Striving For Perfection

Chapter 10:

Behind the Perfection

Author's note: Okay…you know the drill. I don't own Phoenix Wright games or characters…and if I did, I'd be swimming in my own pool of money (which would be shaped like a dollar bill!) However! I DO own Marty Cruss, Herr Volker, Guido and Anya Trin (who are, like old movie mobsters used to say: "swimmin' wit da fishes!"). For all of you just joining in on this story...you might want to go read Limits of Perfection first...it might get confusing.

I'M BACK! FINALLY! WOULDN'T YOU KNOW IT? I COME HOME...AND THERE'S NO INTERNET HERE EITHER! I JUST GOT IT FIXED TODAY!! AAAAND, I GOT PLACED IN A REALLY, REALLY HARD MATH CLASS, SO I'VE BEEN WORKING MY REAR OFF. UGH. SO HERE'S MY CHRISTMAS GIFT TO ALL OF YOU LOYAL READERS! ANOTHER NEW CHAPTER!!

Oh, and I'm totally not bashing Nancy Drew stories...I used to read them as a kid, and I still have all of the old ones...but this was just the best reference!

TO MY REVIEWERS!

Tilea: Hahah, good luck with your finals! I just finished taking mine yesterday. And here's the next chapter you wanted! Heehee!

XFireFistAceX: I know...it really HAS been a long time, but I promised I'd never leave this story and I meant it!

AND NOW TO THE STORY!

Now...Franziska did not just suddenly see the article and have a psychic connection with an old piece of paper, like a badly written Nancy Drew story. No. Franziska had been looking into the matter of why Marty Cruss had been after her, ever since she had her suspicions about why Anya Trin had wanted to take the case. Just like Phoenix, Franziska had her suspicions. Every scrap of paper and article in that manila envelope had been collected from her office from the beginning of the Cruss case until the moment she had "requested" her vacation. And up until now, Franziska had never had the chance to read through any of it thoroughly...but this one old article...written before she was born...had she not looked at the photograph carefully, she probably would have cast it aside without another thought to it.

MAN FINALLY ARRESTED FOR NOTORIOUS WITNESS MURDERS!!

It just goes to show you that some people can never be trusted...even if they're the ones who are supposed to be helping you! Today, a defense attorney named Matthew Crosse has been arrested and charged with the murders of key witnesses in the past year's worth of court cases. Crosse had been one of the best defense attorney that money could buy. If anyone needed to be defended, they called on Crosse. Widely interviewed and hailed as the 'man with the plan' , Crosse had so much more to gain...so what made this man choose to deviate off of the path of justice? Not even Crosse would say, as reporters attempted to get a word out of him while he was being led out of his luxurious mansion, never to see it, or the light of day as a free man, ever again. The person who WAS up for an interview though, was chief prosecutor Manfred von Karma, who commented that even the most hardened of criminals should at least give some motive for their actions and give the families of the victims some relief. It takes a kind and considerate man (especially one who puts criminals away for a living) to say something like that. Manfred von Karma was the man responsible for the tip that led police in the right direction, and pointed the finger at Crosse, as the mastermind behind the murders. We were so enthralled with the sense of justice that this man had, that STARR REPORT asked Manfred von Karma to sit down and grace us with an interview, which he did.

SR: So, Mr. von Karma-
MvK: Please, just call me Manfred.
SR: All right, Manfred. Tell us, how did you come to find out about Crosse?
MvK: That he was the mastermind? Crosse made the crucial mistake of confiding in me about his deeds.
SR: Was it hard to decide whether or not to turn him in?
MvK: Of course not. Why would it be hard?
SR: Well, though you two work in slightly different professions, he was still your colleague in some sense, right?
MvK: No man who claims to be a defender of the law and breaks it, is a colleague of mine.
SR: That's an admirable rule to live by.
MvK: I thought so too. That's why I have no regrets.
SR: None?!
Mvk: Like I always say, I live by a strict rule of perfection...and turning in Crosse, even if he is a colleague, was to follow the strict rule.
SR: Thank you very much for the interview, Mr. von - I mean, Manfred.
MvK: Any time. Any time.

Franziska shook her head and snarled in disgust at the article. How her father could be called a kind and considerate man with a sense of justice was beyond her comprehension. It was sickening. She felt like tossing the article aside and burning it up, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. This article was probably from a large newspaper with even more detail...but it wasn't even the article that got the wheels in her head turning. It was the photograph...or to be more precise, it was the subtitle underneath the picture. The photo itself was of a man in dark sunglasses being led away in handcuffs, with Manfred von Karma standing in the center of it all, in the middle of running his fingers through his hair. There were swarms of police and reporters covering the scene, and the steps of Crosse's mansion were barely visible in the color photo. But what was written underneath would always make Franziska's hair stand on end.

Being led away in handcuffs, Matthew Crosse is being charged with the witness murders that police had been so sure were committed by Manfred von Karma. Ironically, this man holds no grudge, as he turned in the real culprit and has been extremely cooperative with the police, even since being publicly accused.

It wouldn't have surprised Franziska if her father had really been the witness murderer. She wouldn't put it past him to have committed the crimes and then create a false confession from Crosse when the police got too hot on his tail. In fact, it sounded just like her father. Though she didn't know any thing about her father's past, and had never bothered to ask about it, she had a feeling that, no matter how gingerly she had ever bothered to broach the subject, her father would have punished her severely for even daring to bring up the past. After all, she knew exactly what her father would say about it...no, she knew exactly how the conversation would go. She had had this conversation before...

"The past is the past, Franziska! There is no point in delving into it! A perfect daughter would never question her father about his past. Perhaps this means you're not perfect after all, despite all of your claims!"

Manfred von Karma paced back and forth in the dining room, looking sternly at his daughter, who was sitting at the oak dining table, her tiny hands had been balled into fists until now. How dare her father challenge the fact that she was to be the perfect von Karma heir?! With a fury in her eyes that could have scared off even the fiercest of beasts, Franziska stood up and slammed the palms of her hands on the large table.

"No father! I am! I really am!"

This outburst from his unworthy heir made Manfred von Karma smirk inwardly. At least the child had guts. There was no denying that. But he wouldn't waste time complimenting her to himself. He wasn't going to let her think that he had paused due to a simple outburst from this child.

"Perfect enough to be worthy of being called my heir?"

"Yes father!"

Manfred von Karma laughed scoffingly at this response. How stupidly obedient this child was. But she was certainly putting up a good fight, and if he provoked her now, this verbal battle would get even better. And he knew just what words would sting her right to the core.

"HAH! That disgustingly defiant Edgeworth boy has a better chance of being called my heir than you do!"

He was right. Franziska was shocked and her father watched in pleasure as she faltered slightly and the trace of hurt flashed in her eyes. What a weak child...

"N-no! NO HE DOESN'T, FATHER!" Franziska screamed at the top of her lungs. Whether she was trying to prove a point to herself or her father, she wasn't sure.

"And why is that, Franziska?"

"BECAUSE HE WILL NEVER BE A VON KARMA! HE IS THE SON OF A DEFENSE LAWYER!"

And as a satisfied grin came over the face of the ruthless prosecutor, the sound of footsteps and the sobs of a child could be heard. Manfred von Karma laughed, hearty thunder echoing in the hollow house. "And that, Franziska, is why he will never be a von Karma! You would never run away like a weak little child, would you?"

Attempting to be strong despite the guilt she felt inside for hurting her only friend in the world, Franziska nodded as strongly as she could. "Y-yes, Father." she replied with a strong, and yet gentle voice.

"Speak up girl, I can't hear you!" Manfred snapped, slamming his calloused hands on the table, making Franziska's tiny frame jump in fear. Though the large table separated father and daughter from one another, the blue-haired child was sure he'd find a way to get to her some how.

"Yes, Father!" Franziska replied strongly, hoping that the rough prosecutor would leave her alone if she complied to his demands at the moment.

The graying-haired man slowly leaned up and scoffed slightly as he resumed his composure. "Go on and comfort that little Edgeworth boy...that's what you want to do, isn't it? I can see the way you stare at the stairs..." His voice deepened and darkened to a dangerous threatening tone. "Get out of here...just get out of my SIGHT, Franziska!"

Like a dog with its tail between its legs, Franziska scurried off to avoid the wrath of her father, and to comfort the only friend she would ever know in her lonely childhood in the von Karma mansion. She had failed to prove her worth as a von Karma...as the perfect heir...

It was odd...she never did apologize to Miles...she merely ran to her room in fear...

Franziska sighed softly to herself and scratched the back of her head after tossing the article back in the envelope. Slowly, she placed the other pieces of paper back into the envelope as well, and then closed it, before shoving the collection back under her bed. The German woman then proceeded to walk over to Miles' room, and stood at the door for quite some time, her hand poised before it as though to knock. If she disturbed him now...there was a chance that he would receive her or threaten to throw her out of his apartment...but it was a chance she was willing to take...in a roundabout way. Instead of knocking, the prosecutor flung the door open and was shocked to see Miles, bandaging his wound again.

"What's wrong with-"

"It's starting to bleed again." Miles briskly finished Franziska's sentence for her, in between slight grunts of pain as he attempted to bandage his own wound. Franziska scoffed slightly at the feeble attempt he was making, and marched straight to his bed, where he was sitting, holding the bandages. She held out an outstretched hand in silent demand, and Miles didn't hesitate for a second. While he was stubborn, he had resolved not to be so when it involved the life or health of himself or Franziska. It had gotten him in enough trouble before. They sat there in silence, until the wound was bandaged, and Miles collapsed on the bed, weak from blood loss. He stared up at the ceiling for a great deal of time, to the point where he almost forgot Franziska was there, until she spoke.

"Sorry..."

This admission seemed to get Edgeworth's attention, and he turned his head slightly to see the blue-haired woman looking right back down at him. Edgeworth gave a slight 'hmph' and averted his gaze to look out of the window in his room. "What are you so sorry for?" he questioned, trying not to sound like he was eager to know.

"Do you remember...when I told Papa...that you would never be a von Karma because you were the son of a defense lawyer?" the German woman asked solemnly, as though she was recalling the memory over again.

Franziska's words seemed to strike a chord into Miles' heart, and he turned once more to look at her. "Of course...of course I remember it...almost as though it had just happened this morning...why do you ask?"

"...I never told you that I just said that not to get in trouble...I never meant to hurt you, Miles...so I wanted to tell you that I was sorry." With that quick admission of guilt, Franziska stood up abruptly, before the wounded man could fit a word in edgewise. "I'm going out for a walk...just going down to the precinct to talk to Scruffy...I'll be home before dinner time...maybe we'll do Chinese take-out tonight, or something of the sort."

Miles found it hard to comprehend his thoughts as Franziska left, the click-clack sound that her boots made against the floor as she walked, echoed in his ears for several minutes after she had left the apartment.