Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Franziska von Karma was gathering the files she needed for the upcoming trial when someone knocked at her door.

I told that foolish secretary to turn everyone away! She thought, I have a trial, isn’t that clear enough that I am not seeing anyone today?!

She opened the door to tell the foolish fool, who was foolish enough to dare to bother her on a trial day, off when she was faced with the last person she wanted to see that day.

There he was, in all of his foolish crimson clad foolishness. Miles Edgeworth, the foolish fool who came back from the dead. He still had that same ever-present smirk on his face, along with that foolishly stoic posture. Franziska’s blood started to boil at the sight of that foolishly foolish man who dared to bother her, after everything he did.

“Miles Edgeworth,” She grit her teeth and clutched her trusty whip.

“Franziska…” He replied.

Is that really all you have to say to me?! She thought.

“Surely I thought you would know better than to foolishly bother me before a trial, Miles Edgeworth,” She said, curtly. “Especially since I am rightfully still cross with you…!”

He recoiled at that last statement, gripping his forearm and looking away. His shoulders seemed to hunch forward as he did that, and he had a look on his face. A look that she couldn’t accurately describe… Regret?... Embarrassment?... Shame?

He’s doing that again, Franziska noted. He’s always doing that…!

“I know you’re furious with me, Franziska, and I don’t blame you for it one bit,” He started. “But I came here to talk to you about this trial…”

Franziska stomped her foot. “How dare you, Miles Edgeworth?!” She glared. “This is my trial and I will not divulge any information with anyone…!

“Especially with the likes of you…” She said, glaring at him.

Part of her hated that she uttered that, but that was the most foolish part of her, so she ignored it.

“Franziska… I have no intention of taking your trial, or glory…” He continued. “I’m just here to warn you… I fear this trial is more insidious than anybody realizes…”

“Insidious?! Hah! Don’t make me laugh, Miles Edgeworth!” Franziska rolled her eyes. “Of course it’s insidious! It’s a murder trial!”

“Franziska, think about it…” Miles Edgeworth ignored her, “Isn’t all of the evidence a little too convenient…? I just want to tell you to be careful…”

Franziska scoffed before shoving him out of the way, “I don’t need you to worry about my safety, Miles Edgeworth…!”

He started after her, despite her cracking her whip to keep his distance. She looked down the hallway and noticed that the elevator was already on their floor. She clutched her case files close and practically sprinted to the opening doors of the elevator.

The one place he wouldn’t follow! Franziska thought.

As soon as she was inside she pressed the door close button as hard as she could. The steel doors slowly started to close, and Franziska could barely catch a glimpse of his face. He was pale, if not a little frustrated with her behavior, but there was something else she couldn’t describe in that expression. It only appeared briefly, but the only way she could describe it at that moment was hurt.

A sickly feeling pooled in her gut and her legs started to shake. She took deep breaths as the elevator car lurched its way to the ground floor. She drew her lips in a tight taught line, but that didn’t stop the lower one from quivering.

Get ahold of yourself! You are a von Karma! She admonished herself. You are not to make a foolish fool of yourself before a trial! You must defeat Phoenix Wright!

She was on the second floor now, quite impressed at the speed she was descending.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, She thought. Forgive me, Miles Ed--

She shook her head and stomped her foot.

“No! You are not going to beg forgiveness from him!” She muttered. “Not after what he did! That foolish disgrace… he ran away… like a loser!”

He abandoned me again…

“Shut up…” she muttered.

Finally the elevator doors opened, and yet somehow, Miles Edgeworth was already coming out of the stairwell doors.

How on Earth did he…? Franziska wondered before clicking her tongue. Nevermind!

“Miles Edgeworth, I thought I had made it clear that I didn’t want to see your face…!” Franziska huffed.

“Franziska…” He started. “Can’t I merely give my well wishes to my sister before a trial…?”

Franziska suddenly stopped and her shoulders tensed, Miles Edgeworth’s words ringing in her ears. She turned to glare at him before brandishing her whip. Her heels clacked against the polished tiled floor of the Prosecutor’s Office lobby as she marched toward him.

With a steely glare in her eyes, she grit her teeth and cracked her whip to punctuate her message.

“Give your well wishes…?!” Franziska growled. “Miles Edgeworth… how dare you…?! I do not need your sympathy! I can get by on my own skills, thank you very much!

“I am Franziska von Karma…!” The young prosecutor whipped the polished floor again. “I am going to do what you couldn’t, Miles Edgeworth! I am going to defeat Phoenix Wright…!

“Because to be a von Karma is to be perfect in every way…!” Franziska knew she was yelling in that instant, she could practically feel the stares of anyone in that lobby.

She just couldn’t care less at that moment.

“I will surpass you, Miles Edgeworth, just watch me…!”

He simply stared at her, causing Franziska’s blood to boil. Those inquisitive gray eyes and that damned stoic face, merely waiting for her to finish her tirade. Those arms crossed and that finger condescendingly bouncing, as if she, Franziska von Karma, were a mere child!

What I wouldn’t give to whip that foolish expression off of his foolish face! She thought.

“Franziska… please…” He said.

“No…! You listen to me, Miles Edgeworth!” Franziska barked. “I made it clear that I did not want to see your face again… especially after that foolish stunt you pulled…!

“‘Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth Chooses Death’?!” She scoffed. “You allowed yourself to be defeated and ran away to lick your wounds like a pitifully foolish animal! I couldn’t believe that my little brother would be so foolish to believe he could fool me!”

I thought you were dead! Didn’t you think of me?! A foolish voice asked in the back of her mind, a voice she had spent the better part of a year trying to suppress.

“I’m sorry, Franziska,” He said, “What I did was wrong, it wasn’t fair of me to do that to everyone…”

Now that made her speechless. She simply stared at the man she called her little brother.

“Why are you really here, Miles Edgeworth…?” Franiska asked. “I do not need your well wishes…

She hesitated before looking him in the eyes again. “... And Phoenix Wright certainly had no idea…”

Miles Edgeworth winced at the mention of that foolish attorney’s name. That foolish name that Franziska barely remembered from her childhood, when her little brother had first joined her family all those years ago. When she had first met that spiky haired fool of a man, she couldn’t believe that this was the man her little brother had spoken so highly of all those years ago.

Even at that moment, she still couldn’t.

“I wanted to warn you about this trial… something about it feels off,” He said. “I don’t like it and I fear that you may get hurt because of it…”

“... What?”

“There’s something odd about that case, please Franziska, be careful…”

Franziska huffed as she pushed open the doors and started outside, “Miles Edgeworth, I do not need you to worry about me… I can take care of myself…!”

I already had to for so many years…

He still followed her nonetheless, “Please, I don’t have enough time to go into specific details concerning my suspicions,” He said. “Please be careful, you don’t want to make too many enemies with this case…”

“Hmph… since when were you so invested in my wellbeing, Miles Edgeworth…?!” Frnaziska glared. “In fact, I—”

Then, Miles Edgeworth’s expression darkened. His eyes widened and he sharply gasped.

“Franziska!”

BANG!

It all happened so fast in that instant; From a nearby rooftop, distant glare of gunmetal gray and a deafening shot, echoing in the air. Franziska couldn’t feel her legs, she tried as best as she could, trying to will herself to get out of the way. She could only feel her heartbeat, thundering in her chest as her eyes started to well up with tears that burned. Everything seemed to be silent as that lone bullet flew straight at the young prosecutor.

Oh god no, please no!

She heard a weak, strained scream. She realized it couldn’t have come from anyone but herself. At that moment, she felt her age, a mere scared and frightened child.

Ich will nicht sterben…!

She felt herself get pushed to the ground, she scraped her knees against the hard pavement, surely ripping her tights. She was barely able to use her hands to brace her fall, and she was never more grateful to have leather gloves on at that moment.

Next to her was Miles Edgeworth, with his face contorted in pain and paler than it should have been, clutching his right shoulder. Despite the maroon suit, Franziska could still see the faint stains of blood.

Franziska screamed, “Little Brother…!”

He winced when he looked up, “F-Franziska…?”

“What were you thinking, you fool?!” Her voice shook as she helped him apply pressure to the wound.

“Y-You would have… would have gotten shot…!” He protested. “Wh-what was I supposed to have done…? Just stand i-idly by…?!”

“I-I would have been fine Miles Edgeworth…!” She glared at him, tears were surely streaming down her face by now. “You got shot!”

“I… was afraid this would happen…” he shivered and cursed under his breath.

Franziska paled. She undid his cravat and applied it to the wound in an attempt to block the blood from spilling out. Dark red blood rapidly stained the pristine white silk.

“I need an ambulance!” Franziska screamed at the nearby officers. “My Little Brother… the damn fool got shot!”

“F-Franziska… I’m fine…!”

“No you are not, Miles Edgeworth…!” She shuddered. “You are to stay quiet and take deep breaths, Little Brother, and you are to stay awake, is that understood…?!”

I can’t lose my Little Brother again…!

Miles Edgeworth simply nodded. “Thank you, Franziska…”

“... If you must tell me something, please keep it brief,” The Judge ordered the bailiff. “Now then, what is it…?”

The bailiff paled and shook as all of the eyes in the courtroom were on him. He gulped and straightened his posture to answer the old judge.

“Prosecutor… Prosecutor von Karma has…” The bailiff sputtered, “This morning, Ms. von Karma was shot by an unknown gunman!”

The entire courtroom erupted in shock and confusion; a loud cacophonous choir of shocked courtroom observers, the defense, and even The Judge himself filled the courtroom.

“Sh-Shot?!” The attorney stared at the bailiff, horrified.

Everyone murmured and speculated to themselves, all of them wondering, who could do such a thing?!

“M-Ms. von Karma! Is she alright?!” Phoenix Wright asked, causing the uproar to die down to a low murmur as everyone stared at the presiding judge.

“I don’t have that answer…!” The Judge gripped his gavel before feeling the all too familiar sting of a leather whip.

In all of her glory, Franziska stood at the prosecutor’s bench, proud as a gilded statue.

“I assure you all…” She smirked. “She is alive and well!”

“Then… then who was shot, Pr- YEOWCH!” The Judge started before the whip silenced him once more.

“Your Honor, you ought to know by now never to interrupt me!” She waved her finger at the hapless old man. “Apparently, some foolish fool messed up the line of communication from the scene of the crime…”

“Wh-what?!” The foolish attorney stared in shock.

“Someone did attempt to shoot me…” She started, “However, Miles Edgeworth foolishly pushed me out of the line of fire and ended up being the victim in the aftermath… He is alive and in stable condition, he should be undergoing surgery as we speak…”

Phoenix Wright paled at her proclamation. “Sh-Shot…?!” He shook. “Someone shot Edgeworth?!”

Franziska glared at the foolish attorney before whipping him. “Why are you concerned, Mr. Phoenix Wright?!” She grit her teeth. “Were you or were you not the one who told my little brother that it would have been better for everyone if he had never come back from the dead?!”

He simply stared at her, dumbfounded, and shocked. He also had that foolish look in his eyes that Miles Edgeworth had before the elevator doors had closed earlier that morning. That same hurt look.

How dare you be spoken so highly of by Miles Edgeworth?! She wondered.

Bearing a grin and wrapping her whip, she curtsied in front of the court.

She gave a haughty stare to Phoenix Wright before snapping her whip once more on the prosecutor’s bench.

“The Prosecution is ready, Your Honor…!”