Busted

**Busted** is a term used in Edward and Eric: Lakeside City Stories that refers to the apprehension of the player.

## Description

When attempting to bust the player, an authority figure will initiate a grappling hold. If the player's Trouble Meter is below red, they have 15 seconds to break out of their grip by repeatedly tapping an indicated button (Y on Xbox 360, Triangle on PlayStation 2/PlayStation 3/PlayStation Portable, space bar on PC, shaking the Wiimote on Wii, and X on Nintendo DS). If the Trouble Meter is red, they will not be able to escape, as they'll get automatically busted once grappled. Upon getting busted, the screen's color turns black-and-white, not unlike when the player gets knocked out, although the only difference is that the motion remains normal, and there is no screen afterwards.

## Aftermath

After getting busted, the player will lose all of their weapons, and if they were busted during a mission, the mission is automatically failed.

If the player hasn't completed a class and they get busted by a cop while a class is in session, the player will respawn at Lakeside City School's front gates by getting dropped off from a police car. During regular school hours and if a class has been completed, they will respawn in front of Principal Walker's office instead. If busted in the town either outside of school hours or if all classes have been completed (which will revoke Truancy being issued), the character will respawn in front of the closest police station. If busted anywhere during curfew (11pm to 5am), they will get sent to their nearest safehouse by the police.

In the Walker and Goodman's Stories DLC, the player will always respawn at the closest police station, as detention, truancy, and curfew were omitted for obvious reasons.

## Cutscenes

While not extremely common, there are unique cutscenes for each character leaving jail that may play after they get busted by the police.

### Edward

* Edward sulks in his cell. Officer Owen mocks him at how "[he] ruined [his] chances of going to college", until Paul steps in to pay the bribe. We see Edward walking out with Paul, who firmly tells Edward he should know better than this, and to stay out of trouble. Paul walks away.
* While sleeping in his cell, a loud explosion sounds off, and chunks of the wall are blown apart. Joey and Stanley are seen in ski masks, threatening Owen and Cop Chris to free Edward. Upon escaping, the trio dash out of the police station. Edward asks them how they found him, and Stanley remarks about how "word gets around quick", as well as how this was all Joey's idea. Joey tells Edward to remember he's "not always a jerk". They quickly split up, and the player has 30 seconds to leave the scene before they receive a red Trouble Meter.
* Stanley walks into the police station with bottles of apple cider, warmly greeting Owen and Chris. Hours are seen passing by, and he walks out with Edward. Edward thanks Stanley for charming them, and they separate.
* Dallas opens the door and bets both Owen and Chris that if he can catch a bullet with his teeth, then they should release Edward. The camera cuts to the outside of whichever police station the player was jailed in as we hear two gunshots. Dallas - who is in perfect condition, with a bullet between his teeth - walks out with Edward. Edward thanks him for his help, and Dallas advises Edward to keep his head up. They separate.

(WIP)