AU: Going Home Again
Stepping into Gaia was like stepping into another world.
There was the feeling of stepping through dry water, encapsulating, before it pulled away and left him exposed to the dry, dusty winds that swept across the arid steppe. Shielding his eyes with one hand, he looked up. Incredibly blue skies, air that smelled fresh and sweet with the metallic hints of industry underneath, and....
"Omega's shell," came the familiar voice at his side. Edgeworth stared at it, the delicate translucent wings around the heavy body, broken and floating in the skies with the moon. "It's still in orbit. We hadn't thought...." Reeve's voice broke off; he glanced over to find the man turning around, looking behind them.
He opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, but Yuffie beat him to it. "Oh Leviathan, Edgey," she gasped, grabbing him by the arm and turning him around, "look at it! Look at... they almost have Edge repaired! Johnny's got his bar open again! And the roads are cleared and--"
Edgeworth stumbled, then pulled himself upright and looked at what she was flailing at, his eyes going wide. The city wasn't what caught his eye. It-- Edge, he supposed-- was like a smaller, poorer suburb of Los Angeles; shabby in parts, clearly makeshift with a few carefully, properly constructed buildings here and there amongst the rest. No, that didn't quite catch his interest. What did was the towering ruins that loomed behind the city. Broken and jagged, like claws reaching for the sky; it wasn't too difficult for him, with the prior descriptions given, to piece out what it had been. The shelf of the plates that held the megacity up; the towering skyscrapers and industrial clutter; the utter desolation and wreckage below. It was-- it had to have been far larger than even New York City in its prime. If that was just one area... just what had he gotten himself into? This wasn't his world!
"My God," he said.
Reeve's hand clamped down on his shoulder; the older man was staring at it almost longingly, wistfully. Yuffie's hold on his arm tightened. "Midgar and Edge," he finally said. His gaze turned onto the prosecutor. "... there's no parades or welcoming committee, but... welcome home, Miles."
He was silent for several moments, staring out at the expansive, foreign horizon and feeling the comfort of the people beside him, people he'd come to trust. "I've never been that fond of parades," he finally answered, and smiled inwardly at Yuffie's answering giggle.
This wasn't his world... but with them there, it was his home.