Hi guys, it's been a long time. Here I am with a story for XxMoonlightCharmxX who requested Lang/Franziska. There is also some Nick/Edgeworth. :)
I hope you will enjoy this story and please let me know what you think. By the way, there may be grammar mistakes in this story, since I'm not English, but I hope you'll be able to read this without too much difficulty. Sorry for all the mistakes.
DISCLAIMER: All the characters in this story belong to CAPCOM (by the way I still hate you for not releasing Ace Attorney Investigations 2 in America).
The wild mare and the wolf
There were two things that Franziska von Karma disliked and found annoying more than defense attorneys or her foolish little brother. It was:
1) being forbidden to do things her way
2) not being able to make the fools that forbade her to do what she wanted change their minds with her whip.
That explained why at the moment she was very angry at Agent Lang, her Interpol partner in the smuggling ring case.
XOXOXOXXOOX
"Good morning Mr. Prosecutor."
Miles Edgeworth, district prosecutor, turned around to face Agent Lang. He raised an eyebrow when he realized that Lang was in the Prosecutor's office, even though he greatly disliked prosecutors.
"Ah, good morning Agent Lang. If I may, I don't want to sound rude but… what are you doing here?"
He saw Lang scowled slightly at his question.
"I assure you I'd rather be at a crime scene more than here!"
Just as I thought, Edgeworth said to himself. He waited for Lang to explain his presence here.
"I have to be around this blasted building because of your sister." This made Edgeworth raise his eyebrows again.
"Franziska? But I thought she was leaving for Germany? That's what she told me two or three days ago, actually." That's when the prosecutor noticed something on Agent Lang's neck. He stared at it to understand what it was and it really looked like a wound. Was he injured recently? He wondered.
Lang scowled again; he really didn't seem to be in a good mood.
"She was supposed to, but I forbade her to leave." The Agent said, sighing loudly. That would explain the wound on his neck: probably a whip lash. Franziska, will you never change? "Do you know why she was leaving?"
Edgeworth was rather surprised by the question: "No," He admitted, "But that's not surprising. I'm not prying into her affairs because she doesn't want me to. When something bothers her she knows she can tell me, but usually I learn what happened, what the case was, after it ended."
"I see. Well then, I'll tell you. She was supposed to leave for Germany because her Chief Prosecutor gave her an important case."
"That's all? Then why didn't you want her to go? If it's because you didn't want to take care alone of the smuggling ring, it's rather selfish. After all, Franziska is a prosecutor before an Interpol Agent, and…"
"That's got nothing to do with it! I could take care alone of the smuggling ring!"
Edgeworth clogged his ears at the Agent's sudden anger. Lang tried to calm down before explaining.
"YOU should begin to pry into your sister's affairs! When she told me she was leaving, I looked into the case she was supposed to solve in Germany. That was a multiple murders case, with a serial killer. And do you know who were the victims?"
Edgeworth thought about it and his logic found the perfect answer: "Prosecutors maybe?"
"Exactly! Prosecutors. And I will tell you something, I may dislike prosecutors but I don't prefer them dead either! I couldn't let Sis leave, wouldn't you agree?"
"No, I disagree. Franziska is a clever woman. Very clever. It's not the first time she has a dangerous case like this one. If victims are prosecutors and if she was asked to solve the case, that means she can do it," the prosecutor answered him with a soft voice. "I have absolute confidence in her. She's not a banal prosecutor. And the German police is quite competent too."
Lang was shocked by the man's answer. When he spoke, his voice was menacing.
"I'm sorry Mr. Prosecutor, but I've seen a lot of cases where people were clever enough or strong enough to take care of themselves but they died nonetheless. Ackbey Hicks is the perfect and dead proof of that."
Edgeworth blinked several times, his face dead serious, and he finally said, "You have every right to be worried about my sister. Myself, if I had known what the case was, I would have been worried for her. But listen to my advice: if you want to become closer to her, stop being that protective towards her or she will find it stifling and will lose interest in you."
The prosecutor then headed towards his office and, without a look back, closed the door behind him.
XOXOXXOXOOXXOOXO
At this moment, Franziska arrived at the Prosecutor's Office. As always, people on her way moved away from her so that she didn't begin whipping them.
She arrived in front of her own office, entered and closed the door in less than 10 seconds. But now what?
She had a meeting with Lang in two hours about the smuggling ring. She remembered when he had told her that he had cancelled her flight for Germany. She had been so angry that she had whipped him at least ten times but he didn't change his mind. Annoying fool. She would show him she could perfectly take care of herself. Oh yes, she would.
His behavior was probably the result of his sex, after all this was a typical male attitude. He thought that she was a weak woman, accustomed to be protected and to never face danger, but she had been raised by her father to be independent and he couldn't change it.
Sighing, she decided to check on-going investigations when her cell-phone rang. She looked at the screen and didn't recognize the number.
"Yes hello? Franziska von Karma speaking."
Her eyes opened wide when she recognized the voice.
XOXOXXOXOOXOXXOOX
Why am I doing this? Why am I doing this ?
This was the only thing he was able to think about.
"I'd like you to call her, Wright." He had said, "She's the only family I have, and I know this may sounds stupid to you, but that's how things work between us. If you want to be accepted by her, this is the only solution.
I'm doing it for him, he thought, only for him. This is the proof that I truly love him.
He took his phone and dialled a number. Then he waited.
"Yes hello? Franziska von Karma speaking."
"G-Good morning, Franziska, it's Wright. Phoenix Wright."
Dead silence on the other side of the line.
"A-Are you still here?"
"…"
"Look, I know you find weird that I call you, but there is a reason behind my call." No kidding, Wright.
"… What do you want?"
Yes! She's not dead!
"Well… You see, I'd like to talk to you, because I've got something very important to tell you."
"Well then, say it."
"What? No! No no! I want to meet you, in a café maybe, because I can't tell it over the phone."
"So you want me to meet you? Outside of the Courts?"
"Y-Yes…"
"Sorry but no, Phoenix Wright. I'm not interested." He felt that she was ready to hung up.
"W-wait! HOLD IT!"
"What now?"
"It's very important, Franziska. It's about your brother!"
"…If my brother has some problems, he knows he can come talk to me. Goodbye." And then she hung up.
Nick stayed there, phone against his ear, before dialling another number.
"Yes, hello?"
"It was a complete fiasco!"
"Wright?"
"No it's the Judge. Of course it's me! I called Franziska and she told me—"
"Wait, you called Franziska?"
"That's what you asked me, didn't you? So I did it."
"Yes but she's not in the mood right now, because she can't go prosecuting a case in Germany. She seemed to be angry at everybody because of her co-worker's decision."
"And how was I suppose to know that Edgeworth?"
He heard a slight chuckle at the other side of the line.
"So, I called her and she said that she wasn't interested. What do we do, now?"
"Don't worry, I'll go talk to her. I was planning to do it, anyway. I'll call you back later alright?"
"Alright. Love you."
"Me too, Wright."
XOXOXOXOXXOXOXOXO
Someone knocked on her door.
"Who is it?" Franziska asked.
"It's Edgeworth."
"Enter."
Her brother entered the room and came to her desk.
"What do you want, Miles Edgeworth?"
"Did Wright call you?"
Franziska raised her eyebrows.
"Yes he did. He told me that he wanted to meet me to talk about you. Do you have a problem with him?" She seemed to be annoyed by the whole situation, but he knew that she felt concerned, deep in her heart.
"It's… not a problem, Franziska. Actually, I would like you to come with me and Wright to the restaurant, let's say… tomorrow night. Are you free?"
"I'm afraid I do not understand. You want to go to the restaurant with you and this defence attorney?"
"Yes, because I want to tell you something important."
She looked at him, surprised by this almost sign of affection, affection he never showed.
"Go with Kay Faraday."
Miles rolled his eyes. "Franziska! Stop acting like a child. I want you there because we're like brother and sister. And furthermore, I know you've got nothing else to do since Agent Lang forbade you to go in Germany."
She glared at him when he mentioned Lang and her forbidden case. But she was curious, now.
"Alright, I'll go. I'll see you tomorrow night with that foolish man. Now leave."
Edgeworth bowed ironically in front of her and then left the room.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
"Shifu!" Lang raised his head from the files he was reading. "Ms. Von Karma has arrived, Shifu. She's waiting for you in the conference room as always."
Lang nodded, "I'll be there in two seconds."
The man saluted and then left the room.
Lang hadn't seen Franziska since the fateful afternoon, three days ago, where he had told her that he had cancelled her plane to Germany. She had gone into an absolute anger (read rage) and had whipped him with so much force that he had thought he was going to collapse. However he hadn't and he had left the room. He knew the German prosecutor had been hurt in her pride but her safety was the priority. He had grown accustomed to her presence, to her logic, to her methods and he didn't complain anymore. The thought that she was a prosecutor, furthermore the daughter of Manfred von Karma, disappeared each time he remembered her intelligence and her want of justice and of a perfect investigation.
We aren't so different, he said to himself, but then he dismissed the thought. He was unable to accept this way of thinking, unable to admit that she was a good prosecutor and a good investigator, unable to admit that he was attracted by her.
When he had first met her, Shih-na was still with him and he wasn't interested in any other woman but his secretary. Then Shih-na had turned to be a traitor and the guilt was unbearable. And then, Sis… A German prosecutor, a young woman - she was nineteen years old - quite hot he had to admit, helped him solve this case with Mr. Prosecutor. He had watched Quercus Alba's trial in Cohdopia, and she had impressed him because her assurance, her faith in the evidence had permitted the Judge to state that the old man was guilty.
What a cooperation, he thought, arriving in front of the conference room. He opened the door and Franziska von Karma was already there, sitting on one of the chairs.
"Well, I almost waited." Lang rolled his eyes at the young woman's comment.
She didn't seem to be angry anymore but one could never know with such a wild mare. Wild mare… This was her nickname in the police force and amongst the prosecutors; even her brother sometimes called her like that and Lang had also heard them called her "The ice princess". Both of them suited her well in his opinion. But a wild mare could never beat a wolf. A wolf was ten times wilder than this German filly.
"Sorry Sis, but I had to take care of some paperwork. A new clue was found."
"Oh really?" She elegantly raised an eyebrow. "What is it, then?" Her voice was platonic and reflected her annoyance.
"Well, apparently my men interpellated a man. The guy was having a traffic of Babahlese ink in direction of Zheng-Fa. It seems we haven't finished our investigation here."
She nodded absently at his comment. Lang sighed loudly. There was a moment of silence between them before he chose to speak again.
"Look… Sis, I'm very sorry that I did what I did, and I…"
She cut him with a smirk and waved her finger at him:
"Oh no, Agent Lang, you're not sorry," she said, squinting, "you're not sorry at all. You did what you did because you wanted to, so you're not sorry."
"Sis," he protested; "I AM sorry but I was obligated to do this. If I had let you go in Germany, the next call I would have had about you would have been the announce of your death. I wanted to protect you."
Franziska raised her eyebrows again, "You wanted to protect me? How about the fact that you don't like prosecutors and don't care of what they do? Last month you were thrilled every time you could tell me this!"
Lang said nothing, she was right after all. Franziska smiled, she had understood that as well.
"Sis," He said again, "I really want to apologize. Let's say, we're going to the restaurant, it's my treat. Tomorrow night, are you free?"
Of course she wasn't, but Lang couldn't know it. She pretended to think about it, but then she shook her head.
"No," she said, with her strange little smile, "I'm having dinner with my little brother and his foolish boyfriend."
The sexual life of Edgeworth was news to Lang, that's why he opened wide his eyes when he heard the word "boyfriend".
"Well, huh…A-ahem… H-how about the day after tomorrow? As I said, I really want to apologize."
Franziska didn't say anything. That's when Lang noticed that her skirt was shorter than usual, not that he would often stare at her legs but that had crossed his mind when he had looked at the German prosecutor.
As if she had noticed his glance, Franziska smiled a wicked smile.
"We'll see about that, Agent Lang," she said, as she leaned forward. "We will see about that."
She's playing a game, he realized.
Franziska had stood up and was now walking towards the door. At the moment she opened it, she turned around and said:
"Let's have a competition, Agent Lang. I'll show you I can perfectly take care of myself. I'll finish this foolish smuggling case and will catch the accomplice of the man you mentioned earlier."
"How did you know—?"
"I've read the reports, just like you. I'll show that a wild mare is more determined and powerful than a wolf." And she closed the door, leaving Lang alone in the conference room.
"Well, she's still angry," Lang said aloud. Then he shook his head, he wasn't going to let this woman win just because he was slightly attracted to her.
This would be the final battle against pretentious prosecutors.
XOXOXOXOOXXOOX
The day after, 8:55 pm
"Are you sure she told you she would come?"
"Yes, Wright. She told me she would be there at 9 pm sharp. She still has five minutes to arrive. Why are you so nervous anyway?"
"Well…," Phoenix said, "You know, I'm not afraid of her but I'm afraid of her whip. If she doesn't like the idea of you and me together, who knows? Maybe she'll kill me or us with her whip!"
"How does you brain reach this ridiculous idea? Franziska is really open-minded about this sort of things." Edgeworth stopped for a few seconds before adding, "And I know, at least, that she won't kill me, so you don't have to worry about us, just worry about you."
"Haha, very funny Edgeworth!" Wright said bitterly while Edgeworth chuckled softly. That's when the prosecutor noticed someone.
"Ah, she's here."
Franziska had noticed them and was walking towards them. Then she sat, facing both the defence attorney and the prosecutor. She seemed to be quite happy and a strange smile was on her lips.
"Good evening, Miles and Wright."
"Good evening, Franziska," Edgeworth replied with a polite smile as Wright just nodded at her.
Then, she looked at the menu in front of her, thinking of what she would like to eat. Wright frowned, puzzled, and looked at Edgeworth, but the man didn't seem to be bothered by his sister's attitude.
Once the waiter took their commands, a polite silence settled down between Wright, Edgeworth and Franziska. Franziska was the first one to break it:
"So…? You wanted to tell me something?"
"Ah yes. But maybe that can wait until after dinner."
Franziska looked at her brother intensely before saying very seriously, "I'm not sure I'll have a lot of time after dinner."
"What do you mean?"
"Well", she sighed, "if you really want to know, I'm searching for a troublesome man. I may have some information tonight, that's why I'm not sure to spend the whole evening with the two of you."
"What are you after, Franziska?" Miles asked her, and he knew Wright was interested as well.
"I'm not sure I can talk about it."
"Why?" Phoenix asked, annoyed by her behavior.
"Because of you, Phoenix Wright. You're not in the case."
"Franziska, don't worry about Wright. I've told him already about the smuggling ring case. Since he is a defence attorney, it was interesting for him to study this kind of cases," Edgeworth told her.
"Are you sure you didn't tell him because he is your foolish boyfriend more than because he is a foolish defence attorney?" She asked in return, a smile on her lips, her finger waving at him.
Wright and Edgeworth were speechless. Especially Wright. Edgeworth, knowing his sister, had understood the moment she had said she would come to the restaurant that she might know about Wright and him.
"So you…um… know?"
"Yes, Phoenix Wright, I know. Even if I don't understand why my brother has chosen a foolish defence attorney as his boyfriend. But I respect it."
"Well um…Thanks…?" Wright said, still shocked about the whole situation.
"Thank you, Franziska." Edgeworth added, "I'm glad to see that you support us."
"I'm not supporting "us" Miles Edgeworth, I'm only supporting you. That's all there is to it."
And for a moment I thought she was going to be nice with me… Wright thought bitterly.
"How about you telling us what you are after, now?" The defence attorney asked nonetheless, still interested.
Franziska looked at him for a long moment, and Phoenix really thought she was going to refuse. To his surprise, she said,
"Well, if it's necessary."
XOXOXOXOXOXO
The same day, 8:06 pm.
"Shifu! We've got some information!"
Lang looked up from his computer, "What is it?"
"The man we've apprehended, it seems he had a meeting with his accomplice tonight. He told us he had cancelled the meeting but apparently he lied. We know the lieu of the rendezvous, Shifu."
"Alright, then. Send a patrol to see if we can catch the guy."
"Well…" the man was hesitating, "I'm not sure we can. A lot of men asked for their evening off since we all thought that the man had cancelled his meeting."
"So what? What are you trying to tell me?"
"Well…We've got nobody to go patrolling."
Lang glared at the man, but said nothing.
"I-I'm very sorry sir, but—"
Lang raised a hand to stop the agent, "That's okay, I'll go there myself."
"B-b-b-but s-s-s-sir! Maybe you—"
"I'm as good as my 99 agents. I'm a detective from the House of Lang, and I'm telling you that I'm gonna catch the guy. He won't escape my fangs, understood? Now let me pass."
Lang exited the room and went to fetch his car. He was going to catch the man, and Sis would lost this battle. He would be the great winner.
When he arrived at the place, a hangar, all the lights were off. Strange, he thought, if there was indeed a meeting, the lights should have been switched on.
He kept on walking until he found an opened door, which led to the inside of the hangar.
He entered silently, gun in hand, and discovered a chair in the center of the hangar.
A chair… Only one chair and there were two men, the guy and his accomplice…
Suddenly he understood. He was an idiot. It's a trap, a f*cking trap!
He turned around to flee but it was too late. The man behind him hit him on the head, and he collapsed, his body falling on the ground.
XOXOXOXOOXXOX
A phone rang as Franziska was still explaining to Wright and Edgeworth what the problem was.
"It's mine," she said. "Yes?"
Wright watched her as she listened intensely to the person on the other side of the line. He found surprising that the German prosecutor didn't ask anything. At a moment she said,
"Alright, good job. I'm on it, I'll be there soon."
"Good news?" Edgeworth asked as she hung up.
"Yes, it is as I've told you. I shall go now, to finish this foolish case. Don't order me any desserts. Oh, and pay the bill for me, will you Miles?"
She waved mockingly at them and exited the restaurant.
"I found her different than usual," the defence attorney said to his boyfriend, once she was gone.
"Yes, I agree. She was too happy for such a serious investigation. I'm sure she's hiding something. Do you have an idea?"
"Well, she reminded me of you whenever you were cornering me or when I was falling into one of your traps. I'm sure, she's going to play a bad joke on someone and I just hope it won't be me or you."
Edgeworth thought about it for a moment, then he shrugged. "I guess you never know with her."
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Lang woke up with a headache, probably due to the fact he had been hit. The Interpol Agent looked around him but there was no light and he couldn't see anything. Lang was used to dangerous situations, however that was the first time he went alone and without backup. A real idiot I was, he thought. I wanted to beat Sis, so I was careless. I must learn from this mistake. It had been too tempting; but now Lang realized it had been a trap all along. There is a real mastermind behind all this. Very clever.
Now all he could do was to wait for his men to save him.
At this moment, he heard the sound of a door opening. Someone was approaching, and suddenly the lights were switched on.
A man he didn't know was standing in front of him. His arms crossed, a condescending smile on his lips, he was a bit weird. He had long black hair with some white wicks that was fixed above his head and it made him looked a bit stupid, his blue eyes were filled with mockery, and, that was the strangest part, he was quite young. Probably even younger than the Sis. The kid wore a leather jacket and leather pants, and he had several rings on his fingers as well as his ears pierced. That idiot hadn't even bothered to cover his face. Once I'm out, you'll go straight in jail, f*cker.
Once he was done with the examination of his aggressor, he noticed that someone else was approaching as well. How many are they? he wondered.
This time again, it was a young man who hadn't covered his face. He had short blond hair and he wore a pair of sunglasses, even though they were inside a building and in the middle of the night. His skin was slightly tanned and Lang could see a metallic necklace which represented the letter "G". However, this young man had something to say.
"The boss wants to talk you, so I would recommend you to stay calm. We wouldn't want the boss to be disappointed by us because of a troublesome prisoner, ja?"
Then he sat on one of the chairs in front of Lang and waited. Several times Lang asked him and the other man questions but they didn't bother to answer them. They are confident, he thought, too confident.
The door opened again for the third time. The person who entered was wearing a mask that was totally covering his head and also a long black coat. Lang thought it was strange that this person had bothered to cover his face but maybe that meant he wasn't as stupid as the two young men. I'll have to be careful.
The two men had stood up when the third person had entered and they moved a bit to let their boss sit in front of Lang. For a few minutes nobody said anything, then Lang lost his patience.
"So what? What do you guys want? Information? Or maybe revenge for what Interpol did to the smuggling ring? Maybe you want me to help you fool Interpol with your own traffic or—" Lang stopped suddenly when he heard someone laughing. Laughing very loudly. He looked at the third person who had arrived a moment ago and he thought that it wasn't the first time he heard that voice. Then the third person stood up.
"I've told you already, didn't I? The voice said with a slight German accent. "I wanted to show you I can perfectly take care of myself." Franziska von Karma removed her mask and smiled wickedly at her Interpol partner who was too shocked to say anything. "And," she added, "that I don't need any of your 'protection'."
"Y-you're… how… What?"
Franziska turned around to face the two young men who had watched the entire scene and were clearly trying to stifle their laughter.
"Thank you, Gavin, Crescend. Good job, both of you."
"It was our pleasure, Miss von Karma," the one with the long black hair said.
"You're welcome, Fräulein." The blond one said, and they both left right after that.
Franziska turned again to face Lang who was still shocked by the situation. She sat on one of the chairs in front of him.
"Don't glare at me like that," she said, frowning, "you deserved that."
"Sis… How could you? I tried to apologize, but you—"
"You tried to apologize?" She repeated. "Who do you think you're fooling? You never apologized! You tried to show me that you had taken the best decision, but that's NOT apologize! Read again the dictionary, fool!"
Lang didn't answer her at first and sighed loudly. Then he remembered the words of Mr. Prosecutor: "Listen to my advice: if you want to become closer to her, stop being that protective towards her or she will find it stifling and will lose interest in you."
"Sis," he finally said, "I…truly apologize for what I've done. I should have trust you and I should have let you go. But… But I was worried, Sis… I know you're one of the best prosecutors in the entire world, but you never know, something could happen. That's why I did what I did. I promise I'll let you do as you wish from now on." The words had been difficult to say but Lang knew he had to tell them.
Franziska looked at him intensely after he was finished talking. Then she stood up and approached him. She put her arms around his neck, looked at him in the eye and kissed him full on the lips. Lang was surprised at first but he gave up two seconds later and closed his eyes.
"That," she said when the kiss stopped, "was for telling the truth."
"A question," Lang asked her, "how did you do to make my men believe that there was something to investigate here?"
"Remember that report?" She asked in return, her arms still around his neck. He nodded. "Well, the man really had an accomplice but he was arrested by the police three days ago because he had stolen a car. With logic and investigation, I understood that he was the accomplice and I told your men earlier that the two men hadn't cancelled their meeting, which was false. Then I asked Gavin and Crescend, who are newcomers but very clever, to set a trap to catch you. And you know what happened after."
"You wanted revenge, didn't you?"
"No. I wanted to show you that you could also fall into a trap and that you had no reason to forbid me to go in Germany. And I succeeded."
"Alright, alright I understood. Now maybe we can get out of here?"
"Of course. It would be foolish to waste more time here."
Lang tried to stand up but noticed that he was still tied to his chair with handcuffs.
"Sis? Could you help me with those handcuffs?" To his surprise, Franziska didn't move. "What? Sis, come on!"
The young woman smiled, "Say it, then."
"Huh? Say what? What're you talking about?"
She leaned over him, "Say that the wild mare did beat the wolf."
"What?" He yelled, "Sis, that's stupid, we—"
"Alright then, I leave you here."
"Alright, Sis, alright! I… The wild mare did beat the wolf and you're probably cleverer than me. Is that okay?"
Franziska smiled again and waved her finger at him. "I'm not sure you're believing what you're saying."
Lang sighed and nodded, "Come here, Sis. I'll prove you that I mean it."
She complied with his order and approached him again. When her face was close enough to his, Lang gave her a passionate kiss on the lips. She hummed in contentment and returned the kiss. The kiss deepened as the young woman slipped her tongue against his, again and again.
When they parted from the kiss, Franziska used the key of the handcuffs to free Lang. They went out in the cold night and Lang asked, "Do you have a car or anything to go back home?"
"Whose home are you talking about, Agent Lang? Mine or yours?"
She felt him laying his hands on her hips. "Whatever," he said, kissing her neck. "I don't care." Franziska turned around to face him and pushed him down on the ground.
Lang looked up at her, towering him.
"How rude!" She said, "And you're calling yourself a gentleman? You're not going anywhere with me. Not until you've learned to behave properly!"
"I…um…Okay, wild mare, okay." Then she helped him to stand up from the ground.
I will need your help, Mr. Prosecutor, if I want to tame this wild mare, he thought, as he smiled and watched her walk in front of him. Wild Franziska von Karma, you'll learn soon enough that a wolf in love is jealous and enterprising.
Hope you liked it! :) It would be nice to let me a review to tell me what you think! :) Reviews help improving, you know!
See you guys!