Ace Attorney Investigations: Virtual Despair

Chapter 1 - Escape from Despair ~ Part 2 (Daily Life)

~ Ultimate Investigator Niamh Wood's POV ~

Nobody else had investigated the old lodge next to the hotel, so I decided to check it out myself. It was extremely run down; maybe it was best to tell everyone to stay away from it. It wouldn't be the best thing in the world if the whole thing collapsed while somebody was inside.

I had pretty much looked inside every room and was about to leave when an arm blocked my way. I looked into the grinning face of the person who was leaning towards me in a flirtatious manner: Jordan.

"Didn't expect to see you here." he said. "Especially when it's just us two."

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Cut it out, Jordan. You obviously followed me here."

"Alas, I have been caught! The detective has defeated me once again!" Jordan cried mockingly. "Moving swiftly onwards, what are you doing here?"

"What else does an investigator do other than investigate?" I replied. "You're just here to get in my way, so if you would please leave-"

"No need, I looked through this place once already." Jordan announced. "It's completely empty and worthless except for the big dining hall. That might be useful at some point."

"Useful...?" I repeated with a frown, horrible thoughts entering my mind. "Wh-What are you planning to do...?!"

"What? Me?" Jordan asked, pointing to himself with a semi-innocent expression on his face. "I'm not planning anything. At least, not yet."

"N-Not yet...?!" I echoed. In the next moment, Jordan roughly grabbed my shirt collar, almost choking me as I stared back into his maroon eyes. He had a smirk on his face as he tightened the grip near my neck. "When the first killing happens, you better stay out of my way. You wouldn't want to end up on the edge of my knife, right? We still don't know what happens to our real bodies when our virtual versions die. So you'd better watch out, unless you want to die."

With one last leer, Jordan released me from his grip and left the lodge, cackling on his way out. I stayed put, trembling slightly as fear took a hold of my thoughts. Was he serious? Was he seriously going to kill me if I got in his way? He had a bigger build than me, so it'd be impossible for me to fight him off if we ever got into a brawl. I gulped: maybe I'll ask someone like Toshiaki to keep an eye on Jordan...

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~ Ultimate Linguist Jeff Wasntme's POV ~

I found a familiar but timid face lurking near the ranch. Clement was staring aimlessly at the cows as they did what cows do; stand around and eat grass. He seemed really interested in it for some reason, however. I approached him slowly. "Uh, Clement? You okay?" I asked.

He nodded, a muffled 'mmm' being his response. He paused before speaking. "I've never seen an animal up close, you know... in real life..."

"Seriously...?" I muttered. "Don't you have any pets at home or something?"

Clement paused. "No... My father is allergic to dogs, my mother is allergic to cats, my sister is allergic to hamsters, and both of my brothers are allergic to birds..."

My eyes widened in shock. One allergy was inconvenient enough, but a whole bunch of people with different allergies? "That's quite the, uh, unique family you have there... So, if you're not used to being around animals, then why be here at the ranch...?"