DISCLAIMER: I do not own any installments of Ace Attorney or any of the characters.
A/N: A special shout out goes to JordanPhoenix for suggesting this prompt! It was on my list of ideas, so the suggestion made me get to it a little bit faster. Thanks and I hope you enjoy it! *Virtual hugs*
ACE ATTORNEY SCRAPBOOK
Chapter 5: Family Tradition
Case Tag: 2-4 (Farewell, My Turnabout)
Quote: Franziska: But I was dragged here by THAT prosecutor.
He even went so far as to grab me by the wrist the whole way here.
March 22, 2018, 9:35am
District Courthouse, Main Entrance
Phoenix Wright. Franziska von Karma's steel-blue eyes narrowed at the thought of her sworn enemy. Today would be the day. Today would be the day that she would destroy him in court and, by doing so, best both him and her "little brother," Miles Edgeworth. As a von Karma, her destiny was perfection and she was going to live up to that expectation, no matter what.
The first two times they met in court did not count, of course. The trial with the spirit mediums was a farce. And the murder at the circus? A joke (no pun intended like that irksome clown-though it would still be better than any of his jokes if it was...). Ergo, those two cases did not count. Her record was still perfect. Franziska would only accept perfect trials, with perfect evidence and perfect witnesses. Those two components combined led to a perfect verdict, which was what all von Karma family members demanded and expected.
"You're never going to win if that is what is going on in your mind, Franziska," a man's voice spoke from behind her.
Franziska whirled around to find a man in his twenties dressed sharply in a cranberry colored suit with a crisp frilly white cravat, the ruffles of which swayed lightly in the gentle breeze that brushed past the courthouse, standing at the bottom of the courthouse steps, looking up at her with an amused expression. The edges of his lips curling upward ever so slightly into a small smile only served to infuriate her more.
"Miles Edgeworth," Franziska said coolly. "I haven't the faintest idea to what you're referring."
She knew, but she refused to admit it.
"Hmph," Edgeworth headed up the steps to join her outside the courthouse main entrance. "Like I said yesterday, you have not changed one bit, Franziska. I can tell by the look on your face. Your reason for standing in court is to defeat Phoenix Wright."
"What of it?" Franziska challenged. "Is it not the von Karma family tradition to be perfect in every way? That includes obliterating our sworn enemies. In my case, that includes Phoenix Wright."
"You will never win if that is what your reason for standing behind the prosecution's bench is. It took me quite some time to learn that lesson but, now that I do understand where my shortcomings were, I want to share that wisdom with those I care about in order to save them from the same misguided path I had been walking down only a short time ago."
With the arrogant von Karma smirk on her face, Franziska also whipped out the patented von Karma finger wag.
"Perhaps that is true for you, Miles Edgeworth," she said. "But not for me. I am the daughter of Manfred von Karma, the prodigy. Nothing will stand in my way of perfection, including that imperfect, spiky haired-"
*BANG*
With either prosecutor having time to comprehend what was happening, Franziska suddenly jerked back with a small shriek and fell to the ground.
"Franziska!" Edgeworth gasped.
The fear shot through his body like a painful lash from the icy blue haired woman's signature whip. He'd heard enough gunshots in his lifetime to know one when he heard one and that, undeniably, was a gunshot. Edgeworth dashed over to the fallen prosecutor, quickly looking her over as he cushioned her head on his leg while he knelt down on the ground next to her.
"Franziska..." his eyes roved over body, coming to rest on her white puffy sleeve, the shoulder of which was rapidly turning red. "You've been shot!"
Franziska, adrenaline coursing through her body by this point, merely looked over at her bleeding shoulder and shrugged. Well, more like attempted to shrug, as the movement of her injured shoulder caused her to grit her teeth in pain.
"It's only a scratch," Franziska protested.
She tried to sit up, but Edgeworth held her in her position.
"Miles Edgeworth!" Franziska shrieked. "What are you doing? Let go of me! I have a trial to run!"
"Franziska! How can you possibly worry about the trial?! You've been shot!" Edgeworth exclaimed. "You need immediate medical assistance-"
"I need no such thing. I am completely able to proceed with the trial."
"It is not a von Karma family tradition to be shot in the shoulder and act like nothing happened!" Edgeworth shot back. "You may foolishly try to seek perfection, Franziska, but this...this...I cannot allow...not when your life is at stake..."
Having pretty much grown up together, Edgeworth and Franziska knew how to push each other's buttons. Anything to do with Manfred von Karma was sure to get Franziska's temper flaring. Taking advantage of the brief moment in which she had her defenses down, Edgeworth helped Franziska to her feet and then proceeded to walk forward, his hand securely holding hers in order to ensure she wouldn't escape back to the courthouse to try and prosecute the day's trial. The prosecuting prodigy soon came to her senses and, once she realized that Edgeworth was leading her away from the courthouse and not toward it, began to resist. However, only having one good arm didn't get her very far, as Edgeworth strengthened his grip on her wrist and continued dragging her down the courthouse stairs and pulled her across the sidewalk in the direction of the nearest emergency room: the Hotti Clinic.
Just a quick note to say thanks for all of the prompts! To anyone who has left a prompt for me to try out, I will try and get to it as quickly as possible, but I am a few chapters ahead (I have, for example, four more after this one already typed up and ready to go), so it may seem like a while until your prompt gets published, but I swear on Edgey's frilly cravat that I am working on it :) So, keep them coming!