one ace: video

[aceordisgraced]

Everyone breathing okay?

[One easygoing looking man grins into the camera. He just got his netbook after the bombing ordeal calmed down a bit and he's been fiddling with it all day! Now he knows how to use it and he's so proud of himself.]

Yes? Nice to meet you. The Initiative brought me in to help out this Resistance project of theirs, so I guess that makes us comrades? That's nice. You know what they say about friendship.

[What do they say about friendship, Nick? He has no clue.]

Anyway... I actually had a question. Is there anywhere around here I could find some playing cards? I was talking to someone down in the tunnels last week and thought game night might be a fun thing to do sometime. Maybe poker for some fun prizes? Haha.

[... He does not introduce himself. He thought it might make him mysterious, and it'll be a way to start a conversation later, right?]

Comments

[aceordisgraced]

Even if I wasn't here? The tax laws here are harsh, huh?

I should ask Trucy what I owe her....

[acemedium]

Yep. So you better pay up!

... You know Trucy?

[aceordisgraced]

I do! She's a nice girl, isn't she? You know her too?

[ha ha ha]

[acemedium]

She is! I'm her manager! She's an Ace Magician, you know. [DID YOU KNOW THAT NICK]

Are you one of her fans or something? Because if you want her autograph I'll have to charge you extra burgers.

[aceordisgraced]

[ER....]

[On one hand, he doesn't want to lie. Maya is his trusted partner and first of all his friend. Even if he has the time-space continuum to consider, he also has to consider that Maya Fey is not the person he wants to lie to and to be completely honest it's really not something he wants to do after getting to hang out with her like this again.

On the other hand telling her ~I have a daughter~ is like throwing a can of worms at Edgeworth in the middle of an earthquake or telling Franziska she got a B on a quiz or something. What does he do.

... ...

Oh hell.]

Of course I know her. Trucy Wright, right?

[acemedium]

Wright!

I mean, right.

Wait a second.... Wright! You don't have a niece or cousin or something you didn't tell me about, right? [Nick's old but there's no way he's old enough to have a daughter or anything like that. .. Or, well, if anything, maybe he's too old to have a daughter...]

[aceordisgraced]

That's a lot of "right"s. Anyway, I don't have any nieces or cousins. How should I put this...

Ah, well, Trucy's my daughter. Just don't forget that I'm also from your future, so I didn't have a hidden secret child or anything like that.

1/3

[acemedium]

... Oh, I see. [That explains it.]

I lied 2/?

[acemedium]

[Wait.]

[acemedium]

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?! [Hope that wasn't too close to your ear]

[acemedium]

Y-You-- You have---

She's so---

You---

[This is way too many bombshells at once. Nick had a girlfriend? Nick somehow had a kid with this mystery girlfriend? Nick (even in the future!) was actually responsible enough to raise a kid? Nick's daughter is a magician, did that mean he was moonlighting as a ring master father or something the whole time? Trucy's close to her age, how old was Nick when he had her?? How old is Nick? How didn't Trucy know who she was, if she was Nick's daughter--]

[How did Nick even manage to have a kid in the first place?!]

[..........And most importantly, how did he manage to have a such a cute daughter? It's Nick!]

done

[acemedium]

Nick, this isn't court! Future Hobo Nick or not, you can't just make up ridiculous stuff like that and expect me to believe it!

[aceordisgraced]

[Wow rude Maya. He's perfectly good looking (outside of photos) and he's very responsible! Even if they haven't paid lunch money in a while, even if Trucy's already working, even if he's not working a very stable job, even if--

Hnnng.]

Hey, I'm not a hobo! [IMPORTANT POINT RIGHT THERE.]

And I'm not making anything up. Trucy's my daughter!

Adopted.

1/3

[acemedium]

[Yeah, that's what she thought. You obviously need her to look after you, how can you be looking after a daughter??]

You are so! I bet you live in a box!

And there's no way that---

[acemedium]

... Adopted?

[acemedium]

.... Oh, I guess that makes more sense.

Are you suuuure? This isn't some trick to try to get sympathy points from the judge, is it? You know... "Find my client innocent, I've got a daughter to take care of!"

[aceordisgraced]

Does this look like the face of a man that's lying, Maya?

Besides, you're not the Judge, so if I was trying to win points with the Judge why would I need to lie to you?

[acemedium]

Yep! [No hesitation at all!] Your hat is pretty sneaky too, it's hiding all your hair.

It could be all part of your ploy, getting another adorable teenage girl to back up your story!

[aceordisgraced]

Ouch, that hurt. [he even rubs his chest with his hand to express it. your words are weapons, Maya.]

And hey now, what's with the "another"? You make me sound like some kind of creep.

[acemedium]

[Sadly, his plight is lost on her] You just don't want to admit that I'm onto you!

I never said that! Just that you've already been making use of my cuteness... and now Trucy's too... Well, as long as we're both compensated fairly [aka: all of your wallet's proceeds go to the burger fund] I don't see anything wrong with it!

[All of this conversation, though, Maya's beating around the bush - trying to process this information in earnest. How much had Nick changed...?]

[aceordisgraced]

A man's gotta be resourceful, right?

[He laughs at first, but ends it quickly and smiles a little more sincerely.]

I'm not trying to make use of you or Trucy. But I guess because I'm new to here and don't really know much, I'll have to rely on you two sometime I think. Of course, you won't be unrewarded!

[acemedium]

So you say!

[But that's good enough] Alright, I guess I'll help you out! I could even share the finds of my investigation.. over dinner, of course.

[aceordisgraced]

Over dinner, huh? I can't argue against that; it's probably a more reasonable price to pay for your assistance than giving my kidneys away or something.

[laughing.]

Is there a good burger joint here for you?