationary includes a strange line-art crest matching the color one that hangs on a flag above the door of a small, secure stone building near the center of town.]

Edited (Extra detail) 2013-05-15 00:56 (UTC)

[He takes the evidence with a glowering expression, and shifts through it, his face changing from skepticism to disbelief, to reluctant resignation. Then he returns the items.

"Our" presence? Still, this other Edgeworth could be trying to trip him up.]

If you can't offer proof that you were not involved, then you remain a suspect.

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