Voice Mail

[luminol]

Hi! You've reached Ema Skye, scientific investigator! I'm not here right now, but if you leave a message, I'll get back to you as soon as I can, just be sure to do it scientifically.

Comments

voice; post kidnapping

[luminol]

[Checking her Dreamberry for messages isn't the first thing on Ema's mind once she's back. It takes her a few days after she's gotten re-settled in to even think to look at it, and when she finally does, she notices the message Shirley left for her. She feels a bit bad, actually, because she had promised to get in touch with her, and because this message had been sitting for so long now.]

Hi, Shirley! Um, I'm sorry, I didn't get this until now. I've been... things came up, so I was kind of busy.

But I have time to talk now, if you still wanted!

voice;

[relive]

[Ah . . . she's okay!

Of course, being busy was Shirley's immediate reasoning. There isn't really any reason to believe it was anything more serious than that, so her voice is just relieved when she answers . . . which perhaps is kind of appropriate.]

Oh, y - yes, of course I do! It's so good to hear from you . . .

[Just a quiet sigh, and she's smiling.]

Is your arm feeling better?

voice;

[luminol]

[Truthfully, her arm had been the least of her concerns over the past few days. So when Shirley mentions it, she's a bit surprised. Not that she can see it, but Ema glances down at her arm when it's mentioned.]

It does feel a lot better, yeah! I guess it's because it's been a while, huh?

voice;

[relive]

It has. But I'm glad it wasn't anything more serious.

[Or at least, it doesn't seem to be, if Ema's reaction is anything to go by. Even just on her voice alone, she gets the feeling she sort of forgot all about it.

Shirley adds:]

After all, if it was, it probably would've taken a lot longer.

voice;

[luminol]

That's true. And I wonder if it being from a dream made it heal faster compared to anything that might have happened here. Though I guess I can't really test that out now, huh?

voice;

[relive]

[Shirley hadn't really thought about that -- whether dream injuries were more serious than real ones, when they some how manifest themselves in the real world. There's a pause as she thinks, but even if it could theoretically be tested out, she's not sure who would want to.]

Hopefully you won't have to. Dreams are so unpredictable anyway, a lot of the time.

[It makes them exciting, but also kind of unsafe sometimes.]

voice;

[luminol]

[It's not something she'd want to go out and injure herself to test, that's for sure. It's not her kind of thing. But if it were to happen again like the first time, maybe that would be easier to monitor. But that's probably a better job for the hospital than a scientific investigator.]

Especially here, like the joined one from a few weeks back.

voice;

[relive]

I know -- that was so strange.

[She still remembers that very well, even though her dreamfield hadn't merged with anyone else's. She saw enough of it on the network, and not to mention the effects on the dreamers that lingered afterwards.]

At least we could remember what happened, though . . .

You know that week before we talked is still a blur to me.

[Sure they were supposedly asleep, but still.]

voice;

[luminol]

[Ema had, fortunately or unfortunately (depending on how you want to look at it) found herself in some strange dreamfields during that time. Her biggest disappointment there, really, was that she couldn't remember anything about that...]

Same here. I thought it might become clearer over time, but I can't remember anything. Just that things were probably bad. [since, you know, injury.]

voice;

[relive]

[Maybe it's for the best.

There's a quiet sigh from Shirley, and this is where she'd probably give a nod if it were video. But since it isn't, there's just an awkward silence, until she decides to break it.]

Well, it's okay . . . I'm sure it'll come back to us someday, if we really need it. It'll probably be best if we keep looking forward.

voice;

[luminol]

That's probably true! [because both with that dream and all that had happened over the last few weeks or however long it was, it wasn't something that was worth dwelling on. Ema knew how that was well enough by now.]

That's right!

Are you doing anything later this week? Maybe we can try and hang out. [Now that she's, you know, not about to be kidnapped]

voice;

[relive]

[Even if she was doing something, she'd make time for Ema! She sounds pretty excited when Ema asks.]

No, I'm available! Is there anywhere you'd like to go, Ema?

voice;

[luminol]

[She can tell she's excited, and as far as Ema's concerned, that's a good thing. Since it means she's not just accepting for the sake of seeming nice or something.]

Well, there's that amusement park, isn't there? We could go there!

voice;

[relive]

[Hopefully Ema's not just inviting her for the sake of seeming nice, either. But she doesn't really seem like the type, so the thought doesn't quite occur to Shirley . . .

She thinks about it for a moment. She really hasn't had a reason to go to the amusement park, though she's seen it in video broadcasts at times.]

That sounds like so much fun! I've actually never been there before . . .

Have you?

voice;

[luminol]

I have! I went there once with my friend Makoto. There was a lot to do there, though, so we didn't get a chance to do everything that looked fun. [and plus. Lines. Lines are never any fun.]

voice;

[relive]

Oh -- well, we can fix that!

[They'll still have to endure the lines, but -- what can you do? Shirley laughs a bit.]

A really long time ago, someone I knew named Donna showed up there . . . along with a couple of her coworkers, I think. It didn't seem like they appreciated it as much as we probably will, though.

voice;

[luminol]

Donna...? [That name did sound familiar now that she mentioned it. Give her a second to figure this out--]

Oh! Her and her lawyer friends! They got stuck in the teacups, I think, didn't they?

voice;

[relive]

Right!

[Shirley nods, looking surprised for a moment. ...But why should that be surprising, when she works with Edgeworth?]

So you met them too. I remember Donna looked pretty dizzy by the end of it.

voice;

[luminol]

That's right! Donna's two friends were pretty close with Trucy and Mr. Wright, so I met them through those two mostly. [Through them, and that sleepover they crashed, that was another reason she knew them. Well, more how she knew Harvey and Mike than Donna, but it was close enough.]

voice;

[relive]

[Other way around, for Shirley. She talked to Donna a lot more than the other two, but . . . well, that's not surprising, considering Mike wasn't her biggest fan.]

I'm sure they have important things to take care of at home, so . . . maybe it's better for them this way.

[Which is not to say no one else has things they could be doing at home. But Shirley pauses there, figuring that doesn't need explanation. Then, after a moment:]

What day would you like to go?

voice;

[luminol]

Yeah...

[Mike was... something. It was Harvey she liked better, personally. He was the one that liked the Steel Samurai better, it was only natural.]

What about Friday or Saturday?

voice;

[relive]

[At least Harvey didn't think Shirley was "fake" or "just acting" . . .

Heh. But when Ema's answer comes, Shirley's all too ready to agree.]

The weekend . . . great.

[And she means that genuinely -- no trace of sarcasm at all.]

Maybe Friday, then. We can meet up in the morning and make a full day out of it, if you like.

voice;

[luminol]

Yeah, we can do that! And not to mention if we get there earlier, we can make for the best rides first, so we won't have to wait in as long a line!

voice;

[relive]

Exactly. It should be perfect!

Then, Mr. Edgeworth won't mind if I borrow you . . . right?

voice;

[luminol]

Probably not. I don't think he needs my help right now, anyway. Kay's his assistant, not me.