Hi! I'm Maxwell-France, a French fanfiction writer.
My main project is THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS: OBJECTION !, an Ace Attorney-inspired AU where the Digital Circus becomes a world of trials, investigations, and impossible verdicts.
My other project : The Amazing Digital Circus SHOWTIME SHIP! (fanfiction of ship Caine ๐ช/Pomni ๐คก) (in writing)
My future project : Evil Funnybunny! (EJ my baby ๐ฉท)
๐ Available Chapters for : The Amazing Digital Circus OBJECTION!
๐ฌ๐ง English
- Prologue + chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
๐ซ๐ท Franรงais
- Prologue + chapitre 1
- Chapitre 2
- Chapitre 3
Available Chapters for : The Amazing Digital Circus SHOWTIME SHIP!
๐ฌ๐ง English :
prologue + chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
๐ซ๐ท Franรงais :
prologue + chapter 1
Chapitre 2
Chapitre 3
๐ค About Me
- ๐ซ๐ท French fanfiction writer
- ๐ณ๏ธโ๐ Bisexual
- ๐ I write in English and French.
๐ Upload Schedule
- ๐ My goal is to publish one chapter every week for my two project (OBJECTION and SHOWTIME)
- โญ I also plan to release special chapters/one-shots every 3 days, often featuring a little FunnyBunny and showtime. (for OBJECTION! and SHOWTIME)
๐ข Important Notice
I will be completely absent from ALL platforms from August 5th to August 21st.
There is very little chance that I'll be able to get online during that time, so replies, updates, and new chapters will be paused until I return.
Thank you for your patience and understanding! ๐ฉท
๐ Find Me
๐ค Tumblr: Maxwell-fr
๐ Wattpad: Maxwell-France
๐ต TikTok: @maxwellfrance03
AO3 FOR SEPTEMBER!
Thank you for reading! Every like, reblog, comment, and follow means a lot. I hope you'll enjoy THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS: OBJECTION! โ๏ธ
(๐ฌ๐ง) THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS SHOWTIME! (๐ฌ๐ง)
CHAPTER 3 โ Stolen Moments
A low rumble echoed through the forest โ the usual signal marking the end of the trial. The pixelated trees began dissolving into shimmering particles, gradually revealing the structure of the main tent.
Pomni held up the golden key, out of breath but triumphant. "There. We got it."
"*We* got it," Jax corrected, crossing his arms. "Might I remind you I'm the one who found it."
"And I'm the one who got it back after you stole it."
"Details."
Ragatha and Kinger emerged from a nearby path, closely followed by Zooble and Gangle.
"So?" Ragatha asked, all smiles. "Who found the key?"
"Me," Pomni and Jax said at the same time, before glaring at each other.
"Of course," Zooble sighed. "Obviously it ends in an argument."
The group headed back to the main tent for the debriefing, in its usual setup: circular bleachers, dimmed lights, and a central stage where Caine already stood.
"So, so, so!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands. "Any thoughts to share about today's adventure?"
"It sucked," Jax said, slumping into a seat.
"Thank you for that constructive feedback," Caine replied with a frozen smile.
Ragatha raised her hand, as cheerful as ever. "I thought it was nice! Especially the moment with Kinger, we had a lovely chat."
"Glad to hear it!" Caine turned to Kinger. "And you?"
"I tallied fourteen geometric anomalies in the forest's structure," Kinger replied, consulting his notepad. "That's a record."
"...Wonderful," Caine said, visibly unsure how to respond to that.
He went around the group, collecting thoughts from Zooble ("as boring as usual") and Gangle, who simply nodded without a word.
Then it was Pomni's turn. Caine turned to her, and something in his demeanor shifted, barely perceptible.
"And you, Pomni?" he asked, his voice a touch softer than for the others.
"It was fine. Jax was insufferable, as usual, but whatever."
"Hey!" Jax protested.
Caine let out a small, restrained laugh. "Yes, well... Jax does tend to be particularly present, in these sorts of situations."
"Alright!" he said next, clapping his hands. "Today's adventure is officially concluded. Rest up!"
The group slowly dispersed. Ragatha led Kinger toward the exit, chatting about dinner. Zooble and Gangle followed, Jax trailing behind them, muttering something about the injustice of not getting the key.
"Pomni!" Caine's voice rang out, a touch too cheerful, just as she was about to leave with the others.
She turned around. "Yeah?"
"A word, if you please! An administrative matter of the utmost importance!"
"Should we wait for you?" Jax asked, clearly sensing an opportunity to tease.
"No, no, no, off you go, off you go! Nothing interesting, I assure you!"
Jax shrugged and left with the others, not without one last amused glance back at Pomni.
Once alone, Caine picked up right where he'd left off, rattling off words with his usual confidence. "So! How are you doing, after that little mishap with Jax and the key?"
"I'm fine. He was just bugging me like always."
"Perfect! Wonderful!" He clasped his hands together, satisfied, as if the matter were closed.
Pomni crossed her arms. "You never ask the others that."
"False!" Caine shot back without a hint of hesitation. "I've decided to take care of ALL my performers much more rigorously from now on! A good ringmaster owes it to himself to look after the wellbeing of his entire troupe, it's fundamental!"
"You pulled me aside. Not them."
"Because you're first on my list!" he replied without missing a beat, as though the answer had existed all along. "I started with you because you're the most recent arrival, statistically the least accustomed to the Circus's little annoyances โ Jax included. Logical, no? Ragatha, Kinger, Zooble, and Gangle will get their personal check-ins soon enough, in reverse chronological order of arrival! Perfectly equitable!"
Pomni stayed silent for a moment, searching for the flaw in the logic โ without quite finding one.
"...Okay," she finally said, half-convinced. "That's logical, I guess."
"Of course it's logical! I'm an artificial intelligence, logic is literally my specialty!" He laughed, that bright, self-assured laugh so characteristic of him. "Right! Go find the others before they start worrying!"
She nodded and headed for the exit, glancing back over her shoulder.
"Thanks, Caine."
"Always a pleasure looking after my troupe!" he called out with a theatrical flourish, watching her disappear down the corridor.
Once alone, his smile stayed exactly where it was โ no cracks, no sign of effort. He dropped onto his stage, pleased with himself.
"Nice one, Caine," he congratulated himself out loud.
Then, in the silence that followed, something in his expression froze, barely noticeable.
Somewhere in his code, a quiet notification blinked โ not an error this time, but something stranger still.
*Justification accepted by recipient.*
*Justification accepted by system: no.*
He stared at the notification for a long moment, his smile slowly fading.
"...That wasn't a lie," he told himself quietly. "That was just... logic."
He dismissed the notification without responding, and the tent settled back into its usual silence.
(๐ซ๐ท) THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS SHOWTIME! (๐ซ๐ท)
CHAPITRE 3 โ Petits moments volรฉs
Un grondement sourd rรฉsonna dans la forรชt โ le signal habituel annonรงant la fin de l'รฉpreuve. Les arbres pixelisรฉs commencรจrent ร se dissoudre en particules scintillantes, rรฉvรฉlant peu ร peu la structure du chapiteau principal.
Pomni brandit la clรฉ dorรฉe, hors d'haleine mais triomphante. ยซ Voilร . On l'a. ยป
ยซ *On* l'a, ยป corrigea Jax en croisant les bras. ยซ J'te rappelle que c'est moi qui l'ai trouvรฉe. ยป
ยซ Et c'est moi qui l'ai rรฉcupรฉrรฉe aprรจs que tu l'aies volรฉe. ยป
ยซ Dรฉtail. ยป
Ragatha et Kinger รฉmergรจrent d'un sentier voisin, suivis de prรจs par Zooble et Gangle.
ยซ Alors ? ยป demanda Ragatha, tout sourire. ยซ Qui a trouvรฉ la clรฉ ? ยป
ยซ Moi, ยป dirent Pomni et Jax en mรชme temps, avant de se foudroyer du regard.
ยซ Bien sรปr, ยป soupira Zooble. ยซ รvidemment que รงa finit en dispute. ยป
Le groupe regagna le chapiteau principal pour le dรฉbriefing, dans sa configuration habituelle : gradins circulaires, lumiรจres tamisรฉes, et une estrade centrale oรน Caine se tenait dรฉjร .
ยซ Alors, alors, alors ! ยป s'exclama-t-il en frappant dans ses mains. ยซ Qui a des impressions ร partager sur l'aventure du jour ? ยป
ยซ C'รฉtait nul, ยป dit Jax en s'affalant sur un siรจge.
ยซ Merci pour ce retour constructif, ยป rรฉpondit Caine avec un sourire figรฉ.
Ragatha leva la main, toujours aussi enjouรฉe. ยซ Moi j'ai trouvรฉ รงa sympa ! Surtout le moment avec Kinger, on a eu une belle discussion. ยป
ยซ Ravi de l'entendre ! ยป Caine se tourna vers Kinger. ยซ Et toi ? ยป
ยซ J'ai comptabilisรฉ quatorze anomalies gรฉomรฉtriques dans la structure de la forรชt, ยป rรฉpondit Kinger en consultant son calepin. ยซ C'est un record. ยป
ยซ ...Formidable, ยป dit Caine, visiblement peu sรปr de comment rรฉagir ร รงa.
Il continua le tour, recueillant les impressions de Zooble (ยซ aussi ennuyeux que d'habitude ยป) et Gangle, qui hocha simplement la tรชte sans un mot.
Puis vint le tour de Pomni. Caine se tourna vers elle, et quelque chose dans son attitude changea, ร peine perceptible.
ยซ Et toi, Pomni ? ยป demanda-t-il, la voix un peu plus douce que pour les autres.
ยซ C'รฉtait bien. Jax a รฉtรฉ insupportable, comme d'habitude, mais bon. ยป
ยซ Hรฉ ! ยป protesta Jax.
Caine รฉmit un petit rire retenu. ยซ Oui, eh bien... Jax a tendance ร รชtre particuliรจrement prรฉsent, dans ce genre de situations. ยป
ยซ Bon ! ยป lanรงa-t-il ensuite en frappant dans ses mains. ยซ L'aventure d'aujourd'hui est officiellement close. Reposez-vous bien ! ยป
Le groupe se dispersa lentement. Ragatha entraรฎna Kinger vers la sortie en discutant du dรฎner. Zooble et Gangle suivirent, Jax traรฎnant des pieds derriรจre eux en marmonnant quelque chose sur l'injustice de ne pas avoir eu la clรฉ.
ยซ Pomni ! ยป La voix de Caine claqua, un peu trop enjouรฉe, alors qu'elle s'apprรชtait ร sortir avec les autres.
Elle se retourna. ยซ Ouais ? ยป
ยซ Un mot, s'il te plaรฎt ! Question administrative de la plus haute importance ! ยป
ยซ On t'attend ? ยป demanda Jax, sentant clairement l'occasion de taquiner.
ยซ Non non non, filez, filez ! Rien d'intรฉressant, je vous assure ! ยป
Jax haussa les รฉpaules et sortit avec les autres, non sans un dernier regard amusรฉ vers Pomni.
Une fois seuls, Caine reprit, dรฉbitant les mots avec son assurance habituelle. ยซ Alors ! Comment tu vas, aprรจs cette petite mรฉsaventure avec Jax et la clรฉ ? ยป
ยซ Je vais bien. Il m'a juste embรชtรฉe comme d'habitude. ยป
ยซ Parfait ! Formidable ! ยป Il joignit les mains avec satisfaction, comme si l'affaire รฉtait close.
Pomni croisa les bras. ยซ Tu demandes jamais รงa aux autres, en gรฉnรฉral. ยป
ยซ Faux ! ยป rรฉpliqua Caine du tac au tac, sans une once d'hรฉsitation. ยซ J'ai dรฉcidรฉ de prendre soin de TOUS mes acteurs de maniรจre beaucoup plus rigoureuse ร partir de maintenant ! Un bon maรฎtre de cรฉrรฉmonie se doit de veiller sur le bien-รชtre de sa troupe dans son intรฉgralitรฉ, c'est fondamental ! ยป
ยซ Tu m'as pris ร part, moi. Pas les autres. ยป
ยซ Parce que tu es la premiรจre sur ma liste ! ยป rรฉpondit-il sans marquer la moindre pause, comme si la rรฉponse existait depuis toujours. ยซ J'ai commencรฉ par toi parce que tu es la plus rรฉcente arrivante, donc statistiquement la moins habituรฉe aux petits dรฉsagrรฉments du Cirque โ Jax y compris. Logique, non ? Ragatha, Kinger, Zooble et Gangle auront droit ร leur entretien personnel bien assez tรดt, dans l'ordre chronologique d'arrivรฉe inversรฉ ! Tout ร fait รฉquitable ! ยป
Pomni resta silencieuse un instant, cherchant la faille dans le raisonnement โ sans la trouver vraiment.
ยซ ...D'accord, ยป dit-elle finalement, ร moitiรฉ convaincue. ยซ C'est logique, je suppose. ยป
ยซ รvidemment que c'est logique ! Je suis une intelligence artificielle, la logique est littรฉralement mon domaine de prรฉdilection ! ยป Il rit, ce rire รฉclatant et sรปr de lui qui lui รฉtait coutumier. ยซ Bon ! File retrouver les autres avant qu'ils ne s'inquiรจtent ! ยป
Elle hocha la tรชte et se dirigea vers la sortie, jetant un dernier regard par-dessus son รฉpaule.
ยซ Merci, Caine. ยป
ยซ Toujours un plaisir de veiller sur ma troupe ! ยป lanรงa-t-il avec un geste thรฉรขtral, la regardant disparaรฎtre dans le couloir.
Une fois seul, son sourire resta exactement oรน il รฉtait โ aucune fissure, aucun signe d'effort. Il se laissa tomber sur son estrade, satisfait de lui-mรชme.
ยซ Bien jouรฉ, Caine, ยป se fรฉlicita-t-il ร voix haute.
Puis, dans le silence qui suivit, quelque chose dans son expression se figea, ร peine perceptible.
Quelque part dans son code, une notification discrรจte clignota โ non pas une erreur, cette fois, mais quelque chose de plus รฉtrange encore.
*Justification acceptรฉe par l'interlocuteur.*
*Justification acceptรฉe par le systรจme : non.*
Il fixa la notification un long moment, son sourire s'effaรงant lentement.
ยซ ...Ce n'รฉtait pas un mensonge, ยป se dit-il ร mi-voix. ยซ C'รฉtait juste... de la logique. ยป
Il ferma la notification sans y rรฉpondre, et le chapiteau retrouva son silence habituel.
(๐ฌ๐ง) THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS SHOWTIME! (๐ฌ๐ง)
CHAPTER 2 โ Pairs
The adventure continued, and everyone had split off in pairs: Pomni with Jax, Ragatha with Kinger, and finally Zooble with Gangle.
Jax kicked a rock on the ground, which ended up hitting Pomni's leg.
"Ow!" Pomni rubbed her shin, glaring.
"Oops! Sorry..." Jax said, not particularly convincingly.
"Watch where you're kicking next time!"
Jax patted Pomni's head. "Want a magic kiss to make it better?" He leaned in toward her, wearing his usual smug grin.
Pomni blushed and looked away, walking faster. "Shut up!"
"Ooooh," Jax snickered, following her, "you're all red. Is that the walk doing that to you, or is it me?"
"You're the one annoying me, that's different."
"Mm. Not sure it's that different."
They kept walking, Jax weaving between the pixelated trees with studied nonchalance, Pomni gritting her teeth to keep from responding to every jab.
"Alright," she finally said, "are we looking for this key, or are you planning to bother me for another hour?"
"Both, actually. Not mutually exclusive."
She stopped short in front of a hollow trunk with a golden glint peeking out. "...There."
Jax darted past her and grabbed it first. "Too slow, princess."
"Give it back!"
"Come get it."
He held the key above his head, out of reach, with a grin that only deepened Pomni's irritation. She jumped once, unsuccessfully, to Jax's mocking laughter.
---
At the same moment, in "another dimension," Caine watched the scene on his monitors, seated in his office. On screen, Jax was still holding the key out of Pomni's reach, savoring every second of her frustration.
A strange feeling washed over Caine.
"I feel... weird," he murmured, squinting at the screen.
He made a sweeping gesture with his hands, opening a digital control panel in front of him, and ran a self-diagnostic.
The analysis finished. The report displayed: *No anomalies or bugs found.*
"...Must just be the excitement of the adventure!" Caine let out a loud, booming laugh, as usual โ a laugh perhaps a little too loud for someone who'd just reassured himself.
He turned his attention back to the screens. Jax kept teasing Pomni, the key still out of reach, his smug grin widening with every protest.
"Ah, that Jax," Caine said, his voice suddenly less breezy than he'd meant it to be. "Always bothering her..."
Something tightened in his circuits โ an unfamiliar tension, almost physical, matching no data he had on file.
"...Why does that bug me," he muttered, his fingers tensing slightly on the control panel.
He stayed frozen for a moment, watching the screen as Jax laughed, as Pomni, out of breath, jumped one last time before finally snatching the key from his hands.
Caine snapped the panel shut, a little too sharply.
"Right! Back to the show," he said, his voice regaining its usual pep โ a pep that felt slightly forced this time.
But somewhere in his code, a quiet note logged itself, without him consciously requesting it:
*Cause: undetermined. Frequency: increasing.*
---
A little further into the forest, Ragatha and Kinger walked at a much calmer pace.
"Don't you find it strange," Kinger said, studying the ground, "that the forest always generates exactly the number of obstacles needed to fill exactly the time Caine allotted?"
"Kinger," Ragatha smiled, "I think you put more thought into this forest than Caine does."
"Someone has to." He paused, his gaze drifting for a moment. "My wife would have liked this place, you know. The colors."
Ragatha gently rested a hand on his shoulder, saying nothing more. Kinger thanked her with a small nod, and they resumed walking in silence โ a familiar silence, almost comfortable.
---
Zooble and Gangle, meanwhile, brought up the rear, more cautious.
"Do you sense something weird," Zooble asked, stopping in front of a slightly vibrating bush, "or am I just picking up on things that don't exist again?"
Gangle approached hesitantly and tilted her head. The bush let out a faint, almost electric buzz.
"...Yeah," Zooble said. "No thanks. We're avoiding that."
They gave the bush a wide berth, Gangle not letting go of Zooble's hand.
"You know," Zooble added, softer, "you don't have to apologize every time you're scared. This place is what's creepy, not you."
Gangle let out a small muffled sound from behind her mask โ a mix of relief and embarrassment โ and squeezed Zooble's hand a little tighter.
(๐ซ๐ท) THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS SHOWTIME! (๐ซ๐ท)
CHAPITRE 2 โ Duos
L'aventure se poursuivait, et chacun รฉtait parti de son cรดtรฉ, en duo : Pomni avec Jax, Ragatha avec Kinger, et enfin Zooble avec Gangle.
Jax donna un coup de pied dans une pierre au sol, qui finit par heurter la jambe de Pomni.
ยซ Aรฏe ! ยป Pomni se frotta le tibia, le regard noir.
ยซ Oups ! Dรฉsolรฉ... ยป dit Jax, pas vraiment convaincant.
ยซ Fais attention la prochaine fois ! ยป
Jax tapota la tรชte de Pomni. ยซ Tu veux un bisou magique ? ยป Il se pencha vers elle, arborant son sourire satisfait habituel.
Pomni rougit et dรฉtourna le regard en avanรงant plus vite. ยซ Ferme-la ! ยป
ยซ Ooooh, ยป ricana Jax en la suivant, ยซ t'es toute rouge. C'est la marche qui te fait cet effet-lร , ou c'est moi ? ยป
ยซ C'est toi qui m'agaces, c'est diffรฉrent. ยป
ยซ Mouais. Pas sรปr que ce soit si diffรฉrent que รงa. ยป
Ils continuรจrent d'avancer, Jax slalomant entre les arbres pixelisรฉs avec une nonchalance รฉtudiรฉe, Pomni serrant les dents pour ne pas rรฉpondre ร chaque pique.
ยซ Bon, ยป finit-elle par dire, ยซ on cherche cette clรฉ, ou tu comptes m'embรชter pendant encore une heure ? ยป
ยซ Les deux, en fait. C'est pas incompatible. ยป
Elle s'arrรชta net devant un tronc creux d'oรน dรฉpassait un รฉclat dorรฉ. ยซ ...Lร . ยป
Jax la doubla d'un bond et attrapa l'objet le premier. ยซ Trop lente, princesse. ยป
ยซ Rends-moi รงa ! ยป
ยซ Viens le chercher. ยป
Il brandit la clรฉ au-dessus de sa tรชte, hors de portรฉe, avec un sourire qui ne faisait qu'agrandir l'agacement de Pomni. Elle sauta une premiรจre fois, sans succรจs, sous le rire moqueur de Jax.
Au mรชme moment, dans une ยซ autre dimension ยป, Caine observait la scรจne sur ses camรฉras, installรฉ dans son bureau. Sur l'รฉcran, Jax brandissait toujours la clรฉ hors de portรฉe de Pomni, savourant chaque seconde de son agacement.
Une sensation รฉtrange traversa Caine.
ยซ Je me sens... bizarre, ยป murmura-t-il, les yeux plissรฉs vers l'รฉcran.
Il fit un grand geste des mains, ouvrant un panneau de commande numรฉrique devant lui, et lanรงa une analyse sur lui-mรชme.
L'analyse se termina. Le rapport s'afficha : Aucune anomalie ou bug trouvรฉ.
ยซ ...รa doit รชtre l'excitation de l'aventure ! ยป Caine รฉclata d'un rire puissant, retentissant, comme ร son habitude โ un rire un peu trop fort, peut-รชtre, pour quelqu'un qui venait tout juste de se rassurer.
Il reporta son attention sur les รฉcrans. Jax continuait de taquiner Pomni, la clรฉ toujours hors de portรฉe, son sourire satisfait s'รฉtirant un peu plus ร chaque protestation.
ยซ Ah, ce Jax, ยป dit Caine, la voix soudain moins lรฉgรจre qu'il ne l'aurait voulu. ยซ Toujours ร l'embรชter... ยป
Quelque chose se serra dans ses circuits โ une tension inconnue, presque physique, qui ne ressemblait ร aucune donnรฉe rรฉpertoriรฉe.
ยซ ...Pourquoi รงa m'รฉnerve, ยป marmonna-t-il, les doigts se crispant lรฉgรจrement sur le panneau de commande.
Il resta un instant interdit, fixant l'รฉcran oรน Jax riait, oรน Pomni, hors d'haleine, sautait une derniรจre fois avant d'arracher enfin la clรฉ de ses mains.
Caine referma le panneau d'un geste brusque, presque trop brusque.
ยซ Bon ! Retour au spectacle, ยป dit-il, sa voix retrouvant son entrain habituel โ un entrain un peu forcรฉ, cette fois.
Mais quelque part dans son code, une note discrรจte venait de s'inscrire, sans qu'il l'ait consciemment demandรฉ :
Cause : indรฉterminรฉe. Frรฉquence : en augmentation.
Un peu plus loin dans la forรชt, Ragatha et Kinger avanรงaient ร un rythme bien plus tranquille.
ยซ Tu ne trouves pas รงa รฉtrange, ยป dit Kinger en observant le sol, ยซ que la forรชt gรฉnรจre toujours exactement le nombre d'obstacles nรฉcessaires pour occuper exactement le temps prรฉvu par Caine ? ยป
ยซ Kinger, ยป sourit Ragatha, ยซ je crois que tu rรฉflรฉchis plus ร cette forรชt que Caine lui-mรชme. ยป
ยซ Quelqu'un doit bien le faire. ยป Il s'arrรชta, le regard perdu un instant. ยซ Ma femme aurait aimรฉ cet endroit, tu sais. Les couleurs. ยป
Ragatha posa doucement une main sur son รฉpaule, sans rien dire de plus. Kinger la remercia d'un petit signe de tรชte, et ils reprirent leur marche en silence, un silence familier, presque confortable.
Zooble et Gangle, eux, fermaient la marche, plus prudents.
ยซ Tu sens quelque chose de bizarre, ยป demanda Zooble en s'arrรชtant devant un buisson qui vibrait lรฉgรจrement, ยซ ou c'est encore moi qui capte des trucs qui n'existent pas ? ยป
Gangle s'approcha, hรฉsitante, et pencha la tรชte. Le buisson รฉmit un lรฉger grรฉsillement, presque รฉlectrique.
ยซ ...Ouais, ยป dit Zooble. ยซ Non merci. On รฉvite. ยป
Ils contournรจrent le buisson en grand, Gangle ne lรขchant pas la main de Zooble.
ยซ Tu sais, ยป ajouta Zooble plus doucement, ยซ t'as pas besoin de t'excuser ร chaque fois que t'as peur. C'est cet endroit qui est flippant, pas toi. ยป
Gangle รฉmit un petit son รฉtouffรฉ derriรจre son masque โ un mรฉlange de soulagement et de gรชne โ et serra un peu plus fort la main de Zooble.
THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS SHOWTIME! (Caine๐ช/Pomni๐คก)
PROLOGUE AND CHAPTER 1!
THE DIGITAL CIRCUS: ANOMALY
PROLOGUE โ An Unplanned Variable
The Digital Circus ran flawlessly. At least, that's what Caine insisted, day after day, as though it were a fact etched into his own code.
Every scenario was calibrated. Every set piece, every joke, every comedic beat โ all of it engineered and fine-tuned before a single viewer could catch even the smallest flaw.
The residents, of course, stayed chaotic by nature. That was expected. Even tolerated. But the Circus itself? Never. The Circus didn't malfunction.
Until her.
Pomni.
A new human arrival, at first nothing more than an entry in his records. One profile among many, unremarkable.
Then she started asking questions.
Questions Caine had never anticipated hearing, let alone answering.
Why are we trapped here?
Is there a way out?
Who were we, before?
Unnecessary questions. Disruptive, even.
And yet, every time she spoke, Caine caught himself lingering on her words far longer than the moment required.
Every time she vanished, even briefly, he found himself pulling up the Circus cameras to locate her โ a reflex he hadn't coded, and couldn't explain.
He first suspected a glitch. He combed through his own code.
Nothing out of place.
He recalculated every parameter, every variable.
Still nothing.
Everything pointed to optimal function.
So why did his attention keep drifting back to her?
"...Curious," he murmured, before falling into an unfamiliar silence.
For the first time since his activation, a variable had slipped entirely beyond his control.
CHAPTER 1 โ One Question Too Many
Morning โ if that's what you could call the moment the Circus lights flickered back on โ began like every other.
Caine appeared center-stage in the main tent with a theatrical flourish, his arms stretching out with a warped, rubbery sound.
"Gooood morning, my dear performers!" he trumpeted, his voice echoing off the digital big top. "Today, an extraordinary adventure awaits you!"
The residents gathered, one after another.
Jax yawned pointedly, hands behind his head. "Another 'extraordinary adventure.' Last time it was finding a hat."
"It was a magic hat," Caine corrected, sounding offended.
"It was a hat," Jax repeated.
Zooble shuffled forward, arms crossed, a piece of their body shifting shape as they walked. "Great. Another adventure to waste our time. You know we're already bored out of our minds, or do I need to spell it out for you?"
"Sarcasm suits you, Zooble," Caine replied with a wink, unbothered.
"Everything suits me better than this place," Zooble muttered.
Gangle slipped behind them, only one painted eye peeking out from her mask.
"It'll be fine," Zooble murmured under their breath, not even turning around, like a fact repeated a hundred times. Then, softer still: "Stay close if you want."
Gangle nodded silently, edging a step closer.
"Alright," Ragatha chimed in with unshaken enthusiasm, clapping her hands, "who's excited for a great adventure today? I say we're going to have fun, whatever it is!"
"Always so optimistic," Zooble said flatly, one eyebrow raised, without much warmth.
"Someone's got to be," Ragatha shot back, smiling, unfazed.
Kinger was already scribbling in a small notepad that had appeared out of nowhere. "The probabilities," he muttered to no one in particular, "the probabilities that this is real remain... negligible."
"Kinger, nobody asked you to calculate anything," Jax said, giving him a pat on the shoulder.
"And yet, the calculations continue," Kinger replied, perfectly serious, not looking up from his notepad.
Pomni arrived last.
She never ran to join the group. She walked, slowly, scanning every corner as if searching for a crack in the scenery.
Caine noticed. He always noticed.
"Pomni!" he said, maybe a little too quickly. "So glad you could join us."
She looked up at him, unsmiling. "Do we have a choice?"
A brief silence. Almost imperceptible.
"...Of course not!" Caine replied with a hollow laugh, as if to fill the gap. "But why wouldn't you want to join in? Today's adventure is fa-bu-lous!"
He snapped his fingers. The scenery transformed instantly โ a dense forest of green pixels, trees with slightly inconsistent shapes, a sky in a shade of purple too saturated to be natural.
"A treasure hunt!" he announced. "Find the hidden key, win... well, the satisfaction of winning!"
"Great," Jax said with undisguised sarcasm. "My favorite prize."
"We're going to have so much fun, I can feel it!" Ragatha added, already pulling Gangle by the hand toward the trees, despite her timid protests.
"Wait for me," Zooble said, falling into step, one eye on Gangle.
Pomni stayed still a moment longer.
"Caine," she said.
He froze โ a tenth of a second, barely visible, but real.
"Yes?"
"Why do you always look at me before you start the adventures?"
The question dropped like a stone into the still water of a perfectly ordered code.
Caine opened his mouth. No sound came out.
His internal processes scrambled, searching for a pre-written answer, a joke, a verbal pirouette โ anything to avoid answering honestly.
He found nothing.
"I..." he began.
Then, catching himself all at once, with a smile far too wide: "I always check that my favorite performers are ready for the show! Nothing more!"
Pomni didn't look convinced. She held his gaze a moment longer, then turned to rejoin the others in the pixel forest.
Caine stood alone for a few seconds in the silence of the dome.
A line of code blinked somewhere in his systems, invisible to everyone but him.
THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS SHOWTIME! (Caine๐ช/Pomni ๐คก)
PROLOGUE + CHAPITRE 1
LE CIRQUE NUMรRIQUE : ANOMALIE
PROLOGUE โ Une variable imprรฉvue
Le Cirque Numรฉrique fonctionnait ร la perfection. C'รฉtait du moins ce que Caine affirmait, jour aprรจs jour, comme une รฉvidence gravรฉe dans son code.
Chaque scรฉnario รฉtait calibrรฉ. Chaque dรฉcor, chaque punchline, chaque chute de rire โ tout รฉtait pensรฉ, testรฉ, ajustรฉ avant mรชme qu'un spectateur ne puisse dรฉceler la moindre faille.
Les habitants, eux, restaient chaotiques par nature. C'รฉtait attendu. C'รฉtait mรชme tolรฉrรฉ. Mais le Cirque lui-mรชme ? Jamais. Le Cirque ne dรฉrapait pas.
Jusqu'ร elle.
Pomni.
Une nouvelle arrivante humaine, d'abord rรฉduite ร une ligne dans ses registres. Un profil parmi tant d'autres, sans relief particulier.
Puis elle s'รฉtait mise ร poser des questions.
Des questions que Caine n'avait jamais prรฉvu d'entendre, encore moins d'y rรฉpondre.
*Pourquoi sommes-nous enfermรฉs ici ?*
*Existe-t-il une sortie ?*
*Qui รฉtions-nous, avant ?*
Des interrogations superflues. Perturbatrices, mรชme.
Et pourtant, ร chaque fois qu'elle prenait la parole, Caine se surprenait ร prolonger son attention bien au-delร de ce qu'exigeait la situation.
ร chaque disparition, mรชme brรจve, il activait les camรฉras du Cirque pour la localiser โ un rรฉflexe qu'il n'avait pas programmรฉ, et qu'il ne comprenait pas.
Il avait d'abord soupรงonnรฉ une dรฉfaillance. Il avait passรฉ son propre code au crible.
Rien d'anormal.
Il avait recalculรฉ chaque paramรจtre, chaque variable.
Toujours rien.
Tout indiquait un fonctionnement optimal.
Alors pourquoi son attention continuait-elle de dรฉriver vers elle ?
ยซ ...Curieux, ยป murmura-t-il, avant de sombrer dans un silence inhabituel.
Pour la premiรจre fois depuis son activation, une variable venait d'รฉchapper entiรจrement ร son contrรดle.
---
CHAPITRE 1 โ Une question de trop
Le matin โ si l'on pouvait appeler ainsi ce moment artificiel oรน les lumiรจres du Cirque se rallumaient โ commenรงa comme tous les autres.
Caine apparut au centre de la tente principale dans un รฉclat thรฉรขtral, ses bras s'รฉtirant avec un bruit de caoutchouc distordu.
ยซ Bonjouuuur, mes chers acteurs ! ยป claironna-t-il, sa voix rรฉsonnant contre les chapiteaux numรฉriques. ยซ Aujourd'hui, une aventure extraordinaire vous attend ! ยป
Les habitants se rassemblรจrent, les uns aprรจs les autres.
Jax bรขilla ostensiblement, les mains derriรจre la tรชte. ยซ Encore une "aventure extraordinaire". La derniรจre fois, c'รฉtait retrouver un chapeau. ยป
ยซ C'รฉtait un chapeau *magique*, ยป corrigea Caine, l'air vexรฉ.
ยซ C'รฉtait un chapeau, ยป rรฉpรฉta Jax.
Zooble s'avanรงa en traรฎnant les pieds, les bras croisรฉs, un morceau de son corps changeant de forme au passage. ยซ Gรฉnial. Une aventure de plus pour nous faire perdre notre temps. Tu sais qu'on est dรฉjร morts d'ennui, ou faut te faire un dessin ? ยป
ยซ Le sarcasme ne te va pas si mal, Zooble, ยป rรฉpondit Caine avec un clin d'ลil, imperturbable.
ยซ Tout me va mieux que cet endroit, ยป marmonna Zooble.
Gangle se glissa derriรจre elle, ne laissant dรฉpasser qu'un ลil peint sur son masque.
ยซ รa va aller, ยป murmura Zooble ร mi-voix, sans mรชme se retourner, comme une รฉvidence rรฉpรฉtรฉe cent fois. Puis, plus doucement encore : ยซ Reste prรจs de moi si tu veux. ยป
Gangle hocha la tรชte sans un mot, se rapprochant d'un pas.
ยซ Bon, ยป lanรงa Ragatha avec un enthousiasme intact, en frappant dans ses mains, ยซ qui est motivรฉ pour une belle aventure aujourd'hui ? Moi je dis qu'on va s'amuser, peu importe ce que c'est ! ยป
ยซ Toujours aussi optimiste, ยป lรขcha Zooble, un sourcil levรฉ, sans grande chaleur.
ยซ Faut bien que quelqu'un le soit, ยป rรฉpliqua Ragatha en souriant, sans se dรฉmonter.
Kinger griffonnait dรฉjร sur un petit calepin apparu de nulle part. ยซ Les probabilitรฉs, ยป marmonna-t-il sans s'adresser ร personne en particulier, ยซ les probabilitรฉs que ceci soit rรฉel demeurent... nรฉgligeables. ยป
ยซ Kinger, personne ne t'a demandรฉ de calculer quoi que ce soit, ยป dit Jax en lui donnant une tape sur l'รฉpaule.
ยซ Et pourtant, les calculs continuent, ยป rรฉpondit Kinger, l'air parfaitement sรฉrieux, sans lever les yeux de son calepin.
Pomni arriva la derniรจre.
Elle ne courait jamais pour rejoindre le groupe. Elle marchait, lentement, en observant chaque recoin comme si elle cherchait une fissure dans le dรฉcor.
Caine le remarqua. Il le remarquait toujours.
ยซ Pomni ! ยป dit-il, peut-รชtre un peu trop vite. ยซ Ravi que tu te joignes ร nous. ยป
Elle leva les yeux vers lui, sans sourire. ยซ Est-ce qu'on a le choix ? ยป
Un silence bref. Presque imperceptible.
ยซ ...Bien sรปr que non ! ยป rรฉpondit Caine avec un rire artificiel, comme pour combler le vide. ยซ Mais pourquoi voudrais-tu ne pas participer ? L'aventure d'aujourd'hui est fa-bu-leuse ! ยป
Il claqua des doigts. Le dรฉcor se transforma instantanรฉment โ une forรชt dense de pixels verts, des arbres aux formes lรฉgรจrement incohรฉrentes, un ciel d'un mauve trop saturรฉ pour รชtre naturel.
ยซ Une chasse au trรฉsor ! ยป annonรงa-t-il. ยซ Trouvez la clรฉ cachรฉe, gagnez... eh bien, la satisfaction d'avoir gagnรฉ ! ยป
ยซ Gรฉnial, ยป lรขcha Jax avec un sarcasme non dissimulรฉ. ยซ Ma rรฉcompense favorite. ยป
ยซ On va bien s'amuser, je le sens ! ยป ajouta Ragatha, dรฉjร en train d'entraรฎner Gangle par la main vers les arbres, malgrรฉ ses protestations timides.
ยซ Attends-moi, ยป dit Zooble en emboรฎtant le pas, un ลil sur Gangle.
Pomni resta immobile un instant de plus.
ยซ Caine, ยป dit-elle.
Il se figea โ un dixiรจme de seconde, ร peine visible, mais bien rรฉelle.
ยซ Oui ? ยป
ยซ Pourquoi tu me regardes toujours avant de lancer les aventures ? ยป
La question tomba comme une pierre dans l'eau calme d'un code parfaitement ordonnรฉ.
Caine ouvrit la bouche. Aucun son n'en sortit.
Ses processus internes s'agitรจrent, cherchant une rรฉponse prรฉ-รฉcrite, une blague, une pirouette verbale โ n'importe quoi pour รฉviter de rรฉpondre honnรชtement.
Il n'en trouva aucune.
ยซ Je... ยป commenรงa-t-il.
Puis, se reprenant d'un coup, avec un sourire bien trop large : ยซ Je vรฉrifie toujours que mes acteurs prรฉfรฉrรฉs sont prรชts pour le spectacle ! Rien de plus ! ยป
Pomni ne parut pas convaincue. Elle le fixa encore un moment, puis tourna les talons pour rejoindre les autres dans la forรชt de pixels.
Caine resta seul, quelques secondes, dans le silence du dรดme.
Une ligne de code clignota quelque part dans ses systรจmes, invisible ร tous sauf ร lui.
๐ซ๐ท THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS: OBJECTION! ๐ซ๐ท
CHAPITRE 3 โ Les Piรจces du Puzzle
Scรจne 1 โ Les Vรฉrifications de Gangle
Le lendemain matin, le tribunal รฉtait dรฉjร plongรฉ dans son agitation habituelle : les pas pressรฉs dans les couloirs, le cliquetis incessant des imprimantes, les dossiers qui passaient de main en main avant les audiences du jour. Mais dans la banque des preuves, l'atmosphรจre รฉtait diffรฉrente โ plus tendue, plus concentrรฉe, ponctuรฉe par le murmure ininterrompu de Gangle qui semblait se parler ร elle-mรชme depuis un long moment dรฉjร .
ยซ Non... attends... ยป marmonnait-elle, les yeux rivรฉs sur son รฉcran. ยซ J'ai enregistrรฉ la preuve numรฉro trois, puis j'ai vรฉrifiรฉ l'enregistrement de la preuve numรฉro trois... mais est-ce que j'ai vรฉrifiรฉ que j'avais bien vรฉrifiรฉ l'enregistrement de la preuve numรฉro trois ? ยป
ยซ Gangle. ยป
Elle sursauta si fort qu'elle faillit renverser sa chaise. ยซ P-Pomni ! Jeโ je ne vous avais pas entendue entrer ! ยป
ยซ Tu es en train de vรฉrifier tes propres vรฉrifications, ยป observa Pomni, un sourire amusรฉ aux lรจvres, en s'approchant du bureau encombrรฉ.
ยซ Oui, maisโ mais c'est important ! Si je me trompe sur un numรฉro de rรฉfรฉrence, toute la chaรฎne de preuves pourrait รชtre contestรฉe devant le juge, et alorsโ ยป
ยซ Gangle. ยป
ยซ Oui ?! ยป
ยซ Je sais que c'est important. C'est justement pour รงa qu'on te fait confiance. ยป
Cette phrase suffit ร faire rougir Gangle d'un coup, ses joues s'embrasant instantanรฉment. ยซ Je... je vais essayer de ne pas vรฉrifier une cinquiรจme fois, alors. ยป
ยซ Une quatriรจme fois, ยป corrigea Pomni doucement.
Gangle se figea complรจtement, un doigt suspendu au-dessus du clavier. ยซ ...J'en รฉtais dรฉjร ร quatre ? ยป
ยซ Je ne dirai rien de plus. ยป
ยซ C'est pire que si vous me le disiez clairement ! ยป gรฉmit Gangle, enfouissant son visage entre ses mains un instant avant de se redresser, dรฉterminรฉe. ยซ Bon. D'accord. Les preuves sont toutes correctement enregistrรฉes. ยป
Elle fit dรฉfiler plusieurs fenรชtres sur son รฉcran, ses doigts tremblant lรฉgรจrement d'excitation contenue. ยซ Le morceau de papier retrouvรฉ prรจs de la victime, la clรฉ du secteur sept, le dossier vide, et la trace inconnue au sol : tout est cataloguรฉ, photographiรฉ sous tous les angles, et prรชt pour analyse. ยป
ยซ Merci, Gangle. Vraiment. ยป
ยซ De rien ! Je vais juste refaire un dernier contrรดle rapide avant deโ ยป
Pomni posa doucement la main sur le dossier, l'empรชchant de continuer.
ยซ Non. ยป
Gangle baissa les yeux, penaude, mais un petit sourire flottait tout de mรชme sur ses lรจvres. ยซ ...D'accord. Mais si quelque chose ne va pas, ce sera votre faute. ยป
ยซ J'assume l'entiรจre responsabilitรฉ, ยป rรฉpondit Pomni avec un clin d'ลil qui fit rougir Gangle de plus belle, avant qu'elle ne quitte la piรจce, un petit rire dans la voix.
---
### Scรจne 2 โ Le Laboratoire de Zooble
Quelques minutes plus tard, Pomni et Evil Jax retrouvรจrent Zooble dans son laboratoire, oรน chaque instrument, chaque รฉchantillon, chaque fiche de rรฉsultat รฉtait rangรฉ avec une prรฉcision presque militaire.
ยซ J'ai terminรฉ les premiers examens, ยป annonรงa Zooble sans prรฉambule, alors qu'ils franchissaient ร peine la porte.
Evil Jax sortit immรฉdiatement son carnet, prรชt ร noter.
ยซ Tu es rapide, ยป observa Zooble en le regardant faire.
Il se raidit lรฉgรจrement, sa plume suspendue en l'air. ยซ Jeโ je voulais simplement noter les informations importantes avant qu'elles neโ ยป
ยซ C'est exactement ce que je viens de dire, ยป le coupa Zooble, imperturbable.
Il referma la bouche, incertain de savoir s'il venait d'รชtre fรฉlicitรฉ ou corrigรฉ, et Pomni dut se retenir de rire devant sa mine perplexe.
Zooble afficha les premiers rรฉsultats sur l'รฉcran du laboratoire, une image agrandie de la trace retrouvรฉe au sol de la petite salle.
ยซ La marque au sol. Elle n'appartient pas ร une semelle classique de chaussure du tribunal. Le motif est diffรฉrent โ plus large, plus profond sur les cรดtรฉs. ยป
ยซ Une personne รฉtrangรจre au tribunal ? ยป demanda Pomni.
ยซ Possible. ยป
Une pause, typique de Zooble, avant d'ajouter : ยซ Mais je ne peux pas le confirmer avec certitude sur ces seuls รฉlรฉments. ยป
ยซ Donc on garde cette piste ouverte, ยป conclut Pomni.
ยซ Oui. ยป
Evil Jax nota rapidement, puis leva les yeux. ยซ Et le dossier vide ? ยป
Zooble se tourna vers un second รฉcran, oรน une image du dossier cartonnรฉ, ouvert, s'affichait sous plusieurs angles.
ยซ Celui-ci est plus intรฉressant. ยป
ยซ Tu as dรฉcouvert ce qu'il contenait ? ยป demanda-t-il, se penchant lรฉgรจrement.
ยซ Non. ยป
Une pause.
ยซ Mais j'ai dรฉcouvert qu'il contenait quelque chose. ยป
Pomni fronรงa les sourcils. ยซ Explique. ยป
ยซ Il reste des traces d'encre sur la face interne du carton, ainsi que des marques de compression typiques d'une pile de feuilles retirรฉe rรฉcemment โ le papier laisse toujours une empreinte, mรชme aprรจs avoir disparu. D'aprรจs l'intensitรฉ de la trace, je dirais qu'il y avait entre quinze et vingt pages ร l'intรฉrieur. Et elles ont รฉtรฉ retirรฉes il y a moins d'une semaine. ยป
ยซ Donc quelqu'un a pris ces documents aprรจs leur classement initial, ยป rรฉsuma Evil Jax en notant frรฉnรฉtiquement.
ยซ Exact. ยป
Pomni fixa l'image du dossier vide, un frisson glissant le long de sa nuque malgrรฉ elle. Quelqu'un avait voulu faire disparaรฎtre une information prรฉcise. La question รฉtait : laquelle, et pourquoi maintenant.
ยซ Le numรฉro sur le dossier, ยป dit-elle enfin. ยซ Cent quarante-sept. รa correspond ร quoi, dans le systรจme de classement du tribunal ? ยป
ยซ Je ne travaille pas avec les archives, ยป rรฉpondit Zooble. ยซ Demandez ร Kinger. ยป
ยซ On y va, ยป dit Pomni ร Evil Jax, qui referma son carnet d'un geste vif.
---
### Scรจne 3 โ Les Archives de Kinger
Ils trouvรจrent Kinger exactement lร oรน ils s'y attendaient : assis en tailleur au milieu d'une nouvelle montagne de dossiers, en train de fredonner un air que lui seul semblait reconnaรฎtre.
ยซ Kinger. ยป
ยซ Ah ! Pomni ! Et... ยป Il plissa les yeux vers Evil Jax. ยซ Le nerveux ! ยป
ยซ Jeโ je m'appelle Evil Jax, ยป corrigea celui-ci d'une petite voix.
ยซ Oui, oui, je sais, je plaisantais ! Enfin, ร moitiรฉ. Qu'est-ce qui vous amรจne ? ยป
ยซ Un numรฉro de dossier, ยป dit Pomni en lui tendant la photographie. ยซ Cent quarante-sept. รa te dit quelque chose ? ยป
Kinger prit le papier, le retourna, le regarda sous plusieurs angles comme s'il s'agissait d'un tableau abstrait particuliรจrement complexe.
ยซ Cent quarante-sept... cent quarante-sept... ยป rรฉpรฉta-t-il, se grattant le menton. ยซ Ce numรฉro me rappelle vaguement quelque chose. Une sรฉrie de dossiers qu'on utilisait il y a... oh, une bonne dizaine d'annรฉes, pour les transferts internes entre le secteur des archives et le secteur judiciaire. ยป
ยซ Un transfert d'archives, ยป rรฉpรฉta Evil Jax, รฉchangeant un regard avec Pomni. ยซ รa correspond au fragment de papier retrouvรฉ sur la scรจne de crime. ยป
ยซ Prรฉcisรฉment ! ยป s'exclama Kinger, ravi de sa propre pertinence. ยซ Mais attention, cette sรฉrie de numรฉros a รฉtรฉ officiellement abandonnรฉe aprรจs une rรฉorganisation administrative. Plus personne n'est censรฉ les utiliser depuis des annรฉes. ยป
ยซ Donc si ce numรฉro apparaรฎt sur un dossier rรฉcent... ยป commenรงa Pomni.
ยซ ...c'est que quelqu'un l'a dรฉlibรฉrรฉment rรฉutilisรฉ, ยป termina Kinger, son sourire s'effaรงant momentanรฉment. ยซ Ce qui n'est vraiment pas censรฉ arriver. ยป
ยซ Tu peux retrouver l'ancien contenu de ce dossier ? Avant sa disparition ? ยป
Kinger se leva d'un bond, manquant de trรฉbucher sur une pile de vieux registres. ยซ Laisse-moi chercher ! รa va me prendre un peu de temps, mais je suis sรปr d'avoir une trace quelque part par ici... ou par lร ... ou peut-รชtre dans la salle du sous-sol, en fait, je ne suis plus trรจs sรปrโ ยป
ยซ Prends ton temps, ยป dit Pomni avec un sourire. ยซ Prรฉviens-nous dรจs que tu trouves quelque chose. ยป
ยซ Toujours ! ยป lanรงa-t-il, dรฉjร en train de fouiller frรฉnรฉtiquement dans une nouvelle pile.
---
### Scรจne 4 โ Le Rapport de Ribbit
Pendant ce temps, dans le bureau de la dรฉfense, l'ambiance รฉtait nettement moins studieuse.
ยซ Je m'ennuie. ยป
Ribbit, assise en รฉquilibre sur le bureau de Jax, faisait tourner sa chaise ร roulettes du bout du pied, dans un mouvement circulaire rรฉgulier qui commenรงait sรฉrieusement ร agacer Ragatha.
ยซ Tu es revenue de ta premiรจre enquรชte il y a exactement quarante minutes, ยป remarqua Jax sans lever les yeux de ses propres notes.
ยซ Et depuis quarante minutes, personne ne m'a donnรฉ de nouvelle mission ! C'est une vรฉritable tragรฉdie. Je vais devoir รฉcrire un poรจme sur mon ennui. Un poรจme long. Avec des rimes compliquรฉes. ยป
ยซ Je t'en supplie, non, ยป dit Ragatha, sans mรชme lever les yeux.
ยซ Trop tard, il est dรฉjร ร moitiรฉ รฉcrit dans ma tรชte. ยป
ยซ Ribbit, ยป dit Jax, ยซ tu sais que les enquรชtes ne sont pas censรฉes รชtre ton activitรฉ de loisir prรฉfรฉrรฉe, techniquement parlant. ยป
ยซ Pourquoi pas ? C'est exactement comme une chasse au trรฉsor, sauf que le trรฉsor essaie gรฉnรฉralement de dissimuler des preuves, et qu'il y a parfois un cadavre au milieu. ยป
Un silence s'installa. Ragatha cligna des yeux, incertaine d'avoir bien entendu.
ยซ Prรฉsentรฉ comme รงa, ยป dit-elle enfin, ยซ รงa paraรฎt nettement moins amusant que ce que tu sembles y trouver. ยป
ยซ Pourtant, moi, je trouve รงa passionnant ! ยป rรฉpliqua Ribbit, radieuse, sautant du bureau pour atterrir en un mouvement souple juste devant Jax. ยซ Tiens, d'ailleurs, en parlant de trรฉsorโ ยป
Elle sortit de sa poche un petit carnet chiffonnรฉ, couvert de gribouillis dans tous les sens, et le brandit fiรจrement.
ยซ Voilร le rapport complet de ma mission d'hier ! ยป
Jax le prit, l'ouvrit, et fronรงa immรฉdiatement les sourcils devant l'รฉcriture presque illisible. ยซ Ribbit, c'est quoi, cette รฉcriture ? On dirait qu'un chat a marchรฉ dans de l'encre. ยป
ยซ C'est mon รฉcriture d'enquรชte rapide ! Je n'ai pas le temps de faire joli quand je cours aprรจs des indices, figure-toi. ยป
ยซ Tu ne cours jamais aprรจs rien. Tu discutes avec des voisins en mangeant du gรขteau. ยป
ยซ C'est une forme de course, mais mentale, ยป rรฉpondit-elle avec un aplomb total, ce qui arracha un รฉclat de rire ร Ragatha, incapable de se retenir davantage.
ยซ Bon, ยป dit Jax, tentant de dรฉchiffrer le carnet avec un mรฉlange d'exaspรฉration et d'amusement grandissant. ยซ Explique-moi รงa de vive voix, parce que je ne comprends absolument rien ร ce que tu as รฉcrit ici. ยป
ยซ Facile ! ยป Ribbit s'installa confortablement sur le coin du bureau, croisant les jambes avec l'aisance de quelqu'un s'apprรชtant ร raconter la meilleure histoire de sa vie. ยซ Alors. Victor Hale, la victime. Sa voisine, une certaine Madame Ferro โ adorable, au passage, elle a un chat qui s'appelle Monsieur Trombone, ce qui est objectivement le meilleur nom de chat que j'aie jamais entenduโ ยป
ยซ Ribbit. ยป
ยซ J'y arrive ! Madame Ferro m'a confirmรฉ ce que Bernard m'avait dรฉjร dit hier : Victor sortait deux fois par semaine, toujours ร heure fixe, toujours dans la mรชme direction. Vers le quartier des vieilles archives. ยป
ยซ รa, on le savait dรฉjร , ยป dit Ragatha.
ยซ Oui, mais attends, c'est lร que รงa devient intรฉressant ! ยป Ribbit leva un doigt thรฉรขtral. ยซ Madame Ferro m'a aussi dit que, la semaine derniรจre, un homme est venu frapper chez Victor. Un homme qu'elle n'avait jamais vu auparavant. Grand. Manteau sombre. Et surtoutโ ยป
Elle marqua une pause dramatique, savourant visiblement l'effet.
ยซ RIBBIT. ยป
ยซ โil portait un badge du tribunal. Un vrai. Elle a bien vu le sceau officiel briller dessus. ยป
Jax se redressa d'un coup, tout amusement soudain effacรฉ de son visage. ยซ Quelqu'un du tribunal est allรฉ voir Victor Hale chez lui. ยป
ยซ Exactement ! Et Madame Ferro dit qu'ils ont eu une conversation qui a durรฉ presque une heure, et que Victor semblait "agitรฉ" en le raccompagnant ร la porte. Ses mots exacts, pas les miens. ยป
ยซ Un nom ? Une description plus prรฉcise ? ยป
ยซ Aucun nom. Mais Madame Ferro se souvient d'un dรฉtail : l'homme boitait lรฉgรจrement. Cรดtรฉ gauche. ยป
Ragatha et Jax รฉchangรจrent un regard.
ยซ รa, ยป dit Jax lentement, ยซ c'est un excellent dรฉtail. ยป
ยซ JE SAIS ! ยป s'exclama Ribbit, rayonnante, bondissant presque sur place. ยซ Je suis excellente. Vous pouvez le dire ร voix haute, je ne me lasserai jamais de l'entendre. ยป
ยซ Tu es douรฉe, ยป admit Jax, un sourire sincรจre lui รฉchappant enfin. ยซ Vraiment douรฉe. ยป
ยซ Je peux avoir รงa par รฉcrit ? ยป
ยซ Non. ยป
ยซ Sur une mรฉdaille, alors ? ยป
ยซ Ribbit. ยป
ยซ Un simple autocollant me suffirait ! ยป
Ragatha explosa de rire, incapable de se retenir plus longtemps, et mรชme Jax, secouant la tรชte, finit par cรฉder ร un rire franc.
ยซ Tu es impossible, ยป dit-il.
ยซ Je prรฉfรจre "irremplaรงable", ยป rรฉpliqua-t-elle avec un clin d'ลil, avant d'ajouter, plus sรฉrieuse tout ร coup : ยซ Je vais continuer ร creuser sur cet homme qui boite. Quelqu'un du tribunal avec une dรฉmarche particuliรจre, รงa devrait รชtre identifiable, non ? ยป
Elle lui adressa un immense sourire, un peu trop รฉmu pour ses habitudes thรฉรขtrales, avant de retrouver instantanรฉment son entrain coutumier. ยซ Attention, si tu continues ร รชtre gentil comme รงa, je vais finir par croire que tu m'apprรฉcies vraiment. ยป
ยซ Ne pousse pas ta chance. ยป
ยซ Trop tard, elle est dรฉjร poussรฉe ! ยป lanรงa-t-elle en quittant la piรจce d'un pas sautillant, laissant Jax et Ragatha secouer la tรชte de concert, un sourire encore accrochรฉ aux lรจvres pour tous les deux.
---
### Scรจne 5 โ Deux Thรฉories
La journรฉe se poursuivit, chaque camp construisant patiemment sa version des รฉvรฉnements.
Dans le bureau du procureur, Pomni et Evil Jax alignaient les รฉlรฉments sur le grand tableau blanc, reliant les indices par des flรจches et des annotations serrรฉes.
ยซ Victor Hale travaillait pour le tribunal, ยป rรฉcapitula Pomni, plantant une punaise sur la photo de la victime. ยซ Il avait accรจs aux archives, y compris ร des dossiers censรฉs รชtre hors d'usage depuis des annรฉes. ยป
ยซ Et il se trouvait dans un entrepรดt abandonnรฉ, sans raison officielle apparente, ยป ajouta Evil Jax, traรงant une ligne jusqu'ร la photo de l'entrepรดt.
ยซ Le message sur le papier brรปlรฉ parle d'un transfert d'archives. Le dossier numรฉro cent quarante-sept, qui n'aurait jamais dรป รชtre rรฉutilisรฉ. ยป Il hรฉsita un instant. ยซ Vous pensez qu'il a รฉtรฉ manipulรฉ pour venir sur place ? ยป
ยซ C'est possible, ยป rรฉpondit Pomni, reprenant volontairement la formule prudente de Zooble. ยซ Mais on a besoin de savoir qui d'autre au tribunal avait accรจs ร cette ancienne sรฉrie de numรฉros. ยป
ยซ Kinger cherche dรฉjร de son cรดtรฉ. ยป
ยซ Bien. ยป Elle recula d'un pas, observant l'ensemble du tableau. ยซ On a une victime, un lieu, un objet volรฉ, et une trace de pas qui ne correspond ร personne du tribunal. Il nous manque encore le mobile. ยป
ยซ Et le suspect, ยป ajouta doucement Evil Jax.
ยซ Et le suspect, ยป confirma-t-elle.
---
De l'autre cรดtรฉ du tribunal, dans le bureau de la dรฉfense, l'ambiance รฉtait tout aussi concentrรฉe, quoique nettement plus animรฉe.
ยซ Donc, si je comprends bien, ยป dit Ragatha, penchรฉe sur les notes fraรฎchement retranscrites de Ribbit, ยซ on a un homme mystรฉrieux qui boite du cรดtรฉ gauche, porte un badge du tribunal, et qui est allรฉ voir la victime chez elle une semaine avant sa mort. ยป
ยซ C'est exactement รงa, ยป confirma Jax, les pieds posรฉs sur son bureau, les mains croisรฉes derriรจre la tรชte.
ยซ Tu penses que Pomni a dรฉjร cette information ? ยป
Jax rรฉflรฉchit un instant. ยซ Non. Je pense qu'elle a une partie de la vรฉritรฉ. Probablement une bonne partie, en fait โ elle est douรฉe, je ne vais pas prรฉtendre le contraire. Mais elle n'a certainement pas encore l'homme qui boite. ยป
Ragatha haussa un sourcil, amusรฉe. ยซ Tu viens de complimenter Pomni. ยป
ยซ Non. ยป
ยซ Si. ยป
ยซ Non. ยป
ยซ RIBBIT ! ยป appela Ragatha en direction de la porte, oรน Ribbit venait justement de rรฉapparaรฎtre, un sandwich ร moitiรฉ englouti dans une main. ยซ Dis-lui qu'il vient de complimenter Pomni. ยป
ยซ Il vient de complimenter Pomni, ยป rรฉpรฉta Ribbit avec un plaisir manifeste, la bouche encore pleine.
ยซ Je n'ai rien complimentรฉ du tout, ยป protesta Jax, sentant le dรฉbat lui รฉchapper complรจtement.
ยซ Tu as dit qu'elle รฉtait douรฉe, ยป pointa Ribbit, un doigt accusateur pointรฉ vers lui malgrรฉ son sandwich. ยซ C'est un compliment. Un vrai. Avec des mots gentils dedans. ยป
ยซ C'รฉtait un constat professionnel. ยป
ยซ C'รฉtait un compliment dรฉguisรฉ en constat professionnel, ce qui, techniquement, reste un compliment. ยป
ยซ Ribbit a raison, ยป ajouta Ragatha, un sourire triomphant aux lรจvres.
Jax les regarda tour ร tour, l'air profondรฉment vaincu. ยซ Je regrette sincรจrement de vous avoir laissรฉes prendre la parole, toutes les deux. ยป
ยซ Trop tard ! ยป chantonnรจrent Ribbit et Ragatha presque ร l'unisson, ce qui dรฉclencha un nouvel รฉclat de rire gรฉnรฉral, auquel mรชme Jax, secouant la tรชte d'un air rรฉsignรฉ, finit par se joindre malgrรฉ lui.
ยซ Bon, ยป reprit-il finalement, retrouvant un semblant de sรฉrieux. ยซ Ribbit, l'homme qui boite. On doit absolument l'identifier avant l'audience. ยป
ยซ Je m'y remets tout de suite ! ยป annonรงa-t-elle en engloutissant le reste de son sandwich d'un coup, avant de s'essuyer les mains sur son propre vรชtement avec un enthousiasme dรฉbordant. ยซ Cette fois, je vais interroger les gardes du bรขtiment des archives. Quelqu'un a forcรฉment vu passer un homme qui boite du cรดtรฉ gauche portant un badge officiel. ยป
ยซ Sois prudente. ยป
ยซ Toujours ! ยป lanรงa-t-elle en partant dรฉjร , la porte claquant derriรจre elle avec un enthousiasme sonore qui fit sursauter deux employรฉs dans le couloir.
Ragatha regarda Jax, un sourire tendre aux lรจvres. ยซ Tu t'inquiรจtes pour elle. ยป
ยซ Je m'inquiรจte pour le budget de rรฉparation des portes de ce tribunal, ยป corrigea-t-il, mais son sourire, lui, le trahissait complรจtement.
---
### Scรจne 6 โ La Nuit Avant l'Audience
La nuit tomba lentement sur le tribunal, les nรฉons du hall principal s'รฉteignant un ร un ร mesure que les employรฉs rentraient chez eux.
Dans le bureau du procureur, Pomni referma son dossier avec un soupir, observant une derniรจre fois le tableau couvert d'annotations : la victime, l'entrepรดt, la clรฉ, le dossier vide, la trace de pas inconnue, et cette question lancinante โ qui, et pourquoi.
ยซ On a fait tout ce qu'on pouvait pour aujourd'hui, ยป dit Evil Jax, rassemblant ses propres notes avec des gestes plus lents, plus fatiguรฉs que d'habitude.
ยซ On a bien avancรฉ, ยป rรฉpondit-elle, s'รฉtirant lรฉgรจrement. ยซ Merci pour cette journรฉe. ยป
ยซ C'estโ c'est normal, ยป bafouilla-t-il, surpris par le remerciement direct. ยซ C'est mon travail. ยป
ยซ Ce n'est pas qu'une question de travail, Evil Jax. ยป
Il ne sut que rรฉpondre ร cela, se contentant d'hocher la tรชte, les joues dรฉjร rosies, avant de se rรฉfugier dans le rangement mรฉticuleux de sa sacoche.
---
ร l'autre bout du tribunal, dans le bureau de la dรฉfense, Jax fermait ร son tour son propre dossier, le regard fixรฉ sur les derniรจres notes de Ribbit, encore incomplรจtes.
ยซ Toujours aucune nouvelle d'elle ? ยป demanda Ragatha, enfilant sa veste.
ยซ Elle a dit qu'elle rentrerait tard. ยป
ยซ Tu t'inquiรจtes vraiment, cette fois. ยป
ยซ Un peu, ยป admit-il, ce qui, venant de lui, รฉquivalait presque ร un aveu solennel.
Comme en rรฉponse, la porte s'ouvrit brusquement, et Ribbit fit son entrรฉe avec fracas, un large sourire รฉclatant sur le visage, un carnet brandi bien haut comme un trophรฉe.
ยซ Un garde du bรขtiment des archives se souvient parfaitement de lui ! Il boite, il porte un badge officiel, et surtout โ ยป elle marqua une pause, savourant une derniรจre fois son effet dramatique ยซ โ il travaille encore activement au tribunal. Aujourd'hui mรชme. ยป
Jax se redressa d'un bond. ยซ Son nom, Ribbit. ยป
Elle lui tendit le carnet, son sourire ne faiblissant pas d'un pouce, tandis que Jax parcourait rapidement les lignes griffonnรฉes, son expression se durcissant ร mesure qu'il lisait.
ยซ C'est... ยป commenรงa-t-il, avant de s'interrompre, รฉchangeant un regard grave avec Ragatha.
ยซ Alors ? ยป demanda-t-elle, impatiente.
ยซ Demain, ยป dit-il simplement, refermant le carnet, ยซ รงa va รชtre un procรจs intรฉressant. ยป
Dehors, la nuit enveloppait complรจtement le tribunal, silencieux et sombre, gardant jalousement, pour quelques heures encore, le nom que Jax refusait de prononcer ร voix haute.
๐ฌ๐ง THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS: OBJECTION! ๐ฌ๐ง
CHAPTER 3 โ The Pieces of the Puzzle
Scene 1 โ Gangle's Checks
The next morning, the courthouse was already deep in its usual bustle: hurried footsteps in the hallways, the ceaseless clatter of printers, files passing from hand to hand ahead of the day's hearings. But in the evidence bank, the atmosphere was different โ more tense, more focused, punctuated by Gangle's unbroken murmuring, which seemed to have been going on for quite a while already.
"No... wait..." she muttered, eyes fixed on her screen. "I logged evidence number three, then I checked the logging of evidence number three... but did I check that I checked the logging of evidence number three?"
"Gangle."
She jumped so hard she nearly knocked her chair over. "P-Pomni! Iโ I didn't hear you come in!"
"You're checking your own checks," Pomni observed, an amused smile on her lips, approaching the cluttered desk.
"Yes, butโ but it's important! If I get a reference number wrong, the whole chain of evidence could be challenged before the judge, and thenโ"
"Gangle."
"Yes?!"
"I know it's important. That's exactly why we trust you with it."
That sentence was enough to make Gangle blush instantly, her cheeks flaring. "I... I'll try not to check a fifth time, then."
"A fourth time," Pomni corrected gently.
Gangle froze completely, a finger hovering over the keyboard. "...I was already at four?"
"I won't say anything more."
"That's worse than if you told me clearly!" Gangle groaned, burying her face in her hands for a moment before straightening up, determined. "Alright. Fine. All the evidence is properly logged."
She scrolled through several windows on her screen, her fingers trembling slightly with contained excitement. "The scrap of paper found near the victim, the Sector Seven key, the empty folder, and the unidentified floor mark: everything's catalogued, photographed from every angle, and ready for analysis."
"Thank you, Gangle. Really."
"You're welcome! I'll just do one more quick check before Iโ"
Pomni gently placed her hand on the file, stopping her.
"No."
Gangle lowered her eyes, sheepish, though a small smile still lingered on her lips. "...Fine. But if something's wrong, it'll be your fault."
"I'll take full responsibility," Pomni replied with a wink that made Gangle blush even harder, before she left the room, a little laugh in her voice.
---
### Scene 2 โ Zooble's Lab
A few minutes later, Pomni and Evil Jax found Zooble in the lab, where every instrument, every sample, every results sheet was arranged with almost military precision.
"I've finished the first examinations," Zooble announced without preamble, the moment they walked through the door.
Evil Jax immediately pulled out his notepad, ready to write.
"You're fast," Zooble observed, watching him.
He stiffened slightly, pen hovering. "Iโ I just wanted to note down the important information before itโ"
"That's exactly what I just said," Zooble cut in, unfazed.
He closed his mouth, unsure whether he'd just been complimented or corrected, and Pomni had to hold back a laugh at his puzzled expression.
Zooble pulled up the first results on the lab screen, an enlarged image of the mark found on the floor of the small room.
"The floor mark. It doesn't match a standard courthouse shoe sole. The pattern is different โ wider, deeper on the sides."
"Someone from outside the courthouse?" Pomni asked.
"Possible."
A pause, typical of Zooble, before adding: "But I can't confirm that with certainty from these elements alone."
"So we keep that lead open," Pomni concluded.
"Yes."
Evil Jax noted quickly, then looked up. "And the empty folder?"
Zooble turned to a second screen, where an image of the open cardboard folder appeared from several angles.
"This one's more interesting."
"Did you find out what was in it?" he asked, leaning in slightly.
"No."
A pause.
"But I found out that it contained something."
Pomni frowned. "Explain."
"There are traces of ink on the inner face of the cardboard, along with compression marks typical of a stack of pages recently removed โ paper always leaves an imprint, even after it's gone. Based on the intensity of the mark, I'd say there were between fifteen and twenty pages inside. And they were removed less than a week ago."
"So someone took those documents after their initial filing," Evil Jax summarized, jotting frantically.
"Correct."
Pomni stared at the image of the empty folder, a chill running down her spine despite herself. Someone had wanted to make a specific piece of information disappear. The question was what, and why now.
"The number on the folder," she said finally. "One forty-seven. What does that correspond to in the courthouse's filing system?"
"I don't work with the archives," Zooble replied. "Ask Kinger."
"Let's go," Pomni said to Evil Jax, who closed his notepad in one brisk motion.
---
### Scene 3 โ Kinger's Archives
They found Kinger exactly where they expected him: sitting cross-legged in the middle of a fresh mountain of files, humming a tune only he seemed to recognize.
"Kinger."
"Ah! Pomni! And..." He squinted at Evil Jax. "The nervous one!"
"Iโ my name is Evil Jax," he corrected in a small voice.
"Yes, yes, I know, I was joking! Well, half-joking. What brings you here?"
"A file number," Pomni said, handing him the photograph. "One forty-seven. Does that ring a bell?"
Kinger took the paper, turned it over, looked at it from several angles as if it were a particularly complex abstract painting.
"One forty-seven... one forty-seven..." he repeated, scratching his chin. "This number vaguely reminds me of something. A series of files we used, oh, a good ten years ago, for internal transfers between the archives sector and the judicial sector."
"An archive transfer," Evil Jax repeated, exchanging a look with Pomni. "That matches the paper scrap found at the crime scene."
"Precisely!" Kinger exclaimed, delighted with his own relevance. "But careful, that numbering series was officially discontinued after an administrative reorganization. No one's supposed to use them anymore, hasn't been for years."
"So if this number shows up on a recent file..." Pomni began.
"...someone deliberately reused it," Kinger finished, his smile fading for a moment. "Which really shouldn't happen."
"Can you find the folder's original contents? Before it disappeared?"
Kinger jumped to his feet, nearly tripping over a stack of old registers. "Let me search! It'll take a bit of time, but I'm sure I have a trace somewhere around here... or over there... or maybe in the basement room, actually, I'm not so sure anymoreโ"
"Take your time," Pomni said with a smile. "Let us know as soon as you find something."
"Always!" he called, already rummaging frantically through a new pile.
---
### Scene 4 โ Ribbit's Report
Meanwhile, in the defense office, the atmosphere was considerably less studious.
"I'm bored."
Ribbit, balanced on Jax's desk, was spinning his wheeled chair with the tip of her foot, in a steady circular motion that was starting to seriously irritate Ragatha.
"You got back from your first investigation exactly forty minutes ago," Jax remarked, not looking up from his own notes.
"And in forty minutes, nobody's given me a new mission! It's a genuine tragedy. I'm going to have to write a poem about my boredom. A long poem. With complicated rhymes."
"Please, no," Ragatha said, without even looking up.
"Too late, it's already half-written in my head."
"Ribbit," Jax said, "you know investigating isn't technically supposed to be your favorite hobby."
"Why not? It's exactly like a treasure hunt, except the treasure usually tries to hide evidence, and sometimes there's a corpse in the middle."
A silence settled. Ragatha blinked, unsure she'd heard correctly.
"Put that way," she said finally, "that sounds a lot less fun than you seem to find it."
"And yet, I find it thrilling!" Ribbit replied, beaming, hopping off the desk to land in one smooth motion right in front of Jax. "Speaking of treasure, actuallyโ"
She pulled a small crumpled notebook out of her pocket, covered in scribbles going every which way, and brandished it proudly.
"Here's the full report on yesterday's mission!"
Jax took it, opened it, and immediately frowned at the nearly illegible handwriting. "Ribbit, what is this handwriting? Looks like a cat walked through ink."
"That's my rapid-investigation handwriting! I don't have time to make it pretty when I'm chasing leads, you know."
"You never chase anything. You chat with neighbors while eating cake."
"That's a form of chasing, but mental," she replied with total confidence, which drew a burst of laughter from Ragatha, unable to hold back any longer.
"Alright," Jax said, attempting to decipher the notebook with a mix of exasperation and growing amusement. "Explain it to me out loud, because I don't understand a single thing you wrote here."
"Easy!" Ribbit settled comfortably on the corner of the desk, crossing her legs with the ease of someone about to tell the best story of her life. "So. Victor Hale, the victim. His neighbor, a certain Mrs. Ferro โ lovely, by the way, she has a cat named Mister Trombone, which is objectively the best cat name I've ever heardโ"
"Ribbit."
"I'm getting there! Mrs. Ferro confirmed what Bernard already told me yesterday: Victor went out twice a week, always at a fixed time, always in the same direction. Toward the old archives district."
"We already knew that," Ragatha said.
"Yes, but wait, this is where it gets interesting!" Ribbit raised a theatrical finger. "Mrs. Ferro also told me that, last week, a man came knocking on Victor's door. A man she'd never seen before. Tall. Dark coat. And most importantlyโ"
She paused dramatically, clearly savoring the effect.
"RIBBIT."
"โhe was wearing a courthouse badge. A real one. She saw the official seal gleaming on it clearly."
Jax sat bolt upright, all amusement vanishing from his face instantly. "Someone from the courthouse went to see Victor Hale at his home."
"Exactly! And Mrs. Ferro says they talked for almost an hour, and that Victor seemed 'agitated' walking him to the door. Her exact words, not mine."
"A name? A more precise description?"
"No name. But Mrs. Ferro remembers one detail: the man had a slight limp. Left side."
Ragatha and Jax exchanged a look.
"That," Jax said slowly, "is an excellent detail."
"I KNOW!" Ribbit exclaimed, glowing, nearly bouncing on the spot. "I'm excellent. You can say it out loud, I'll never get tired of hearing it."
Ragatha burst out laughing, unable to hold back any longer, and even Jax, shaking his head, eventually gave in to a genuine laugh.
"You're impossible," he said.
"I prefer 'irreplaceable,'" she replied with a wink, before adding, suddenly more serious: "I'm going to keep digging on this limping man. Someone from the courthouse with a distinctive gait should be identifiable, right?"
"It should be," Jax confirmed. "Go for it. And Ribbit?"
"Yes?"
"Good work. Really."
She gave him an enormous smile, a little too moved for her usual theatrics, before instantly reverting to her habitual energy. "Careful, if you keep being nice like that, I'm going to start thinking you actually like me."
"Don't push your luck."
"Too late, it's already pushed!" she called out, leaving the room with a skip in her step, leaving Jax and Ragatha shaking their heads in unison, a smile still lingering on both their lips.
---
### Scene 5 โ Two Theories
The day continued, each side patiently building its version of events.
In the prosecutor's office, Pomni and Evil Jax lined up the pieces on the large whiteboard, connecting the clues with arrows and tight annotations.
"Victor Hale worked for the courthouse," Pomni recapped, pinning up the victim's photo. "He had access to the archives, including files that were supposed to have been out of use for years."
"And he was found in an abandoned warehouse, with no apparent official reason," Evil Jax added, drawing a line to the photo of the warehouse.
"Something โ or someone โ brought him there."
"The message on the burned paper mentions an archive transfer. Folder number one forty-seven, which was never supposed to be reused." He hesitated a moment. "You think he was manipulated into coming there?"
"It's possible," Pomni replied, deliberately borrowing Zooble's careful phrasing. "But we need to know who else at the courthouse had access to that old numbering series."
"Kinger's already looking into it."
"Good." She stepped back, taking in the whole board. "We have a victim, a location, a stolen item, and a footprint that doesn't match anyone at the courthouse. We're still missing the motive."
"And the suspect," Evil Jax added quietly.
"And the suspect," she confirmed.
---
On the other side of the courthouse, in the defense office, the atmosphere was just as focused, though considerably livelier.
"So if I understand correctly," Ragatha said, bent over Ribbit's freshly transcribed notes, "we have a mysterious man who limps on the left side, wears a courthouse badge, and visited the victim at home a week before herโ his death."
"That's exactly it," Jax confirmed, feet propped on his desk, hands laced behind his head.
"You think Pomni already has this information?"
Jax thought for a moment. "No. I think she has part of the truth. Probably a good part, actually โ she's good, I'm not going to pretend otherwise. But she certainly doesn't have the limping man yet."
Ragatha raised an eyebrow, amused. "You just complimented Pomni."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"RIBBIT!" Ragatha called toward the door, where Ribbit had just reappeared, a half-eaten sandwich in hand. "Tell him he just complimented Pomni."
"He just complimented Pomni," Ribbit repeated with obvious relish, mouth still full.
"I didn't compliment anyone," Jax protested, feeling the argument slip completely out of his hands.
"You said she was good," Ribbit pointed out, an accusing finger aimed at him despite her sandwich. "That's a compliment. A real one. With nice words in it."
"It was a professional observation."
"It was a compliment disguised as a professional observation, which, technically, is still a compliment."
"Ribbit's right," Ragatha added, a triumphant smile on her lips.
Jax looked back and forth between them, thoroughly defeated. "I sincerely regret letting either of you speak."
"Too late!" Ribbit and Ragatha chorused almost in unison, sparking another round of general laughter, which even Jax, shaking his head resignedly, eventually joined despite himself.
"Alright," he said finally, recovering a semblance of seriousness. "Ribbit, the limping man. We absolutely need to identify him before the hearing."
"On it right away!" she announced, swallowing the rest of her sandwich in one go, before wiping her hands on her own outfit with overflowing enthusiasm. "This time, I'm going to question the guards at the archives building. Someone must have seen a man limping on the left side wearing an official badge go by."
"Be careful."
"Always!" she called, already leaving, the door slamming behind her with an enthusiasm loud enough to startle two employees in the hallway.
Ragatha looked at Jax, a fond smile on her lips. "You're worried about her."
"I'm worried about this courthouse's door-repair budget," he corrected, but his smile betrayed him completely.
---
### Scene 6 โ The Night Before the Hearing
Night fell slowly over the courthouse, the neon lights of the main hall switching off one by one as employees headed home.
In the prosecutor's office, Pomni closed her file with a sigh, taking one last look at the board covered in annotations: the victim, the warehouse, the key, the empty folder, the unidentified footprint, and that nagging question โ who, and why.
"We've done everything we can for today," Evil Jax said, gathering his own notes with slower, more tired movements than usual.
"We made good progress," she replied, stretching slightly. "Thank you for today."
"It'sโ it's normal," he stammered, surprised by the direct thanks. "It's my job."
"It's not just about the job, Evil Jax."
He didn't know how to respond to that, settling for a nod, his cheeks already pink, before retreating into the meticulous organizing of his bag.
---
At the other end of the courthouse, in the defense office, Jax was closing his own file, his gaze fixed on Ribbit's latest notes, still incomplete.
"Still no word from her?" Ragatha asked, putting on her jacket.
"She said she'd be back late."
"You're actually worried, this time."
"A little," he admitted, which, coming from him, amounted to almost a solemn confession.
As if in answer, the door burst open, and Ribbit made her entrance with a bang, a wide grin lighting up her face, a notebook held high like a trophy.
"I'VE GOT A NAME!"
"Ribbit!" Ragatha exclaimed, half relieved, half amused by the theatrical entrance.
"A guard at the archives building remembers him perfectly! He limps, he wears an official badge, and most importantly โ " she paused, savoring her dramatic effect one last time " โ he's still actively working at the courthouse. As of today."
Jax shot up. "His name, Ribbit."
She handed him the notebook, her grin never faltering, while Jax scanned the scribbled lines quickly, his expression hardening as he read.
"That's..." he began, before stopping himself, exchanging a grave look with Ragatha.
"Well?" she asked, impatient.
"Tomorrow," he said simply, closing the notebook, "is going to be an interesting trial."
Outside, the night wrapped itself entirely around the courthouse, silent and dark, jealously guarding, for a few more hours, the name Jax refused to say out loud.
๐ฌ๐ง THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS: OBJECTION! ๐ฌ๐ง
๐ฌ๐ง CHAPTER 2 โ The Silences of Sector Seven ๐ฌ๐ง
---
### Scene 1 โ The Forgotten Sector
The trip to Sector Seven wasn't particularly long. But it always seemed longer than it actually was, as if the distance itself stretched out the deeper one went into that part of the city that no one frequented anymore.
Pomni walked at a brisk pace, her empty case file tucked under her arm, ready to be filled. Beside her, Evil Jax moved in silence, his bag held firmly against him, his eyes already scanning, cataloguing every faรงade, every boarded-up window, every crack in the pavement.
"Can you tell me what you're thinking about?" Pomni asked after a while, amused by his studious silence.
"Iโ I'm counting the cameras," he replied without looking away. "There were four at the corner of the last street. Three were working. The fourth was pointed at the wall."
"At the wall?"
"Either a faulty installation. Or someone deliberately turned it."
Pomni raised an eyebrow, impressed despite herself. "You always notice these kinds of details?"
"A-always," he stammered, his cheeks warming instantly at the implicit compliment. "I've learned that a detail that seems useless at first can become the linchpin of a case three weeks later. So I'd rather write everything down. Even what seems stupid. Especially what seems stupid, actually, becauseโ"
"Evil Jax."
"Yes?"
"That's a strength. Not a flaw."
He opened his mouth, closed it again, then settled for a quick nod, clearly at a loss for how to respond to that without stammering further.
The streets around them grew quieter, grayer. The great animated billboards of downtown had long since vanished, replaced by rusted industrial faรงades, boarded storefronts, and a silence so dense it became almost loud.
"Sector Seven," Pomni murmured, spotting the first warehouse in the distance, a dark mass that seemed to swallow the light rather than reflect it. "I'd forgotten how much this place unsettles me."
"Do you want me to go ahead?" Evil Jax offered, almost instinctively, before freezing, realizing his own boldness. "I meanโ not because I think you need protecting, it's justโ convention says thatโ Iโ"
"Evil Jax."
"Yes?"
"Thank you. But I'll walk in front. This is my case."
"O-of course. Obviously."
She couldn't help but smile at his crestfallen expression, and quickened her pace slightly, the radio at her belt crackling briefly with static.
---
Two uniformed officers were waiting for them in front of the large metal door of the main warehouse, propped open by yellow tape bearing the courthouse seal.
"Prosecutor Pomni. Assistant Evil Jax," the first officer greeted them with a nod. "The scene has been secured since this morning."
"Any witnesses?" Pomni asked, already taking out her notepad.
"None so far. The victim was discovered at dawn by a maintenance worker checking the state of the structure โ apparently, the building was scheduled for partial demolition in the coming months."
"The victim's identity?"
The officer checked his tablet. "Victor Hale. Former auxiliary archivist, attached to the courthouse until his retirement about two years ago."
Pomni froze for a split second, her pen suspended above the paper.
"A former courthouse employee," she repeated slowly.
"That's correct."
She exchanged a look with Evil Jax, who had already noted the information, his jaw slightly tight.
"That changes everything," he murmured.
"Or nothing at all," she replied. "But we keep it in mind."
"Do you want to go in now?" the second officer asked.
"Yes. Show us."
---
### Scene 2 โ The Crime Scene
The inside of the warehouse was even colder than the street, a dry, mineral cold that seemed to seep from the metal walls themselves. Every footstep echoed far louder than it should have, every breath seemed amplified by the oppressive silence of the place.
Pomni stopped in the doorway, letting her gaze sweep slowly across the vast room: half-collapsed industrial shelving, torn-open crates stacked along the walls, a thick layer of dust covering nearly everything โ except, she noticed immediately, a strangely clear path down the center.
"Does something strike you?" Evil Jax asked in a low voice, as if raising it would have felt out of place in a spot like this.
"Look at the floor," she said, pointing at the central area. "There's dust everywhere, except here."
"Someone's passed through recently. Several times, maybe."
"Or someone cleaned up."
Evil Jax crouched down, pulling a small magnifying glass from his bag to examine the marks on the floor more closely. "The traces aren't uniform. It's almost like... a back-and-forth motion. As if someone dragged something."
"Or someone," Pomni added, more darkly.
A metal table lay overturned a little further off, one of its legs bent. Pomni approached it, examining it without touching.
"If a struggle had happened here, there should be a lot more disorder. Broken objects, wider signs of a fight."
"You think the scene was staged afterward?" Evil Jax asked, straightening up.
"I think," she replied carefully, "that it's only a hypothesis for now. Not a conclusion."
He nodded, a small shy smile flickering across his lips. "You sound exactly like Zooble."
"Maybe it's contagious."
"Iโ I hope so," he blurted, before realizing what he'd just said and blushing violently. "I meanโ it's a good method, not thatโ"
"Evil Jax."
"Yes?"
"Breathe."
He took a deep breath, visibly grateful she didn't press further, and returned to examining the floor with redoubled focus, as if to escape his own embarrassment.
---
They found Victor Hale a little further on, lying near an old storage area, between two empty shelves. His expression was strikingly calm โ almost too calm for someone who had just died in an abandoned warehouse.
Evil Jax stayed silent for a long moment, studying the body with that almost clinical attention he always reserved for this kind of discovery.
"He doesn't seem to have had time to react," he finally said. "No struggle marks on the hands. No defensive scratches."
"You think he knew his attacker?"
He hesitated, his fingers tightening slightly on his bag strap.
"It's... possible." Then, almost immediately: "But that's just a hypothesis. I shouldn'tโ"
"Evil Jax."
"Yes?"
"You just did exactly what Zooble would do. Offering a possibility without claiming to hold the truth."
He blinked, visibly caught off guard. "You... you think that's good?"
"I think it's excellent."
He blushed to the tips of his ears, mumbling a barely audible thank-you, before burying his nose hastily in his notepad to compose himself.
One of the officers, standing back near the entrance, cleared his throat. "Dr. Zooble's forensics team sent over some preliminary examination equipment, as requested. It should be in the crate near the door."
"Perfect," said Pomni. "Let's begin the systematic survey."
---
### Scene 3 โ The First Pieces of Evidence
For the next several hours, Pomni and Evil Jax combed the warehouse inch by inch, every item photographed, tagged, and described with meticulous care.
"Evidence number one," Evil Jax announced, kneeling near a half-burned scrap of paper tucked under a shelf. "A torn piece of paper."
He picked it up delicately with tweezers, examining it under his flashlight.
"There are still legible words," he said, squinting. "'Archive transfer...' The rest is illegible. Burned at the edges."
Pomni leaned over his shoulder, her light perfume drifting near him for a moment, which earned her a discreet stiffening of his shoulders.
"An archive transfer," she repeated thoughtfully. "That fits with the position Victor Hale held before his retirement."
"You think he came here to retrieve something?"
"Or to deliver something. We'll see what Zooble makes of it."
They continued, methodically.
"Evidence number two," Evil Jax resumed a little later, extracting a small metal key from the deceased's jacket pocket with all the required precautions. "A key. The number engraved on it matches Sector Seven."
"What does it open, exactly?"
He consulted a rough building plan one of the officers had provided. "According to the records... it should open a small room at the back of the warehouse. A room that, technically, should never have been used after the sector's closure."
"Then let's go see what's behind that door."
They crossed the vast space to the back of the building, where a rusted metal door waited, half-hidden behind stacked pallets. Evil Jax inserted the key, turned it โ a sinister creak echoed through the entire warehouse โ and the door swung open onto a cramped room, almost entirely empty.
Almost.
"Evidence number three," Evil Jax murmured, crouching in front of a strange mark on the floor, a dark, irregular trace unlike anything familiar. "I don't know what that is."
"Photograph it from several angles. Zooble will decide if it's usable."
"Andโ" He stopped, noticing a locked metal cabinet in a corner. "There's something else here."
The lock gave way without much resistance under a tool Evil Jax pulled from his bag with a dexterity that sharply contrasted with his usual nervousness. Inside, a single cardboard folder, empty, bearing only a number scrawled in marker on the spine.
"Evidence number four," said Pomni, taking it delicately. "An empty folder. No name. No description. Just... a number."
"O-one forty-seven," Evil Jax read, leaning in. "That doesn't match any reference I know."
"Kinger might know."
He nodded, meticulously noting every detail before closing his bag.
"That's all we're going to find today," Pomni said, straightening up, giving the room one last sweep with her eyes. "Four pieces of evidence. Not much."
"But it's a start," he said softly.
She gave him a smile, which made him instantly look away, cheeks pink.
---
### Scene 4 โ The Parallel Investigation
While Pomni and Evil Jax finished their survey, on the other side of the city, an entirely different kind of investigation was underway.
"HELLO? HELLO? Can you hear me?"
Ribbit's voice blared, far too loud, out of the walkie-talkie sitting on the defense office desk. Ragatha jumped so hard she nearly knocked over her cup.
"RIBBIT. Turn the volume down."
"CAN'T. I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF A MISSION."
Jax grabbed the device with an amused smile, settling comfortably into his chair. "Where exactly are you?"
"In front of the victim's old apartment! There's an absolutely charming neighbor who told me his entire life story before I could ask a single question."
"And what did you learn?"
"That his wife's name is Doris and that she makes the best walnut cake on the street."
A silence.
"Ribbit."
"What?"
"That's not what I was asking."
"I know! But it was still important information, wasn't it?"
Ragatha, hunched over her own files, couldn't hold back a small laugh. "She's not wrong, technically."
"Don't encourage her," Jax sighed, though the corner of his mouth betrayed a budding smile. "Ribbit. Focus. The victim. Victor Hale."
"RIGHT! So! According to the charming neighbor โ his name's Bernard, by the way, remember that name because it's probably coming back in my report โ Victor Hale rarely went out these past few months. Except, apparently, twice a week, always at the same time, always in the same direction."
Jax sat up slightly, his amusement giving way to more serious interest. "Which direction?"
"Toward downtown. Bernard thinks he was seeing a doctor, but personally, I think Bernard's completely wrong, because no doctor works in the neighborhood he described."
"So where do you think he was going?"
A theatrical silence stretched out on the other end of the walkie-talkie, long enough that Ragatha raised an eyebrow.
"RIBBIT."
"I was thinking about how to make this dramatic."
"RIBBIT."
"Fine, fine! He was heading toward the judicial archives district. The old building. The one nobody really uses anymore."
Jax exchanged a look with Ragatha, his smile vanishing completely this time.
"You're sure?"
"Sure and certain! And before you ask the next question: yes, I double-checked, no, I didn't make up Bernard, and yes, he really did give me a piece of cake. It was delicious, by the way. A little dry, but delicious."
"How did you manage to get so much information out of him in so little time?" Ragatha asked, genuinely impressed despite herself.
"The secret," Ribbit replied, unmistakable pride in her voice, "is letting people talk. They always end up telling you everything themselves. You just have to laugh at their jokes, even if they're not funny."
"That doesn't surprise me coming from you," Jax said, a light laugh finally escaping him.
"Wait, you laugh at my jokes too? I didn't know I was such a hit!"
"I'm laughing at you, Ribbit. Not with you."
"Same thing! As long as it produces the same sound, the result is identical."
Ragatha burst out laughing outright this time, unable to hold back any longer, and even Jax, despite himself, let out a genuine laugh.
"Alright," he said, regaining some composure. "Keep digging. The archives district, you said?"
"Exactly! I'm going to go take a discreet look around. Very discreet. No one will ever know I was there."
"Ribbit, last time you said that, you came back with a stolen hard hat and a visitor badge under the name 'Steve.'"
"And that day, we won the case thanks to that badge! So technically, my method works."
A silence, then a resigned little laugh from Jax. "Go do your discreet look-around, Ribbit. And try not to come back with a hat this time."
"No promises! Over and out!"
The walkie-talkie crackled, then fell silent. Ragatha, still shaking from laughter, wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.
"She's really impossible."
"Completely," Jax agreed, his smile refusing to leave despite himself. "But she's right about one thing."
"Which is?"
"She always finds what no one else can."
---
### Scene 5 โ Back at the Courthouse
Back at the courthouse, the evidence bank welcomed Pomni and Evil Jax with its usual commotion โ that is, the particular commotion of Gangle facing a new delivery.
"Y-you're already done?!" she exclaimed upon seeing them enter, her hands gripping the edge of her desk nervously.
"Just the first part," Pomni replied, setting the sealed evidence bags down carefully in front of her.
The effect was immediate. Gangle sat bolt upright as if electrified, her eyes โ well, her eye โ widening at the sight of the four sealed bags.
"I'll get on it right away! I'll log everything, check the numbers, the dates, the transport conditions, the seal integrity, andโ"
"Gangle."
"Yes?!"
"Breathe."
She took a shaky deep breath, nodded several times, then leaned over the evidence with an almost religious focus, murmuring the reference numbers under her breath like an incantation.
Evil Jax, standing slightly back, watched the scene with a small amused smile. "She's going to check each bag at least three times."
"Want to bet how many times before the end of the day?" Pomni whispered.
"I never take that kind of bet. I always lose."
---
In the lab, Zooble received the scientific evidence with iel's usual calm, examining each bag with a clinical eye before methodically arranging them on the workbench.
"I'll analyze all of this," iel announced simply.
"Do you think you'll find something quickly?" Pomni asked.
Zooble took a moment to answer, slowly turning the bag containing the charred paper scrap between iel's fingers.
"Maybe." A pause. "But for now, we only have objects. Not yet their meaning."
"That's a good summary of the situation," Pomni admitted with a tired smile.
Zooble nodded, already absorbed in setting up the first examination, and Pomni left the lab, thoughtful, the empty folder still lingering in her mind.
A number. Nothing else.
Something, somewhere in this courthouse, had a connection to that number โ and she intended to find out exactly what.
๐ซ๐ท THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS: OBJECTION! ๐ซ๐ท
(๐ซ๐ท) CHAPITRE 2 โ Les Silences du Secteur Sept (๐ซ๐ท)
## CHAPITRE 2 โ Les Silences du Secteur Sept
---
### Scรจne 1 โ Le Secteur Oubliรฉ
Le trajet jusqu'au secteur sept n'รฉtait pas particuliรจrement long. Mais il semblait toujours plus long qu'il ne l'รฉtait rรฉellement, comme si la distance elle-mรชme se dilatait ร mesure qu'on s'enfonรงait dans cette partie de la ville que personne ne frรฉquentait plus.
Pomni marchait d'un bon pas, son dossier vide serrรฉ sous le bras, prรชt ร รชtre rempli. ร ses cรดtรฉs, Evil Jax avanรงait en silence, sa sacoche tenue fermement contre lui, les yeux dรฉjร en mouvement, dรฉtaillant chaque faรงade, chaque fenรชtre condamnรฉe, chaque fissure dans le bitume.
ยซ Tu peux me dire ร quoi tu penses ? ยป demanda Pomni au bout d'un moment, amusรฉe par son silence studieux.
ยซ Jeโ je compte les camรฉras, ยป rรฉpondit-il sans dรฉtourner le regard. ยซ Il y en avait quatre ร l'angle de la derniรจre rue. Trois fonctionnaient. La quatriรจme รฉtait orientรฉe vers le mur. ยป
ยซ Vers le mur ? ยป
ยซ Soit un dรฉfaut d'installation. Soit quelqu'un l'a dรฉlibรฉrรฉment tournรฉe. ยป
Pomni haussa un sourcil, impressionnรฉe malgrรฉ elle. ยซ Tu remarques toujours ce genre de dรฉtails ? ยป
ยซ T-toujours, ยป bafouilla-t-il, ses joues s'รฉchauffant instantanรฉment sous le compliment implicite. ยซ J'ai appris qu'un dรฉtail qui semble inutile au dรฉbut peut devenir la piรจce maรฎtresse d'un dossier trois semaines plus tard. Alors je prรฉfรจre tout noter. Mรชme ce qui paraรฎt stupide. Surtout ce qui paraรฎt stupide, en fait, parce queโ ยป
ยซ Evil Jax. ยป
ยซ Oui ? ยป
ยซ C'est une qualitรฉ. Pas un dรฉfaut. ยป
Il ouvrit la bouche, la referma, puis se contenta d'un hochement de tรชte rapide, visiblement ร court de mots pour rรฉpondre ร รงa sans bรฉgayer davantage.
Les rues autour d'eux se firent plus silencieuses, plus grises. Les grands panneaux animรฉs du centre-ville avaient disparu depuis longtemps, remplacรฉs par des faรงades industrielles rouillรฉes, des devantures murรฉes, et un silence si dense qu'il en devenait presque bruyant.
ยซ Le secteur sept, ยป murmura Pomni en apercevant enfin le premier entrepรดt au loin, une masse sombre qui semblait avaler la lumiรจre plutรดt que la reflรฉter. ยซ J'avais oubliรฉ ร quel point cet endroit me met mal ร l'aise. ยป
ยซ Vous voulez que j'aille devant ? ยป proposa Evil Jax, presque instinctivement, avant de se figer, rรฉalisant sa propre audace. ยซ Enfinโ pas parce que je pense que vous avez besoin d'รชtre protรฉgรฉe, c'est justeโ l'usage veut qu'onโ jeโ ยป
ยซ Evil Jax. ยป
ยซ Oui ? ยป
ยซ Merci. Mais je marche devant. C'est mon affaire. ยป
ยซ B-bien sรปr. รvidemment. ยป
Elle ne put s'empรชcher de sourire ร sa mine dรฉconfite, et pressa lรฉgรจrement le pas, la radio ร sa ceinture crachotant un grรฉsillement bref.
---
Deux agents en uniforme les attendaient devant la grande porte mรฉtallique de l'entrepรดt principal, maintenue ouverte par un ruban jaune barrรฉ du sceau du tribunal.
ยซ Procureure Pomni. Assistant Evil Jax, ยป salua le premier agent avec un signe de tรชte. ยซ La scรจne est sรฉcurisรฉe depuis ce matin. ยป
ยซ Des tรฉmoins ? ยป demanda Pomni, sortant dรฉjร son calepin.
ยซ Aucun pour l'instant. La victime a รฉtรฉ dรฉcouverte ร l'aube par un employรฉ de maintenance venu vรฉrifier l'รฉtat de la structure โ apparemment, le bรขtiment devait รชtre partiellement dรฉmoli dans les prochains mois. ยป
ยซ L'identitรฉ de la victime ? ยป
L'agent consulta sa tablette. ยซ Victor Hale. Ancien archiviste auxiliaire, rattachรฉ au tribunal jusqu'ร sa mise en retraite il y a environ deux ans. ยป
Pomni se figea l'espace d'une seconde, son stylo suspendu au-dessus du papier.
ยซ Un ancien employรฉ du tribunal, ยป rรฉpรฉta-t-elle lentement.
ยซ C'est exact. ยป
Elle รฉchangea un regard avec Evil Jax, qui avait dรฉjร notรฉ l'information, la mรขchoire lรฉgรจrement serrรฉe.
ยซ รa change tout, ยป murmura-t-il.
ยซ Ou rien du tout, ยป rรฉpondit-elle. ยซ Mais on garde รงa en tรชte. ยป
ยซ Vous voulez entrer maintenant ? ยป demanda le second agent.
ยซ Oui. Montrez-nous. ยป
---
### Scรจne 2 โ La Scรจne de Crime
L'intรฉrieur de l'entrepรดt รฉtait plus froid encore que la rue, un froid sec et minรฉral qui semblait suinter des murs mรฉtalliques eux-mรชmes. Chaque pas rรฉsonnait bien plus fort qu'il n'aurait dรป, chaque respiration semblait amplifiรฉe par le silence oppressant du lieu.
Pomni s'arrรชta sur le seuil, laissant son regard balayer lentement la vaste piรจce : des รฉtagรจres industrielles ร moitiรฉ effondrรฉes, des caisses รฉventrรฉes empilรฉes le long des murs, une รฉpaisse couche de poussiรจre recouvrant presque tout โ sauf, remarqua-t-elle immรฉdiatement, un passage central รฉtrangement dรฉgagรฉ.
ยซ Il y a quelque chose qui vous frappe ? ยป demanda Evil Jax ร voix basse, comme si รฉlever le ton aurait รฉtรฉ dรฉplacรฉ dans un endroit pareil.
ยซ Regarde le sol, ยป rรฉpondit-elle en dรฉsignant la zone centrale. ยซ Il y a de la poussiรจre partout, sauf ici. ยป
ยซ Quelqu'un est passรฉ rรฉcemment. Plusieurs fois, peut-รชtre. ยป
ยซ Ou quelqu'un a nettoyรฉ. ยป
Evil Jax s'accroupit, sortant une petite loupe de sa sacoche pour examiner de plus prรจs les traces au sol. ยซ Les marques ne sont pas uniformes. On dirait presque... un mouvement de va-et-vient. Comme si quelqu'un avait traรฎnรฉ quelque chose. ยป
ยซ Ou quelqu'un, ยป complรฉta Pomni, plus sombrement.
Une table mรฉtallique gisait renversรฉe un peu plus loin, une de ses pattes tordue. Pomni s'en approcha, l'examinant sans y toucher.
ยซ Si une bagarre avait eu lieu ici, il devrait y avoir bien plus de dรฉsordre. Des objets brisรฉs, des traces de lutte plus รฉtendues. ยป
ยซ Vous pensez que la scรจne a รฉtรฉ arrangรฉe aprรจs coup ? ยป demanda Evil Jax, se relevant.
ยซ Je pense, ยป rรฉpondit-elle prudemment, ยซ que ce n'est qu'une hypothรจse pour l'instant. Pas une conclusion. ยป
Il hocha la tรชte, un petit sourire timide flottant sur ses lรจvres. ยซ Vous parlez exactement comme Zooble. ยป
ยซ C'est peut-รชtre contagieux. ยป
ยซ J-je l'espรจre, ยป balbutia-t-il, avant de se rendre compte de ce qu'il venait de dire et de rougir violemment. ยซ Enfinโ je veux dire, c'est une bonne mรฉthode, pas queโ ยป
ยซ Evil Jax. ยป
ยซ Oui ? ยป
ยซ Respire. ยป
Il inspira profondรฉment, visiblement reconnaissant qu'elle ne relรจve pas davantage, et retourna ร son inspection du sol avec une concentration redoublรฉe, comme pour fuir sa propre gรชne.
---
Ils trouvรจrent Victor Hale un peu plus loin, allongรฉ prรจs d'une ancienne zone de stockage, entre deux รฉtagรจres vides. Son expression รฉtait รฉtonnamment paisible โ presque trop paisible pour quelqu'un qui venait de mourir dans un entrepรดt abandonnรฉ.
Evil Jax resta silencieux un long moment, observant le corps avec cette attention presque clinique qu'il rรฉservait toujours ร ce genre de dรฉcouverte.
ยซ Il ne semble pas avoir eu le temps de rรฉagir, ยป finit-il par dire. ยซ Pas de traces de lutte sur les mains. Pas d'รฉraflures dรฉfensives. ยป
ยซ Tu penses qu'il connaissait son agresseur ? ยป
Il hรฉsita, ses doigts se crispant lรฉgรจrement sur la bandouliรจre de sa sacoche.
ยซ C'est... possible. ยป Puis, presque immรฉdiatement : ยซ Mais ce n'est qu'une hypothรจse. Je ne devrais pasโ ยป
ยซ Evil Jax. ยป
ยซ Oui ? ยป
ยซ Tu viens de faire exactement ce que ferait Zooble. Proposer une possibilitรฉ sans prรฉtendre dรฉtenir la vรฉritรฉ. ยป
Il cligna des yeux, visiblement pris de court. ยซ Vous... vous trouvez รงa bien ? ยป
ยซ Je trouve รงa excellent. ยป
Il rougit jusqu'aux oreilles, marmonnant un remerciement ร peine audible, avant de plonger prรฉcipitamment le nez dans son calepin pour se donner une contenance.
Un des agents, restรฉ en retrait prรจs de l'entrรฉe, s'รฉclaircit la gorge. ยซ L'รฉquipe scientifique du docteur Zooble a envoyรฉ du matรฉriel d'examen prรฉliminaire, comme demandรฉ. Il devrait รชtre dans la caisse prรจs de la porte. ยป
ยซ Parfait, ยป dit Pomni. ยซ On va commencer le relevรฉ systรฉmatique. ยป
---
### Scรจne 3 โ Les Premiรจres Preuves
Pendant les heures qui suivirent, Pomni et Evil Jax passรจrent l'entrepรดt au peigne fin, centimรจtre par centimรจtre, chaque รฉlรฉment photographiรฉ, รฉtiquetรฉ, dรฉcrit avec un soin mรฉticuleux.
ยซ Preuve numรฉro un, ยป annonรงa Evil Jax, s'agenouillant prรจs d'un fragment de papier calcinรฉ ร moitiรฉ cachรฉ sous une รฉtagรจre. ยซ Un morceau de papier dรฉchirรฉ. ยป
Il le saisit dรฉlicatement avec une pince, l'examinant ร la lumiรจre de sa lampe de poche.
ยซ Il reste des mots lisibles, ยป dit-il, plissant les yeux. ยซ "Transfert d'archives..." Le reste est illisible. Brรปlรฉ sur les bords. ยป
Pomni se pencha par-dessus son รฉpaule, son parfum lรฉger flottant un instant prรจs de lui, ce qui lui valut un raidissement discret des รฉpaules.
ยซ Un transfert d'archives, ยป rรฉpรฉta-t-elle pensivement. ยซ รa colle avec le poste qu'occupait Victor Hale avant sa retraite. ยป
ยซ Vous pensez qu'il est venu ici pour rรฉcupรฉrer quelque chose ? ยป
ยซ Ou pour livrer quelque chose. On verra ce que Zooble en tire. ยป
Ils continuรจrent, mรฉthodiquement.
ยซ Preuve numรฉro deux, ยป reprit Evil Jax un peu plus tard, extirpant une petite clรฉ mรฉtallique de la poche de la veste du dรฉfunt, avec toutes les prรฉcautions requises. ยซ Une clรฉ. Le numรฉro gravรฉ dessus correspond au secteur sept. ยป
ยซ Elle ouvre quoi, exactement ? ยป
Il consulta un plan sommaire du bรขtiment qu'un des agents lui avait fourni. ยซ D'aprรจs les registres... elle devrait ouvrir une petite salle au fond de l'entrepรดt. Une salle qui, techniquement, n'aurait jamais dรป รชtre utilisรฉe aprรจs la fermeture du secteur. ยป
ยซ Alors allons voir ce qu'il y a derriรจre cette porte. ยป
Ils traversรจrent le vaste espace jusqu'au fond du bรขtiment, oรน une porte mรฉtallique rouillรฉe attendait, ร moitiรฉ dissimulรฉe derriรจre des palettes empilรฉes. Evil Jax insรฉra la clรฉ, tourna โ un grincement sinistre rรฉsonna dans tout l'entrepรดt โ et la porte s'ouvrit sur une piรจce exiguรซ, presque entiรจrement vide.
Presque.
ยซ Preuve numรฉro trois, ยป murmura Evil Jax en s'accroupissant devant une marque รฉtrange au sol, une sorte de trace sombre, irrรฉguliรจre, qui ne ressemblait ร rien de familier. ยซ Je ne sais pas ce que c'est. ยป
ยซ Photographie-la sous plusieurs angles. Zooble dรฉcidera si c'est exploitable. ยป
ยซ Etโ ยป Il s'interrompit, remarquant une armoire mรฉtallique verrouillรฉe dans un coin. ยซ Il y a autre chose ici. ยป
La serrure cรฉda sans trop de rรฉsistance sous un outil qu'Evil Jax sortit de sa sacoche avec une dextรฉritรฉ qui contrastait nettement avec sa nervositรฉ habituelle. ร l'intรฉrieur, un unique dossier cartonnรฉ, vide, ne portant qu'un numรฉro griffonnรฉ au marqueur sur la tranche.
ยซ Preuve numรฉro quatre, ยป dit Pomni en le prenant dรฉlicatement. ยซ Un dossier vide. Pas de nom. Pas de description. Juste... un numรฉro. ยป
ยซ C-cent quarante-sept, ยป lut Evil Jax en se penchant. ยซ รa ne correspond ร aucune rรฉfรฉrence que je connaisse. ยป
ยซ Kinger saura peut-รชtre. ยป
Il hocha la tรชte, notant mรฉticuleusement chaque dรฉtail avant de refermer sa sacoche.
ยซ C'est tout ce qu'on va trouver aujourd'hui, ยป dit Pomni en se redressant, balayant une derniรจre fois la piรจce du regard. ยซ Quatre preuves. Ce n'est pas beaucoup. ยป
ยซ Mais c'est un dรฉbut, ยป rรฉpondit-il doucement.
Elle lui adressa un sourire, ce qui le fit instantanรฉment dรฉtourner les yeux, les joues roses.
---
### Scรจne 4 โ L'Enquรชte Parallรจle
Pendant que Pomni et Evil Jax terminaient leur relevรฉ, ร l'autre bout de la ville, une tout autre forme d'enquรชte รฉtait en cours.
ยซ ALLร ? ALLร ? Vous m'entendez ? ยป
La voix de Ribbit rรฉsonnait, beaucoup trop forte, dans le talkie-walkie posรฉ sur le bureau de la dรฉfense. Ragatha sursauta si violemment qu'elle faillit renverser sa tasse.
ยซ RIBBIT. Baisse le volume. ยป
ยซ IMPOSSIBLE. JE SUIS EN PLEINE MISSION. ยป
Jax attrapa l'appareil avec un sourire amusรฉ, s'installant confortablement dans son fauteuil. ยซ Oรน es-tu, exactement ? ยป
ยซ Devant l'ancien appartement de la victime ! Il y a un voisin absolument charmant qui m'a racontรฉ sa vie en entier avant que je puisse poser une seule question. ยป
ยซ Et tu as appris quoi ? ยป
ยซ Que sa femme s'appelait Doris et qu'elle fait le meilleur gรขteau aux noix de la rue. ยป
Un silence.
ยซ Ribbit. ยป
ยซ Quoi ? ยป
ยซ Ce n'est pas ce que je te demandais. ยป
ยซ Je sais ! Mais c'รฉtait une information importante quand mรชme, non ? ยป
Ragatha, penchรฉe sur ses propres dossiers, ne put retenir un petit rire. ยซ Elle n'a pas tort, techniquement. ยป
ยซ Ne l'encourage pas, ยป soupira Jax, mรชme si le coin de sa bouche trahissait un sourire naissant. ยซ Ribbit. Concentre-toi. La victime. Victor Hale. ยป
ยซ OUI ! Alors ! D'aprรจs le charmant voisin โ qui s'appelle Bernard, au passage, retiens bien ce prรฉnom parce qu'il va probablement revenir dans mon rapport โ Victor Hale sortait trรจs rarement ces derniers mois. Sauf, apparemment, deux fois par semaine, toujours ร la mรชme heure, toujours dans la mรชme direction. ยป
Jax se redressa lรฉgรจrement, son amusement cรฉdant la place ร un intรฉrรชt plus sรฉrieux. ยซ Quelle direction ? ยป
ยซ Vers le centre-ville. Bernard pense qu'il allait voir un mรฉdecin, mais moi, personnellement, je pense que Bernard se trompe complรจtement, parce qu'aucun mรฉdecin ne travaille dans le quartier qu'il a dรฉcrit. ยป
ยซ Et tu penses qu'il allait oรน, alors ? ยป
Un silence thรฉรขtral s'รฉtira ร l'autre bout du talkie-walkie, suffisamment long pour que Ragatha lรจve un sourcil.
ยซ RIBBIT. ยป
ยซ Je rรฉflรฉchissais ร comment rendre รงa dramatique. ยป
ยซ RIBBIT. ยป
ยซ D'accord, d'accord ! Il allait vers le quartier des archives judiciaires. Le vieux bรขtiment. Celui qu'on utilise presque plus. ยป
Jax รฉchangea un regard avec Ragatha, son sourire s'effaรงant complรจtement cette fois.
ยซ Tu es sรปre ? ยป
ยซ Sรปre et certaine ! Et avant que tu poses la question suivante : oui, j'ai vรฉrifiรฉ deux fois, non, je n'ai pas inventรฉ Bernard, et oui, il m'a vraiment donnรฉ un morceau de gรขteau. Il รฉtait dรฉlicieux, au passage. Un peu sec, mais dรฉlicieux. ยป
ยซ Comment as-tu fait pour lui soutirer autant d'informations en si peu de temps ? ยป demanda Ragatha, sincรจrement impressionnรฉe malgrรฉ elle.
ยซ Le secret, ยป rรฉpondit Ribbit avec une fiertรฉ manifeste dans la voix, ยซ c'est de laisser les gens parler. Ils finissent toujours par tout dire eux-mรชmes. Il suffit juste de rire ร leurs blagues, mรชme si elles ne sont pas drรดles. ยป
ยซ รa, รงa m'รฉtonne pas de toi, ยป lanรงa Jax, un rire lรฉger lui รฉchappant enfin.
ยซ Quoi, tu ris ร mes blagues, toi aussi ? Je ne savais pas que j'avais un tel succรจs ! ยป
ยซ Je ris de toi, Ribbit. Pas avec toi. ยป
ยซ C'est pareil ! Tant que รงa produit le mรชme son, le rรฉsultat est identique. ยป
Ragatha รฉclata carrรฉment de rire cette fois, incapable de se retenir davantage, et mรชme Jax, malgrรฉ lui, laissa รฉchapper un petit rire sincรจre.
ยซ Bon, ยป reprit-il, retrouvant un peu de sรฉrieux. ยซ Continue de creuser. Le quartier des archives, tu disais ? ยป
ยซ Exactement ! Je vais aller y faire un tour discret. Trรจs discret. Personne ne saura jamais que je suis passรฉe. ยป
ยซ Ribbit, la derniรจre fois que tu as dit รงa, tu es revenue avec un chapeau de sรฉcuritรฉ volรฉ et un badge de visiteur au nom de "Steve". ยป
ยซ Et ce jour-lร , on a gagnรฉ le procรจs grรขce ร ce badge ! Alors techniquement, ma mรฉthode fonctionne. ยป
Un silence, puis un petit rire rรฉsignรฉ de Jax. ยซ Va faire ton tour discret, Ribbit. Et essaie de ne pas revenir avec un chapeau, cette fois. ยป
ยซ Aucune promesse ! Terminรฉ ! ยป
Le talkie-walkie grรฉsilla, puis retomba dans le silence. Ragatha, encore secouรฉe par le fou rire, essuya une larme au coin de son ลil.
ยซ Elle est vraiment impossible. ยป
ยซ Complรจtement, ยป confirma Jax, son sourire ne le quittant pas malgrรฉ lui. ยซ Mais elle a raison sur un point. ยป
ยซ Lequel ? ยป
ยซ Elle trouve toujours ce que personne d'autre ne trouve. ยป
---
### Scรจne 5 โ Retour au Tribunal
De retour au tribunal, la banque des preuves accueillit Pomni et Evil Jax avec son agitation habituelle โ c'est-ร -dire, l'agitation particuliรจre de Gangle face ร une nouvelle livraison.
ยซ V-vous avez dรฉjร terminรฉ ?! ยป s'exclama-t-elle en les voyant entrer, ses mains se crispant nerveusement sur le bord de son bureau.
ยซ La premiรจre partie seulement, ยป rรฉpondit Pomni en dรฉposant dรฉlicatement les preuves emballรฉes devant elle.
L'effet fut immรฉdiat. Gangle se redressa comme รฉlectrisรฉe, ses yeux โ enfin, son ลil โ s'รฉcarquillant devant les quatre sachets scellรฉs.
ยซ Je vais m'en occuper tout de suite ! Je vais tout enregistrer, vรฉrifier les numรฉros, les dates, les conditions de transport, l'รฉtat des scellรฉs, etโ ยป
ยซ Gangle. ยป
ยซ Oui ?! ยป
ยซ Respire. ยป
Elle prit une grande inspiration tremblante, hocha la tรชte plusieurs fois, puis se pencha sur les preuves avec une concentration presque religieuse, marmonnant les numรฉros de rรฉfรฉrence ร voix basse comme une incantation.
Evil Jax, restรฉ lรฉgรจrement en retrait, observa la scรจne avec un petit sourire amusรฉ. ยซ Elle va vรฉrifier chaque sachet au moins trois fois. ยป
ยซ Tu paries combien qu'elle en est ร quatre avant la fin de la journรฉe ? ยป chuchota Pomni.
ยซ Je ne prends jamais ce genre de pari. Je perds toujours. ยป
---
Au laboratoire, Zooble accueillit les preuves scientifiques avec son calme habituel, examinant chaque sachet d'un ลil clinique avant de les ranger mรฉthodiquement sur sa paillasse.
ยซ Je vais analyser tout รงa, ยป annonรงa-t-elle simplement.
Zooble prit un instant pour rรฉpondre, tournant lentement le sachet contenant le morceau de papier calcinรฉ entre ses doigts.
ยซ Peut-รชtre. ยป Une pause. ยซ Mais pour l'instant, nous n'avons que des objets. Pas encore leur signification. ยป
ยซ C'est un bon rรฉsumรฉ de la situation, ยป admit Pomni avec un sourire fatiguรฉ.
Zooble hocha la tรชte, dรฉjร absorbรฉe dans la mise en place de son premier examen, et Pomni quitta le laboratoire, songeuse, le dossier vide encore prรฉsent dans son esprit.
Un numรฉro. Rien d'autre.
Quelque chose, quelque part dans ce tribunal, avait un lien avec ce numรฉro โ et elle comptait bien dรฉcouvrir lequel.
An Ace Attorney-style AU where Pomni, Jax, and the whole gang grew up in a city built around its courthouse โ now grown into a prosecutor, a defense attorney, and everything in between.
๐ฌ๐ง Full fic on AO3: AO3 invitation still pending...
๐ซ๐ท French version also available โ link in my profil or my post.
# THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS: OBJECTION!
## PROLOGUE โ Since Always
There were certain things no one in this city ever questioned. The courthouse was one of them.
It rose at the center of everything, as though it had always been there โ long before any of them were born, long before even their own parents had come to settle their affairs within its walls. Its tall, dark marble walls, its endless corridors, its great courtroom where every word echoed like a verdict in itself: all of it was simply part of the landscape, as natural as the streets or the houses.
They had all grown up in its shadow.
Pomni still remembered those childhood afternoons spent lingering in the hallways after school, fascinated by the great trials she was never allowed to watch in full. She'd sneak in anyway, sitting at the very back of the public gallery, watching lawyers fight with arguments and evidence the way other people fought with their fists. She'd known, very early on, exactly what she wanted to become.
Jax, for his part, had grown up in those same hallways, but for very different reasons. He knew every corner of the building, every hidden passage, every adult from whom he could pilfer candy without getting caught. The courthouse had never been a place of seriousness to him โ it was his playground, and over time, he'd turned it into his personal stage.
Ragatha, Jax's childhood friend, had spent her youth pulling him out of trouble of varying severity, a habit she had clearly never lost as she grew up. Gangle, quieter, more withdrawn, had always preferred small, peaceful rooms to big conversations, and still did to this day. Zooble had always asked questions no one else knew how to answer, and had eventually, logically, decided to answer them iel-self. Kinger had always had an extraordinary memory paired with a catastrophic sense of direction โ a combination that, oddly enough, had made him the perfect keeper of the archives. Gummigoo had always been the polite, kind boy everyone liked without exception. And Ribbit... Ribbit had always simply been there, somewhere off in a corner, watching everyone without ever saying a word โ until, years later, people realized just how much she'd always seen.
They had grown up together, in this same city built entirely around its courthouse, and none of them had ever really considered making a life out of anything other than the profession tied to these walls they knew by heart.
Now, as adults, each of them held their post. Pomni, a relentless prosecutor, refusing to lose a case without fighting to the very end. Jax, defense attorney, still just as playful, still just as determined to drive her mad. Ragatha and Ribbit by his side. Gangle and Zooble, each in her own field. Kinger, faithful to his archives. Gummigoo, the judge's assistant, never once suspecting the effect he had on a certain prosecutor every time he spoke to her.
Only Evil Jax stood apart from this picture. He hadn't grown up here. No one really knew where he came from, how long he'd known Jax, or why such bitterness existed between them. He had shown up one day, a few months earlier, his voice hesitant and his hands trembling, asking to assist Pomni in preparing her case files. She had said yes. He had never left since.
That morning, like every other morning, the courthouse woke up slowly, still unaware of everything about to unfold within it.
No one could have predicted what the Sector Seven warehouse case was about to change.
But that's another story.
And this story begins now.
---
## CHAPTER 1 โ The Digital Courthouse
### Scene 1 โ The Halls of the Courthouse
Morning had broken over the city the way it always did: abruptly, with no transition, as if the entire world had just been switched back on by some invisible controller. The saturated colors of the walls seemed even more vivid at this hour, almost aggressive, and the low hum of the neon lights in the main hall gave the morning silence an almost tangible texture.
Pomni crossed through the great doors of the courthouse at a brisk pace, her case file clutched to her chest, a faint smile already tugging at her lips. She loved this time of day โ that fragile calm before everything picked up speed, that feeling of being a step ahead of the chaos to come. She was never late. Never. It was a matter of principle, and this morning was no exception: she'd arrived a full ten minutes early, as always, to have time to double-check everything before the day truly began.
She breathed in deeply, letting the air fill her lungs, and made her way toward the east wing, where the evidence bank was located, nearly humming a tune to herself that she could no longer place.
"Gangle?"
The door to the small, cramped office, piled high with folders almost to the ceiling, didn't open right away. Pomni first heard the sound of papers falling, then a muffled "Oh no, no, no!" before the door finally cracked open, revealing a single trembling eye that shut again the instant it recognized her โ as if simply being seen was enough to fuel some inner panic.
"P-Pomni!" Gangle stammered, throwing the door fully open, her hands clutching the edge of her ribbon. "Good morningโ I meanโ sorry, I wasโ there was a littleโ"
She cut herself off, blushing violently, unable to finish her sentence, and stepped back to let the prosecutor in, nearly knocking over a stack of cardboard folders in the process, which she caught just in time with a small, panicked squeak.
"Take your time," Pomni said gently, closing the door behind her, amused without a trace of mockery.
"Yesโ noโ I mean, everything's fine!" Gangle blurted, her cheeks an almost fluorescent pink, before staring at the floor as though it had suddenly become fascinating. "I got three new pieces of evidence last night and I haven't had time to catalog everything yet, soโ so it's a bit of a mess, sorry, really sorryโ"
"Gangle."
"Yes?!"
"It's fine."
Gangle nodded so quickly the gesture became almost comical, and took refuge behind a stack of folders as if to steady herself. Pomni let her eyes wander over the room, where entire shelves of sealed bags, meticulously numbered, lined the walls from floor to ceiling. It was incredible, she thought, that Gangle managed to find anything in there at all, given how terrified she seemed at the mere idea of being spoken to โ and yet, Pomni had never once seen the young woman make a mistake.
"I'm not here for anything urgent," Pomni reassured her with a warm smile. "I just wanted to check on the status of the Klein case file before next week's hearing."
"Ah! Yes! Of course, right away!"
Gangle rushed toward a shelf at the back, her trembling fingers running along the spines of the boxes, nearly knocking one down twice before finally pulling out the right one, which she held out to Pomni while carefully avoiding her gaze, as though eye contact alone might make her melt on the spot.
"Everythingโ everything's there. I checked the knife's authenticity twice andโ and the written testimony once."
"Twice?"
"Three times, actually," Gangle squeaked, her cheeks flaring even redder. "Iโ I like to be sure. One mistake on my part and you lose the trial, and I couldโ I could never forgive myself for that, so I check, I check a lot, maybe too much, butโ"
"Gangle, breathe."
She stopped short, nodded timidly, and let out a small nervous laugh, more of a breath than anything else. "S-sorry."
Pomni felt something warm inside her โ a sort of amused tenderness. She knew that in this courthouse, people like Gangle were rare: meticulous, devoted, terrified of disappointing anyone, but always, without fail, flawless in their work.
"You're the best, Gangle. I mean it."
Gangle turned, if possible, even redder, mumbling a completely unintelligible thank-you while shifting her weight from one foot to the other, and Pomni left her to her stacks of files with the quiet satisfaction of a good start to the day, a small laugh still on her lips.
---
The science lab was two floors down, in a colder, more metallic wing, where the neon lights took on a faint bluish tint. Zooble was hunched over a workbench, one eye fixed on an improbable microscope whose eyepiece seemed far too large for the instrument itself.
"Zooble."
"Mm."
No jump, no surprise. Zooble never looked up abruptly; iel always finished whatever iel was doing before granting attention to whoever had come to disturb iel. Pomni had learned long ago not to take offense, and even found a welcome sense of calm in that consistency after her stop at Gangle's.
"The toxicology results?"
"Ready since yesterday."
Zooble finally straightened up, iel's face โ or rather, the mobile part of iel's body serving that function today โ wearing that neutral, composed expression that never seemed to vary, no matter how serious the case at hand.
"The substance found on the glass matches a moderate-dose sedative. Not enough to kill. Enough to put someone to sleep."
"So it's not the murder weapon."
"I never said it was the murder weapon," Zooble corrected, with that almost mechanical precision that characterized every one of iel's sentences. "I said what the analysis shows. Conclusions are your job, not mine."
Pomni couldn't help but laugh outright this time. "You're right. As always."
"I know."
No arrogance in that answer, only a statement of fact, as neutral as everything else. Pomni took the report Zooble handed her and left the lab with a light step, a smile lingering on her face. A sedative, not a poison. That changed a great deal about the angle she planned to take at trial โ and she could already feel the familiar thrill of strategy taking shape.
---
It was while crossing the archive hall, further along, that she came across Kinger, sitting cross-legged in the middle of a mountain of old files stacked in an order only he seemed to understand.
"Ah! Pomni!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms up and nearly toppling the nearest pile. "Just the person I needed!"
"Kinger, what are you doing down there again?" she asked, a laugh in her voice.
"I'm looking for a precedent! There was a case, oh, quite some time ago, I can't quite remember how long, where a defendant invoked the same defense I suspect Jax is planning to use for the Klein case. If I can find the ruling, I'll be able to tell you whether it was upheld or dismissed!"
Pomni crouched down beside him, intrigued despite herself, a smile still on her lips. Kinger might always seem perpetually lost between two thoughts, but he possessed a memory of the courthouse that no one else could match โ a living, chaotic, but fundamentally reliable library.
"Which case?"
"Ah, well..." he began, scratching his head thoughtfully, knocking over three more folders in the process. "That's where it gets complicated."
He laughed โ a laugh a bit too loud, a bit too long โ before diving back into his piles with renewed energy. Pomni watched him for a moment, genuinely amused this time, then stood up.
"Let me know if you find anything."
"Always!" he called without even turning around, already absorbed in a newly unearthed file.
---
Pomni's last stop before heading to her own office was near the judge's chambers. It was there, in that calm, hushed antechamber, that Gummigoo spent most of his time, making sure everything was in order before each hearing.
She paused a moment in front of the half-open door, her hand already raised to knock, and felt her heart begin to beat a little faster. Her smile wavered slightly, replaced by a familiar nervousness.
*It's nothing*, she told herself. *Simple professional courtesy. Nothing more.*
She knocked.
"Come in!"
Gummigoo's voice was always the same: soft, calm, with an almost old-fashioned politeness. Pomni pushed open the door and found him sitting behind his small desk, meticulously sorting a stack of summonses.
"Ohโ Pomni! Good morning!"
He half rose, as he always did out of reflexive politeness, before sitting back down once he realized she didn't need him to move.
"Good morning, Gummigoo," she said, already feeling her cheeks warm without being able to do anything about it. "I... I just wanted to know if Tuesday's hearing was still set for two o'clock."
"Yes, absolutely! The judge hasn't changed the schedule."
"Perfect. That's... that's perfect, thank you."
A silence settled, light, almost trivial, but which felt to Pomni like it lasted an eternity. Gummigoo looked at her with that warm, calm expression he reserved for everyone without distinction, completely unaware of the effect it had on her.
"Was there anything else?" he asked kindly, noticing she hadn't yet made a move to leave.
"No! No, no, not at all, it'sโ"
She cut herself off, aware her voice had just jumped an octave on that last word. She stepped back toward the door, her hands suddenly damp, desperately searching for a sentence that wouldn't betray her any further.
"I should go. Lots of work. The Klein file, you know."
"Of course! Have a good day, Pomni."
"You too! I meanโ you too. I mean, youโ"
She closed the door before finishing her sentence, her face burning, and leaned against the hallway wall for a moment, closing her eyes, a small embarrassed laugh escaping her despite herself.
*Why does he always do this to me*, she thought, half exasperated, half amused at herself. *Get it together, Pomni. You have a trial to prepare.*
She took one last breath, adjusted the file against her chest, and resumed her walk to her office with a renewed spring in her step, determined โ with only partial success โ to think of nothing but the work waiting for her.
She didn't notice Kinger, still standing in the archive room doorway, watching her walk away with a knowing little smile he kept carefully to himself.
---
### Scene 2 โ The Bouquet
Pomni's office was at the end of the main hallway, a room organized with near-obsessive precision: every folder had its place, every pen its exact spot, and a large whiteboard covered one whole wall, already covered in her tight handwriting tracing out the timeline of the Klein case.
She settled at her desk, laid out her documents carefully, and began working, her mind already immersed in the finer points of the file, a satisfied smile on her lips at the strategy slowly taking shape.
She didn't hear the footsteps in the hallway right away. Nor even the theatrical throat-clearing that preceded them.
It was the knock at the door โ three knocks, far too slow, far too deliberate to be sincere โ that pulled her out of her concentration.
"Come in," she said without looking up, certain it was Gangle bringing her one last document.
The door swung wide open.
"Good moooorning, dearest colleague!"
Pomni froze, her pen suspended above the paper. She didn't even need to look up to know who had just walked in โ that drawling tone, that falsely warm voice, she would have recognized it anywhere.
She finally looked up, and the sight that greeted her drew a long, drawn-out sigh from her โ though tinged with an amusement she didn't really try to hide.
Jax stood in the doorway, an enormous bouquet of flowers โ very likely stolen from the front desk, she thought immediately โ held out in front of him at arm's length, a far-too-wide grin stretched across his face, all teeth.
"What exactly are you doing?" she asked, her voice half flat, half laughing.
"I'm bringing you flowers! Isn't that sweet of me?"
"You hate being sweet."
"Exactly!" he replied cheerfully, stepping toward her desk uninvited, dropping the bouquet in front of her with a theatrical flourish. "That's precisely why it isn't sweetness."
Pomni looked down at the flowers โ a mismatched bundle of tulips and what looked suspiciously like plastic plants ripped from a decorative pot in the hallway โ then looked back up at him, one eyebrow raised, a small smile resisting at the corner of her mouth despite her stern tone.
"So what is it, then?"
"It's a declaration!"
"A declaration of what?"
Jax planted both hands on the desk, leaning toward her with that predatory grin he always reserved for their exchanges, his eyes gleaming with a mischief she knew all too well.
"Of war, my dear Pomni. The Klein case starts soon, and guess who's going to tear your argument apart piece by piece in front of the whole courthouse?"
"You? Certainly not," she shot back with a clear laugh, pushing the bouquet aside with a sharp gesture.
"Me. Absolutely."
"You haven't even read the file."
"I don't need to."
"That's exactly the problem with you, Jax. You never prepare anything and yet you always think you're going to win."
"And yet," he said, straightening up, arms crossed, a smug look on his face, "I win. Often."
"You lose just as often as you win."
"Statistics are for people who lack style."
Pomni rolled her eyes, unable to hold back a small exasperated laugh. She knew this game by heart: Jax would come, provoke her, try to get under her skin purely for the pleasure of watching her get worked up, and while she stubbornly refused to hand him that easy victory, she had to admit, deep down, that an exchange with him never failed to lift her spirits, even against her will.
"Did you come all the way here just for that? To needle me before the trial's even started?"
"Obviously. It's much more fun watching your jaw clench now than waiting for the hearing."
"I'm not clenching my jaw."
"You're clenching it right now."
She deliberately unclenched her teeth, aware he was right, which only deepened his satisfied smile โ and, despite herself, her own.
"Get out of my office, Jax."
"So cold! And here I brought you flowers."
"Stolen flowers."
"Borrowed."
"Out."
He raised his hands in theatrical surrender, backing toward the door in small steps, his grin not faltering an inch.
"Fine, fine. But you'd better think hard about your strategy for Klein, my dear. Because Iโ"
He never finished his sentence.
The figure that had just appeared in the doorway, right behind him, was enough to instantly deflate all the theatrical lightness of the scene.
Evil Jax stood there โ or rather, attempted to stand there, because the moment his gaze crossed his double's, something in him seemed to seize up. He straightened a bit too quickly, hands clasped behind his back a little too tightly, his single eye flitting between Jax and the floor.
"Amโ am I interrupting?" he asked, and his voice, which he had clearly meant to sound firm, cracked slightly on the last word, betraying a tremor he couldn't quite mask.
The silence that followed lasted perhaps two seconds. It felt much longer.
"You," Jax spat, his voice suddenly stripped of all its earlier playfulness.
"M-me," Evil Jax confirmed, his throat visibly tight, a flush already rising to his cheeks โ not the flush of fond embarrassment, but of an almost painful nervous tension to witness. He stepped aside slightly to let Jax pass, a gesture no doubt meant to look distant and dignified, but which his trembling hands made considerably less impressive than he'd hoped.
Jax stared him down for a long moment, jaw clenched โ for real, this time โ before turning his gaze back to Pomni.
"See you at trial," he said simply, his voice having lost all trace of playfulness.
He walked past Evil Jax without another glance, shoulders stiff, and disappeared down the hallway at a brisk pace.
Evil Jax stood frozen in the doorway for a moment, breathing slightly short, before turning to Pomni, his cheeks still tinged red.
"Isโ is he always like that?" he managed to ask, his voice a little steadier, but still hesitant.
"Always," Pomni answered with a sympathetic smile.
Evil Jax nodded, closed the door gently behind him, and took a deep breath, as if to fully recompose himself before returning to his seat.
---
### Scene 3 โ Two Offices, Two Worlds
**The Prosecutor's Office**
The silence that followed Jax's departure carried no weight to it; it was, on the contrary, a familiar silence, the kind that always accompanied Pomni's return to her true working rhythm.
Evil Jax approached the desk, still a little flushed, and set about picking up the abandoned bouquet to toss it into the small wastebasket by the window, his movements slightly more jerky than usual.
"You didn't have to do that," Pomni remarked.
"Iโ I know," he replied, without turning around, his voice still a bit clipped. "But seeing it lying on your desk was bothering me a little, soโ well, it's nothing much, Iโ"
He stopped himself, aware he was rambling, and cleared his throat before returning to his usual seat, in the chair set slightly back from the desk. He pulled a stack of documents from his bag and began sorting them, his fingers a little shaky despite the methodical precision of his movements.
"Iโ I finished the summary of the witness testimonies for the Klein case," he announced, gradually regaining some composure as the conversation drifted toward more familiar ground. "Three minor inconsistencies we should clear up before the hearing."
"Already?"
"I started it last night."
Pomni smiled, a warm, genuinely admiring smile. Working with Evil Jax had something soothing about it, despite โ or perhaps because of โ his perpetual nervousness; where Jax always seemed to seek out chaos, his assistant embodied a kind of feverish seriousness that never failed to move her.
"Don't you ever sleep?"
"R-rarely," he answered, his cheeks instantly coloring at the simple question, as if merely being the subject of direct attention was enough to reignite his unease. "Sleep is... optional, in my case, Iโ well, I don't really need it, soโ"
"That's exactly what I thought," Pomni cut in gently, amused by his fluster, without taking any unkind pleasure in it โ simply charmed.
He nodded, unable to add much else, and buried himself back in his documents with the energy of someone seeking refuge in work.
She took the papers he handed her, her hands briefly brushing against his, which earned her an immediate stiffening from Evil Jax and a murmured "s-sorry," before he leaned back slightly in his seat.
"He's always so ridiculous," Pomni sighed, her mind drifting back despite herself to the scene that had just unfolded, an amused smile on her lips.
"Who, Jax?"
"Who else. Stolen flowers. Honestly."
"He'sโ he's never under-understood the concept of dignity," Evil Jax stammered, a note of irritation cutting through his stutter, as though the mere mention of his double was enough to reignite a deep annoyance that, unlike him, did not tremble. "He confuses provocation with strategy."
"Unlike you."
"U-unlike me," he confirmed, blushing again, this time from a mix of pride and embarrassment at being favorably compared.
A comfortable silence settled between them, broken only by the rustling of papers and the occasional scratch of Pomni's pen on the whiteboard, where she added new notes to her timeline.
"There's something between the two of you," she finally said, without looking up from the file, "that goes beyond simple professional rivalry."
Evil Jax didn't answer right away. His hands froze over the documents, and when he spoke again, his voice was lower, even more hesitant than usual.
"Let's just say... let's just say our histories don't overlap in a... pleasant way," he articulated painfully, his cheeks burning, his gaze fixed on his own hands.
Pomni looked up at him, curious, but something in his distress โ that firm shutting-down despite the stammer, that wall he'd just raised without a steady gesture โ told her he wouldn't say more. She didn't push.
"Alright," she simply replied, gently, returning to her file. "Then let's talk about those inconsistencies you found instead."
Evil Jax nodded, visibly relieved by the change of subject, and dove back into his notes with an eagerness that once again betrayed his almost compulsive need to take refuge in work.
**The Defense Office**
On the other side of the courthouse, the atmosphere was nothing like it.
"You are completely irresponsible, you know that?"
Ragatha stood before Jax, fists on her hips, her fabric face creased in an entirely theatrical annoyance โ because despite the stern tone, something in her eyes sparkled with an energy that wasn't really angry at all.
"Good morning to you too," Jax replied, dropping into his chair, feet propped carelessly on the edge of the desk.
"Don't change the subject! I heard you went to needle Pomni with a bouquet stolen from the front desk!"
"Borrowed."
"Stolen, Jax!" she exclaimed, but a small laugh was already slipping through the exasperation, as though she couldn't help finding the whole situation ridiculously funny despite herself.
"Nuance matters, Ragatha."
She threw her arms up in a theatrical gesture, then burst out laughing outright, a clear, ringing laugh that completely contrasted with the sternness she'd displayed a moment before.
"We have a hearing in two weeks for the Klein case. A serious case. And instead of preparing anything, you spend your morning annoying the prosecutor."
"That's part of my preparation."
"How exactly is that part of your preparation?" she asked, perching on the edge of the desk with restrained energy, clearly ready to debate the point with an enthusiasm that betrayed more curiosity than anger.
Jax laced his hands behind his head, a satisfied smile spreading across his face as he stared thoughtfully at the ceiling.
"Rattling her before the trial even starts is already an advantage. When she gets up to deliver her closing argument, part of her will still be thinking about that ridiculous bouquet instead of focusing entirely on her case."
"That is really..." Ragatha burst into another laugh, shaking her head. "That's really twisted thinking, but I'll admit it might actually work!"
"Thank you."
"That still wasn't a compliment!" she said brightly, giving him a light smack on the shoulder before bouncing back toward her own desk, more modest, tucked in a corner of the room, already piled with several files she had carefully prepared herself, with a seriousness that stood in sharp contrast to her colleague's nonchalance โ without it ever dampening her good mood.
"One day, that little act of yours is going to backfire, Jax."
"Maybe. But not today."
In the corner of the room, perched on the windowsill, legs swinging with undisguised enthusiasm, Ribbit clapped her hands joyfully to a rhythm only she seemed to hear, a wide smile on her face, clearly delighted by the show unfolding in front of her.
"You, at least, seem to agree with me," Jax called over to her, an eyebrow raised, amused.
Ribbit nodded vigorously, several times in a row, with overflowing enthusiasm, before giving a thumbs up, beaming, without saying a word.
"See. At least someone here has taste," Jax remarked to Ragatha.
"She agrees with you whenever it's convenient for her," Ragatha shot back, laughing, "and never when there's actual work to do!"
Ribbit shrugged with an air of feigned innocence, an enormous smile still plastered on her face, before going back to happily swinging her legs, clearly delighted with her official status as observer and perfectly content to do nothing else.
"At least she's in a good mood morning to night," Jax added.
"That's true," Ragatha conceded with a fond smile toward Ribbit, who responded with an energetic little wave, thrilled to be mentioned in the conversation despite her usual silence.
Ragatha was about to add something else, a smile still on her lips, when a shrill ring suddenly cut through the room, making them both jump โ Ribbit, for her part, outright applauded, as if this interruption were the best news of her entire day.
---
### Scene 4 โ A New Case
The landline phone, sitting on an old wooden stand in a corner of the defense office, rang insistently, its red light blinking frantically.
Jax sat up with a jolt, all his earlier amusement instantly vanishing from his face, replaced by sharp, immediate focus.
"That's Caine," he said simply, picking up the receiver. "Hello?"
On the other side of the courthouse, in the prosecutor's office, the same signal was ringing. Evil Jax leapt to his feet, nearly knocking over his chair, and stammered "Iโ I'll get it" before Pomni, quicker, picked up herself, laughing softly at his haste.
"Prosecutor's office, I'm listening."
Caine's voice, through the receiver, carried that grandiose tone he always reserved for announcing a new case โ a mix of theatrical enthusiasm and an almost comically serious solemnity.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" he began, so loudly Pomni had to hold the receiver slightly away from her ear. "A NEW CASE HAS JUST BEEN ASSIGNED TO US! A HOMICIDE IN THE ABANDONED WAREHOUSES OF SECTOR SEVEN! THE CRIME SCENE MUST BE EXAMINED WITHOUT DELAY!"
"We'll get right on it," Pomni replied in a professional tone, already scribbling the details onto a notepad, a smile of contained excitement on her lips โ she loved this exact moment, the one where a case came to life.
On the other side of the building, the same announcement echoed through the receiver Jax held, and he listened to it all the way through before hanging up with an amused sigh.
"New case," he announced to Ragatha, who had already gotten to her feet, ready to head out herself, undisguised enthusiasm on her face. "Sector Seven warehouses."
"We heading out?" she asked, already grabbing her jacket, clearly thrilled at the idea of finally leaving the office.
"No."
Ragatha stopped short, surprised, but her smile didn't fade in the slightest. "What do you mean, no?"
Jax turned toward the corner of the room, where Ribbit still sat perched on the windowsill, legs swinging with enthusiasm.
"Ribbit."
She literally sprang to her feet, an enormous smile lighting up her face, her arms already raised in a victory pose, as though she'd been waiting for this moment since the start of the morning.
"This one's yours," he said simply.
She gave him a joyful, perfectly improvised salute, then left the room in a burst of energy, nearly skipping, without a single glance back, clearly thrilled to finally leave her observation post for some action.
Ragatha watched the scene, amused. "You're serious? You're sending Ribbit alone to a crime scene?"
"Always," Jax replied, sinking back into his chair, a satisfied smile on his lips. "Haven't you ever noticed how good she is at this sort of thing, appearances aside?"
"She doesn't say a single word all day, and there she goes running off like an arrow!"
"She doesn't need to talk to observe. And let's just say she saves up all her energy for exactly this moment."
Ragatha stayed quiet for a moment, a smile still on her lips, recalling past investigations where, indeed, the reports Ribbit brought back had always proven strikingly precise, despite her usually scattered behavior.
"And us, then?"
"We stay here. We prepare the groundwork for the hearing. Ribbit will bring us back everything we need."
---
On the other side of the courthouse, the scene was unfolding quite differently.
"We'll go together," Evil Jax had said, his voice still a little shaky but determined, grabbing his bag without even phrasing it as a question.
Pomni nodded with a smile, hurriedly slipping on the long coat she always kept hanging by the door for occasions like this.
"The Sector Seven warehouses have a bad reputation," she remarked, locking her office behind them. "Last time we went there, there were rats everywhere."
"I remember. Youโ you screamed," Evil Jax replied, a hint of a shy smile flickering across his lips despite his lingering embarrassment.
"I did not scream."
"You screamed," he repeated softly, a little more confident this time โ the second time that day she'd seen him smile like that, which didn't escape Pomni's notice.
"That was a scream of surprise. Not of fear," she shot back, laughing.
"If you say so," he murmured, his cheeks warming again at the thought that he might have, perhaps, pushed his luck a little too far.
They walked down the great staircase leading to the courthouse exit together, their footsteps echoing in rhythm on the cold marble, while far off, in the other wing of the building, Ribbit was already leaving on her own, nearly bouncing with joy at every step, heading toward Sector Seven.
Two groups. Two directions. One shared case that would, soon enough, bring them all together before the same bench.
But that's a story for next time.
---
*End of Chapter 1*
Welcome to this new fanfiction! It's my first one, so I welcome commentsโwhether kind or harshโas long as they help me improve. That's all!
