#herrforeheads

“Come on Daddy, hurry up! We’re gonna be late!” Trucy pleaded, bouncing with excitement in her seat.

“Hehe, all right, calm down. We’ll be there soon.” Phoenix replied, flicking up the windshield wipers a notch higher to combat the snow that was piling on the windshield.

Apollo gave a chuckle, turning to glance out the window at the glistening scenery flying by. Trucy had been looking forward to this Christmas party ever since she’d puppy-eye begged Edgeworth into holding it several weeks ago. He slapped his hand down on the stack of gifts beside him in the backseat as a speedbump threatened to send them flying. As he straightened he instinctively tightened his seatbelt. The weather was getting a bit rougher and he’d rather not go flying out of his seat in the off chance that Phoenix managed to skid off the road.

“There it is!” Trucy chirped, pointing to the glowing prosecutor building as they rounded onto the main avenue. She threw the door open as soon as they had parked, darting out of the car into the heavy snowfall.

“Don’t forget your jacket!” Phoenix called, forced to more or less chuck it at her as she turned just long enough to catch it before zipping off into the building.

“I swear, that girl’s bloodstream must be full of caffeine.” He mumbled, shaking his head with a fond smile.

“Remind me to keep her away from the coffee pot then. She might explode.” Apollo replied with a laugh, helping his boss gather the pile of gifts. Together they trekked through the snow up to the door, Apollo flinching as he stepped into a deep spot and snow sloshed into the cuff of his shoe.

“Trucy, wait up!” Apollo called as they finally made in the doors and saw her rounding a corner. She leaned back into sight for a moment, playfully sticking her tongue out at them.

“Nah, you guys just need to hurry up!” She crowed before disappearing once more.

“When did she start getting so sassy?” The red clothed attorney enquired and Phoenix gave a snort, stuffing his hands into the pocket of his hoodie.

“Pretty sure she’s getting it from you two.”

When they finally caught up, they found her chatting with a certain scruffy detective.

“Well that’s certainly a cute outfit Miss Trucy. Much better than this old thing anyway.” He chuckled, patting his chest. The girls own chest puffed out in pride and she gripped the bottom of the pajama shirt she wore, pulling it taut to display the design on the front.

“Yeah, Daddy bought them for me! Look! The blue badgers’ the same color as my stage outfit!”

“Really? I’d never noticed!”

A mischievous glint appeared in the detective’s eye and he leaned down to the girl.

“Hey pal, do you know who created the blue badger?”

She shook her head and he grinned, pointing towards himself. She took a moment to process the revelation and then gasped, hands clapping to her mouth.

“Really!?”

Phoenix rolled his eyes with a smile as they started excitedly chattering back and forth about the mascot, continuing on his way to the party’s main area. The pajamas had been Trucy’s idea. Quote the little goof: “Anybody could have a Christmas party. But we’re going to be the only ones with a Christmas pajama party!”

He spotted a familiar pair of silk maroon pajamas the instant he got in the room and made a beeline towards them, balancing the gifts on one arm to lean over and plant a kiss on the man’s cheek.

“Well, you’re certainly looking comfy Miles.” He said with a grin as the man’s face flushed.

“Save some for under the mistletoe Mr. Wright!” Kay called from nearby, practically cackling when it became his turn to blush.

“All right, enough of that Kay. Wright, where are Maya and Pearl?” The prosecutor asked, glancing around.

“She called and said there was a storm rolling in over near Kurain. They didn’t feel safe trying to get through it. They’ll be over for New Years though.” The blue clad lawyer replied, the prosecutor nodding in response.

“I see. Probably for the best. Storms can get far worse up in those mountains. I wouldn’t want them to tempt fate.”

“Speaking of missing people, where are Detective Fulbright and Ema?”

“The detective was called away to finish filling out paperwork from one of he and Prosecutor Blackquills recent cases. As for Ema, one of her exams was rescheduled for this afternoon and so she had been up for the last two days straight studying. She could barely stay awake on the train ride home, let alone though an entire party.”

“Hmm, too bad. Well, I guess that just means more spiked eggnog for us.”

“Wright!”

Apollo shook his head fondly at their conversation and started through the doorway where he had paused, glancing up at the mistletoe pinned to the frame.

“Herr Forehead!” A voice called and the attorney had just enough time to dodge out of the way before Klavier could tackle him in a hug.

“Klav, what the hell!? And where is your shirt!?”

“Why, do you like the view?” The tanned man asked, putting his hands on hips and tilting so his abdominal muscles flexed just so. The younger man’s face flared red.

“Klavier!”

“Oh come now Herr Forehead, I’m just trying to follow social convention.” He chuckled, pointing to the mistletoe above them. He ducked his head towards the shorter man again and in a panic Apollo jumped to the side, nearly dumping his cargo on the ground. The blond paused and gave him a slightly sad, questioning look, head tilted a bit to the side. Apollo flushed just a bit in embarrassment, turning away with a cough.

“Just not...not right now, ok?”

The former rockstar sighed, reaching down to touch Apollo’s cheek.

“Alright.”

Apollo couldn’t help but feel a bit bad. Things had been...strange between them. They’d been dating for months, and very clearly had feelings for each other, but had yet to get beyond cuddling and the occasional peck on the cheek. Not they didn’t want to, it just never felt like the right time. And he could tell all the rejections were starting to get to the man.

Looking for a way to break the suddenly awkward atmosphere, he gave the German a very unamused look.

“And I’m especially not doing it with you dressed like that.” He replied in a very deadpan manner and the other gasped

“My dear attorney, why must you wound me so?” the prosecutor whimpered, pressing a hand to his bare chest in fake heartbreak.

“Oh god, just take the presents already.” Apollo huffed in return, rolling his eyes.

The former rockstar gave a chuckle, scooping part of the pile out of the shorter’s grasp and starting towards the tree. The two figures beside it turned as they drew closer, one waving an arm in greeting.

“Apollo!” Athena called, nightgown rustling as she crossed her arms.

“What took you so long?”

“The snow was falling kinda heavily on the way here, so Mr. Wright wanted to take it slow.” The young lawyer replied, before respectfully nodding to the man beside her. Blackquill inclined his head in return, the hem of his haori brushing the floor. The man wore a baggy shirt and pair of hakama, the long sleeved robe thrown over top made of a deep black silk with a moon pattern. Normally Apollo would have made some joking remark about the attire. However, Athena had mentioned to him once that the man was uncomfortable in any close fitting clothing besides his prosecutor uniform, saying it reminded him to much of his prison clothes, and so he abstained.

“Well, you could have at least called us. We’ve been waiting for you to get here before we got started.” She pouted as they placed the presents into the already prevalent pile beneath the tree.

“Yes, and I for one am starving!” Sebastian called from where he was sprawled next to Kay on a couch, hand grown dramatically over the stomach of his stripped pajamas, fiddling with the edge of his red terry cloth robe.

“Says the man who ate an entire bag of Snackoos on the way here.” Kay replied with a grin, giggling as he tried to shove her off the couch. She herself was wearing a kimono style shirt and lounge pants bearing the same pattern as her normal attires shirt, a robe and of course her scarf thrown over top. Klavier chuckled at thie antics, pulling on the silk shirt and robe he’d grabbed from a nearby chair.

“Well I second his statement!” Athena announced, throwing a hand into the air and startling Taka up from the armchair where the hawk had been perched.

“So I say we get this party started!”

At that point the entire party devolved into various festive hijinx, ranging from completely decimating the content of the buffet tables to Trucy whipping out a Twister set, resulting in the combined weight of Kay, Klavier and Athena all coming down on poor Apollo’s chest when someone slipped. Athena and Trucy kicked everybody’s butts at the Name that Song contest, while Blackquill Kay and Apollo himself nearly destroyed part of the room playing extreme spoons, diving under tables and flipping couches to try and find the hidden utensils whist the others spectated and cheered.

After a time Gumshoe bid them farewell, saying he needed to be up early the next day, and with his departure the party finally toned down a little.  Most of the remaining attendees were merely standing around chatting when a loud clatter caught their attention.

“And now, the movie marathon portion of the evening shall begin!” Kay crowed, shuffling through the pile of DVD’s she’d dumped out of her bag.

“Let’s see about our line up...The Santa Claus...Home Alone...The Polar Express of course...”

“Polar Express?” Trucy asked, her and Sebastian leaning over Kay’s shoulders.

“Yeah, you know, Polar Express?” She waved the case at them and they returned gaze with blank stares of confusion. She suddenly gasped in realization, leaping to her feet.

“You’ve never seen it!? This is an outrage!”

With that she grabbed the two’s hands and dragged them over to the lounge area, shoving them down onto one of the couches and leaping over to the large TV nearby. She popped the disk into the set-ups DVD player and flopped down between the two with the remote.

“We must rectify this situation immediately!”

Phoenix chuckled at the girl’s behavior and trotted over to sit down, the rest of the group trailing after him.

“You guys are gonna love this! The animation and music are amazing, the acting is awesome and get this, apparently it’s based on a true story!”

“I somewhat doubt that Fräulein.” Klavier replied as he scooted in next to Apollo.

“It’s true I tell ya! Now hush, it’s starting.”

The partygoers settled in as the movie played, moving only to go and fetch snacks periodically. As the plot unfolded, the group actually became rather invested, especially Trucy and Sebastian. The two were leaned forward as far as they could without falling, eyes glued to the flat screen with enraptured expressions. They cried out in panic when the main character nearly missed the train, clinging to Kay and shaking the girl as they rooted the child on. Their friends couldn’t help but look on in joy. After all, the trios childhoods hadn’t necessarily been the best, so to see them to enchanted by some quintessential thing that just screamed childhood was heartwarming.

They’d gotten through 3 songs and an action sequence that made the ensemble cower in varying levels of fear when a gentle buzzing caught their ears. Edgeworth fished a phone out of the pocket of his shirt and checked the number. Standing, he moved off to the other side of the room before answering.

“Detective, what is it? We’re are currently in the middle of a movie, so I would appreciate if you kept this short...They’re what? Blocked? What do you mean they’re blocked?”

The silver-haired man moved swiftly to one of the windows, glancing out. He bit back a curse and then sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation.

“Alright, I’ll let the others know. Thank you for telling me...no, we’ll be fine...good night to you as well Detective.”

He gave a little groan as he hung up, moving back over to where the other were waiting, having paused the movie to listen.

“Miles, is everything ok?” Phoenix asked, looking worried at the man’s frustrated expression.

“That was Detective Gumshoe. Apparently they’ve just announced that the weather has developed lake-effect snow conditions and because of the increased snowfall several sections of the city have been snowed-in. Including the area around the prosecutor building.”

“When will it be cleared out?” Athena asked, arms resting on the back of the couch.

“Not till tomorrow morning it seems.”

“Which means for the time being, we’re stuck here.” Apollo sighed, pressing a hand to his forehead in exasperation. Klavier smiled and ruffled his hair in amusement.

“Well, it’s not all bad. We’re in good company and I know that they keep a lot of blankets and pillows in the storage room for prosecutors who stay the night for work. If I’m not mistaken, I believe one of these couches doubles as a pull-out bed as well. It wouldn’t be difficult to simply spend the night here then leave in the morning once the roads are clear.”

“Well, we are wearing pajamas...Trucy, are you sure you’re not psychic as well?” Phoenix asked Trucy, the girl grinning in return.

“Not as far as I’ve been aware so far.”

“Well that settles it then! Operation: Actual Slumber Party is a go! Now, back to the movie!” Kay declared, before swiveling back around and switching the movie on once more. Miles shook his head fondly at her and took his seat next to Phoenix once more. As the film continued to play out, Apollo leaned his head against Klavier’s shoulder, the prosecutor’s hand rubbing little circles against Apollo’s hip. With the weight of good food in his stomach, the warmth of the German beside him and the repetitive movement easing the tension out of his joints, it wasn’t too long till the lawyer drifted off into slumber.

*

December 24th 11:50 pm

Prosecutor Building

It was a gentle prodding at Apollo’s back that roused him slightly. He snuggled closer to Klavier and tried to ignore it, but it came harder this time and, finally dragging his eyelids open, he glanced back over his shoulder. Trucy was crouched behind him at the edge of the couch, nudging his shoulder.

“Apollo, Apollo wake up!” She murmured, poking him in the cheek this time.

“Trucy? What time is it? What do you want?” He asked, partially sitting up with a yawn from where he’d been laying on his side, face to chest with Klavier. Groggily he looked around. He’d only really woken up long enough earlier for Klavier to tuck some pillows under their heads and pull a blanket over them, but he still had a rough recollection of what had happened. He and Klavier had taken one couch, Athena and Blackquill the other, with Mr. Wright and the rest claiming the surprisingly spacious fold out. Glancing over to said bed he saw Kay similarly waking Sebastian and Miles.

“Do you guys feel that?” She asked a bit louder than she’d intended, rousing Athena and her couchmate as well. The former prisoner gave a slightly choked grunt as Athena pressed a hand to his ribs to steady herself, sitting up from here she’d been flopped on top of him.

“Feel what? It’s the middle of the night. What are we supposed to be feeling in the middle of the night?” Sebastion asked, yawning widely.

Now that she mentioned it though, there was something a bit strange that Apollo noticed. Focusing carefully, he could feel a dull rumble surging through the ground in a continuous buzz.

“Is-is this an earthquake?” He absently-mindedly asked, hearing a sharp inhale and turning to find Prosecutor Edgeworth suddenly very awake and grasping to Phoenix’s arm. The spikey haired prosecutor was quickly awakened by the death grip his partner had on his bicep, hurridly analyzing the situation and wrapping an arm around the man in an attempt to calm him.

“No, it’s not an earthquake.” Athena replied groggily, pressing a hand to the ground to better feel the vibrations.

“The rhythm of the shaking is too uniform for that.”

“Well then, what do you think is causing it Fräulein?” Klavier wondered.

Before the girl could answer, Trucy suddenly held up a hand to silence them all.

“Did...did you hear that just now?”

The room went silent as they listened, so still that they could have heard a pin drop 2 floors up. And then it came, faint and nearly smothered by the snow, but there.

The distant sound of a whistle.

Kay gave a tiny gasp from where she stood at the window, drawing Trucy over to her side with a little wave. The brunette peeked out as well, gasping in turn. The two girls turned to each other, broad excited grins stretching across their faces. Before anyone could process what was happening, both of the teens were hauling ass out of the room, the buildings front doors giving a echoing bang as hey threw them open.

“Trucy!” Phoenix cried, snatching the two’s robes, and fanny pack, off the coat rack as he gave chase. The rest of the group glanced at each other in bafflement before slipping into slippers and robes of their own. As Apollo passed the window he stole a glance out. Everything appeared normal, the lights of the city reflecting off the snowdrifts as flakes slowly drifted down. For a moment he caught a flash of light in the distance, before disappearing behind the buildings. A car perhaps? But who would be driving around in this weather? Shaking the thoughts away for now, he started outside after the others, Taka awakening from where he’d been dozing on a chair and following along.

As he cleared the front doorway he spotted the two girls standing at the edge of the drive, Phoenix and Miles draping their robes over them like a pair of mother hens.

“What were you two thinking?” the prosecutor chided, eyebrows furrowed in irritation.

“It’s in the mid 20’s right now.”

“Y-Yeah K-Kay!” Sebastian protested, teeth chattering as he pulled his rather thin robe closer around himself.

“It’s f-freezing! W-What are you thinking dragging us out here in the m-middle of the n-night?”

Neither girl gave them much mind, Kay’s boots crunching against the snow as she bounced in excitement.

“Look!” She crowed, pointing down the building’s circular drive and further off into the city. As they watched the distant light popped once more into view, shining through the haze mist of the snow as it weaved closer to them along the streets at high speed. The whistle sounded again closer this time, and the rumbling beneath the group’s feet became stronger. Athena tilted her head towards the sound, eyes narrowed as she focused her powerful hearing. Suddenly her eyes snapped open wide, turning to the other in shock.

“Guys, that sounds like-“

Before she could finish, the mysterious object put on a jolt of speed and burst through the haze in front of them. Everyone leapt back, the other older ones shielding the younger behind them as it circled around the driveway, throwing up a spray of snow and light as it whipped by with a deafening whistle. The entire world seemed to shake around them with a rhythmic chug, Phoenix visibly wincing as Edgeworth paled and nearly crushed his hand in a vise-like grip. As they more or less cowered, the chugging began to slow, finally grinding to a halt as the object stopped beside them. They slowly glanced up at it as it steamed, staring in disbelief at the object.

“A train. It’s a freaking train.” Apollo wheezed, eyes fixed on the metal monstrosity in front of them. It appeared to be a steam locomotive, its wheels digging deep ruts into the seep snow beneath it. The windows sitting just above their heads were slightly frosted over but neither the less warmly lit from within, the faintest hint of muted voices reaching them from inside. It was long and cryptic, it’s front engine disappearing into the mist at the end of the drive, and yet didn’t seem foreboding, instead almost seeming to exude a warm comforting presence.

“W-What in blazes!? How is this possible!?” Simon growled, Taka flapping his wings irritably as he clung to the prosecutors shoulder. Trucy grinned at him, patting the trains side fondly.

“Why, magic of course. How else?”

“Trucy, what are you talking about?” Apollo asked, looking between her and an equally enthusiastic looking Kay with increasing confusion.

“Do you know about this th-?”

“All aboard!”

Their heads whipped around at the sound, looking towards the rear end of the vehicle. A figure stood silhouetted in the fog by the light coming from a small set of stairs between cars. They raised an arm to wave to them, cupping a hand around their mouth to call again.

“All aboard?”

With a sound that could only be described as a ‘sqee’ Kay took off running, Trucy right on their heels as they stumbled over the snow.

“H-Hey wait!” Athena called, practically dragging Simon along as they rushed after them. Up ahead the girls reached the mysterious figure and paused, waiting for the rest to catch up. As the group stumbled up them, the new arrival cocked an eyebrow, regarding the mishmash of people with mild curiosity. It was a man on the latter end of middle-aged, dressed classily in a vest, tie and jacket, a conductor’s hat perched upon his balding head. He reached up the steps and retrieved a ledger, peering down at it through his half-moon spectacles.

“Trucy Wright and Kay Faraday I presume?” He asked and the girls practically lit up.

“Yes sir!” Trucy chimed, saluting the man and he smiled just slightly.

“Well then ladies, climbing aboard?”

As the two moved to mount the steps, Klavier quickly ducked forward and pulled them back, both giving little exclamations of protest.

“Climb aboard what, Herr Schaffner? What is this?” He asked, surprisingly calm despite the circumstances. The older man’s lips twisted into an amused expression, calmly waving an arm towards the cars behind them.

“I believe the answer may be closer than you think.”

They turned, searching for what he was indicating, and suddenly they saw it. A series of angular golden letters, painted along the length of the center most car.

Polar Express

“No way...it’s...it’s real?” Phoenix stuttered, and Kay gave a little huff, crossing her arms.

“I told you that already. But did you listen to me? Noooo!”

“Now then, I would happily let you all banter all night if I could, but unfortunately I have a rather tight schedule to follow. If you plan to come along, I suggest you do so quickly. You as well Mr. Debeste.” The older man interrupted, nodding as the young prosecutors jaw dropped just a bit.

“Y-Yes sir!” Sebastian squeaked in surprise, darting over to the girls as they quickly hopped onto the stairs.

“Trucy wait!” Phoenix yelped, lurching forward and grabbing her hand.  She turned to him with a pleading expression, eyes confident.

“Daddy, please. Who knows if we’ll get this chance again? We have to go.” She begged, glancing back at where Kay already stood on the stairs behind her. Her father stared at her for a moment before sighing, squeezing her hand gently.

“Alright, alright. You can go. But!” He replied, holding up a finger as she gave a little bounce of excitement.

“We’re going to come with you.”

“W-What!? Mr. Wright, are you serious!? You want us to get on this crazy thing!?” Apollo exclaimed and the man cocked an eyebrow at him.

“Apollo, you personally know someone who can channel the dead, your coworker can hear emotions and you’ve helped defend an orca whale. Is this really that weird?”

The young attorney turned to Athena for some back-up and she merely shrugged.

“He’s got a point.”

With a sigh he moved with the girl to his boss’s side, Klavier following along with him.

“If Herr Forehead is going, so am I.” The German declared, grabbing the attorney’s hand.

“And us as well.” Edgeworth chimed in, Blackquill nodding in agreement as they moved to their respective partners.

“If that’s ok with you of course, conductor.” Phoenix asked, turning to the waiting stranger. The man glanced them over with a hint of uncertainty, flipping his pocket watch open to check it. He rubbed the back of his neck, a bit hesitant when he spoke.

“Well...”

His head twitched to the side as though he’d heard something and he reached for the ledger he’d laid on the stairs, flipping through the pages. He gave a pleasantly surprised hum, eye brows raising a bit.

“Well then. It seems there’s been a few last minute adjustments to the agenda.”

He stepped back and swept an arm out toward the stairs with a welcoming motion.

“Welcome aboard.”

With a cheer Trucy and Kay rushed up the stairs, reaching for the handle for the sliding door. Just before they could grab it, the door flew open.

“Hey Conductor, what’s the hold-ahhh!”

Both girls crashed into the boy full speed, bouncing off and tipping precariously at the edge of the stairs. Both the new arrival and Phoenix gave a cry of surprise, reaching out for the two.  Sebastian gave a choked grunt as, in the process of them trying to simultaneously grab the girls and push them up, he ended up squashed between the two. The trio clung to each other and teetered for an agonizing moment before steadying.

The boy in front of them gave a sigh, whipping his forehead before glancing down the stairs. He was probably in his mid 20’s, with ruffled brown hair. He wore a similar outfit to the man, though missing the jacket and hat.  His eyes drifted over the group, head tilting in entree.

“Well, this is gonna be an interesting night.” He said and the conductor gave a slightly tired nod.

“That it will Christopher. That it will. Now, if you could please show them in.”

“Oh, of course! Right this way everybody! Hey, Billy, Nona! We’ve got visitors! A lot of them!”

He started off into the car and, with a quick look over at one another, others quickly following along behind him. Apollo was the last, pausing on the bottom step as the conductor raised a lantern that had been sitting on the landing and waved in along the side of the car. The train gave a jolt as it began to move and the attorney grabbed the hand bar to steady himself, watching as they began to pull away from the prosecutor building. He looked down at the wheels, brain desperately trying to piece together a logical reason as to how a multi-ton train could be driving around off the rails, in snow of all things.

The clearing of a throat caught his attention and he turned to see the conductor nod to the open car door. He quickly hurried up the remaining stairs and inside out of the cold, taking in the scene before him. The cabin was warm and cozily lit, with a column of 8 or so comfy looking bench seats on either side of him. Most of the front most benches were occupied by children whom had turned to gaze at them curiously, dressed in pajamas just like themselves. Their ages ranged everywhere between 8 and 12, with the oldest looking 14 at most. They themselves really did seem out of place in comparison. After a few moments the majority had lost interest in them and had turned back to their own conversations, though a few did continue starring at Taka as he preened himself.

“Well, this is certainly a rare sight! Don’t normally have people as old as you on board.” A feminine voice called out, and they turned to see another boy and girl walking up with the boy from earlier. They were around the same age and dressed in the same uniform, grinning cheerily as they strode up.

“Yeah, I don’t even remember the last time we saw someone older than 18.” The other body replied, brushing a lock out of his face. His hair was slightly messy, his loose bangs tucked behind his ears with the rest pulled back in a short ponytail.

“Yes, I’d certainly imagine so.” Edgeworth replied, shifting a bit nervously in response to the shuddering beneath his feet.  Noticing his discomfort, the first boy, Christopher if he wasn’t mistaken, gesture to some of the empty seats.

“Feel free to make ourselves comfortable. We’ll be bringing through snacks in just a bit. Just let us know if you need anything.”

The group quickly took his advice, settling into the plush benches as the city flew by. Apollo dropped onto a seat next to the window, Klaviers finger tips tapping lightly against his knee as he claimed a spot beside him. The attorney absent-mindedly fiddled with his bracelet, mind seizing up just a bit with the overload of information it had received over the last few minutes. One couldn’t really blame him to be honest. After all, they were currently ridding a magical steam train headed towards, if he remembered what he’d seen of the movie correctly, the North Pole.

“I may just be an old man, but I believe I still have yet to punch you punches tickets.”

Apollo turned to see the conductor standing beside their booth, hole punch in hand. Trucy and Kay grinned brightly at each other before beginning to riffle through their outfits, whilst the rest of the group glanced at each other with a collective look of “Uhhhh...”

“I also believe that pockets were invented for a reason. It may be wise of you to check them.” The older man continued, rolling his eyes just the tiniest bit. Apollo’s hand instinctively went to his pocket and he froze, feeling something that had definitely mot been there a few seconds before. He drew out a long ticket made of gold, exchanging shocked looks with the others as they did the same. The conductor gathered them up and went at it, a shower of little golden raining over them as he made quick work of the task. As it was handed back to him, Apollo examined the ticket. An L and E had been punched into it on either ends.

“What do you suppose they mean?” Klavier asked as the conductor moved on, looking curiously at the GI punched into the center of his own. Athena shrugged, her and Simon’s bearing LN and another LE respectively.

Across the aisle Kay giggled, waving her own EE emblazoned one.

“Oh you’ll see sooner or later.”

“You sure seem giddy about this whole thing. Do you know something we don’t?” Sebastian asked, giving her a suspicions side-eye. His hands flickered over the RO shaped holes in his own as Miles shook his head.

“I really wouldn’t be surprised if she did. It’s probably best to wait and see how this plays out. Still, I can’t help and agree with your curiosity. K and D can spell out a lot of things after all.”

“OR maybe they mean nothing and the old man is just keeping himself entertained.” Phoenix replied with a shrug, adjusting his beanie.

Apollo sighed as the group began to banter, theorizing as to what Phoenix’s RE stood for, whether all their letters formed a code of some sorts, ect, ect. He gazed out the window as the city streamed by. The train crew certainly had been right. This was sizing up to be a very odd night.

*

December 24th 11:55 pm

Polar Express Interior-Main Cabin

As time went on the Express made a few more stops, each new child casting a curious glance at the awkward gaggle of teens and adults crowded at the rear of the car. With the exception of in incident involving a kids Great Pyrenees attempting to follow its owner onboard, the trip was fairly uneventful.

Apollo was pretty sure he was hearing the little jingle about the train the kids had been singing, lord knows who’d taught it to them, for the millionth time when the front most door of the cabin opened. One of the trio of crew members they’d met earlier stepped out, clicking the door shut behind her. She pulled her long dark hair, braided in the center with the rest hanging loose, over her shoulder to keep it out of the way as she grabbed the mouthpiece of the talkbox on the wall.

“Your attention please everyone!” She cheerfully called, everyone turning to glance at her as she voice echoed over the cars hidden speakers.

“Are any of our passengers this evening in need of refreshment?”

A chorus of replies rang out across the cabin and she pressed a dark hand to her mouth as she grinned, shrugging nonchalantly.

“Thought so.”

With that she grabbed the door behind her flung it open, darting out of the way as a stream of waiters flooded out into the aisle. Athena let out a shriek as one of said waiters spun her and Simon’s seat around to face he and Klavier, clinging to the armrest with one hand and the prosecutors shoulder with the other. Across the aisle Kay gave a whoop of excitement as they did the same with her and Sebastian’s, giving Trucy a thumbs up as they came to rest facing the bench bearing her and her fathers. The crowd of service members’ heels clicked in perfect unison as they danced around, whipping the tablecloths hanging around their waists off. They dropped the clothes and a delighted gasp could be heard from the passengers, Trucy especially, as they draped over a series of invisible tables. Apollo barely had time to even try and process what sorcery was going on before the waiters began to sing and a figure in white flashed past his face, the cook landing his back flip with ease as a cart bearing a large bronze contraption rolled up the aisle. Suddenly there were mug and saucers flying everywhere as another cart of cooks slid through the opposite door and began whipped them off a towering pile they carried, the waiters dropping into effortless splits as they caught them on their trays. Every sensible member of the group ducked as the cooks took aim and began shooting large globs of hot chocolate around the cabin each landing perfectly in their mugs. As the waiters began setting the beverages down in front of them, Apollo sent a panicked look towards his boss, mentally pleading for an explanation for this madness. The older attorney simply gave a clueless shrug and plucked up his mug, taking a long sip of it. Left with nothing better to do, Apollo followed suit, finding the beverage to be delicious and just the right temperature. He had mostly drained it by the time the waiters leapt up to dance upon their table, grabbing the table cloth and flipping off backwards. They plucked the ceramic piece from his hands just as he finished, flipping the seats back around and exiting as fast as they’d arrived, the door snapping shut behind them.

They all just stared at each other for a moment before Athena murmured a quiet “What the hell just happened?”

“Magic of course. I’ve told you this already.” Trucy replied nonchalantly.

“Really, you live with a magician. I’d think you’d be used it by now considering all the routines I’ve tested on you.”

“Really? You’re a magician?” The crew girl asked as she strode up and Trucy puffed out her chest proudly.

“Yep, the great Trucy Gramarye at your service!” She declared and the girls eyes lit up.

“Wait, you’re Trucy Gramarye?! I’ve been meaning to go to one of your shows for forever!”

“Well, I doubt I have the makings for a proper show on me at the moment, but do you wanna see a few tricks?” She asked, more and more of the car’s occupants turning to watch as the conversation caught their attention.

“Absolutely!” The girl replied, plopping down on an empty arm rest as Trucy giggles and stood, moving to the center of the aisle.

“Well everybody, before I can official begin, I must introduce my lovely partner in magic!”

A little nudge at her fanny pack and her robe billowed out with a whoosh, a familiar wooden figure popping out and snatching the beanie off her father’s head.

“Say hello to the Marvelous Mr. Hat!”

The crowd cheered in delight while the others stared in shock, Athena flinging a hand to her mouth in surprise.

“You’ve had him with you this entire time?! Where were you keeping him?!”

“Why Mrs. Athena, a magician must never reveal her tricks.” The puppet replied and the teen rolled her eyes.

“Now on with the show!”

Trucy launched into a wide array of tricks, everything from elaborate card tricks to stealing the jacket off a kid at the back of the car without them noticing a thing. The crowd was loving it, cheering and gasping with each successful rouse.

“And now for my best trick of the bunch. The vanishing ticket! Now then, where did I put them?”

She searched through her robe and even inside of Phoenix’s beanie, comically glancing around in confusion.

“Hmm, where oh where could they be? Maybe...here!”

There was a poof of smoke and suddenly she was holding a familiar set of blue and pink bloomers, Apollo groaning and face palming as he spotted them.

“My magic panties! Now then in goes the ticket!” She slid her golden ticket into the bloomers, showing everyone the inside to prove they were really in there.

“And now! 3! 2! 1!...Ta-Dah!”

With a flick of her wrist, the garment vanished. The crowd gasped and looked around in search of them.

“Oh, now where have my panties gone this time? Let’s see, on the floor? Nope. Maybe on one of the seats? No not there either. Oh! My oh my, what’s that I spot?”

Apollo gave a squawk as she suddenly thrust a hand into his robe pocket, drawing out the incriminating undergarments.

“Why Apollo, you pantie thief! If you wanted to borrow them you just could have asked.”

The crowd laughed as he flushed red and she held up the panties once more, opening them to show them the insides.

“But look, nothing in the panties. Where could my ticket have gone? Why, I better find it soon, or I might be in trouble. But no worries. I think I know where I left it. Riiiiiight...here!”

She flicked her hand and suddenly the long golden pass marked with an IE was tucked between her index and middle fingers. The crowd gave a cheer, applauding as she gave a bow.

“Thank you, thank you! I’ll be here all week!”

“That was incredible!” The crew member exclaimed as Trucy twirled the ticket between her fingers like a baton with a grin.

“How did you get the panties in his jacket?”

Before Trucy could answer, the door at the far end of the car slid open, Christopher striding in.

“Hey, what’s going on in he-?”

In a mere moment, the cross breeze swept through the car, sucking the ticket out of the little magicians loose grasp. She gave a panicked cry and dove for it, darting past Christopher as the wind carried it outside. They had just a moment to see her passing into the next car over before the door slammed closed.

“T-Trucy!” Phoenix cried and immediately the entire group was on their feet, running to follow her. Simon reached the door first and flung it open for the rest to stream through, looking around the seemingly empty caboose for the girl.

“Over there!” Kay called, pointing to the door leading to the cars back balcony. There was a brief flicker of movement outside its window and they rushed to the door, several of them crowding onto the platform. Yet Trucy was nowhere in sight.

“W-Where did she go?” Athena asked, the group glancing around in confusion. Apollo was the first to notice something off about the scene. A ladder was built into the side of the car, each rung covered in a fine layer of frost. About halfway up however, just above head level, the frost was suddenly disturbed. Sucking in a breath, he rushed to the railing and climbed up, the others crying out in surprise and reaching out to steady him. He glanced over the edge just in time to see a pajama clad figure running along the roof.

“Trucy, wait!” He yelled, but even a voice as powerful as his was pulled away by the wind, and she watched as she disappeared into darkness up ahead. He cursed and ducked to call to the others.

“She’s on top of the train! We have to go after her!”

With that he made for the ladder, leaping on and making it about halfway up before a hand wrapped around his wrist.

“Apollo, no! It’s too dangerous!” Klavier cried and the attorney shook his head.

“If we don’t have someone go along the top we might miss her. She could fall and we’d ever know. Klavier, please, I need to do this.”

The two exchanged a long look and then the German gave a sudden frustrated groan, reaching up and grabbing the back of the other man’s neck. He yanked him down to eye level and pressed their lips together, Apollo instantly melting into it like he’d been doing so for years. After a few moments they pulled back and Klavier pressed their foreheads together.

“Stay safe.” He muttered and the attorney nodded softly.

“I’ve walked the roofs before, I can lead you.” Christopher announced, pushing through the crowd.

“Well, if Polly is going so am I!” Athena announced, Kay popping up at her side.

“And don’t forget me!”

“Are you all sure about this?” Miles asked in concern and Kay waved a hand as though to scatter his worries.

“Aww, I’ve run on top of moving stuff plenty of times. What do you take me for? A not-so-great thief?”

He sighed and nodded to them, the girls smiling determinedly and moving towards the ladder behind Apollo.

“Be careful Kay!” Sebastian called and the girl gave him little salute before taking the rungs two at a time. Simon nudged Taka onto his forearm, raising the hawk up to eye level.

“Go and keep an eye on them. Come and tell me if anything happens.” He rumbled, the bird giving a squawk and taking to the air. It hovered along the winds behind the train and then followed them up over the edge as they climbed the ladder. Christopher turned back to them as he stepped on, tugging a lantern off the hook on the wall.

“Nona, tell Billy to keep an eye on the kids, then start taking them up through the cars. We’ll meet up with you at the engine.” He directed and the girl nodded, the boy mirroring the motion and then disappearing up onto the roof.

“No time to waste. Follow me everybody.” Nona declared, turning and walking back into the cabin. The rest quickly followed, Wright pausing for just a moment to glance up at the ceiling.

“God Trucy, what are you thinking?” he whispered, before starting off through the cars after the others.

*

December 24th 11:55 pm

Polar Express Exterior- Roof

“Ugh I can’t see a thing up here! How could Trucy get anywhere in this stuff?” Athena questioned as the wind whipped around them, the snow blurring everything more than a few yards in front of them.

“If she’s chasing that ticket, she probably hasn’t even noticed.” Apollo replied, trying to shield his eyes and look a bit farther. He could see a deep set of footprints in the snow, but as he watched, the wind blew them away more and more.

“Well, let’s get going. The less time we’re up here, the better.” Christopher chimed in, starting off down the train.

“Just follow me, and stay away from the edges. They can get pretty icy and trust me, we may not be going full speed but you really don’t want to fall off this baby when she’s in motion.”

They started tracking their way along, stepping into each other’s foot prints as they pushed against the wind. Taka flew a dozen or so feet above them, riding the updrafts. Every so often they’d have to jump between cars, a hair-raising experience each time as they would land and slip just a bit before regaining their balance. All the time they called out to her, voices straining as they shouted.

“Trucy! Trucy, where are you?” Apollo yelled, hacking as he inhaled a mouthful of snowflakes. Her footprints had disappeared a few minutes back, but still no sign of her.

“We haven’t got far left before we get to the engine. She must be around here somewhere. I haven’t seen any sign of her having fallen. So unless she circled back around somehow or went back down into the cars, she should still be up here.” Christopher replied. His glanced around at the passing landscape and his face darkened a bit.

“Not long till we get to Flat Top either. We need to hurry up and find her as soon as we can.”

“Flat Top?” Kay asked, and he nodded grimly.

“It’s a tunnel the train passes through on the route. Only has an inch of clearance between the roof and top of the tunnel, hence the name. First year I rode this train I got caught up here right as we were getting to it. Came real close to not ending very well for yours truly. Agh, if only we had some way of knowing where she went.”

The boy paused for a moment and then gave a sharp groan, smacking a palm to his forehead.

“Oh my god, where the hell is my brain at tonight!”

He cupped his hands around his mouth, shouting out into the wind.

“Spook! Spoook! I know you’re out there! We need your help!”

“Spook? What are you talking ab-ahh!”

Athena shrieked as a tree growing a bit too close to the tracks clipped her, its branch momentarily snagging her nightgown and dragging her to the edge. The others watched in terror as she teetered, precariously, her arms windmilling in a desperate attempt to help her keep her balance. They screamed as her foot suddenly slipped on the ice and she pitched backwards. Just before she could fall, a hand clamped onto her robe. She was yanked forward, coming close to stumbling off the other side of the train as she tried not to fall face first into the snow.

“Geez kid, can’t ya go one year without getting intta trouble?”

The group heads snapped over to the owner of the growly voice, his hand still tangled in Athena’s robe. He was tall and somewhere in his early 30’s, his slightly too long dark brown hair whipping about beneath the brim of his cap. While Apollo hesitated to call him as a vagabond, the word truly was a rather good description, what with his generally ragged appearance and unshaved face. Despite his irritated words, he wore a playful smirk, amber eyes twinkling mischievously. Chris gave a chuckle, giving the man a fond smile.

“Hey, I gotta give you something to do besides lounging around all trip, don’t I?” He returned and the man rolled his eyes, releasing Athena as she finally righted herself.

“Hmph, more like givin me grief. Wha were you yellin bout anyway?”

“Sorry to interrupt your little chat but WHO THE HELL IS THAT!? HE LITERALLY JUST POPPED UP OUT OF NOWHERE!” Kay squawked, gesturing wildly towards the man.

“It’s...it’s a long story.” Chris replied, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

“But ol Spook here sees everything that happens on this train. Whatever’s she’s done, he’ll have seen it.”

“Oh, you talkin bout the girly in the funky blue shirt? Yeah, she passed by a few minutes back. Strange lil thing. Was runnin after one of those fancy shmancy tickets ah yours. Weirdest thing happened nows that I think ah it. She got up a few cars up then, poof, just up and vanished. Though maybe ah was the one seeing ghosts this time.”

“Wait, what do you mean she just disappeared? Did she fall in the snow or go down a ladder or something?” Apollo asked and the man shrugged, an irritated groan rumbling in the back of the attorney’s throat in response.

“Well, that was way less help than I was thinking, but at least we know she passed by here. Let’s just keep heading up.”

With that the group set off again, the stranger taggin alongside Chris with a half-mumbled “But seriously, wha was that thing on er shirt? Uh badger or somin?” They kept their eyes peeled as they made their way along, leaping between the gaps with a now practiced ease. They crouched to keep their balance as the vehicle took a turn, the engine appearing out of the gloom momentarily as it pulled round. Almost there.

They struggled a bit on the next few cars, slipping and sliding on ice that had accumulated on the roofs. Just as they were precariously reaching the end of one, Apollo spied something odd up ahead. While each of the previous cars had been covered by a rather thick layer of snow, this one boasted an oddly clean spot partway up. Giving a wave to the others, he picked up speed, trudging along as fast he could and squatting beside the space. It was a square about three feet square, completely bare of snow beyond a thin frost. A rounded handle jutted upon the side closest to him, a small keyhole below it.

“Christopher, what is this?” He asked, the crew member kneeling beside him to examine the bare metal.

“It’s one of roof hatches. This one leads into the conductor’s personal car. Weird that it’s clean though, up this far the snow’s usually the thickest. Shouldn’t be clear unless somebody opened...it...”

The two glanced at each other in a lightbulb moment. Apollo reached out and wrenched it open with a squeak from the icy hinges, glancing down into the warmly lit cabin. He turned back to the others, standing on the very edge of the opening.

“I think she went back in though here. I’m going in to look for her.”

They nodded in agreement and he turned back to the hatch, bracing himself before leaping through the opening.

*

December 24th 11:55 pm

Polar Express Interior

Wright and the rest of his group dashed through the cars as quickly as they could, Nona running up ahead of them to open each cars door. They quickly searched around as they made their way through each, searching for any sign of the little magician. It seemed like they’d been searching forever, the train seeming to contain far more cars that it perceivably should. Odder even still, they hadn’t come upon a single other person along the way. Obviously those waiters and cooks had to have gone somewhere, yet it was as though they’d simply vanished. Phoenix rubbed his head with a sigh. Trying to wrap his head around this sheer amount of magic was giving him a headache.

“Careful in this next one, it’s a bit cluttered.” Nona called back as she stepped across the coupler and opened the next door. As the attorney followed her through, something swung down and smacked him in the face, Sebastian giving a yelp behind him as he smacked it off and inadvertently sent it flying into the short prosecutor. Glancing around, he could see what she meant. The car was filled with an assortment of broken and discarded toys, stringed ones hanging from the ceiling like a bunch of demented wind chimes. The toys stretched the length of the car in two massive heaps piled along either side of the aisle. Most were in or underneath the seats, though some had fallen into the aisle itself from the trains jostling. The lights were out in this particular cabin, the spots of occasional moonlight providing the only illumination. A quick glance around produced no hiding spots the girl could be concealed in though, the mounds taking up the majority of the cars space.

“What is all this, Fräulein?” Klavier asked, examining a doll in one of the seats.

“Old and broken toys that have been abandoned or thrown away. We take them home and fix them up, then give them back for new owners to love.” Nona replied, making her way around the clutter. As they picked their way through to the other door Phoenix slipped a bit in a little dusting of snow on the floor, mostly likely thrown in here when they’d opened the door. He grabbed onto Miles to steady himself, the prosecutor nearly falling as well as he jumped slightly in surprise. Grinning at his partner in apology, the two moved along, the group quickly following. The cramped cabin was beyond eerie and they were glad to get out of it.

The next car was far more welcoming. It was dimly lit, the lanterns built into the walls turned low, but delightfully warm. The carpet was soft and plush beneath their feet. There was an extensive bookshelf along one wall, a comfy looking armchair tucked beside it and on the other side was a small well-polished wooded counter and cabinet, no doubt containing drinks and snacks. Amidst the comfortable surroundings though, one thing seemed out of place. A sizable pile of snow lay in the middle of the room, slowly melting and leaving a wet spot on carpet. Where in the hell had it come from? None of the windows were open so it hadn’t drifted in on its own. It looked like somebody had just chucked a shovelful of snow through the door. Actually, now that he looked closer, the pile looked smashed down in the middle and dragged off to one side, as though someone had stepped through it.

Before he could think more on it, there was a creak from overhead and a shout of “I’m going in to look for her.” He shouted and leapt back just in time to avoid Apollo as the attorney dropped through a opening in the ceiling. He landed easily and looked up, eyes widening when he saw the group in front of him.

“Mr. Wright!”

“Apollo! Did you find Trucy?”

“No, we didn’t see her anywhere up top. We think she might have come in through that.” He pointed up at the hatch above him and Phoenix nodded. That made sense, what with the pile of snow on the floor and all.

Suddenly the train tipped back as it started up an incline, everyone adjusting their balance to keep from falling.

“Aaand that would be the slope to Flat Top! Ok, everybody in! Quickly quickly!” A voice suddenly called from up above and Apollo’s eyes flared wide.

“No, no wa-!”

The warning came too late as Kay jumped through the opening, landing directly on top of the attorney and sending them both to the ground with a loud crash. A blur of black leaned over them as Athena followed, Simon easily catching her in his arms. Athena blinked up at him owlishly, cheeks flushing a bit.

“Ooo la la, mon ami!” Widget chimed and she slapped a hand over the gadget, face now resembling a tomato.

Cheeks just slightly pink, Simon stepped back as Chris dropped through behind her, grabbing the edge and swinging to jump off to the side, Taka swooping in close alongside. The roof door swung closed on its own and in a moment the train tipped forward, the windows blacking out is they entered the tunnel.

“Ah, Christopher! Your friend!” Athena cried in a panic, realizing the man hadn’t entered the car with them. The crew member waved a hand to calm her, moving to help a groaning Kay and Apollo off the ground.

“Nah, Spook’ll be fine. He knows his way around this train better than even ol Hat and Stas- er the Conductor. Besides, I’m pretty sure you couldn’t kill him even if you wanted.”

“And Trucy?”

“I checked the next car before I came down. She wasn’t up there, and since she’s not with you, she must have gone up to the engine. Just gimme a minute.”

With that he slid open the next door, pausing for a moment for them to clear the tunnel, then disappeared up a ladder on the back of the car. They waited anxiously for him to return, their hearts falling when he strode in a few minutes later still alone, scratching his head in bafflement.

“She wasn’t at the engine. The boys up front said they hadn’t seen her earlier. Are you sure you didn’t miss her on the way here?”

“No, there was no sign of her.”

“You...you don’t think she fell do you?” Athena asked, seeing Phoenix’s face pale in the corner of her eye.

“But, we didn’t see any place where it looked like she could have slipped.” Kay replied and Athena began worrying her nail between her teeth.

“Yeah, but with the wind being as strong as it is, it could have gotten covered up and we’ve never known.”

“If she’s really not on the train anymore then...Nona, get the list!” Christopher yelled and the girl nodded, dashing back the way they’d came. It was hardly ten seconds later when she returned, the ledger the conductor had been holding clasped in her hands. Her eyes flew along the pages as she flipped them, silently mouthing names. She suddenly stopped and sighed in relief.

“She’s still on here.”

“W-What?” Apollo asked, cocking his head in confusion at the exchange.

“You see,” Nona began, holding the list out for him to see.

“Like most of the things on the Express, this ledger is a bit more than meets the eye. It responds to the arrival and departure of the passengers, adjusting itself as needed. Your own names weren’t even in it till the Express decided to let you aboard. And since Trucy’s is still on here, that means she’s still on the train.” She tapped at where Trucy’s name was written in neat curly writing just beneath Phoenix’s.

“How could it.... you know what, never mind. So, if Trucy is till onboard, then why haven’t we been able to find her? We’ve scoured every inch of the place.” Apollo asked and Athena sighed.

“Well, therein lies the mystery it seems. We can’t go more than a week without ending in an investigation, can we?” She sighed, Apollo giving a tired huff in agreement.

“All right, let’s just get the facts straight first.” Edgeworth interrupted.

“Tell us what you saw up there.”

The ones who had braved the roof quickly relayed everything they’d seen, from the odd bare patch on the roof to Christopher mysterious friend.

“He said that she suddenly disappeared?”

“Yeah, said one second she was there, then the next she wasn’t.”

“Hmmm...”

“Apollo, you said you think Trucy came in through here?” Phoenix interrupted, the younger attorney nodding in reply.

“Yeah. I’m pretty sure the pile of snow in here is from on top of the hatch door. If she had opened it, it would have dumped the snow off of it.”

“Wait, Apollo. That doesn’t make any sense.” Kay chimed in.

“If she pulled the door up to open it, the snow would have fallen behind the hatch, not through it.”

“Oh, all the hatches have dual hinges. They can open either direction. She could have pushed down on it and it would have dumped the snow inside.” Nona replied. She paused and pressed a finger to her lips with a thoughtful hum.

“Actually, now that I think about it, how could she have opened it to begin with?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, the hatches are kept locked at all times. The crew can open them at any time cause, well, magic, but passengers can’t unless they manually unlock them. She shouldn’t have been able to open it from the outside. Neither should have Apollo now that I think about it.”

“Maybe the lock’s broken?” Klavier suggested and Kay gave a hum, staring up at the door. She suddenly grabbed Sebastian by the shoulders, maneuvering him so he was standing directly beneath it.

“And riiiight there! Hold still!” She chirped, before clambering up him like a monkey. He yelped and tried to keep his balance as she climbed onto his shoulders, grabbing onto her calves. She examined the lock closely, fiddling with the mechanisms a bit, before calling back down.

“It’s not broken. Just unlocked.”

“But how can that be? We check them all during the prep in the morning. I did so personally, and I can tell you that was defiantly locked.” Chris replied and Apollo stiffened, feeling his bracelet clamp down on his wrist. He focused, eyes flickering across the other boy, searching for any sort of nervous sign. His eyes fastened on the boy’s right hand, fiddling with the edge of his pants pocket.

“Chris, are you sure you checked this lock?” He asked, the boy blinking in surprise.

“W-What do you mean? Of course I checked it.”

“Then how did it end up unlocked?”

“I-I don’t know. Maybe the conductor did it? This is his cabin after all.”

“Maybe. But your nervous tell is telling me you forgot to check.”

The boy jumped back a bit in shock, glancing over at Nona for support. She gave him a questioning look and he slowly gave a sigh.

“Alright, I admit it. I left it unlocked.”

“Chris!” She scolded him and he held up his hands as though to protect himself.

“Hey, hey! Hold on! Let me tell you what happened!”

He turned to them with a sheepish glance, fiddling with uis hands.

“OK, so this morning I accidentally woke up super late and was running behind on the schedule for the per-check. Yeah, yeah, most important day of the year and I oversleep, don’t give me that look. Anyway, I had to rush to get everything done before we set off. So when I was making sure the hatches were closed, I didn’t actually test the locks. But I swear, they all looked like they were locked when I came through.”

“Actually,” Kay chimed in from where she was currently trying to climb back off of Sebastian without knocking them both over.

“The latch wasn’t broken, but it did look kinda scraped. It’s possible it was in the lock position just enough to make it looked closed, but loose enough to open with a little jostling. I wouldn’t be surprised if you hadn’t noticed.”

“Hmm, you’ve got a good point.” Athena replied, leaning back against the door. She gave a squeak as it opened behind her and dumped her into the previous car. She scrambled to her feet, batting away the hanging marionettes as they threatened to tangle around her.

“Agh, what’s with all this stuff!? God, these puppets are...Guys? The lock in here is broken.”

Apollo quickly scrabbled in after her and looked up through the gloom at the hatch door. As she’d said, the latch on the lock was snapped in half, the tension in the doors hinge the only thing keeping it closed.

“Yeah, that’s definitely broken. But this one hasn’t been opened. If it had, we would have noticed outside and there’d be a bunch of snow in here. So why the hell is it broken?” The young attorney rubbed his head as a headache mounted.

“There’s something else over here as well!” Kay yelled and they moved back into the other car to see. She was pointing behind the little counter in the corner and as the glanced over it they found a glass of milk spilled on the carpet, a plate of half-eaten cookies scattered about beside it.

“Do you think Trucy behind this?”

“Well, we all know what she’s like around sweets, so I wouldn’t be surprised. At least now we know she was definitely in here at some point. What do you think Mr. Wright?”

He turned back to his boss, finding the older man crouched down and staring at the slowly melting pile of snow.

“Something is weird about this snow. It doesn’t look like someone stepped in it.”

“What do you mean? It’s totally squashed and dragged all over the place.” Kay chimed in and the attorney shook his head.

“That’s just it. If she had jumped down into it, there would be actual prints, not just a big dent. It almost seems like someone just dropped something into it and then it rolled off to the side.”

“She fell.” Simon suddenly rumbled and they looked over at him in surprise. He sighed at their confused expressions and watched over to the hatch.

“I don’t mean off of the train. She didn’t jump through the door, she fell. She must have stepped on the door, which undid the latch. It open and dumped the snow down into the cabin, which she proceeded to fall into.”

At that he grabbed the hatch handle and pulled it down to demonstrate. Everyone gave as the ice covered hinges gave a loud screech.

“Wow, somebody should really defrost that thing.” Athena muttered, rubbing her aching ears.

“Well, we actually salt the roofs of the cars every day before we set out. Otherwise the entire thing turns into just one giant sheet of ice. Makes it more than a little difficult for us to do our rounds if we’re almost sliding off every 4 seconds. I’ll need to talk to whoever was on salt...duty...” Nona suddenly trailed off, turning to her companion with an irritated look.

“Christopher...”

“Hey, I did salt it this morning! Just ask Billy if you don’t believe me. I got the stuff from the storage area then when to work. Just managed to get down the entire roof before we set off.”

“Hmm?” Athena chirped, titling her head a bit.

“I’m hearing some noise in your emotions Christopher.”

The boy’s eyes went wide, pressing a hand to his chest in confusion.

“My...emotions?”

“It’s a long story, but I can use Widget here to analyze people’s emotional state. Mind if I take a look?”

“Uh, sure.”

With a flick of her wrist Athena brought up the gadget’s holographic screen. Her eyes darted around it, lifting a hand occasionally to tap things.

“Well, that’s odd. I’m get readings of surprise when you talked about the storage area. Did something happen while you were there?”

The boy bit his lip, glancing at the ground sheepishly.

“Well, I was running seriously late, so I guess I was just sort of in a bit of a panic.”

“But why would you be surprised by the storage area? Was something different than normal?”

He drummed his fingers against his thigh, eyebrows furrowing thoughtfully.

“Well, now that you mention it, when I got over there the salt spreader I normally use was missing. Somebody must have moved it, but I didn’t have time to look for it so I just did it by hand today.”

Athena nodded, seeing the noise drop to 50% and fiddling a bit with the display.

“Alright, we’re getting somewhere. Let’s see, there’s some other readings here where you mentioned finishing up before you left. It’s saying you felt...sad?”

“Hmm, I can’t really think of any reason why I would have been. Maybe just the stress?”

Phoenix gave a soft hum, feeling the magatama in his pocket react. The familiar chains appeared, crisscrossing crossing the room as a red lock shut in front of the boy.

“Are you sure about that?” He asked, drawing the boy’s attention.

“You said you were in a rush the entire time right? Well, I imagine it wouldn’t have been very fast to do all that salting by hand. It probably wouldn’t have been as smooth as a spread either.”

“Yeah, well, it might have been a bit of a rush job, but I did it.”

“Actually,” Athena chimed in, stepping forward.

“From what I saw up there, the ice on these last couple cars was a lot thicker than on the others. In fact, it looked like it hadn’t been salted at all!”

Chris gave a yelp and looked at them sheepishly, Athena grinning as the noise level went down to 0. Phoenix nodded approvingly, watching the lock shatter before him.

“Ok, ok. You got me. I...While I was salting I was checking the things on my prep list to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything. And I wasn’t paying attention to how much salt I was using. By the time I had gotten to these front two cars, I had run out. Before I could run to get more we had to set off, so I never actually finished. I hadn’t meant for it to happen, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. I was just going to make sure I was extra careful up there during the rounds.”

Nona sighed, rubbing a hand over her face tiredly.

“I’m so getting you an alarm clock for your birthday this year.”

The train suddenly gave a jostle and she moved to the window, glancing out.

“We’re coming up on the Pole. Once we’ve stopped, you guys should be able to look around a bit more.”

She found the group looking at each other with concerned expressions and smiled to herself.

“Don’t worry, you’ll find her, I’m sure.”

“We can only hope.” Apollo mumbled as they settled in to wait. Wherever Trucy was, she probably wasn’t going to be disappearing in the next few minutes.

It seemed like it had been years by the time the train pulled into the station. Chris and Nona had moved off down the train to help with the children, sending their fellow crew member up to assist them. Said crew member, Billy if they remembered correctly, was currently watching as Klavier hefted Apollo up onto the roof.

“Do you see anything up there Herr Forehead?” He called, Apollo looking around careful.

Without snow blowing into his eyes at 40 miles an hour, it was much easier to get a decent look around. He strode over to the hatch of the conductors car, trying not to slip and face plant into the roofs snowy covering along the way. The ice on these last few cars really had piled on thick. Reaching the door, he gave it a little nudge with his foot, feeling it give easily under just a bit of pressure. It wouldn’t have been hard for Trucy to fall through it if she wasn’t paying attention, the springs on the hinges pulling it back closed one she was through. He looked ahead to where the engine and coal car sat, still puffing out a thin stream of smoke. From what Chris had said, the men running the engine hadn’t seen a thing, and there wasn’t really place she could have hidden herself away in the cramped space. The girl had just up and vanished like a ghost. Speaking of, “Spook” wasn’t anywhere in sight either.

As he glanced around in search of the gangly man, something caught his eye. A chunk of ice was sticking out of the snow like a small spire on the next car back. Carefully making his way to it, he knelt and brushed the excess snow away, eyes widening at what he found. It was the hatch to the toy car, with a thick chunk of ice and several inches more snow sitting on top.  As he stared at it, the question of the broken lock came back to mind. How had it become broken in the first place? Maybe Trucy had stomped on it on her way through and broken the latch? He gently set a hand on it and jumped as it immediately fell inwards. No a surprise really, considering the amount of snow and ice on it. What truly surprised him though was the fact that all of said wintery material remained glued firmly to the top of the hatch even as it hung completely sideways. The strings of the puppets below him were woven together into a thick web, slopping down in either direction towards the seats. As he watched the hinges creaked and slowly pulled the hatch back up into position, its seams disappearing into the snow. It looked as if it had never been disturbed at all.

With the new information rolling around in his head, Apollo made his way back to the edge of the train, moving to climb down.

“Hey, Billy! You’ll never guess what we just found!”

With the shout Apollo jumped just a bit, his footing going out from under him. He hit the roof with a whump and slid down over the side, striking a warm chest as Klavier jumped forward and caught him before he could hit the ground. He stared up at the man as his feet dangled off the ground and the German grinned, leaning down to drop a kiss on the younger man’s nose. Apollo blushed and wiggled out of the man’s grasp as Klavier chuckled, turning towards the source of the voices. Two men were hurrying towards him, the train’s engineers from the look of it.

“Smokey, Steamer, what all the fuss about?” Billy replied as the men drew up to them. The taller grinned and held something up.

“Look who we found rollin around in the coal!”

It was a cat, probably a Siberian from the size of it, with long silver fur almost entirely smudged with coal dust. It move them a loud meow, tail swaying happily. The fur around its mouth was a bit matted, crumbs of some sort seeming to be stuck in its whiskers.

“We’re thinkin about naming her Smokestack. Think the big man would let us keep a resident mascot?”

The cat suddenly gave a strong wiggle and leapt out of his hands, dashing into the still open train.

“Ah, Smokestack!”

The man chased after her into the car, emerging a minute or so later holding her in both arms. She was laying on her back and had one of the cookies they’d found earlier clasped between her paws, gnawing on it with gleeful abandon.

Something nagged at the back of Apollo’s head and he stared at the cat as the men said something about “refilling the coal stores” and then made their way back to the engine. Athena noticed his staring and waved a hand in front of his face, but his brain was working to fast right now to take time to respond. Slowly the clues began to weave together, a larger picture coming into view. Something suddenly clicked and he gasped, turning to the others.

“She didn’t fall into the conductor’s cabin!”

“E-Excuse me Justice-dono? I believe we already established that she did. She left a half-eaten plate of food behind remember?” Simon replied, eyebrow cocked as the attorney shook his head.

“But that’s the thing. Why would Trucy have left her snack spilled all over the ground? Unless it wasn’t her who spilled it. It was that cat. It must have fallen in through the hatch at some point and then found the food. It probably got spooked when we came around and went to hide in the coal car.”

“But if that’s true, then what happened to Trucy?” Kay replied.

“She must have jumped on the hatch of the previous car too hard and had it open underneath her. It would explain the broken lock.”

“But not the lack of snow. If she had opened that hatch, it would have dumped a big pile of it in that car as well, right?”

“All the snow on that hatch is frozen solid. She could have opened and closed it all she wanted and none of it wouldn’t have fallen.”

“But there must have been some sign that the hatch had been opened. A little bit of surface snow or something.”

“There was.” Miles suddenly pipped up, turning to Phoenix with a startled expression.

“Wright you almost slipped in it as we were coming in.”

The older attorney sighed, rubbing a hand to his chin quizzically.

“Alright, let’s assume you’re right. The cat was the one to fall into the conductors and Trucy into the one behind it. That still doesn’t explain where she went. There wasn’t anywhere for her to hide in that mess, it’s way too cluttered.”

“Geez,” Billy pipped up.

“With all this talk of that creepy cabin, I’m hoping she didn’t have anything collapse on her.”

“Collapse?” Phoenix asked, head tilted in confusion.

“Yeah, those mounds in there can get pretty unstable some times. One wrong bump and the entire thing comes crashing down. I’ve gotten buried under them a few times myself.”

“Buried...under...” Phoenix mumbled, turning to the others. They stared at each other for a few moments then made a desperation-fueled sprint for the cars, Billy giving an unheard shout of warning behind them as they leapt on. Phoenix threw open the door and they froze, observing the scene before them.

A pile of toys had collapsed out into the aisle as though shoved out of the way, revealing the little hidden cavity in the seat behind them. The puppet strings above their head created a perfect little slide towards it from the hatch. A large smear was in the frost of the window just above said bench, as though something had struck it and slid down into the seat.

“...Trucy? Trucy!?” Phoenix cried, looking around in a panic for the girl. A gasp drew their attention and they turned to see Sebastian pointing out the window.

“Over there!”

Following his gesture, they found her. She stood amongst the group of other children, swaying slightly unsteadily from her spell of unconsciousness. Phoenix immediately sprung to the window, pounding a fist against it.

“Trucy!”

She looked up at them and her eyes went wide.

“Daddy?”

Before they could even begin to move, the train gave a sudden jerk, throwing them off their feet. The group collapsed to the ground, becoming entangled with each other as the piles of toys around them teetered precariously. The floor rattled beneath them as they struggled to their feet, finding the train making its way down the tracks. They got one last glimpse of Trucy giving a cry of panic and shakily running after the train before they disappeared around a corner.

“W-We’ve got to get them to stop the train!” Athena cried, turning and running towards the engine, the others stumbling along close behind. She flung the door open and jumped across the gap, Simon and Klavier following. As Apollo crossed he heard a cry behind him and felt someone grab his shoulders for balance. Glancing back, he found Kay had tripped, stepping down hard on a handle beside the coupler. As he watched, the two halves of the mechanism began to separate, the cars drifting apart. Thinking fast he shoved Kay backwards back through the door, toppling through the one behind him in the process. He knocked the others to the ground as he fell, Taka giving a screech as he swooped up and narrowly avoided being squished between them. Looking up, he could see the other car getting further and further away, losing its momentum without the pull of the engine to aid it. Phoenix and Kay, along with Edgeworth and Sebastian, watched them in a panic as the distance grew further than any of them could jump. The older attorney upped a hand around his mouth, letting out a shout.

“Apollo, we’ll meet up with you guys later! You need to get back to Tru-!”

Suddenly, there was a loud clunk and the railroad switch they’d just passed over clicked to the left, sending the other cars down a separate track. Apollo hurriedly leapt to his feet, helping Klavier up from where he’d smashed into him.

“Let’s get to the front!”

The group nodded in approval and swiftly moved thought the cabin, all piling onto the small platform between the cars. They’d need to climb over the roof to get to the engine, and so Apollo leapt onto the metal ladder bolted to the side of the car. He ducked as they entered a low tunnel, waiting till light appeared over their heads again. Quickly clambering up onto the slick surface, he looked around. They seemed to have entered a forest of sorts, tall lines of various needled trees surrounding them on both sides. Turning away from the landscape, he leaned down to help Athena up the ladder. She hooked an arm over the edge and pulled herself half up, glancing down the length of the car. Her eyes went almost painfully wide, pupils shrinking to but a black speck as she shrieked.

“APOLLO LOOK OUT!”

The attorney turned just in time to see the tree branch coming at him before it struck him in the chest. The impact hurt more than anything he’d ever felt before and his feet lifted off the roof from the force of it, flinging him off to the side.

The world went dark before he could even hit the ground.

*

December 24th 11:55 pm

North Pole - ?

 “Hush jetzt meine Geschichte

Schließen Sie die Augen und schlafen

Waltzing die Wellen

Tauchen in die Tiefe”

The soft voice was the first thing he noticed when he awoke, followed by the sensation of his hair being stoked. He just lay there for a moment listening to the melodious singing before finally cracking his eyes open. His vision was blurry for a moment and then cleared, giving him a perfect view of the face hovering over him. Klavier’s eyes were closed as he sang, one arm holding Apollo’s shoulder and head in his lap while the other ran through his hair.

“Sterne leuchten hell

Der Wind ist auf dem Vormarsch

Flüsternde Worte                  

Von lange verlorenen Wiegenlieder”

His expression was calm, but there was a slight knit in his brows that suggested something more beneath the surface. Something about the sight bothered him and he reached up to rub a thumb against the knot to try and smooth it. The man’s eyes snapped open, voice flattering a moment as he stared at Apollo. They were a bit red and puffy, the barest hint of tears still clinging to his eyelashes. Then a relieved smile spread across his face and he leaned down to press their foreheads together.

“Danke Gott, I thought I’d lost you.”

He let himself bask I the man’s warmth for a moment as he was held close. After a few long seconds he pulled away, moving to sit up. He gasped as his a jolt of pain shot though his chest, one arm nearly giving out under him. Klavier quickly held him steady, helping him up into a sitting position. He looked around, finding them sitting in the snow surrounded by trees.

“Ugh...Klav, what happened? Where are we?”

“You don’t remember?” The musician asked, giving a sigh when Apollo shaking his head in confusion.

“I shouldn’t be surprised, considering how battered you were. While we were climbing up to the engine you turned to assist Fräulein Cykes and ended up being struck by a low hanging branch. You were thrown from the train and by the time we were able to jump off and find you, you had fallen unconscious.”

The man hugged him a bit closer and Apollo lifted a hand to his chest, prodding gently. Nothing seemed to be broken thankfully, but it wouldn’t be surprising if several of his ribs were bruised. Looking around once again, he realized their other two companions were nowhere in sight.

“Where are Simon and Athena?”

“They went to try and find a way out of here. The tunnel we came through had been gated off by the time they checked it. We seem to be in an enclosed portion of the town though, so there must be some other way out. They should be back soon.”

Apollo nodded and curled a bit closer the taller man to wait. The wind whispered gently through the pines and furs around them, the area otherwise silent.

“...We were so scared...” the German mumbled and Apollo gave a hum, looking back up at him. His brows were narrowed again, turning to the younger man with a forlorn look.

“When we found you, we couldn’t get you to wake up. We started to suspect the worst. We...we thought you were going to...”

Apollo lifted his hands as the taller man began to shake, intertwining one with the one clutching his waist with the other settled on the blond’s cheek.

“Klavier, look at me.”

Blue eyes fixed on him, a tad glassy as they teared up.

“I’m right here with you and I’m not going anywhere. Everything’s fine. We’re going to be alright. OK?”

The German shakily nodded and this time it was Apollo’s turn to pull him down, softly sealing their lips together with a sigh. The man careful clung to him, as though afraid he’d vanish into mist if he let go. They stayed that way for several minutes, just breathing each other in and finding comfort in their warm presences.

“Klavier!”

They pulled apart as a voice rung through the frozen air, turning to find Athena and Simon trudging towards them out of the trees, Taka flying along above them. When she saw Apollo move the girl broke into a sprint, throwing herself onto her knees in front of them and grabbing the attorney by the shoulders.

“Dios Mio, you’re awake! You almost gave me a heart attack, you idiot!”

“Athena, ow ow, let go!” He winced as she shook him. She immediately released him, scooting back a bit as Simon drew up behind her with a relieved look.

“Sorry, sorry!”

She huffed, pinching the bridge of her nose

“Seriously though, you scared us all half to death. You’re not practically injury proof like Mr. Wright. You need to be careful.”

He nodded and she sighed, leaning back. She stared at them for a moment and finally seemed to notice the position the two were in, a grin creeping up onto her face.

“Ooo, were you two up to something while we were gone?”

“Oh Fräulein, as though you’re one to speak. After all, I’m not the one who’s been practically glued to Herr Samurai’s hip all night, am I?” Klavier smirked and the girl blushed.

“S-Shut up and get up. We found something interesting. Apollo, can you walk?”

Using Klavier for balance he climbed to his feet. His ribs ached quite a bit, but nothing he couldn’t handle. With a nod hey set off into the trees, ducking under branches as they moved along. Soon they broke through the tree line and Apollo saw what they’d been referring too. A long stone wall lay before them, stretching off in either direction into the mist, with a large platform and set of stairs sitting against it. Atop the platform lay an odd contraption. It seemed to be a massive glass tube, with a large metal cylinder of sorts sitting within it. Together they jogged up the stairs, taking a closer look. There was a pair of large lids in the side of the tube, currently flipped open to allow access to the cylinder. Said metal component appeared to be a kind of capsule, sitting loosely within the tube. There were padded seats inside along with a panel of buttons.

“I think this a transport system.” Athena chirped, climbing into the front seat.

“Well only one way to find out. Not like we have anything better ideas” Apollo mumbled, and they cautiously clambered in after her, Taka hopping into her lap. The young attorney leaned over Simon’s shoulder to watch as she fiddled around with the controls, finally pushing one of the buttons. They jumped as the lid slid shut above them and as she turned to look up at it in surprise her hand fell upon another one of the buttons. There was a rumble of pressure behind them and the four had but an instant to brace themselves before the capsule shot forward. Apollo gave a grunt of pain as the speed threw them all backwards, Blackquill’s shoulders striking him in the ribs as the prosecutor caught Athena. Klavier’s arms wrapped tightly around his waist as they whizzed through a hole in the stone wall and went into a drop, the town rushing by around them outside their glass coaster. The tube twirled and looped several times along the way, the group clinging frantically to their seats in a feeble attempt not to be thrown into the sides and ceiling ever five seconds. After what seemed ages, the capsule finally slowed to a stop at another docking station, the lids popping open. Athena was the first to crawl out, collapsing on the ground and trying desperately not to throw up. The other shakily followed her, Simon kneeling to check on the girl.

“I’m going to beat whoever built that thing. Who the hell decided that was a reasonable form of- urp!” She pressed a hand to her mouth, face flushing pale for a moment, and Simon rubbed her back. While the girl focused on not losing her lunch, Apollo stood and took another look around. They were high up in a room that dropped down into darkness, a series of ramped convertor belts leading downwards. About halfway down the room sat a much larger one covered in yellow arrows, leading into a large slot in the wall. The belts were covered in a number of brightly wrapped presents, all channeling down onto the larger belt to be carried to places unknown.

“Do you think we’re inside, I dunno, Santa’s workshop or something?” Athena wheezed, watching a large box wrapped in silver slid past.

“You’re guest is as good as mine Fräulein.” Klavier replied, leaning against the railing on the platform they stood on. It creaked as a loose screw gave way and he quickly hopped a few steps sideways to keep from knocking it completely over, one foot landing on one of the convertor belts. He gave a very undignified squak as he fell, the rubber stretching under his weight and bouncing him back up. Apollo made a lunge for him and proceeded to fall as well when his foot caught on another package, the two rolling together down the ramps onto the largest. Apollo felt the breathe rush out of them as the German landed on top of him, ribs aching in protest as he lay there. He glanced up to see Simon scooping up Athena and starting down the belts after them, Taka taking flight with a cry.  A piece of cloth slapping him in the eye as they slid through the slot at the end and he suddenly felt smooth metal against his back. Klavier gave a gasp from over his head and abruptly curled himself around Apollo as though shielding him. The attorney craned his head sideways to look behind him, tensing when he saw the metal slide they were on suddenly dip. This wasn’t going to be good.

He clung close to Klavier as they went over the edge and immediately began to pick up speed, spiraling down through the enormous room they’d entered. Behind them Simon and Athena closely followed, the later shrieking up a storm as she gripped tightly to the prosecutor’s neck. They swept from side to side as they slid, almost swerving up over the edge at times. It probably would have been amazingly fun in normal circumstances. Not so much going down it backwards at alarming speeds while laying down. With a gentle thud they hit the base of the slide and bounced out into a massive metal bowl that stretched all the way to the edges of the room. They were sent into a spin, swirling in lazy circles as they spiraled towards the bottom. Out of nowhere Klavier suddenly hooked a leg around Apollo’s knees and rolled, flipping the younger man on top of him. The attorney looked up in surprise, the German hooking his chin over the shorter’s shoulder and holding on tight. Apollo’s eyes flickering past the man’s head to look ahead of them, biting back a curse when he saw the cause of the sudden position change. They were headed towards a hole, all the presents along with themselves funneling down into it. There’d be no way of slowing, let along stopping, themselves on the polished metal.  

Apollo held his breath, tucked his head into the German’s neck and they fell.

The taller man gave a pained grunt beneath him when they landed, the sharp corners of several objects jabbing into his spine. Slowly the two of them sat up, looking around. They seemed to be sprawled atop a pile of presents of monstrous proportions, nearly 40 feet tall if their quick glance over the side told them anything. The room around them was quiet, the arches and metalwork of the structure lit gently by wall lights.

“Oh god, Simon! Look out, there’s a hoooooaaaaahhhhhhh!” Came a scream from above them and they looked up just in time to see their companions plummet through the hole above them. In an instant Simon grabbed Athena, flipped themselves right side up and, with all the grace of the great Steel Samurai himself, landed perfectly on his feet. Gently he set Athena on her feet amongst the presents.

“Are you all alright?” He asked whilst Taka swooped down to hover alongside, and the trio nodded at him shakily, staring at him in awe.

“Hey, what’r you all doin up there!?”

They were pulled out of their shocked stupor by a voice from down below. Glancing down, they found a small red dressed figure standing at the piles base, two similar men walking over to look up at them as well. The first cupped his hands around his mouth again, calling up to them.

“Get down here!”

The four side-eyed each other, Athena giving a quiet “Oops”, and then carefully picked their way down the pile. As they neared the men it quickly became evident that these were no ordinary humans. The red clothed trio hardly came above their waists despite looking fully grown, their long pointed ears twitching in irritation.

“Passengers on the express I presume? Bit old ain’t ya? Eh, whatever. Who that old conductor let’s on ain’t any uh our business. The real question is how in blazes did you get yourselves over here?” The small man asked, expression settling into one of annoyance as he folded his arms. Apollo rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, wincing when his ribs gave a twinge.

“It’s-It’s a long story.”

The man, an elf it now occurred to them, opened his mouth to reply then paused letting out a sigh. He rubbed a hand across his face tiredly, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I really do not have time for this right now. You know what, just follow me.”

He began moving towards a door in one of the walls, shouting over his shoulder for the other two to finish up the adjustments. They hurridly followed him as he weaved through a series of halls and up a staircase, stooping to avoid whacking their heads on a ceiling clearly not meant for humans. Finally the stairs open out into a wider space and they gaped at the scene before them. They seemed to be in a hangar of sorts, a truly bizarre looking vehicle priming for takeoff. It was a dual-sided dirigible of sorts, with huge pink and purple striped balloons suspending a metal platform between them

“Here’s hopin the captain’s in a good mood.” The elf leading them shrugged, starting towards the contraption. They cast slightly worried looks at each other before following him. The elf made his way to the cabin at the aircraft’s front, opening the door and popping his head in. Within sat an elf with a pilot hat, whom turned to the other elf with a curious glance.

“Sorry to interrupt your preparation’s Cap, but it seems we’ve got some misplaced train-goers on our hands. Mind if they catch a ride to the plaza?”

The captain leaned out of cabin to glance them over, sighing and rolling his eyes with an expression that said “The things I have to deal with”.

“Fine, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. The boss wouldn’t be pleased if we accidentally left some passengers behind anyway. Just keep an eye on them and make sure they don’t cause trouble.”

The other elf gave him a little salute and turned back to them with a grin.

“You guys are lucky. You get to arrive at the square in style. Now hop aboard. We’ll be setting out in a minute.”

He gestured to the platform and they followed him aboard, clinging to the main walkway’s posts for balance as the propellers at the airships rear fired up. Their hum filled the air, wind whipping around them as the rest of the crew boarded and the ship began slowly turning towards the doors.

“Helium levels full, propellers working at premium capacity. All systems are go. Beginning hanger departure.”

The hangar doors slid open and they held tight as the craft moved out through them, carefully taking to the air. Taka fluttered off Simon’s shoulder and circled them, gleefully riding the updrafts as they floated upwards. They moved out over the rooftops, finally pausing in a hover over a roof painted with a target pattern, a large hole forming the center most point. There was a sudden flash of light through the holes and a quartet of ropes shot up through, several of the crew members leaning out to catch them. They were hastily attached to a large series of hooks and winches at the crafts center then one of the elves gave a whistle and pointed skywards. The winches began to twist and the roof beneath them began to slide open, revealing what was clearly the largest red velvet sack in all of existence. Slowly its ropes tightened and it lifted, swaying below them as they gained altitude.

“Wow...” Athena whispered and they looked to see her looking out over the city. The entire city shimmered and glittered like a jewel before them, every window alight and every roof frosted with snow. It was truly a sight to behold. They watched quietly as they floated along, the occasional elf moving past them to adjust something. One of them scurried over to the door to the cabin and opened it a bit.

“Captain, we seem to be having a bit of an altitude error. Permission to pump in the extra helium stores?”

He waited for an answer from inside then motioned to the crew standing weight near the balloons. They went to work twisting valves and the elf moved to grab the pole beside them.

“Prepare for altitude correction! Hold on!”

There was a hiss from the concealed helium tanks and the ship suddenly shoot several dozen additional feet in the air, nearly throwing the group off their feet as it bobbed to a halt at its new height.

“Aaagh!”

The four snapped to look at each other in surprise at the sudden shout from below, angling themselves to glance down into the bag swaying along below them. For a moment there was nothing, then came a movement. A blue dressed figure pulled themselves up to flop their arms over the edge of the bag and Apollo gasped as he recognized their mussed but unmistakably spiky hair.

“MR. WRIGHT?!”

Phoenix looked up and caught sight of them, his jaw dropping open.

“Huh!? What are you guys doing up there!?”

As he shouted there was more movement from within the bag and within moments the other three of their missing companions appeared from within its depths. Apollo lifted an arm, flailing about as he replied.

“What are we doing up here?! What are YOU doing down there!?”

“It’s-it’s a long story! Just remind me never to go near slides again!”

Apollo gave a snort of laughter, grabbing back onto the main pole to steady himself. Apparently they hadn’t been the only ones to brave the gift area. The elf beside them leaned to look down into the bag as well, eye brow cocking in mild interest.

“Well, that would explain the altitude issues. Hey, uh, there isn’t any other stowaways we should know about right?”

Apollo shook his head with a chuckle and the elf shrugged.

“Eh, well at least you’re making the night interesting.”

“Herr Forehead, look!”

He turned to see what Klavier was motioning too, giving a little gasp. They were floating into the city’s main plaza, a massive Christmas tree and crowd waiting for them. The Express sat on a track off to the side, all of its cars reassembled. (And properly salted from what they could see.)

“You may start your decent any time now, at your convenience.” A speaker called up to them and in a flash several of the elves had scaled the balloons and begun venting the helium with a sound that made Athena choke back a laugh. They dropped down close over the plaza, close enough to see the conductor and the other train occupants waiting for them down below, and paused to hover over a large sleigh sitting on a stage in front of the tree.

“Well, I think this is your stop.” The elf they’d first met chimed.

“Ready boys?”

With a click of heels an elf stepped up beside each of them and grabbed onto their waists. The first elf gave a grin, raising a hand to wave to them.

“Happy landings!”

Apollo had a split second to recognize the long bungee cord tied to the waist of the elf holding him before the man jumped from the platform, dragging Apollo along with him. All four members of the group gave some very unsignifying screams as they fell, the wind whipping around them as the ground drew closer. When they were only a few scant yards from the cobblestones the cords pulled taunt and slowed them to a near stop, the elves setting them gently on their feet before being flung back up onto the platform high above. They shakily exchanged a glance, jumping a bit when the gift sack was released from its bonds and landed in the back of the sleigh with a loud “Whump”. A group of elves rushed past them, climbing the bag and helping their friends out. As they dizzily stumbled over to them, there was a tap of shoes from behind. Apollo glanced back to find the conductor standing behind them, regarding them with an amused, if slightly annoyed, expression.

“Well, seems like you all haven’t had trouble entertaining yourselves.” He declared and the group gave him a chorus of sheepish chuckles. As they followed him back to where the children and crew members stood, Phoenix looked around, expression falling.

“I don’t see Trucy.”

“Ah, yes. About that.” The conductor replied, adjusting his hat.

“Your young friend managed to get herself separated from the group again on the way here. Quite the mischief maker that one, though now I believe I can see where she got it from. No need to worry though, I’ve been told she’s in good hands.”

“Good hands? Who’s?” the lawyer asked and the trio of crew members grinned at each other, Billy turning to them with a laugh.

“You’ll see soon enough.”

Phoenix sighed, lifting a hand to smooth his out of control hair.

“Fine, fine, if you’re sure. So then, what’s next?”

“That!” Nona replied, pointing towards the stage the sleight lay on as an elven band on a high balcony struck up a tune. They turned, all gapping at the sight as the crowd around them cheered. A octet of reindeer were being led into formation in front of the sleigh, pulling the poor elves trying to lead them off the ground every few steps as they bobbed and hovered in the air. They finally seemed to calm the animals and they settled into 2 lines, waiting as the elves hitched them up to the main harness.

tring-a-ling... tring-a-ling

The pealing of bells rose high over the sound of the crowd, the entire place stilling as they waited for them to ring again. Up alongside the reindeer came two groups of elves, bearing long velvet garlands strung with fist-sized silver bells above their heads, pausing every few seconds to shake them to the delight of the crowd. It was the most clear, pure sound Apollo had ever experience and he couldn’t help but tilt his head a bit towards them. There was a slight pressure on his shoulder as Klavier leaned close to mumble in his ear.

“Herr Forehead, what are they all cheering for?”

“Umm, the bells I’m pretty sure.” He quietly replied, closing is eyes as he tilted just a bit more.

“What bells?”

At the question he turned to see Klavier staring at him with a confusion expression, Blackquill doing the same with Athena a short distance behind.

“You...You can’t hear them?”

The blond looked towards where the elves were hooking the garlands to the reindeer’s harnesses and then back to Apollo, his expression one of slight distress.

“N-No. No I can’t.”

“M-Maybe only certain people can hear them?”

“...Maybe...”

The man looked down dejectly and Apollo felt his heart clench at the sight, reaching out to grab his hand.

“Do you want me to describe them?” He asked and the tanned man glanced up through his hair with a little smile.

“Yeah. I’d like that.”

Apollo closed his eyes and focused in on the sound, letting the words roll out as they came to him.

“Well, it’s really high and clear. Like a crystal glass when you tap it with a spoon, but amplified by 100 fold. As if it had a voice.”

The hand in his own suddenly tightened, Klavier turning towards the sleigh for a moment in surprise.

“I...I heard them for a second.” He murmured and Apollo continued.

“It reminds me of magic. Like that feeling you get during Trucy’s shows when she perfectly pulls off an illusion. Just this sense of wonder and awe over something you can’t quite understand.”

Tightening again and a nearly inaudible “Keep going...”

“It’s just ringing out that wonder, almost like its singing. Gentle but strong, floating over everything else around it. And, well, not to be poetic, but it...it sounds like hope.”

Klavier let out a long shuddering breath and for the second time that day Apollo could see tears his eyes grow glassy.

“It’s beautiful...” He whispered, pressing against the attorney’s side as he properly intertwined their fingers. Behind them Simon and Athena huddled close to each other, his eyes squeezed closed as the girl quietly muttering to him, the grumpy prosecutors shoulders trembled just a bit. Taka preened at his hair comfortingly, nudging his owners head with his beak.

The crowd suddenly stilled, even the reindeer pausing in their restlessness, and began to sing out.

“You better watch out

You better not cry

You better not pot, I’m telling you why

Santa Clause is coming...to town!”

A pair of massive oak doors the stage pointed towards suddenly burst open, a figure silhouetted against the blinding light. The gathering immediately went wild, people climbing on each other’s shoulder for a better look and jumping with excitement.

“Huh?! What’s happening!?” Kay cried, trying to peek over the heads in front of her.

“You tell m–oof!” Sebastian was cut off as someone accidentally elbowed him in the stomach, stumbling back. The crowd surged around them, completely blocking their sight of the cause of the excitement as it forced them all into a tight bundle together.

“Ugh! What the hell could they be so excited about!?” Phoenix squawked as he was crushed against Miles back.

Suddenly the crowd quieted, then parted in front of them, providing a perfect view of the red clothed figure standing beside the sleigh. They went absolutely still, staring at the man in awe.

“...Holy shit...”

The man’s long white beard swayed slightly as he nodded to them in acknowledgement, then turned his attention to the crowd at whole. His voice was deep and mighty when he spoke, sweeping and reverberating through the plaza like the most calming avalanche in existence.

“In normal circumstances, this would be the time when I would chose a child, to whom I would present the first gift of Christmas. But, in this case...”

With that, he turned with the softest of smiles to look towards the front of his sleigh.

“It seems that she’s found me.”

There, stroking the nose of the lead reindeer, stood Trucy.

The crowd let out a chorus of cheers, and with a small beckon from the tall man, the little magician gave the reindeer on last pat and scampered over. She accepted the hand he offered her and climbed into the sleigh, settling on the seat beside him. He turned to her, head tilted down just slightly to match her height.

“So then my dear, what is it that you would like for Christmas?”

The girl put a finger to her chin, looking down thoughtfully. Her eyes lit up and she grinned, leaning close to whisper something in his ear. He gave a little chuckle and looked at her warmly with a nod. He reached behind himself for just a moment and when his hand emerged again a package was sitting in it. It wasn’t very large, probably only around 8 by 6 and a few inches deep, wrapped in white paper decorated with gold and silver card suits, bound closed by a bright blue ribbon. But Trucy beamed at it brighter than they’d ever seen her, as though he were holding the secrets to magic itself. Perhaps he was. He placed one of her hands on the lid and covered it with his own, ducking his head. He muttered a few quiet words and a swirl of sparkling frost twined around the package for a moment, the gift almost seeming to glow.

“Best to leave it till sunrise.” He murmured quietly to her with a wink and she nodded seriously. With a nod in return he handed it over and she stood. A hand nudged her pack and her robe flared wide around her, Mr. Hat snatching the gift up and holding it high for all to see.

The plaza broke into fevered cheers, the celebration so tangible that even the adults found themselves drawn into it, whooping and jumping in excitement. Over the uproarious noise, the clock tower began to chime, the hands striking 12. The conductor quickly stepped forwards and offered Trucy a hand, helping her from the sleigh. She dipped her head in a bow to the man behind her and the legendary figure returned it with a smile. Stepping away from the sleigh she rushed to the others, running into Phoenix’s waiting arms. They turned to watch as the man raised a hand high, a long ribbon seeming to be made of the Aurora itself appearing in his hand. He gave it a crack and the reindeer began to gallop, slowly pulling the sleigh off the ground. They began to circle the plaza, the man lifting a hand to wave to the crowd as he went. He called out as they picked up speed, the diving close to the ground for a moment then swooping high into the sky as stardust shimmering in every color began to rain from the sleighs back.

“To the top of the roof. To the top of the wall. Now dash away, dash away , DASH AWAY ALL!”

And with that he was gone.

The crowd frolicked and danced happily as the remnants of the firework like sparks, celebrating another successful year. The conductor once more checked his pocket watch and signaled to the express, the train giving a whistle to signal its imminent departure. The travelers began to line up as the rest of the town started to party, moving slowly towards the train.

“Trucy, were you really with ‘Him’ this entire time? How in the world did that happen?” Phoenix asked, ruffling the girl’s hair as she laughed.

“I got lost trying to follow you guys and accidentally wandered into his personal workshop. He found me and brought me along with him to get ready. It was so cool! I got to meet all the reindeer, Vixen REALLY likes sugar cubes, and he showed me The List! We even sat down and chatted over cookies for a while.”

“Really? What did you talk about?”

She grinned, holding a finger to her lips.

“It’s a secret!”

Phoenix chuckled, hugging her to his side as they started for the train. As each child boarded the conductor took their ticket, applying his hole punch to it once more and handed it back before ushering them onto the train with a few short words.

Trucy was the first to reach him and he smiled down at her as he took her ticket.

“Quite an honor you’ve received tonight.” He declared and she grinned back as the ticket fragments scattered in her hair.

“That I have sir.”

He handed it back to her and she ran her finger over the completed letters with a happy laugh as he leaned down to her.

“You are certainly one lucky young lady, having the skills you do. Being able to bring joy to others. To inspire them.” He stood, giving her a little salute.

“It’d be our pleasure to have such a marvelous magic user ride with us again someday.”

She saluted him back and jumped on, disappearing into the cabin as Kay moved forward. The little thief bounced in excitement as we took hers, holding it up to the light when it was returned. She smiled and glanced back at him as he looked up at the starry sky.

“You know, if there’s one thing I’ve learned over all these years, it’s that even the strongest bars can’t hold a strong spirit. It might take a bit, but eventually that cage will open, and a certain little bird will be free to fly wherever they wish.”

The girl nodded firmly and moved after Trucy, Sebastian sighing at her as he handed his over. He irritably swiped at the dots as they littered his hair, still brushing them away as he glanced over his ticket in confusion.

“Grow? Like as in a plant?”

“Or a growth of person, of character, of heart.” The man simply replied, the young prosecutor blinking in owlish surprise as the words sunk in. He gave a little ‘huh’ and stared thoughtfully at the ground as he stepped forward, nearly whacking his head on the doorway in his distractedness. Simon bit back a laugh at the boy’s misfortune, shaking his head in fond amusment. The hole punch had barely begun to touch the golden surface of his own when the older man spoke, low and quiet so just the two of them could hear.

“I can’t say that I know what the past has held for you my friend, but there’s one thing I can be certain of.”

He handed the trinket back, their eyes locking for a moment.

“You’ve still got a lot of life left to live.”

Simon went silent as he took it, fingertips tracing the metallic surface as he moved out of the way for Athena. She glanced at him questioningly as she waited, the conductor dusting her with glittery scraps in the meantime. Accepting the offered item she cocked an eyebrow, looking up at him with a baffled expression.

“Lean On?”

He nodded, gazing at her with an expression that seemed to say he’d seen this sort of thing before.

“Even the mightiest of us can’t always stand firm on their own. Now and then they just need a bit of support, a friendly shoulder to lean on.”

He peeked over and she followed his gaze to the man still waiting for her on the train’s stairs.

“No shame in asking for help.”

She smiled softly and gave him thankful shrug, hopping up the stairs and pulling the Prosecutor into the cabin with them, Taka giving a little chirp and bending to pick some of the stray scraps from her hair.

“Well then, I suppose it’s my turn.” Edgeworth announced, giving the older man a polite nod he handed the ticket over.

“Quite the gentleman are we?” the conductor replied, going to work on the gold foil.

“A side effect of growing up around those stuck a bit in the old ways I fear. A sort of inescapable habit now.” The conductor gave a little hum at the statement and handed the pass back, speaking as the silver-haired man’s eyes scanned over it.

“There’s a saying I heard many years ago. ‘Don’t dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next and keep moving forward.’ Wonderful idea, if I do say so myself.”

Miles chuckled, giving the phrase before him a thoughtful smile.

“A valuable lesson indeed. One I’m still learning myself. Wright?”

He turning, beckoning the other man forward with a wave. Phoenix smiled and reached out to grab his partners hand as the conductor worked.

“Someone’s had quite an adventure tonight, I can see.” The man drawled, gaze sweeping over Phoenix’s even more ruffled than normal appearance, and the attorney shrugged nonchalantly.

“You could say that.”

The man shook his head in exasperation with just a hint of fondness and handed the pass back, the Phoenix cocking an eyebrow in amusement at the finished product.

“Remember, huh? Think my memories failing me already?” He questioned with a laugh and the older man gave him a knowing look.

“Sometimes it’s easier to laugh off the troubles and take things as they come. Doesn’t mean what’s behind us didn’t matter. Best not to forget where we’ve been, hmm?”

Phoenix paused to let the information sink in and then grinned sheepishly as Miles shook his head, leading the two of them into the train.

“So then Herr Schaffner, what magical words of wisdom do you have for me?” The German smiled teasingly as he moved up and the conductor rolled his eyes, hole punch clicking up a storm. After a moment he offered the ticket back to him, but held fast when Klavier reached to fetch it, leaning close to the man.

“It’s easy to hold onto the wrongs of the past. What’s difficult is learning to let them go. To forgive others, to forgive the world, and most importantly, to forgive ourselves.”

The German stared at him for a long moment before slowly nodding, leaning his back against the train car to thoughtfully stare at the golden slip in his hands. Apollo watched him for a moment before turning to the patiently waiting older man.

“Ah, so here you are. The man of hesitation yet unafraid to act. Seems you’ve been through even more that your spiky haired friend this evening, my boy.”

Apollo shrugged with tilt of his head, pressing a hand to his ribs as they twinged. The older man chuckled quietly, holding out a hand.

“Well then, ticket please.”

Apollo carefully handing the surprisingly unscathed item over. The conductor seemed to take extra care into this one, hands seeming to move even more precisely than they had before as the hole punch glittered and spun. It was finally set it back in his hands gently and the attorney’s eyes went wide as they paned over the four little letters.

“The world certainly seems to be in short supply some days. Good to still see it out there in full force, in all its aspects.” The man said with a wink and little smile, Apollo breaking into a soft one in return.

He moved to where the tanned man still leaned up against the metal and the musician looked up at him. Apollo held it up for him to see and the man gave a soft musical laugh, leaning forward to press their foreheads together, long fingers tracing over the word.

Love

There was another blast from the trains whistle and the conductor nodded to the stairs, the two entwining arms and moving into the warm cabin to where the train goers were gathered around Trucy, staring at the package in delight.

“Ah ah ah.” She said when someone called for her to open, wagging a finger with a serious expression.

“Not till morning. Them’s the rules.”

Apollo laughed as the crowd let out an “aww!”, taking his seat back at the window. As soon as he hit the cushions a wave of exhaustion rolled over him, his body suddenly seeming to realize how tired and battered it was. He didn’t seem to be the only one. Kay and Sebastian already seemed to be gone to the world, slumped practically on top of each other, and Athena wasn’t looking much better, Taka prodding at where her head was lolling against Simon’s arm. Apollo gave a wide yawn and Klavier smiled, wrapping an arm around the younger man and pulling him closer.

“Get some rest. I’ll wake you when we get there.” He whispered, tucking the attorney’s head against his neck. Apollo mumbled a “thanks” as his eyes slid closed, the taller man’s murmured voice against his hair lulling him into a doze.

Oh willst du nicht mit mir kommen

Wo der Mond aus Gold ist

Und in der Morgensonne

Wir segeln

Oh willst du nicht mit mir kommen

Wo das Meer den Himmel trifft

Und wie die Wolken vorbei rollen

Wir werden das Lied des Meeres singen

*

Most of the other passengers had already disembarked when they reached the prosecutors building, the rest more or less passed out in their seats. They slowly roused themselves and made their way outside, the conductor and trio of crew members escorting them to the stairs.

“Careful, watch your step.” The conductor warned as he helped Trucy down to the ground, the gift still tucked firmly under her arm. She turned once her feet were on the ground and the group looked back up at the four.

“Will...will we ever see you again?” She asked and he smiled warmly.

“Perhaps, if the cards fall right. I do believe this old girl’s taken a liking to you bunch.” He replied, giving the train car a fond pat.

“We’ll just have to see.”

“Be careful with that present! We wouldn’t want you to lose it.” Nona called over his shoulder, Billy giving a laugh beside her.

“Wouldn’t be the first time.” He replied, glancing over at Chris, who rubbed his head sheepishly with an embarrass smile.

Trucy nodded and stepped back to stand with the rest of the group as the train began to pull away.

“Merry Christmas!” the old man called, he and the other three lifting their arms to wave, and the group returned the gesture. As the back of the train began to roll past them Kay gasped and raised an arm to point.

“Look!”

They glanced up at the roof of the caboose to find the mysterious vagabond lounging atop it, legs crossed knee over knee. He smirked and gave them a little two finger wave before the wind swept over him and he disappeared in a flurry of snow. Slowly the group turned to stare at each other, Phoenix raising a hand to tiredly rub his face.

“You know, I’m not even surprised.”

They watched as the train disappeared into the mist and then slowly made their way back inside. The place was just as they’d left it and as they depositing their robes on the rack Trucy pipped up.

“So. what now?”

“Bed. Definitely bed.” Athena groaned, collapsing onto her and Simon’s couch. The others laughed at her antics and stretched tiredly in agreement, each making their way to their respected sleeping places. Trucy carefully placed the gift on the table beside her head and snuggled under the blankets, seeming content to sleep till noon. Apollo echoed her sentiment, letting his head fall with a thump to the cushions as Klavier pulled him close and dragged a quilt over them. Taking one last glance around the room, his eyes landed on the clock. It read 12:00 and he stared at it for a moment in exhausted confusion.  Hadn’t they only left at 11:50? So little time passed? How had-?...His brain abruptly shut off this line of reasoning, chocking it up to ‘Magic, you can think about it more in the morning’ and he chuckled quietly to himself. Snuggling back against the man behind him, he let out a long breath and the world faded to darkness around him.

*

“GOOD MORNING EVERONE! MERRY CHRISTMAS!”

Apollo eyes snapped open at the shout and he jumped a bit, falling from the couch with a bang and dragging most of the quilt with him. The shout combined with his own loud noise awoke the rest of the room and they sat up in various levels of alertness, glancing around for the source of the commotion. Simon turned to look at a blurry figure standing in the doorway, squinting and blinking in an attempt to figure out what he was looking at.

“Foolbright, is that you?”

“Yes indeed sir! Hello to you as well!” The white dressed detective beamed and the sleep addled prosecutor just tilted his head in confusion.

‘What are you doing here?”

“Well, they finally finished plowing the roads, so Detectives Gumshoe, Skye and I decided to bring you breakfast!”

At that moment Ema and Gumshoe came trudging through the doorway, laden down with many food and drinks.

“Morning everybody! I have coffee!” The girl chirped, Gumshoe grinning in tandem.

“And I have-!”

He was suddenly cut off as a pillow hit him in the face and turned to see Edgeworth looking over the back of the bed with a borderline murderous expression.

“Detective, until we’ve all had some caffeine, I do suggest you close your mouth.”

The trenchcoat wearing man chuckled sheepishly and the three set about depositing their goodies on the nearby table as the group went about getting up. Phoenix stretched, the vertebrae in his back popping and yawned, sleepily trying to smooth his hair into some sense of order. He suddenly felt a tug at his sleeve, looking down to find Trucy looking up at him with a panicked expression.

“Daddy, the gift is gone!” She murmured quietly, the detectives nearby too busy shuffling about and arguing over food placement to hear her. Phoenix himself cocked his head at her, baffled.

“Gift? What gi...?” He trailed off and the recently woken group slowly glanced at each other with a dawning realization. In a flash Kay darted to the coat rack, digging through the pockets.

“The tickets are gone too!” She called, eyes wide in astonishment.

A sense of bewilderment swept over the group, trying to process all the information currently coming at them. They all clearly remembered the trip last night, and yet there was nothing left to prove it ever happened. Even Apollo’s ribs were ache-less, free of tree related trauma. Could it have been some sort of huge group wide dream? Was that even possible?

“We’re all set over here! Come get it!” Fulbright called, and they decided to put the issue aside for a moment in favor of food. Breakfast lead into conversation which led into the unwrapping of all the forgotten gifts from last night and soon the event had all but been pushed from their minds.

“Here’s one more for you Mr. Edgeworth!” Gumshoe chimed, wadding through the veritable sea of wrapping paper to hand it to him.

“Thank you Detective.” He replied, flipping the gift over to examine it. The tag told him it was from Kay and he peeled back the paper, smiling at the plushy Steel Samurai toy he found within.

“Thank you Kay. It’s a wonderful gift.” He chimed and she grinned, giving him a double thumbs up.

“Hey, there’ another one tucked way up in here!” Ema called from where she was crawled practically entire the tree.

“It’s for...uh...actually I’m not sure who it’s for. Does it look familiar to anyone?” She stuck out an arm, holding the gift aloft, and the group turned to look.

They froze when they saw the blue ribbon and card suit paper.

“Mine. I-It’s mine.” Trucy muttered, staring at the package in wonder. Ema walked over and she gently took it from her, setting it safely in her lap. She untied the ribbon and peeled back the tape and paper as carefully as possible, as though it would vanish if she made one wrong move. She removed the lid and set it aside, finding as object wrapped in cloth within. As she lifted it out, the cloth fell away and her eyes went wide.

It was a picture, enclosed in a frame of blue-white metal twisted in a graceful curling design that reminded her of frost. It showed her parents beaming brightly at the camera, holding her, at this point just a mere baby, up between them. They were framed against the set for one of their many acts and in the background she could see Valant dramatically jerking towards the camera in surprise, looking like a deer caught in the headlights over the unintentional photo bomb. She smiled and flipped it for them to see, the groups gazes growing soft at the idyllic scene.

“It’s lovely.” Athena murmured gently and they all nodded in happy agreement.

She turned the picture back around, running her hand over the glass with a fond smile. And just for a moment there was a glimmer of light along the edge of the frame. She sucked in a sharp breath, pressing a hand to her mouth as her eyes prickled with tears.

“Trucy? Honey, are you alright?” Phoenix asked, moving towards her. She gave a teary laugh and nodded, turning the picture back towards them. Where there had once been an image of the Troupe Gramarye, there now was something else. It was of themselves, the Wright Agency, the prosecutors and their detectives, her many friends, all huddled into a group around her, a picture taken on the eve of her first big show.

“I asked him for a picture of my family.” She whispered.

“Turns out it was so big it needed two.”

They stared in awe at the gift as she beamed, moving to set the picture upright in her lap and tracing her fingers almost reverently over the frame.

For an instant, there was another spark of light. But rather than simply skate the pictures edges then disappear, this one twined up around her hand, chasing its own shimmering tail over her fingers and knuckles before disappeared into the pulse point of her wrist. She stared at her wrist in surprise, slowly releasing the picture. She flexed her forearms, curling and uncurling her fits as she turned them back and forth at them in fascination. There was a little spark of realization in her eyes and slowly she gave a laugh, giggling quietly over some joke unknown to all but her. Closing her eyes, she look a long deep breath, seeming to focus herself, and lifted a hand up beside her head.

“Hey everybody?”

They glanced over at her hand in curiosity and she grinned as she flicked her hand. For just an instant there was a swirl of light around her hand and then she was holding a stack of shining golden slips. They immediately knew this was no illusion or sleight of hand. This was something greater and much more wondrous. She fanned the stack open at their shock with a wink, displaying the words punched into them.

“Is this your ticket?”

Ok, for a few notes (this will contain a little bit of Dual Destinies spoilers, so be warned and skip the last point if you don’t wanna be spoiled:

The song that Klavier sings to Apollo is actually a direct German translation (and thus I’m really not sure how accurate it is) of the Song of the Sea lullaby from the movie of the same name (The first verse and chorus respectively)

Christopher, Nona and Billy, in case you didn’t realize already, are actually the trio of kids from the movie all grown up and working on the Express themselves now. (The annoying kid does as well, he just doesn’t show up in this.) They’ve been doing this for about 5 years at the time of this story.

Along with the picture, Trucy also received the ability to do actual magic to an extent, thus her being able to summon the tickets, which at that point had ceased to exist.

A list of the words on everyone tickets, since I’m not sure how well some of them came across:

Trucy: Inspire

Kay: Free

Sebastian: Grow

Simon: Live

Athena: Lean On

Miles: Keep Moving Forward

Phoenix: Remember

Klavier: Forgive

Apollo: Love

AA5 AND (very vague) AA6 SPOILER WARNING

This takes place in an AU where Fulbright, though captured by the Phantom and impersonated, was not actually killed, since the Phantom needed to have access to fresh DNA from him at any given moment in case that he needed it for the ruse. This is not to say that poor Bobby made it out of the whole thing unscathed, but he’s alive and that’s what matters. The story takes place after he’s been rescued, so this is the real one we’re dealing with.

The sharp crack of a gunshot echoed through the mountains. An ominous quiet briefly filled the air, followed by a deep rumbling. Vash grabbed the riffle out of Roderich’s hands and swore softly. He hurriedly slung it on his back, while Roderich looked around in confusion. Locking gazes with his skiing buddy, Roderich saw a brief flicker of panic in Vash’s eyes as he pulled his ski goggles down over his eyes.

“Let’s go, you idiot!” Vash took off; skiing like his life depended on it.

Roderich carefully pulled his own goggled down over his glasses. The rumbling seemed louder and he wondered what it was as he took off after Vash. Then it hit him. Avalanche; a word that struck fear into many skiers’ hearts. A wave of panic washed over him and Roderich skied like his life depended on it.  The personification of the country Austria, Roderich, in truth, did not have to worry about dying per se, but being caught up in a tumbling mass of snow, broken trees, and whatever else got into the path of destruction, and injuring himself, was not a pleasant thought. By the time he reached Vash’s side, the rumbling had stopped as the avalanche turned out to be a small one, just a sudden down pouring of snow from the peaks above them, though no less deadly. That did not stop Vash from rounding on him.

“Asshole!” He shoved him, pushing Roderich backwards; his ski poles helping to keep him from landing on his butt.

Roderich frowned. “You told me to fire and I did.”

“At the target, you moron!! What the hell were you thinking?! We could’ve been buried until the spring thaw!!”

Roderich went to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose, until he realized he was wearing ski goggles over them. “But…” He frowned again. “Sorry, I missed, but the sound of the shots being fired shouldn’t have set off an avalanche. You did fire at the target a lot more than I did. Maybe it was bad timing? It was just one more shot and I happened to be the unlucky one who fired it?”

“I don’t know…” Vash trailed off, his anger mostly diffused. He looked in the direction of his chalet. “Let’s go.” He pushed off, parallel to the bottom of slope, in the direction of home.

Roderich silently followed him. He had no idea what started the avalanche, for all he knew it would have happened anyway regardless of whether or not they were there, target shooting. He just wished Vash was not such an ass about it. Yes, he understood the danger, he skied in his own Alps often enough to be aware of it. He also knew that you can sometimes set them off on purpose like they did in many a ski lodge and mountain village, but Roderich was also aware that they simply happened. New snow on top of shifting older layers, a sudden earthquake, even the movements of people or animals could cause one. He knew you could set them off with strategically placed explosives, but the sound of gunfire echoing across the mountains? Roderich was sure if conditions were that unstable, he and Vash would have been cooped up in his chalet. When they got back, Roderich made a mental note to see if there were any reports of fresh snowfall on the mountain. Since the avalanche was small and the upper slopes steep, Roderich was fairly certain that was the cause of the sudden onrush of snow and ice.

It did not take long for them to reach Vash’s chalet. After taking off their skis, they went inside. Roderich drank in the warmth. As much as he enjoyed skiing, lounging by the fire with a glass of mulled wine or two to warm him from the inside was a pleasant thought. As he hung up his ski jacket, Roderich said, “I think I’ll go grab a quick shower.” He sat down next to Vash on the bench in the mudroom and took off his ski boots.

Vash nodded. “I’ll go when you’re done.”

“Okay.” Roderich stood up and after putting his equipment away, he hurried to his room. Once there, he stripped out of his sweaty clothes, tossing them into the hamper. Naked, he shivered as he headed towards the shared bathroom. It sat between his room and Vash’s in the loft where both bedrooms were located. Roderich took a towel from the shelf and hung it up next to the shower. He reached inside and turned on the taps, adjusting the water to the exact temperature he preferred. As soon as it was warm enough, Roderich took off his glasses and left on the sink. He stepped inside the shower, sliding the door behind him.

The hot water did wonders for chasing away the chill from his bones and easing the aches from his muscles. Reaching for the shampoo, Roderich squirted some in his hand. He put the bottle back and washed his hair. As his rinsed the lather from his hair, he heard the sound of the shower door being slide back, followed by a quick blast of cold air. Roderich shivered as a pair of arms wrapped themselves around him from behind.

Vash closed his eyes and leaned his forehead on his friend and would be lover’s back. The water beat down on him too as he pulled Roderich close. His hand ghosted over his fellow country’s body. He was slightly built like Vash, but whereas he was whip-hard, Roderich was soft, although a certain part of his anatomy was rapidly becoming harder under Vash’s delicate touch. He tweaked Roderich’s nipple, the other moaning softly under his deft touch.  He pressed his own hardness against his fellow country’s backside. His need to dominate and be in control was strong, and in Roderich he found a willing partner. Yet, he also felt comfortable in letting Roderich dominate him in his own passive way.

Roderich turned in Vash’s arms. Cupping his fellow country’s cheeks, he kissed him long and hard. Breaking the kiss, he gave Vash a tight, knowing, little smile. Vash’s moans where a soft concerto in his ears, a delicate counter melody to the rush of the water pouring from the shower head.  Stepping back, he ran his hand lightly down Vash’s body, mimicking the teasing his fellow country gave him. He held Vash’s heavy sac in his hand, gently massaging it with the pad of his thumb. He trailed his hand upwards, ignoring Vash’s growing need, brushing his fingertips against the thick tangle of light brown curls at the base of his cock. Roderich smiled when his fellow country’s hips jerked forward of their own accord. He wondered if he should go down on his knees and suck him off, or should he simply stroke him until Vash could not take it anymore.

“Please?” Vash said through gritted teeth. He hated begging, but Roderich had excited such need in him that he wanted him now. Luckily, his fellow country did not make him wait long. Vash moaned as Roderich gripped his cock, stroking him slowly and deliberately. He felt weak in the knees and knew it would not be long before he climaxed. He panted, and gripping Roderich’s shoulders, felt his sac tightening as the pleasurable sensations pooled in his cock.

The corners of Roderich’s mouth curled upwards in a smile. Vash had been trying to thrust into him, but Roderich’s firm but gentle grip on the other country’s cock controlled his movements. Rubbing the pad of his thumb on the sensitive head, Roderich counted the beats in his head. And a one… and a two… and a three…

Letting out a strangled cry, Vash climaxed hard. His grip tightening on Roderich’s shoulders, he spewed his hot essence all over his fellow country’s hip. Panting heavily, he clung to him as he basked in his sexual high.

“Idiot…”

Vash pulled back and looked up at him the play of emotion clearly seen on his face. Roderich’s voice had been soft, almost a purr and Vash  never wanted to punch something so badly as he did in that moment. He knew what the look his fellow country was giving him meant and he had no choice, but to obey.

Roderich snorted in amusement. He wore a smirk that would have been at home on Prussia’s face as he watched Vash sink to his knees. Holding his cock out, he moaned softly as the warm confines of his fellow country’s mouth settled around it. Holding Vash’s head in his hands, he set the pace. Roderich loved his fellow country’s talented mouth and he wanted to enjoy every minute of it.

Vash gripped Roderich’s hips as he orally pleasured him. He licked and sucked, doing all those things that his fellow country loved. Keeping to the rhythm that Roderich had set, Vash did his best to get him to climax quickly. He wanted to go downstairs and sit in front of the fire, basking its warmth. After a morning spent skiing and a light lunch, Vash was looking forward to some rough and tumble sex in front of the fire. A little chocolate fondue for dessert… Vash’s fantasy was interrupted by a familiar salty tang on his tongue. He sucked Roderich dry, and pulling back with a loud pop that was lost in the rush of water from the shower head, he swallowed. Rising stiffly to his feet, Vash cupped his fellow country’s cheek. He leaned in and kissed him.

Roderich deepened it. He could taste himself as his tongue explored the warm confines of Vash’s mouth. He knew what Vash wanted to do and he was in complete agreement with those plans. Breaking the kiss, he nuzzled him. “Don’t forget the fondue.”

Vash pulled back with a snort. “As if,” he said, his mouth contorting into a feral grin. Grabbing the soap, he quickly washed up. Nudging Roderich out the way, he rinsed off, before leaving the shower. “Hurry up!” he called out as he left the bathroom.