Two cannibals are eating a clown

[killswithapen]

Who: Yagami Light, Miles Edgeworth, a few NPC police cronies (Can be Joker/Edgeworth all up in here too if you like?)
When: Saturday 3rd April, during Joker downtime
Where: Edgeworth's apartment
Summary: Clown Light has a wanting for a cravat, and Joker told him just where to get one. Now he and his police pals have a mission.
Warnings: Rope and

Comments

[mentis_reae]

Staying at the office was too hazardous; that had been made clear from the very first moments of this assault, when the Joker had taken over City Hall itself. That did not, however, give any excuse whatsoever not to work. Edgeworth was not so reckless as to dare a foray into his office, and certainly not so reckless as to send anyone else. Fortunately, he had a few files at home and was able to work from memory on a few more, but he knew he was running out of tasks he could accomplish.

This assault had to end soon, lest he be overburdened with free time and nothing to accomplish with it.

When he heard the buzzer, he stood up a bit too quickly, then frowned at his restlessness. He stepped over to the intercom - one of the few luxuries in this apartment, a working intercom - and pressed the button to transmit.

"Who is it?"

[mentis_reae]

"Get off - " Edgeworth snarled, jerking his arms. He was strong enough - his strength had always been one of his few physical attributes - but these people, however mad, were still trained police officers. They knew how to deal with people who were resisting arrest.

Resisting arrest. God...

They forced him into one of his dining room chairs and, even as he continued to struggle, wound the rope about his chest and arms, binding him against it. He tried surging against his bonds, but it was of no use whatsoever.

"This is - illegal detainment..." At least Gizmo was shut up sleeping in a back room. Edgeworth raised his chin, glaring at Yagami. "And it seems to me you need a closer damned reading of the text."

[killswithapen]

"Illegal... Not today, Edgeworth. Orders from the Joker himself." Light swayed forward, sinking down into the prosecutor's lap heavily. "But I thought you might say that. It's true. I can't imagine dying for you, or vice versa--oh wait."

His fingers smoothed Edgeworth's jaw, and he leant very close, almost nose to nose. "Forget Shakespeare. His version is boring compared to ours, don't you think?"

[mentis_reae]

Edgeworth surged forward when Light approached him, struggling again to free himself. When Light sat down in his lap, however, he pushed himself backwards, gritting his teeth. The touch of that hand on his jaw was repulsive, and that breath against his face was repulsive - nearly as sickening as when Yaha had kissed him. Nausea surged up through him.

"It makes a hell of a lot more sense than you do," he spat. "There is no love between us, nor any passion. You simply are a criminal, and you will be apprehended. There's no feeling there."

He considered head-butting Yagami, and wondered if he'd simply injure himself.

[killswithapen]

"And such a good job you're doing of it so far. Is that the joke, Edgeworth? Because it is funny, what with you all tied up and me...well, I can do anything I want to, can't I? Haha. Ha." A snap of his teeth, and the hand on Edgeworth's jaw dropped down to untie his cravat, smoothing it through his fingers once he'd removed it. "Just a little souvenir. It's much frillier up close, did you know? Maybe too frilly."

It takes a few moments for Light to get it right, finally managing to get it neat about his own throat, a green haired, grinning dandy, and his fingers returned to Edgeworth's collar, taking a fistful of his shirt just beneath the top button.

"So what do you think? Doesn't it just complete the look?"

[mentis_reae]

Edgeworth strained at the ropes again as all of Light's henchmen hooted and applauded. Absurd though it was, the removal of the cravat truly rather shook him, particularly when Yagami pulled at his shirt-front. He wore the garment as often as his own damn shirt, and to have it so peeled away...He felt naked, exposed, with his neck so on display.

And so what? Priorities, Miles. Your "discomfort" doesn't matter worth a damn; worry about how you're going to come out of this alive.

"Yagami, you're aware that you're under a foreign influence, correct?" Edgeworth had to raise his voice to be heard over the police officers, and he sounded strained. "You're acting this way because you're in an altered state. It's not precisely in your nature to kowtow; surely you remember that much."

[killswithapen]

It was sort of adorable watching him struggle like that, straining at his ropes, and Light paused long enough to ruffle the prosecutor's hair, before leaping clean out of his lap.

"You people. It's always about the foreign influence. What's wrong? Not American enough for you?"

He circled the chair, stopping behind Edgeworth to lean down and hiss into his ear. "You think my jokes are bad, just wait until you get to your new home in City Hall. It'll be a riot. But knowing your friends...well, I'm glad I'm just the messenger." Pushing his weight down on the back of the chair, Light tilted it back onto two legs so that he might beam down into Edgeworth's face again. The banana waggled dangerously in one hand. "Open up."

[mentis_reae]

New home... Edgeworth jerked harder, panic starting to bubble up inside of him. He knew the sort of things the Joker did. He'd seen those things. Jesus, he'd seen no end to the photographs of what the man had done to those police officers. The thought of ending up like that was bad enough, and being trapped, unable to help himself -

His breathing quickened, and for just a moment his fear shone through. He forced it down a moment later and instead simply concentrated on keeping his balance as the chair tilted back.

"No," he snapped in response, turning his head away and pressing his lips closed. He opened them only long enough to say, "This isn't your will, Yagami," before closing them once more, his head at an angle where placing the banana in his mouth would be impossible.

[killswithapen]

Oh, he was so happy to see that lovely fear creeping into Edgeworth's expression, into his voice, and he sank back down, dropping Edgeworth onto all four chairlegs again. He patted the prosecutor on the head twice, then circled around to face him again, banana proferred.

"Are you sure you don't even want a little nibble of my gun? You might have to go without food for a while. Mm...unless you like rotten tomatoes."

[mentis_reae]

Edgeworth in turn wrenched his head away from Yagami once again, once more denying him access. It was a foolish, futile gesture; he knew that quite well. And it was a gesture that amused Yagami's cronies, judging by their hooting. Nevertheless, it was a gesture he had to make.

"It's a banana, you imbecile," he snarled softly, then once again pressed his lips shut.

[killswithapen]

"Yeah, it is--"

And because it was the best, funniest moment, he drew his real gun, the one that had been L's, the one he had used to shoot at the Joker, drawing it up to Edgeworth's throat to press the cold muzzle against his skin.

"This one isn't, is it? Now didn't I say 'open' that big mouth of yours, Romeo?"

[mentis_reae]

Edgeworth froze. He stared straight forward, completely unmoving; even as his mind cried at him to do something, he simply stayed completely still, all the realities of a gunshot wound flashing through his head. He imagined what it would be like if Yagami felt capricious and pulled the trigger. He imagined what it would be like if his finger slipped, as well. He remembered his name on the page of the Death Note; he recalled those letters, just two shy of Edgeworth, and knew that Yagami would do it. He knew that he would shoot him. And blind panic numbed his mind and his hands...

Damn it. Damn it.

"You - " He swallowed, but that only made the muzzle press deeper into his bare throat. The sensation made him shudder. "Would not. That would greatly displease your master, would it not?"

[killswithapen]

"I wouldn't? Aww, Edgeworth..." He beamed, leaning much closer. "You can think of a better reason why I wouldn't, can't you? Can't you? Oh well. I suppose I could just kill you. I think he'd find it funny enough to let me off, don't you?"

His eyes closed, then flickered open again, and Light moved closer, almost nose to nose with Edgeworth.

"Tell me why I wouldn't blow your head off right now, Mr. Prosecutor. Hm? I'm a killer, right? Right?"

[mentis_reae]

He thought of the way the bullet would enter. He thought of how it would bore through his flesh, rending and tearing as it went. He thought of how it would hurt. He thought of how he wouldn't die at once, no matter how lethal the path of the bullet...There would be a second where he would realize that he was going to die. He would know.

Dad never knew.

He couldn't think. His mouth was dry, and he was completely devoid of the words he would need to save his life. He just pressed his eyes shut, and breathed through his nose, and finally grated out, "You remember what happened last time." How Edgeworth's monster had tortured him to death.

God, if there's anything human in you...Don't make me into that again.

[killswithapen]

For a moment, Light's eyes narrowed. Nothing. No 'You wouldn't do that', and no 'You're better than this.' He considered shooting Edgeworth just for that, but he was also right. For one thing, he had to deliver him to the Joker, and secondly, he was genuinely afraid of the monster.

He fired the gun over Edgeworth's shoulder, burying a bullet in the dark shadowing beneath the windowsill and missing the glass by inches. The sound was deafening--his ears rang and his wrist stung from the motion of the weapon, but despite that he didn't feel much better. They'd have drawn too much attention to themselves now, it was time to go.

"Pick him up. Let's get out of here."

Light didn't stay to find out if they'd understood the order; he couldn't hear their voices anyway, turning on his heel and storming off toward the door, only to stop and glare back at them.

"Hurry up."

[mentis_reae]

Edgeworth cried out at the gunshot. He would take time to be ashamed of that fact later, but as it stood he was so taken by terror that he cried out, certain that he was dead. Yet when he was able to open his eyes again, he found he could still see; when he looked down, there was no blood. And Yagami was walking away from him, not gloating over his corpse.

His cronies were approaching Edgeworth and grabbing him by the arms and lifting him, chair and all, into the air. Yagami turned and said something that Edgeworth couldn't understand over the ringing in his ears. Edgeworth took the opportunity to speak, his voice sounding odd in his deafened state:

"You'll regret this later, Yagami. You'll be ashamed of having served him."

He considered for a moment kicking one of the men hoisting him into the air - but he'd sooner not have Yagami deem that he would be easier to manage with his kneecaps shot out.