10 ⚜ Audio

[restingstitchface]

[Anyone who's familiar with Crane will recognize his compulsive need to study fear. But what's the curious thing, here? His approach. His voice is as soft and calm as it had been upon his arrival. It gives an impression of frailty that's deliberately misleading. There was nothing about him that sounded like the Scarecrow. And that's the frightening thing.]

Machiavelli once said, "And here comes in the question whether it is better to be loved rather than feared, or feared rather than loved. It might perhaps be answered that we should wish to be both; but since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved."

I put his question to you all; is it better to be loved rather than feared, or feared rather than loved?

[He likes the idea of letting the piddling powers in this place believe he's behaving himself; listening to that silly therapist he'd encountered recently. Maybe his audience all be dishonest in their answers. Frightened. Scared. He indulges in a smile. He will have to confirm all of their opinions with an experiment, of course.]

Comments

[restingstitchface]

[There's a heavy silence. He's not wrong, but there's something here he can pick at and unravel. He'll do it for fun and enjoy a game he knows he'll win.]

You speak with convinction, miss. Then perhaps your view is from personal experience, I take it?

[Tell Crane everything, Maya. Do it.]

[missleadingquestions]

[Here it is, she's falling right into it.]

Yeah. It is.

[She's glad, suddenly, that he can't see her face.]

My sister died, and even after that, she looked after me. My mom died protecting me. And... I'm still alive right now, because someone back home needs me.

[Pearl is all she has in this world, and Maya is all Pearl has, and it aches being here, not knowing what Pearl is doing. Knowing that there's so much here that Pearl could learn from, that she could be in a place where she doesn't have to be isolated the way Maya was.]

I love her more than anything. And because I love her... and because my sister loved me, I'm still here.

[She remembers being sick to her stomach, scared, crying as she testified.

I'm... I'm frightened.

The Fey Clan... I don't want anything to do with it anymore.

She remembers putting on a brave face for Pearl.]

That's why I think, no matter what... Love is stronger than fear.

[restingstitchface]

[Such a tragic bedtime story. A real tragedy; had everyone died would he feel this alive? Nope! The worst of it all is that Maya, the heroine of her tale, has been left behind to suffer alone. She doesn't know how her family are now. She cannot protect them nor keep a careful eye on what they're doing.

He could give her hope and tell her that time stops back home whilst she's here. Or he could force the knife deeper... Or he could pull it out, give her that hope, and watch her bleed all over the floor. Yes. That sounds lovely.

But ugh. It's going to feel completely disagreeable.]

You are wrong. Regardless, I have a fact to share. [Ugh. Awkward.] Time stops back home whilst you remain here. Your sister will be fine. Pray tell, what was her name?

[missleadingquestions]

[Maya's voice catches-- she hesitates, frowning past the communicator and (once again, glad he can't see her) begins to contemplate.

Can she trust that? He did say fact. But he also just again blatantly told her she's wrong, and-- and there's something about the way this guy speaks that tenses the muscles in her shoulders, makes her grit her teeth.

....But. He is telling her something helpful. If... time stops, then... Pearly's fine. And that's something good to know, something helpful, and--

Ugh.]

P-Pearly.

[this doesn't feel as good as telling Manolo about her.]

I mean... her name is Pearl.

[restingstitchface]

[That name is familiar.

And so his response isn't immediate. He searches back through the network and stops at a conversation he'd had with a young girl called Pearl Fey.]

Ah, Pearl Fey? Is that her name? For if so, I believe she was here one time. The two of us had an enlightening conversation. I kept her calm during her troubles. Kept her warm in the rain, so to speak.

[Do you see that fire pun, Miles? Do you?]

[missleadingquestions]

[But Maya has no reason to realise that he would connect Pearl Fey to Miles; as far as she knows, Miles thinks the lot of them frauds. He's never told her if he's seen her and-- well, to be fair, Miles has no idea how important Pearl is to her.

So Maya falls for it, no suspicion, just a focus on the one thing she has in her world.]

Pearly-- she was here? That means-- that means she could come back!

[the hope he wanted to hear rings in her voice.]

You-- you really helped her?

[There she draws suspicion, but no one could really be mean to Pearl, could they?]

Th-thank you. For that.

[restingstitchface]

Oh, you're welcome. Contrary to popular belief, I do feel the urge to perform a heart-warming deed from time to time. I'm glad it's put a light into your life. I'd be happy to do it again, you know.

[It's a hurricane of fire puns. Sadly, none of them are for Maya's benefit. And what's better about helping someone than making them dependant and respectful? In this case it won't last. But it's all about how it makes him feel good.]

[missleadingquestions]

Oh-- um. I guess--

[She's cut off by a muffled but fervent knock on her door.]

Sorry, I'll-- I'll be right back. Somebody's-- yeah.

[But there's not much more of a warning before she stops responding.... for now, anyway.]

Aaaaction

[takethestairs]

[He looks over Crane's monologue and its responses, honing in immediately on Fey's answer. Oh, oh hell. Edgeworth chokes on his own tongue and jumps from his seat, and soon Maya will hear a loud, persistent knock on her door]

Re: Aaaaction

[missleadingquestions]

[And of course, Maya answers.]