ic contact

[brushoff]

"Hello. This is Dorian Gray's cellphone. I can't talk right now. Don't forget to leave me a message. If you're interesting, I'll get back to you."

voice, video, text, action
[ certain threads in this post contain nsfw content (sex, blood, violence, etc.) so, you know, don't read them where Gramma can look over your shoulder. just kind of a blanket trigger warning for gore & body horror as well ]

Comments

[takethestairs]

My apologies, but I'd think that you'd want information on the man who murdered you!

[brushoff]

I do want information, but I couldn't pick up the phone until now! I was busy. [ a huffy siiiiigh. and then oh yeah, he's supposed to not know that Yuri is Lunatic, time to get into character. ]

But yes, I do know Yuri Petrov, we've been...close for months now. What does he have to do with Lunatic?

[takethestairs]

...

[Forces himself to pause and take a deep breath. He must remain calm for this. Composed. And, as much as he despises Gray, even he doesn't deserve to be betrayed. Not like this.]

Are you sitting down, Gray?

[brushoff]

I am. [ and then, with a hitch of nervousness in his voice. ] I know it's going to be bad news, but...how bad is it?

[takethestairs]

[He hesitates, unsure of how to explain this, how to ease Dorian into this discovery, when he decides to just rip off the bandaid. It's the most painful and the least cruel option he can think]

I have a- [Friend?] - contact who works at the courthouse, who sneaked a peek at some of Yuri's files. Specifically, his dossier, and his alias.

[Takes a deep breath. When he speaks, his voice is as somber and serious as a funeral]

Yuri Petrov is Lunatic.

[brushoff]

You can't be serious, [ said with a little scoff. ] Yuri wouldn't kill me.

[takethestairs]

And what makes you so sure about that, Gray?

[brushoff]

For lack of a better phrase, we're intimate. Why would you kill someone who you're in a relationship with?

[takethestairs]

[And then it hits him. Oh goddamnit. He groans, running his free hand through his hair]

He's the friend you kissed and made up with, isn't he?

[brushoff]

[ Dorian can't help it—he just lets out a small laugh. ]

Yes, that was him. And we've been doing a lot of kissing and making up since. [ a pause. ] Or, at least, we were, up until a day or so ago.

[takethestairs]

And what about the fight you two had?

[brushoff]

Which fight? [ said with a tone of voice that's purely 'I regret starting this line of questioning to begin with.' ]

[takethestairs]

...a few weeks ago, when you made your grand reentry into the world, I asked you about your friends. If any of you had gotten into a fight. And, while you didn't mention him by name at the time, you did mention an argument with Yuri. In fact, I believe you claimed it was the only argument you had gotten into with any of your friends.

[brushoff]

He wouldn't have killed me because of that. It was just...not about my sins, about me as a person.

[takethestairs]

About you as a person? What do you mean by that?

[brushoff]

Well, we were doing this utterly cliche 'get to know you' thing, mostly out of boredom over anything else. I made the mistake of talking about some of the...negative aspects of past flings, Yuri understandably didn't take it well.

[takethestairs]

...ah. I, erm, I see.

[Dorian's right: Lunatic wouldn't kill someone over a petty lover's spat. However, his phrasing, the words get to know you make him realize something]

Wait a minute - how did you two meet? Was it the post about his work with imPorts, or did you meet someplace else?

[brushoff]

We actually met in a park. It was shortly after Lunatic had made his post about punishing sinners, I egged him on and told him to meet me at a certain place and point, and then I met Yuri instead.

[ and then the penny drops. Yuri was scoping him out. He didn't meet up with Dorian because he was interesting or exciting. He was scoping him out. How much of this relationship was Yuri simply trying to figure Dorian out? ]

[takethestairs]

[And it all falls into place. When Edgeworth speaks again, his tone is dark, talking lowly into the device]

I hate to be the one to tell you this, Gray, but I'm afraid that Lunatic kept his word.

[brushoff]

You don't think I've figured that out now? [ said with a snappy tone. ]

[takethestairs]

[Dorian's response takes him aback, and it takes him a moment to respond]

You- [He clears his throat, and his voice, though rough and stiff, takes on a quieter, almost humble tone]

You have my apologies. Petrov-

[Takes a deep breath]

He had no right to do those things.

[He has no love in his heart for Dorian Gray; between his past murders and his more recent crimes, he's the kind of man that Edgeworth despises. However, what Lunatic did to him wasn't justice, it was a sin in its own right. And as for what he did as Petrov... that betrayal was as loathsome as any of his other crimes.]

[brushoff]

You're right, [ Dorian simply said, with a sigh. ] But that doesn't change the fact that I was murdered by my lover now, does it.

[ YEAH, HE'S STILL KIND OF BITTER ]

[takethestairs]

[Dorian's answer brings back memories of another man. He didn't die at his lover's hand like the way Gray did, but he was manipulated by her schemes to an equally fatal end. Edgeworth tries to shove those thoughts aside, but it backfires, and the more he struggles against them the brighter the images shine in his mind's eye]

...no, it doesn't.

[His voice is small, its tone cold and bitter, but only for a moment. Edgeworth's words quickly regain their strength, though, but they remain as somber as ever.]

I know this is a difficult time for you, Gray, but I have one more thing I must ask of you. But first, a question.

Do you want justice?

[brushoff]

Obviously.

[takethestairs]

Then I'll need you to tell us everything you can about Yuri Petrov.