Deviation Actions
Literature Text
The Wright Anything Bakery
Part Six
The Most Important Thing
“Don’t back down!”
Ema lifted her finger off of the button that keyed the mic on the megaphone. They had four tables going, each manned by a single cashier, while the remaining detectives ushered in the unwary crowds. Early on, an ambulance had been brought in to triage any victims of cake or pastry. A second one was on the way.
It was bedlam. It was frightening. But war was never easy. Ema crossed her arms with steely resolve.
Edgeworth exited the stairwell and was rudely interrupted on his way toward his office.
“Herr Edgeworth! Mein Führer—“
Edgeworth pinched the bridge of his nose between his eyes and then glared up at Klavier Gavin.
“Mister Gavin,” he said, “I’ve asked you time and again to refrain from referring to me as “Führer”. As it were, I’m quite fed up with your antics—if you continue to sputter about in broken English, I will call immigration and you will be deported to Mexico within the hour.”
“Ja—but Herr—Mister Edgeworth, I’m not from Mexico—“
“Of course you’re not! But that’s where you’ll be sent!”
Klavier scooted to the side to let the Chief Prosecutor pass. Then he remembered.
“Ach! Mein Foo—Mister Chief!”
“What is it?”
“There is a problem at the Expose Park!”
Edgeworth turned to look at him. The cold glare was sharp enough to cut glass. Klavier smiled sheepishly and backed away a few steps.
“There is a problem at Expose Park!”
Edgeworth’s brows knit, “You said that twice, Mister Gavin. Please elaborate.”
“You have to see for yourself!” Apollo shouted into his phone while the masses in the park roared around him.
“Great! We’ll see you then!”
He hung up and looked toward the tables they’d set up that morning. One of the cops had driven his police car onto the grass and it sat in the field flashing red and blue light while music blared from its stereo. Someone in a Blue Badger costume was dancing along and waving a sign that read, “Cupcakes for Justice!” So far, they’d cleared seven hundred dollars—two hundred thirty-seven dollars after expenses.
Wait until Trucy sees this! She’s going to be ecstatic!
Apollo ran down the hill and pushed through the churning crowds toward HQ. Mustn’t let Ema out of his sight for too long! Apollo grinned to himself as he shoved his way past mostly policemen and civil workers from the nearby municipal buildings. Not a few of them were doubled over and spitting out pastries.
“Wait,” Edgeworth whipped off his glasses and narrowed his eyes at the blonde young man seated in front of him, “You mean to tell me that Wright spent a thousand dollars on shoes—and they weren’t even custom made?”
“Ja. That is what the Detective told me.”
“So now half the district is hanging out in Expose Park and having a massive food fight?”
“Ja.”
“Preposterous!”
“Ja.”
“Trucy, maybe we could stay in and spend some time together,” Phoenix said, offering his daughter a simpering smile and begging her with puppy-dog eyes, “When I start working again, we won’t have as much time—“
“But Daddy! I wanted to surprise you! Why would you go and call Mister Edgeworth? He ruined it!”
“Oh, well, honey… He gave me the bill too…”
Trucy’s face brightened, “So… So Daddy, I can still pay for your suit? Can I?”
Phoenix frowned, there was no way of knowing if the bake sale was a success or not. He dropped his head into his hands—why didn’t he stop them when he had the chance?
“Trucy, baby… Don’t take this the wrong way…” Phoenix began.
Trucy stared at him, her wide blue eyes ever earnest and innocent locked on his.
“Daddy? I didn’t make enough cake pops did I? Oooh… Ema was right—our overhead was probably too high…”
“Ah… no sweetheart,” Phoenix said, “You had plenty of cake pops, and cupcakes and muffins and cookies and cakes and—all kinds of baked… um baked… food… stuff…”
“No one is buying them? Apollo said things were going well…”
Phoenix looked shocked, “He did?”
“Yeah, I talked to him on my way in. I was going to go straight over, but I thought you’d like to come too. So then you could help and not feel like it was charity…”
Phoenix stared at her. A mist stung his eyes and he started to choke up a little—Trucy knew him too well. She cared about him so much. His little girl took care of him better than he could take care of himself. Better than he did for her…
Phoenix put his arms around her and hugged her tight.
“Wait! You can’t do this!”
Ema threw herself in between bake sale table number one and a very irritable Miles Edgeworth.
“Are you aware, Detective Skye, of just how many codes you’re violating with this… this… fiasco?”
Apollo was watching them from his vantage at bake sale table number two and he pumped his fist in silent victory. Prosecutor Gavin was standing just behind Edgeworth and he turned and met Apollo’s eye. Apollo nodded a small acknowledgement.
“But Mister Edgeworth! What about Trucy? What about Mister Wright’s new suit? What about justice?”
“Cease this madness at once! This is coming out of your pay!”
Apollo frowned, would Edgeworth really dock her pay? Rumor was he’d done it before. Edgeworth had a foot up on the table and was reaching over trying to wrestle the megaphone from Ema’s hands.
“I will NEVER surrender!”
Ema’s voice popped and fizzed as she shouted into it and the high whine of feedback made Edgeworth back away for a moment.
“NEVER!”
“How come you never said anything before?” Trucy asked as they walked toward the park.
Phoenix had an arm wrapped protectively over her shoulders and put his head down guiltily.
“I didn’t want to hurt your feelings. You always looked so happy, and a couple of swigs of Pepto and a night in the bathroom is worth seeing you shine with that look of accomplishment. To me that was more important.”
“Daddy, I’m so sorry you got sick all those times…”
“Nah, don’t worry about it Truce. I’m tougher than I look,” Phoenix said.
“Yeah you are,” Trucy said with a small smile, “You know Daddy, I wish you had told me the truth sooner. I never really liked baking—you could’ve spared both of us all that trouble.”
Phoenix grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head, “ I feel like there’s a lesson in here somewhere…”
They stopped at the edge of the park and gaped at the scene in front of them. People were milling about in a daze—most of them police officers and civil servants, some coughing up pastries. Ema was sobbing into Apollo’s arms, a torn sign that read “cupcakes for justice” littered the ground next to them. Klavier Gavin and a detective neither of them recognized were dragging large garbage bins and dumping the remaining pastries. Edgeworth, livid, stood on one of the tables with a loud speaker. He was saying things like, “Nothing to see here,” and “Move along”.
“Daddy, things went horribly wrong…”
“Oh boy,” Phoenix said, “They sure did.”
“So what I think…” Trucy began haltingly—she was thoroughly distracted by the scene in front of her, “I think that the most important thing is to be honest with the ones you love. Because a lie—even a tiny one meant to spare someone’s feelings—can get blown out of proportion.”
“Wright!”
Edgeworth’s voice crackled through the megaphone. Phoenix frowned.
A/N: And that’s all she wrote! Thanks for reading! Thanks too to Ace Fangirl for posting this challenge, I hope this story met that challenge!
(Did I win?)
I never really decided who annoyed me more in AA:AJ, Klavier Gavin or Apollo Justice… I think Klavier Gavin won… I guess Apollo tends to grow on you…
Deported to Mexico… Does Mexico have negative connotations for Edgeworth? (that seems familiar… uh yeah this is some shameless plugging!)
Don’t lie to people.
And don’t do drugs!
