My own (not-so) "secret project" has arrived! This one documents everyone's second-favorite prosecutor's (Godot for the win!) childhood in Germany following Gregory's death. Ample amounts of Franzy, Manny, and his older sister. She was briefly alluded to in the games, so I thought I'd give a shot at an OC. The result is Marlis von Karma, whose name means "Bitter" in German. She's going to appear a lot, so OC haters, bail out now. In any case, German translations are at the bottom, because there's going to be a lot. Sorry for any errors I make, error catches and the correct translations would be appreciated. Enjoy!

The Edgey Chronicles

Chapter One: Turnabout Meetings

Moving was never an appealing prospect for many children. Moving without your parents was even worse. My mother had died from a severe case of Incuritis when I was far too little to remember her. My father had passed away just last year. And I was the one who had caused that. A chill ran down my spine just from the memory of that dark, nightmarish elevator.

In any case, Manfred von Karma, the legendary prosecutor whose win record had been scarred at the hands of my father himself, had offered to take me in for reasons unknown. I didn't have anywhere else to go, so I accepted.

But he had failed to show, even for his own son. Maybe he was busy, maybe he was away, or maybe he just didn't care. The only person I had seen was an elderly maid who had ushered me in an left me at least two hours ago. So that was how I ended up curled in a ball at the edge of the von Karma mansion, completely and utterly miserable.

A steely voice prompted me to look up. "Wer sind Sie und was wollen Sie?" demanded a small child, three, maybe four years of age, pointing her index finger and glaring menacingly at me.

Of course, I couldn't reply, even if I wanted to; I only knew English, in addition to a few basic phrases in Chinese and French. I reached nervously for the English-German dictionary in my pocket and began thumbing through the yellowed pages. "Um… Mein Name… Mein Name ist Miles, Miles Edgeworth…" I stammered, (hopefully) introducing myself.

She seemed to get it, or at least appeared to. "Miles… Edgeworth…?" she muttered darkly. She caught the attention of an older girl, maybe fifteen or so, standing at the top of the stairs. "Marlis, was ist das Miles Edgeworth dabei hier?"

The girl gasped and trotted down the stairs as quickly as she could. "You are Miles Edgeworth, ja?" I nodded slowly, wondering if I should slink away and dial the nearest insane asylum.

"I'm terribly sorry you had to wait so long, we weren't expecting you until tomorrow!" She clapped, elated, and turned to who appeared to be her younger sister. "Franziska, look! It's our new sibling; my younger brother!" Franziska just scowled, obviously not enjoying her day.

My new older sister, Marlis, was a nice girl. She was a law prodigy like the rest of her family, but, unlike her father, she was a defense attorney. She rarely spoke with her father, and when she did, it was usually in a condescending tone.

Franziska was much more like Mr. von Karma. She was stubborn, arrogant, and would do whatever it took to win. She was also what you would call a prodigy: at only four she spoke fluently with a wide vocabulary (though you wouldn't know it due to her constant abuse of the word fool) and was able to comprehend court proceedings. And she wielded a pretty mean whip despite her age.

The rest of day was spent exploring the vast von Karma mansion and dodging the cracks of Franziska's whip, both things that seemed to be the norm for Marlis. I didn't blame her: the house was so big that even Franziska's ego couldn't fill it, and that's saying something. And Franziska gets angry very easily, in addition to having an aim akin to a sniper.

Dinner that was a quiet affair. The servants at the next table were chatting and laughing quite animatedly, but the table hosting the important people's supper was much more dignified. Conversation was almost nil, and any topic was a question followed by a two-word answer, if that.

Marlis cut her steak quietly on my right; it was obvious that she also expressed discomfort toward unfamiliar adults. Across the table, Franziska, unlike Marlis and I, actually understood (or at least was interested in) the adult's conversation, but quickly grew bored. "So, Little Brother…" she began airily. She obviously had adopted her sister's manner of addressing me. "America… What is it like?"

"Um… From the area where I come from, it's pretty hot, and there's a lot of buildings, so it gets humid as well. But the hills behind the city are nice…" I responded nervously before turning to Marlis. "She speaks English as well…?"

"Vater teaches her personally." She whispered back. She said the words father and personally coldly, almost disdainfully.

The conversation continued in much the same way; small talk, trivial things, until we got to the subject of law. "You want to be a defense attorney as well, ja?" asked Marlis.

I lit up. "Yeah! I'm going to be the greatest defense attorney ever and find the truth no matter what, just like my father!"

Franziska scowled. "Only a foolishly foolhardy foolish fool's fool is foolishly foolish enough to foolishly participate in the foolishly foolish foolhardy folly that is foolishly defending fools. Defending is nothing more than letting foolishly foolish foolhardy criminals get away with their foolishly foolish murder." she spat.

She was about to go on, but Marlis silenced her, reprimanding her sharply. "Franziska, stoppen." Following that, our conversation much resembled the adults'.

______________

That night I lay in bed, unable to sleep. Just as I was about to fall asleep, Marlis slipped through the door. "Oh, I'm sorry, kleinen bruder. I thought you were asleep." She laid a small package on my desk. "This came for you in the mail this morning." She turned to leave, shutting the door behind her quietly. "Süß träume, Miles."

I flipped on the lamp sitting on my dresser. For a multibillionaire, Mr. von Karma sure didn't spare very much money on his guest rooms: mine consisted of white walls, the aforementioned desk and dresser, a hospital-style bed, and a small window, nothing more. I tore open the envelope and unfolded the single sheet of paper sitting inside.

The letter consisted of neat black and white size twelve Times New Roman typing. I knew instantly who had written it.

Dear Miles,

How is Germany? I heard it's really cold over there from a temporary exchange student named Kristoph. It's as hot as ever here in Los Angeles. My mom says you can cook eggs on the sidewalk. I haven't tried it yet.

How's your new family? You said that your new dad was going to be real scary. If he gets out of hand, just give him that death glare of yours, that'll set him straight.

You said you'd have sisters as well, right? It must be nice having sisters; I'm an only child. Just make sure not to start crushing on them, because Larry says that you'll get cooties.

Didn't you say the von Karmas were really rich, too? Do you have an indoor pool? I want one, but my mom said no for some reason. Maybe because she thinks I'll drown or something.

Anyway, I have to wrap this up, my mom says I'm wasting ink. Just make sure to become the best defense attorney the world has ever seen.

Your Friend Forever,

Phoenix

I set down the letter silently and wiped away the tears trailing down my cheeks. No… Phoenix was wrong. It was as Franziska had said: defending meant letting criminals get away. If somebody murdered Phoenix, I'd have to let the killer of my closest friend off the hook.

No, it didn't work that way. There was only one way I could ensure justice was served. There was only one way I could ensure the safety of Franziska, Phoenix, Marlis, and maybe even Larry (just maybe). There was only one way I could ensure that nobody ever hurt my family ever again.

And that was to become a prosecutor.

_____________________

Wer sind Sie und was wollen Sie: Who are you and what do you want?

Mein Name ist...: My name is...

Marlis, was ist das Miles Edgeworth dabei hier: Marlis, what is this Miles Edgeworth doing here?

ja: yes

vater: father

stoppen: stop

kleinen bruder: little brother

süß träume: sweet dreams