A/N: Anything about Franziska's sister and neice appearing in this chapter is made up entirely by me, seeing as how they are barely mentioned in the games.

Chapter 11 - Sisters

Three months have passed.

Sofia von Karma was having problems with her latest boyfriend, and she had decided that some quality time alone together would do them a world of good. (Her daughter, Katerina, didn't get along very well with the boyfriend.) Sofia had asked her sister to let Katerina stay with her for a few months while she got things settled at home. She was surprised that Franziska had agreed.

After assuring Katerina that her dog would be well taken-care of while she was away, Sofia packed a suitcase for her daughter and the two of them took the first flight they could get. Of course, Sofia would be turning around and flying straight back to Germany as soon as Katerina was safely passed into Franziska's care.

Sofia shook her head as if to clear it of stray thoughts. She was in the middle of a crowded airport. She should be looking for her sister, not wandering around lost in thought.

Suddenly, she felt someone grab her arm. She turned toward her assailant... and found herself face-to-face with Franziska.

"Sofia! Where is your mind today?" Franziska snapped. "You walked right past me!"

"I'm... sorry..." Sofia replied hesitantly. The young woman standing before her looked nothing like the Franziska von Karma that Sofia remembered. For one thing, the clothes she was wearing were absent of frills and bows. In fact, Franziska was looking positively Goth in a knee-length flowing black skirt, black silk blouse with black pearl buttons (unbuttoned at the collar), and knee-high black leather lace-up-the-front boots. She even had a black ribbon tied in her hair.

That was another thing. Franziska had let her hair grow out. The tips of her hair now brushed her shoulders. Papa had always kept Franziska's hair long. Sofia had been there the day Franziska cut it. It was the day she first picked up the whip. She wasn't very good with the weapon at first and had somehow gotten it tangled in her hair. The headstrong young girl had then taken a knife and cut it all off. Papa was furious when he'd seen what Franziska had done, but the little girl had stared him down, explaining simply that it had been in the way. And when something got in a von Karma's way, that something was doomed to being removed. Franziska had kept her hair short ever since then. Sofia wondered what had changed that. It was only then that she noticed the obvious absence of the whip.

But the most striking difference, by far, was the fact that Franziska was accompanied by another person. A little girl, to be exact. She was a cute little thing, probably about three years old, if Sofia had to guess. The little girl was clinging to Franziska's skirt with both hands.

Sofia didn't know how long she had been staring before she finally found her voice again. "You never told me you had a child..."

"She's my ward," Franziska explained, leaning down and lifting Mushroom into her arms. "There was a case..." She opened the Court Record and presented Newspaper Clippings 1, 2, and 3 to Sofia. These contained details of the Asib murder trial and follow-up speculation. As Sofia scanned the articles, Franziska continued to explain. "The court found a home for George pretty quickly, and it took a little convincing but the aunt agreed to take both of the older boys. By the time they found anyone willing to take this little one, she had become attached to me and she refused to go with them. So, I ended up adopting her myself."

After the boys had gone to their new homes, Franziska had started going to work again. She took Mushroom to the office with her. None of the other prosecutors minded, because as long she had the child with her, she didn't have her whip. Even without it, she was a strong young woman with an aura of command about her. On days she had trials, Detective Gumshoe watched Mushroom for her. The little girl was almost as attached to the detective as she was to Franziska. Ever since he'd gotten his car back (Edgeworth got so tired of the detective bumming rides that he'd payed the repair bill for him), the detective came over almost every day after he got off work. He would play with Mushroom while Franziska fixed dinner and the three of them would eat together. He usually left before Franziska gave Mushroom her bath and put her to bed, but occasionally he stayed long enough to read the little girl bedtime stories.

No matter how hard she tried to hide it, Sofia could plainly see that Franziska cared for the child a great deal. All the doubts she had about leaving Katerina with her sister vanished in that moment.

"Flight 195 for Germany is now boarding."

The flight announcement startled Sofia out of her reverie. "That's my plane; I have to go. Katerina, I'll call as soon as I get home, okay?"

"Okay." Katerina had been standing silently at her mother's side until this point. She made a face as Sofia patted her on the head.

"Okay, let's go," Franziska said, holding out her hand to Katerina. Katerina was eight years old and thought herself to be too old to hold her mother's hand, but there was something different about Franziska, something friendlier, as though the woman had a genuine desire to have her hand held... Katerina stepped forward and took Franziska's hand. "Mushroom, you're going to have to get down. You hold Katerina's other hand while I get her suitcase."

Mushroom shyly took hold of the older girl's free hand. "My name's Mushroom. You're going to stay in my room," she said, smiling. It was the carefree smile of a small child. Katerina couldn't remember the last time she herself had smiled that way. Sometime before her parents broke up and her mother started dating another man...

As the trio headed out of the airport and towards Franziska's apartment, Katerina couldn't help hoping that she would become an inseparable part of Franziska's happy little family.