Sebastian Has "Debeste" Friends

The first incident happened just a few months after Blaise Debeste's true colors had been revealed.

Sebastian had been sitting in the cafeteria, sipping a cup of coffee as he looked over a case file that Prosecutor Edgeworth had assigned him. Honestly, he wasn't all that confident that he could handle it yet, but Edgeworth had insisted.

He sighed and stood up, crushing the now-empty paper cup in his hand. He made his way out of the cafeteria, eyes still focused on the papers in his hand, even as he tossed the crushed cup into the trash. As he walked past one of the numerous empty broom closets, an alarm rang throughout the prosecutors' office.

Sebastian froze as his phone started ringing. He quickly answered, fingers fumbling to press the receive button. "K-Klav?" There was a relieved sigh at the other end of the line. "Mausi. Ach, you're safe. Where are you?"

"What's happening?" Sebastian asked. "I'm not sure. Fräulein Skye said there's a shooter in the cafeteria?" Sebastian slowly turned his head. The cafeteria doors were just around the corner. "I'm... I'm on the ground floor, near the cafeteria."

"Was?" Klavier said loudly. "Go hide somewhere. Come upstairs if you can manage, ja?" Sebastian inhaled shakily. "Ye-Yeah, okay." He hung up on Klavier. He had planned on going straight, past the closet and to the stairway at the end of the hall, where he could run up to someone's office. Maybe Klavier's, or Prosecutor Blackquill's. He was scary enough that the shooter wouldn't look for him there.

Unfortunately, the cafeteria doors slammed open, accompanied by loud shouting, and then a gunshot. Sebastian was so screwed. He heard footsteps approaching. There was no time to run. Quickly thinking, he flung the closet door open. He swallowed as he looked at the tiny interior, but stepped inside, shutting the door silently behind him. God, it was cramped in there. It was dark, and there was virtually no space to move. This was a terrible idea.

Sebastian heard footsteps drawing closer. They stopped nearby, but he couldn't tell where. He stood still, breaths coming out in quick gasps. Were the walls closing in? He couldn't tell. He barely heard as the footsteps started up again and faded away in seconds.

He pressed his hand against the wall to steady himself. This was a bad, bad idea. Why had he decided to enter the tiny, dark broom closet? His breathing quickened. He desperately tried to calm down. Tears gathered in his eyes. The shooter was gone, right? He could leave.

He tried to reach for the doorknob, but his hand came into contace with solid wall. Where was the door? Oh, no. Sebastian was definitely screwed. He closed his eyes to try and gather himself.

When he opened his eyes again, he was lying on the couch in Prosecutor Edgeworth's office. He slowly sat up, and looked over to where Edgeworth was talking to someone on the phone, back facing him. "Yes, he's fine," he said in an almost exasperated tone. "He-- oh." Edgeworth had turned and noticed Sebastian staring at him. Sebastian blushed as Edgeworth said, "He's awake. I'll talk to you later."

Edgeworth set down his phone and walked over to Sebastian. He looked... worried? "Would you like some water?" Sebastian hadn't realized how dry his mouth was. "U-Uh, yes, thanks," he muttered. He slowly drank the offered water. When he finished, he looked up at Prosecutor Edgeworth, who was staring at him. It was honestly a bit intimidating, and Sebastian averted his gaze to rest on Edgeworth's shoulder instead.

"What happened?"

"That's what I should be asking you," Edgeworth said. "However, since you asked... After the shooter had been apprehended, you were nowhere to be found. Prosecutor Gavin informed me that you had told him that you were on the ground floor near the cafeteria, so we searched for you. You were found in an unused broom closet nearby, passed out. I think I can hazard a guess why."