Good Enough
(Okay, this chapter is pretty long compared to my others, and there are a few more long ones on the horizon. There's some more OOC of Miles too, and that'll be going on for a while. But, hopefully you guys enjoy! Please review!)
Chapter 12
"Franziska?"
…
"Franziska, are you all right?"
Blearily the German woman opened her eyes, blinking a few times in the bright light. "What…?" came her groggy voice, confused as she tried to figure out where she was and who was calling her. She rolled over from her side to her back, suddenly realizing how sore she was.
She was lying on the floor of the hotel room, the comforter of the bed clutched in her arms. Over her stood Ares, looking quite concerned. "How'd you get down there?" he asked, offering her his hand.
"Must've fallen," she mumbled as she took his aid and he drew her easily up off the floor and onto the edge of the bed.
"You look like Hell."
"Thanks. You too."
"Just like having Tilea here." Ares laughed a bit and took a seat beside her. "Mr. Wright told me," he said, watching her carefully.
She lowered her head. "Oh…"
"Franziska…" Ares paused, his mouth still open a bit as he tried to think of what to say.
"You don't have to say it," she muttered, feeling the tears welling up in her eyes; she had been sure she was out of tears by now. "I'm going crazy… I'm… s-so desperate that I-"
"No," he cut her off. "You're not. You're suffering emotionally, but you're not crazy. In fact… I understand exactly what you're going through."
"How could you possibly understand?" she asked, the image of this warrior having any sort of weakness or attachment like this seeming rather farfetched.
"It might shock you to know this," Ares said, sitting up a little straighter and looking toward the large window in front of them. "I haven't always been strong. In fact, if it weren't for Phoenix… I'd have died more times than I remember, a few by my own hand."
"What?" Now she was attentive, certain she was imagining this. Ares… suicidal?
"Just about anything you can think of… I've been through…" He looked sideways at his friend, his inner conflict showing through on his face. "That incident… there was something personal in it for both of us, especially for me…"
Franziska continued to watch him, sure that this couldn't mean what she was now thinking.
"I probably know better than anyone what you went through… And Phoenix… she's saved my life more times than I can count." He lowered his head this time to stare at his hands, which were clasped in his lap. "She's the reason I became an agent; I wanted to be strong like she was. I wanted to put those years behind me."
After a moment of silence, Ares brought his hand up and drew back the left sleeve of his black sweatshirt, revealing a multitude of scars of all shapes and sizes running all the way up his arm. She stared in awe at the sight. He never wore short sleeves, so this was a first.
"Did… you do that?" she asked, uncertain if he'd welcome any further conversation in this area. However, he had been the one to bring it up.
"Only a couple of them," he replied. He turned his arms over so that the palm of his hand faced upward. "These smaller ones here are mine."
Franziska leaned over to get a closer look, something strange catching her eye. "What about this one?" It was a scar that started at the bottom of his palm and extended a few inches up his arm. This looked more like a suicide attempt than the others, but there was something else…
"That… That was my father's," Ares stated, his tone becoming much more subdued. "Most of them… are my father's."
Their eyes met and they gazed for long moments, now realizing how much they really shared. Slowly, Franziska moved her left hand to her right arm and drew up her sleeve as he had done, turning her palm upward. This time it was Ares who looked shocked, for on her arm was a scar almost identical to his own.
"My father's," Franziska said flatly. "I… almost died that night. I was… only ten years old."
Ares watched her, his expression thoughtful once again. "And who saved you?" he asked, almost certain he knew what her answer would be.
"…Miles." She was looking down at what had once been an open gash, bleeding profusely as a teenage Miles Edgeworth tried to stop it with a hand towel and some bandages, the only means he had found. "Miles… was there for me that night. It was the first time that I experienced anything beyond the trust between a brother and sister, though I didn't realize it at the time. He… somehow managed to stop the bleeding just in time, and he lay with me all night until the next day when calling an ambulance wouldn't have disturbed anyone's sleep." And by 'anyone', she meant her father.
Ares listened carefully to her story, trying to imagine the two of them those years ago and what things must've been like for them. Apparently, Manfred von Karma had been extremely abusive, but he hadn't realized just how bad it had really been until now. It was truly beyond him why that man hadn't been caught doing some of these things before now, especially if he caused that kind of damage. How had these children managed to hide it from the doctors and possibly the police?
Then again, he had managed to until that night when he received the scar they were discussing. "He tried to poison me first," Ares began after an amount of time neither bothered to measure. "But… I tasted it and threw the glass to the floor. Then… he came after me with a knife. Fortunately, I had managed to get Phoenix on the phone before he realized that I hadn't ingested enough of the poison to die. She heard him screaming at me and how frightened I was… and she came right over. By then, I was barely conscious, but she called an ambulance immediately and stayed with me all through it, even while I recovered." He paused to take a breath, trying to calm himself down. He leaned back against the headboard and drew his sleeve back down. "They arrested my father and he was sent to prison, and I moved in with Phoenix and her mother. We were both still in high school, but she was already training to become an agent. She knew how to fight, how to fall, how to conceal herself, how to wield any kind of gun you could think of, and she had just saved her first life. I couldn't believe how strong she was, and I wanted to be the same, perhaps to one day pay her back for everything she did for me."
Franziska remained attentive throughout his entire recollection, having never imagined that this man had once been a helpless and abused child such as herself.
Just then, something came back to her from just before they departed to head over to Germany. "She said something strange," the young woman said suddenly.
Ares' expression became curious. "What?"
"Tilea… She said something really strange the day we got Phoenix Wright and Dick Gumshoe to agree to come with us, but she didn't give anyone a chance to ask her about it."
"And what was that?" Ares had completely relaxed now, lying down on the pillows and looking as if he could doze off if given the opportunity.
"Phoenix Wright was asking her how she knew that Miles was alive, and she said…" Franziska paused, trying to make sure she remembered correctly. "…she said, 'It's a spirit medium thing,' I think…"
"Ah." Ares gave her a bit of a smile. "Well, probably not the type you're used to; I believe Maya Fey and her cousin can channel spirits as well."
Franziska nodded. In recent months she had come to accept the bizarre talent as reality, though she didn't normally believe in such things. "So… she was being serious?"
"Trust me, you'll know if she's joking," Ares said, sitting up again if not reluctantly. "She doesn't flaunt it, but yes, Phoenix can indeed communicate with the dead and even bring them back to this plane. I have to attribute some of our successful missions to that ability of hers. However, that's not all."
"It's not!?" Just the thought of talking to the dead seemed amazing and quite unbelievable to Franziska, but she wasn't about to doubt these two. They wouldn't make up things like this for drama or attention or whatever else it could get them.
"She has a mild form of telepathy," he tried to explain. "She can't actually read minds or speak though her mind, but she can share emotions or feelings and in turn can sense them in others. I've never really understood it myself, but I know for a fact it works."
"How so?"
"I've never been able to hide anything from her," he muttered. "I know that some people can read a person's eyes, but I didn't even have to be looking at her or anywhere near her, and she just knew when I was about to lie or if I was in danger and wasn't telling her about it. Needless to say, she's really good with interrogating people; they can sometimes fool the sensory equipment, but they can't fool Phoenix. Something tells me that it's how she knows that Miles is still alive and how she is so certain that he's present at that manor that she'd put herself in such a risky situation under the pretense of just looking around. She can sense what he's feeling."
She felt overwhelmed: she had known these people as close friends for a few months now, and suddenly she had learned so much more about them in a matter of minutes. "I… had no idea…" was all she could think to say.
"Good," he smirked. "That means we're doing a decent job."
As he said this, Franziska became aware that he had jumped slightly. "What-?"
He stood up and moved over to the window to retrieve his communication radio from the ledge. "Phoenix, what is it?"
A pause, for her response was coming through on an earpiece he was wearing.
"You what? You're breaking up."
Another pause, and Ares' expression changed, excitement apparent in its pale features. He turned to Franziska. "She's found him!"
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Tilea followed von Karma at a short distance, not wishing to invade his personal space, or that was the excuse she would give if this were questioned. In reality, she couldn't stand the smell of his expensive cologne, even though it wasn't really that overpowering. They turned down a small hallway that she had not been allowed to go near before and descended a few steps into an open and empty area with hardwood flooring. Well, empty save for a single man sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the room from a locked door with a shotgun by his side.
"Hi," said Aria timidly, cringing as she received a quick glare from von Karma.
"This is the girl who will be taking care of our 'special guest' from now on," Manfred informed the other man. "She may come and go as she pleases, but you will keep a close watch on her. I don't believe I need to tell you the reason."
The man nodded. "Ja, Mein Herr."
"Special guest?" Aria questioned, looking up at Master von Karma. "I get to take care of a special guest?!"
Von Karma nearly growled at her. "Be quiet and come," he ordered. "And I would advise you not to get your hopes up."
"Yes, Master von Karma." She lowered her head and obeyed, following him to the locked door. 'Blood,' she thought, her keen sense of smell detecting the aroma even before the way had been opened, and when it was, she nearly recoiled from it.
"That's why you are here," von Karma stated. "To take care of that rancid stench and keep this place from becoming a health hazard to myself and my men."
'His men?' she thought with an inner smirk as she followed him into the darkness and began to descend the stairs. 'Yes, of course, Mr. Hitler, Sir.'
They reached the bottom landing and von Karma flipped a switch on the wall to their left. Aria blinked and rubbed her eyes in an attempt to adjust them to the dim lighting more quickly. And then she began to look around. "Someone is actually staying d- Ah!"
She took a step back, preparing to run back up the stairs, but a rough hand closed around her upper arm and pulled her back, nearly causing her to lose her balance. "Where do you think you are going?!" von Karma snarled, leaning down so that his face was much closer to hers. "You work for me, and you will do as I say!"
"B-but…" she stammered, her face as pale as death. "…Th-that man… H-he's… He's-"
"MINE!" At this, Phoenix didn't even have to pretend to jump. She hadn't expected that one. "You are now responsible for bringing him food and water and keeping this area clean! You will keep him alive for as long as I desire, and you will make his presence known to NO ONE! Do you understand me, Girl!?"
She shivered with fear. "Uh… I… Y-yes… M-Master von Karma…"
"Good." He straightened up, and still keeping a firm grip on her arm, dragged her over toward the man lying motionless on the floor. "Miles Edgeworth."
The man lifted his head from his arms and looked up at his master with lifeless gray eyes. Phoenix felt her heart drop into her stomach and her ribs tighten in its absence. '…Jesus Christ, what has he done to him…?'
Von Karma turned his harsh gaze to Aria. "Get down so he can see you more clearly," he commanded, and she obeyed shakily. He then looked back down at Miles. "Miss Aria," he stated, his voice crisp and clear.
Miles' attention turned to the girl crouched in front of him. He stared blankly at her face, and Phoenix doubted there was anything else going on behind that blank stare, or rather, she knew there was nothing else going on behind that blank stare.
"Say it," von Karma ordered.
"Miss Aria."
She nearly choked on her own breath at the sound of his voice. It was weak, strained, and cracked, barely above a whisper and containing no emotion.
"Again," came that deep German voice from above them.
"Miss Aria."
There had been no difference in tone at all, like a machine. Phoenix stared at her friend in horror, knowing that letting this emotion show through would not damage her credibility at all.
"You follow her commands now as well. Do you understand me, Boy?"
"Yes, Master."
"Head down."
Miles obediently lowered his head back onto his arms and lay perfectly still and silent. Phoenix continued to stare at him, this sight sickening her more than it would have had she simply been working a normal case. This was her friend having been tortured into a severe state of catatonia.
"Get up, Girl."
She jumped at his order, and slowly pushed herself up. She turned toward him but kept her head lowered. "W-why…?" she muttered, looking as if she'd start to cry.
"That is none of your concern," he snarled. "Now get to work!" With that, he turned and strode away from her and back up the stairs to exit the room. As she watched him go, she noticed a large shape to the right of the stairwell that she couldn't make out in the lack of light. However, she assumed it was the supplies she'd need to clean up.
After he had vanished, Phoenix turned back around to look down at Miles, who hadn't moved. With a shaking hand, she reached up and pushed a small button on her earpiece, which would send an alerting 'beep' to Ares' earpiece. After a moment, she heard his voice in her ear, though it was distorted by interference.
"Phoenix, what is it?"
"I've found him," she said, speaking as clearly as she could, though her voice was strained in her throat.
"You what? You're breaking up."
"I've Found Him," she repeated, having regained control of her voice. There was a pause in which Ares must've shared the news, and then he spoke to her again.
"How is he?"
Phoenix looked down once more at her friend, doing all she could to keep her tone in check. "He seems to be in a severe state of catatonia. He will only move or speak when commanded to do so… and there aren't any signs of conscious thought…" Usually, this statement would be quite easy to give, but the knowledge that she was speaking about a close friend made it painful.
There was another pause. "O-Okay… I'm… having a hard time hearing you, so… contact me when you get in a… a better area…"
"Ten-four." Their conversation ended, and she knew that this news was not going to settle well back at the hotel. Her attention was now focused entirely on Miles, and with no access to medical equipment or any sort of medicine whatsoever, this was going to take work, and lots of it. She had to try and wake him up, at least a little. Unfortunately, that would most likely take a while.
With a sigh, she drew a small camera from an inside pocket of her shirt. She was being ordered to clean up a crime scene, which would not bode well for their case against von Karma. She snapped a few pictures of the area, the built-in flash on the camera making things much easier in the near darkness. Then, she began to look around, noticing that there were a few broken chains lying around. Carefully, she removed a few links from one of them that seemed to be coated in dried blood, and doing all she could not to disturb the state of them, placed them in another hidden pocket. She also took samples of the blood on the floor just in case other chemicals could be found in it, though the fact that most of it was dry would make some things more difficult.
After doing all she could to gather evidence, she decided it was time to clean it up. She took in a shuddering breath, and then spoke. "Miles Edgeworth."
As she expected, the man raised his head and looked up at her, eyes dead and empty.
She walked over to him and crouched down, gently placing a hand on each of his sides. He jolted a bit as she touched his bare skin, for he wore no shirt. She had found pieces of cloth scattered around the room and assumed it had just been ripped to shreds during the course of his torment. She had also given a start as she touched him, for his body was unnaturally cold.
Taking care not to hurt him, she lifted him from the ground, noting how light he was compared to the last time she had carried him. He began to tremble, expecting pain. "Stay calm," she said softly. "I'm here to help you."
He didn't respond to this in any way, but continued to shake with fear as she carried him to another part of the room where there was no blood on the floor. It was also a bit warmer, being in the near vicinity of one of the torches. She placed him gently on his back on the ground and stood again, observing that there was now fear in his eyes as he stared up at her, this being the only emotion he seemed capable of now.
Reluctantly, Phoenix tore her gaze away and left his side, moving off to start decontaminating this shit hole. She had never really been good at cleaning, something she had pointed out to Ares once when he had jokingly asked her what she couldn't do. However, after probably a few hours of work, during which she sang quietly to herself as a distraction, she managed to remove all traces of blood from everything and even scrubbed out the disgusting bowl that she assumed they had him drinking from. 'Actually… I should just take that up and get a new one.' The thought of aiding these sick bastards in treating her friend like a dog made her burn with anger, but then again, he probably couldn't hold onto a cup to drink like anyone else would.
After finishing all of this, she took what she needed to upstairs and disposed of all the filth she had cleaned up. Then, she proceeded to find him something to eat, making certain that no one saw she hadn't gathered old scraps for him like it appeared they usually did. She entered the basement again with this meal and a new bowl of clean water.
When she approached him, it was to see that he had not moved at all, and when he saw her coming, the fear returned. Having a hard time dealing with this heart-wrenching sight, Phoenix sat down on the floor next to him and placed the dishes in front of her. She noted that he didn't even look at them; she assumed she'd have to command his attention to them.
However, she wasn't about to sit here and order her friend around, then watch him eat like a dog. Hoping to not startle him, she slid an arm beneath his back and carefully eased him up into a sitting position. Miles whimpered a little in pain as he was raised, but stopped when she finished adjusting him to lean against her. He still trembled, not able to understand that this gesture was friendly and that she wasn't about to hurt him.
"I'm going to help you eat," she said softly, preferring to speak to him like a child over speaking to him like an animal.
One word from that sentence registered with Miles and his gaze fell on the dishes in front of them. Doing the only thing he knew to do upon hearing that word, he made to lean forward to take the food, but stopped with a gasp as pain shot through his ribs.
"No, no, no," Phoenix said quickly, pushing him back against her arm.
"I-I'm sorry, Miss Aria," he said, looking even more frightened. He had done something wrong, which always meant punishment.
"It's okay," Tilea assured him, brushing his bangs—which were much longer than usual—away from his eyes. "Don't be afraid."
This phrase didn't seem to register with him either, but he did turn to look back at her, and she could have sworn she saw the shadow of confusion.
"Here," she said, reaching forward with her free hand and bringing a piece of bread back up in front of him. "Eat this," she instructed kindly.
Not sure what to make of this drastic change in his routine life, Miles simply stared at the piece of bread for a moment. He had heard the word 'eat', but it meant something different now. Hoping he did this right, he brought one hand up to take the bread from her. He looked over to make sure she didn't look angry, and then proceeded to eat it slowly.
"That's good," Tilea said with a smile. He just stared over at her, having no idea how to react to this treatment. She continued to hand him food and he would eat it, and when he had finished, she brought the bowl of water up to him. He made to take this from her, but she didn't let him hold its full weight, knowing that he would be lacking enough strength to hold up a large glass bowl full of liquid.
However, instead of bringing it up to his mouth, Miles bent his head to drink by lapping at its contents with his tongue. "No," Tilea said, bringing the bowl down away from him. He flinched.
"I'm sorry, Miss Aria."
"You don't have to be sorry," she said. "It's okay; you haven't done anything wrong. Look."
He watched her as she brought the other side of the bowl up to her own mouth, and—though she kept her lips pressed together—tipped the bowl toward her slightly and pretended to drink. "That's how you do it," she instructed. "Do you understand?"
He hesitated and watched her repeat the motion. "Yes, Miss Aria," he responded, and when she brought the bowl back over to him, he placed his lips on the edge of it and began to drink that way.
"Good job," Tilea praised him with another smile. "You're doing very good." In reality, speaking to him like this was driving her crazy, but it was much better than watching him crawl around on the floor and eat and drink like a dog. She just hoped that none of this would become known to von Karma; she hoped that Miles would understand the difference between interacting with her and interacting with the others.
When she felt he had had enough water—he would have kept drinking as long as she wanted him to, even if it would have made him vomit—she brought the bowl back down to the floor and readjusted him a bit so that his head lay against her shoulder. He looked up at her curiously, wondering what this new process was.
"Who am I?" she asked.
"Miss Aria," he replied without hesitation. She noted with astounding relief that he didn't look frightened at all.
With her free hand, she reached up and removed the black wig from her head, letting her bright red hair fall behind her shoulders, slightly disheveled. "And now?"
He just stared. He would have normally responded, "No, Miss Aria," but this didn't look like that woman anymore, so he didn't know how to say that he didn't know who she was.
"Phoenix," she said.
"Miss Phoenix."
"No, no," she correct. "Phoenix."
He paused for a moment, and then repeated her. "Phoenix."
"Can you remember that?"
"Yes, Phoenix."
She smiled at how this sounded. She knew that he was saying this out of respect for her orders, but that's not how it sounded at all. Without the title before the name, it seemed more of an actual response to an equal, not to a command from a superior.
Phoenix took hold of one of his hands and clasped it as she began to speak. "Ares is here in Germany as well," she told him, knowing he wouldn't understand her. However, talking to him this way and letting him hear these names would eventually help jar his memory and recover mentally. "We brought Mr. Wright and Detective Gumshoe as well, and we also brought Franziska."
To her surprise, he gave a small jolt at the sound of the name. She concluded that either his set vocabulary or familiar commands included her name, and she found herself wondering what Manfred had taught him that had anything to do with his daughter, though she wasn't about to try and find out. She simply continued.
"She's been really worried about you; you've been missing for over two months now." And she continued to tell him everything that had been happening in his absence, and he appeared to be listening even though he didn't understand. However, the sound of her friendly voice seemed to sooth him and slowly his eyes fell shut, his body relaxing against her.
With a sad smile, Phoenix stood, careful not to wake him. She moved back over to his original place and laid him on his stomach, hating to have to leave him here like this. There was no way to get him out right now; some careful scheming would have to be done. Still, they had finally found him and she was now on the inside; two tremendous steps toward his rescue.
Giving him one last glance, she turned and left him, pulling her wig back on as she ascended the staircase to the ground level.