[OTA] The Cubit Turnabout - release them all?

[servesyouwright]

CHARACTERS: Phoenix Wright and YOU.
LOCATION: Around the station
DATE: Post Road to Ankata
CONTENT: Just hanging out. A chance to have a chat, drum up some CR or w/e.
WARNINGS: TBA

A. The return

[ Maybe it makes sense considering the mess the orb created in Ankata, but that sudden pull back to the station startles him way more than the trip here. It happens so abruptly that he barely even registers what Viveca and Degar are saying, and as soon as they've gone, he looks around with obvious bewilderment. ]

Th-- That's it? Just, just 'thanks for the orb, goodbye'? What the hell's gonna happen with Team Torpedo and, and ... everything. And what the hell was the Legendary Cubit anyway?!

[ ?????? ]

B. Kitchen

[ Frankly, he doesn't really know what to do with himself, so he decides to go rummage around the kitchen and make some food. Anyone else who happens to already be there or come in, he cheerfully offers: ]

Want something? I mean, I'm not sure what I'm making yet, but ...

C. Wildcard

[ But also you know feel free to run into him anywhere at all. He spends a decent amount of time in the music room trying to get better at piano, for example. ]

Comments

( b )

[offseers]

[ noah watches curiously, not familiar with all these appliances. ]

I'd like whatever you're making.

[servesyouwright]

[ He gets a beaming smile in response. ]

Cool. Let's see ...

[ As he wanders into the food storage, he calls over his shoulder: ]

I'm Phoenix, by the way.

[offseers]

[ isn't that a bird's name? ]

. . . Noah.

[servesyouwright]

Nice to meet you, Noah. Do you like fish? I feel like fish.

[ And, no, that's not because he's a bird. ]

[offseers]

I don't mind fish. I'm not picky.

[ any thing that isn't army rations is good tbh. ]

a

[heyciri]

( Ciri hits the teleporation pad from within the station, eyes scanning everyone to account for the people she knows, that they're all back, they're still here. Being misfired back on station has been frustrating for various reasons, but now that they're back, she sees the people who've come to mean more to her than she wants to admit are accounted for, and she breathes out in a sigh of relief.

The man she doesn't know speaks loudly enough, confused enough, that she turns her attention his way, lips quirking into something of a wry expression. )

That's just how these things go. It's rare to hear anything after... but I know some people have, if you wanted to try and contact someone you knew later. Or at least it's happened once or twice. Welcome back to Ximilia!

( Attempting to sound upbeat, mostly managing to sound some kind of teenage sarcastic. )

[servesyouwright]

[ Ah, yes, the good ol' teenage sarcasm.

But he can definitely appreciate it, and he responds with a wry grimace, quickly followed by something a bit more sheepish. ]

I'll be honest, I wasn't exactly social, it's just ... Yasuo was just a kid, you know? That's gonna bother me for a while.

[ Since he didn't really get a good view of anything that was happening. He'll have to ask Ryunosuke about it later. ]

[heyciri]

( She blinks, not sure who he's talking about, and nods, very slowly. )

Yeah... I can understand that. People are protective of kids.

( Fully not considering herself in that category: she'll count herself as a young adult, thank you everyone very much. Still. )

What exactly happened?

[servesyouwright]

[ You're totally a kid, Ciri, but he'll say nothing. ]

Honestly, I'm not clear on all the details, but one of Yasuo's Cubits had the orb, and Team Torpedo knew something was up with that Cubit, so they wanted him really badly. There were a ton of them chasing him down. And I'm pretty sure he got seriously hurt. I was sort of far away.

[ Just catching up when they got pulled away. ]

a)

[blackfire]

（ Ah, A Newbie.

itachi gives the man a sidelong glance, and then — ）

Such has been the case with the vast majority of the worlds we have visited. Truthfully, we may never know what has become of the world in our wake.

（ as with forsythe, especially. ）

[servesyouwright]

[ And that's what they've all been dealing with for how many missions now? They go somewhere, mess around for a bit, and then just leave. It just doesn't seem right. ]

Doesn't that drive you nuts?

[blackfire]

（ he tips his hand to indicate they should clear the teleportation platform, and itachi will move off down the hallway towards the sunlight room almost as a matter of course. it is not as though he minds having the conversation publicly so much as he knows there will be a scramble to decamp that he wishes to avoid. ）

No. Very little in life ever sees a definitive conclusion — we are meddlers in their worlds and lives. Even the act of claiming the orb can leave a planet irrevocably damaged. Knowing more than what we leave with is a point of curiosity, but not a right.

（ but he understands the urge — perhaps too well. he has spoken to viveca of angrial often enough. ）

[servesyouwright]

[ He follows along sort of absentmindedly, his mind still reeling from the abrupt end to the mission. All those people, all that drama and stress, and just like that it's over.

It's true enough, of course. Even in your own planet, in your own town, you are sort of a meddler in others' lives. And as a lawyer, especially so. While he's kept in touch with many of his clients, it has oftentimes been fleeting, at best. An invitation to a contest or a show, some chatting afterward.

Even so, this is different. He sighs. ]

But life isn't usually like this. I don't get pulled god knows how far away at the end of a case without the chance to say goodbye.

b.

[oiorpata]

[ andy is already in the kitchen when the other man comes in, digging around for some snacks with a bottle of vodka tucked under her arm. she should really be looking for actual food, but she doesn't feel like cooking, so the offer is probably a sign. ]

[ she turns and looks over, humming a little. ]

That depends. Are you a good cook? [ it's half teasing, because clearly that's the best way to meet someone. ]

[servesyouwright]

[ He doesn't wait around even a moment for a response, instead opening the pantry to browse the wares. ]

My sixteen-year-old daughter usually doesn't complain.

[ Which he thinks is a pretty good grade. ]

[oiorpata]

[ she hums again, but this time gives a little nod, even if he doesn't see it. ]

They are notoriously picky eaters. [ unlike andy, who is both a garbage disposal and a foodie. ]

You're newer, right? Kitchen usually has a good varied stock.

[servesyouwright]

[ Although he definitely wouldn't call Trucy a picky eater, she certainly lets him know when she doesn't approve of the food. ]

I am, but I spent some time in the kitchen before the mission.

[ After a moment, he emerges from the pantry with a pack of spaghetti, and tucks that under his arm as he moves over to the fridge. ]

I'm Phoenix.

A

[coordination]

That's it.

Yzak looks up from the smooth surface of the teleporter, having been looking down to his Luxtini right before being whisked back to the station. ]

Once the agreement the orb has is either completed or given up on, our making contact with it triggers our return to the station. We've purposefully not done so in the past in order to extend our stay somewhere.

As for Team Torpedo and 'everything', that's something the people native to that world are going to have to figure out.

[servesyouwright]

Agh.

[ So it's a sort of automated system. He supposes he doesn't have to go put either Viveca or Dregar against the wall, then.

He drags both fingers through his hair. ]

I want to believe they'll be fine but there were still a bunch of those Torpedo bastards around when we got yanked away.

[coordination]

And if we'd stayed even long enough to finish what we were in the middle of doing, there'd still be plenty of them out there, ready to attempt to regroup and return to their bullshit.

The difference wouldn't have been too large. Though I understand the natural want to stay and help something we'd become entangled in. Or even stay and help clean up a mess completely. We've done that before, with ... varying success.

It's always a question of should we, shouldn't we, should we have, should we not have. I don't think the people of that world would have minded if we did stay.

But I'd like to believe in them and think, too, that they'll be fine.

[servesyouwright]

[ After all that discussion about why people didn't just get together to go deal with Team Torpedo, it was good to see them sort of do that. But ...

Maybe it's one of those things that's best left to the inhabitants of the planet. Who are they, really, to tell any of them how to deal with their problems? Phoenix isn't sure how long it'll take for him to stop thinking about this one, though.

He lowers his hands again with a sigh, looking up at the ceiling. ]

Were you near Yasuo and the others?

B

[locumstudentesquire]

[Ryunosuke probably could have answered a lot of Phoenix's questions right there at the teleportation platform, the very moment they all returned. Indeed, he hears that reaction, and wonders if he should step up to the plate... But plenty of other crew members jump in, and in that moment he realizes... He doesn't actually have it in him to do much talking right now, anyway.

So he slips away through the hubbub, and heads back for his own cabin.

Despite feeling fairly good about the way things panned out, he's still sort of grieving. It feels silly, but he's actually upset that he didn't have time to say a proper goodbye to his cubits. Everything just happened so quickly... One minute they were rushing to stabilize Yasuo, and the next, the orb was settling into his hands, immediately whisking them all back here, and separating him forever from the clever little creatures he'd come to care for and rely upon for the last month.

The only reason he eventually emerges again is because he decides a little pick-me-up is in order. A nice cup of tea and something sweet, perhaps. As he walks towards the kitchen with this goal in mind, it does come with a pang of sadness remembering that Chuuta is no longer around to be baking at random hours of the day... Will someone else step in to fill the muffin void? Is he going to have to learn to make them himself?

He's frowning somewhat seriously to himself about this matter, when he walks into the kitchen and encounters Phoenix, stopping him in his tracks.]

Oh...!

[His mouth hangs open awkwardly for a moment, like he's got something more to add, but. There's something he's been overthinking a lot, lately: How does he address this man? Is 'Mr. Wright' or 'Wright-san' too formal? Is 'Phoenix' too IN-formal? If he uses honorifics, what should he even use?! Technically he's the ancestor here but, Phoenix is presently much older...?

He just decides to dodge the name use and rubs the back of his neck, grinning sheepishly.]

Terribly sorry, I didn't mean to barge in while you were using the space.

[servesyouwright]

[ At about the same time as Ruynosuke, he makes a similar 'oh' of surprise as he takes a step or two back.

It keeps startling him just how polite Ryunosuke is. Or is it politeness? He's not sure what else to call the way he'll profusely apologise for ... Okay, not the smallest of slights, in the case of the burning sandwich, but more or less. ]

Hey, it's okay. This place is big enough for the both of us. You hungry, by any chance?

[locumstudentesquire]

[For a second, Ryunosuke almost rejects the offer; he'd politely brush it off by saying he's not actually very hungry, that he's just here to get something light. It's nothing personal against Phoenix... He's just not especially keen on inflicting his presence on others when he's feeling so out of sorts.

But... Then his stomach twinges and growls, as if it's trying to respond for him. Ryunosuke deflates, looking a bit sheepish.]

...Famished, actually.

[servesyouwright]

[ He chuckles quietly as he steps into the food storage. It's pretty easy to see that Ryunosuke is still processing everything that happened, and he's not sure if it's acceptable for him to ask about it. They're family, but also total strangers. Makes the whole thing very weird.

But he really does want more details about Yasuo. ]

Anything in particular you're craving?