(And so, it begins...)
Chapter 15
"H-hello?"
Franziska's breath hitched in her throat at the sound of his voice. She had tried to prepare herself for the worst, but she hadn't really been ready to hear this. He sounded tired, in pain, and weak, not at all the way she remembered him from the last time she had heard his voice. "Miles… do you know who this is?" she asked, desperate to at least hear him speak her name.
There was a pause on the other end, and then his reply came to her with an almost child-like confidence. "Franziska."
Franziska sat down slowly on the window ledge, feeling the tears coming. He remembered her name, but… "Do you remember me, Miles?"
Another pause.
"Um… I'm… really sorry, but… I don't remember anybody… that Phoenix tells me about…"
The tears finally sprang forth. "Miles…" She didn't know what to say to him. "I… I love you…"
"…Y-you do…?"
"I… I can't wait to see you again, even if… you don't remember." She was shaking with sobs now. "I've missed you so much… I've been so worried…"
"Um… Phoenix… told me you were…"It didn't sound anything like him at all. If she hadn't known the situation, she wouldn't have believed she was speaking to Miles Edgeworth, and even now she had her doubts. "I-I'm so sorry…"
"Why?""I'm so sorry… for what my father has done to you…"
Another hesitation. "Um… I think… I think it's my fault. He never says that it's your fault."
"What?" She didn't understand this at all. What was he trying to say?
"I'm being… punished for something I did wrong. I don't remember… what it is, but I don't think you have anything to be sorry about…"
"Oh God, Miles!" She couldn't take this; just hearing this was torture in and of itself. She was now a crying mess and could barely reply to what he said next.
"Uh… I'm supposed to say goodbye now. So… goodbye…" "Bye…" Without looking up, she handed Ares the equipment and simply sat there while he walked away looking solemn "Phoenix?" "I'm here. How is she?""Not… well," he replied. "Look, just get things ready on your end and we'll do this in the morning. Just contact me when it's time to make the switch."
"Will do."
"Ten-four." Ares turned off the communicator and set it on the dresser. He then went to sit next to Franziska and put his arm around her shoulders to comfort her. "It's going to be okay. With the proper medical care, he should recover mentally as well as physically."
"It's unbearable," she sobbed into his shoulder. "He's… He's not…"
"I know," he said. "That's why we didn't want you to speak with him, and why I can't let you see those pictures."
She didn't say anything, just leaned against him, completely unaware that the other two men were sitting awkwardly on the other side of the room watching with uncertainly. Both looked as if they'd rather be anywhere else.
"Detective," Ares suddenly said, making the largest man jump a little.
"Uh, yeah, pal?"
"Can I trust you with something? It's to help Mr. Edgeworth," he added, knowing what effect this would have.
"Of course!" Gumshoe replied, jumping up. "I'll do whatever you need me to, Sir!"
"I need you to go out and find a pair of suit pants that look like Mr. Edgeworth's and a wig that would match his hair, only a few inches longer. Can you do this?"
Gumshoe stared at him. "Um… Why do you need that? And why not his whole suit and his regular hair?"
"Because that's not how he looks right now." He felt Franziska tense up under his arm. "I've got dress shoes; so those two things are all I'll need."
The detective and the man sitting beside him still looked utterly bewildered. "Why are you… trying to look like Mr. Edgeworth, pal?"
"So we can get him out without notice. Now hurry; we're doing this tomorrow."
"What?!" Both Wright and Gumshoe had exclaimed it at the same time.
"We can't wait around forever," Ares stated. "Things are getting worse; we need to act now before we lose our chance. Now, Detective, please."
A few minutes later, Ares had given Gumshoe some money and his pants size and sent him away.
"Are you sure… my father will fall for this?" Franziska asked quietly. "I mean… he's never seen Tilea before, so that was easy, but… Miles…"
"Miles looks a lot different than he did the last time you saw him," Ares told her. "With a bit of work, I can put on a pretty convincing act for what we need to accomplish."
"Won't that be… a bit too dangerous?" Wright asked, unsure if this was the right thing to say. "I mean… if he thinks you're Edgeworth, then…"
"If everything works out the way we've planned it," Ares explained. "…He won't be in that mind-set when he sees me. And if he is… well, I think I'm going to pretend to be unconscious anyway."
Wright frowned. "You and Agent Tilea really like taking risks, don't you?"
"It's in the job description," Ares said with a smirk. "Now, the matter of how to make you look intimidating."
Wright gave a smirk of his own. "I could always set myself on fire and run in screaming. That would scare some people."
She couldn't help it; Franziska started laughing out loud at the image this put into her mind. "I like that idea!" she said. "Let's do that!"
Ares' smile had widened a bit as well. "Though it does sound appealing and would work in theory, I'm afraid that would be a stunt even Tilea and I wouldn't pull. Perhaps we should just come up with something different for Mr. Wright to do."
Franziska put on the most disappointed face she could muster, reminiscent of a pouting child. "Aw, I wanted to set him on fire…"
Everyone in the room was suddenly smiling, and Wright was inwardly pleased with himself. He had hoped to brighten the mood a bit with his comment and it had obviously worked. However, somewhere in the back of his mind there was a rather uncomfortable and inappropriate thought that he refused to let come forward.
'Set me on fire? That's funny, because just a short while ago she was on the verge of wanting to sleep with me…'
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Tilea crouched low, peering silently around the corner at the half-conscious guard sitting in a chair across from the entrance to the basement. It really had to be a boring job, but that wasn't any of her concern. If anything; she was about to give him a bit of a break.
When she was sure his attention was not focused, she moved forward like a cat stalking its prey. She came up right behind him, and by the time he noticed she was there, she had already jammed the needle into his neck. His body tensed for a moment, and then went limp.
"He's out," she whispered. "Come on down."
Only seconds later, Ares leapt down from over the banister railing that ran along the top of the room, which had a high enough ceiling to allow it to open onto the second floor. He landed gracefully and came to Tilea's side.
She stared at him. "You don't look like Edgeworth," she observed, tilting her head. "Oh Ninja Master."
"Not yet," he replied indignantly. He was still wearing a black long-sleeve suit and sported his usual hair. "I want to see him up close before I try to imitate him."
Phoenix frowned. "Well, let's just get this guy settled." She indicated the guard she had just 'put to sleep', and they began trying to adjust him so he sat upright in his chair. They finally managed that, but every time Ares would try to get his head straight, it would lull to the side again.
"Come on, work with me, man!" Ares said to the unconscious guard as if he could be heard.
"Oh! Brain-thought!" Phoenix took the shotgun that lay next to the chair on the floor and placed it so that the barrel rested on the man's shoulder and his head leaned against it. "Well… it's not perfect, but I'm sure it'll work for what we need to do."
Ares looked at the sight with a smirk. "Aw, he loves it," he laughed, drawing attention to the fact that the man appeared to be cuddling his gun.
"I'm gonna' take a picture!" Phoenix drew her camera out of one of her pockets and began snapping pictures from different angles.
"Okay that's enough."
"Yeah, let's go."
They both turned away and sprinted across the room to the basement door. Phoenix unlocked it and they entered, shutting it behind them.
Ares blinked in the change of light and sniffed a couple of times. "Ugh! And you cleaned this place up?!"
"Yeah," she replied. "Bad, isn't it?" She switched on the torches when they reached the bottom landing and Ares had to adjust his vision again.
"So yeah, I'd have killed myself," he said, looking around the dismal chamber.
"Again?" Phoenix smirked, hoping to get a rise out of him.
"Oh, shut it," Ares grumbled, looking around again. "Ah, there he is."
Miles was watching them from his usual place by the support beam on the far end of the room. They couldn't see his face from this distance in the lack of light, but Phoenix could clearly envision the look of curious confusion upon it. Drawing off her black wig as she went, Phoenix made her way over to him followed at a distance by Ares. "Hey there, Miles," she greeted him as she crouched down.
"Hi, Phoenix," he returned the greeting. "Um… wh-who is that?"
"This is Ares," she introduced him, waving her hand to tell the other agent to come forward. He did so and crouched as well.
"Hey, Miles," Ares said with a smile. "Has Phoenix been taking care of you?"
Looking a little nervous, the older man nodded.
"It's time to go," Phoenix informed him, and she watched as his face lit up a bit.
"R-really?" So… she hadn't just been making up stories? He was really going to get to leave?
"Yep!" she confirmed. "We've got a plan to get you out of here."
"A… plan?" He blinked at her uncertainly. "What… do I have to do?"
"Not a thing," Ares stated. "You just have to stay very quiet so no one will find you."
"Can you do that, Miles?" Phoenix asked, brushing his hair away from his bruised face.
He nodded excitedly. "Yes, Phoenix, I can do that," he stated confidently.
"Alrighty then," she said, pulling a folded black, button-up sweatshirt from the leather bag on her shoulder. "It's really cold out," she told him. "So, I'm going to put this on you, okay?"
He nodded again and lay still as she put the shirt on him and then sat him up against her arm as she buttoned it up in the front. "Okay, you're turn," she said to Ares, who stood and began to remove his own shirt.
Miles looked on in bewilderment. "What's he doing?" he asked, glancing over at Phoenix.
She smirked. "Well, Miles, it looks like Ares is giving us a striptease."
"Oh, shut the fuck up!" Ares shouted, flinging his shirt at her as she laughed hysterically. This time, Miles didn't join in her laughter, for he was just too confused to even consider it.
Beneath Ares' black suit pants he wore a pair of red ones that matched Edgeworth's almost perfectly, and he had even torn them in places according to what he could see in the pictures. His torso, which was now completely exposed, was covered in vivid scars, making him an even better candidate to imitate his friend. He even had a few long ones running down his back just as Edgeworth did. Lastly, he placed the wig of long gray hair over his own shorter gray locks, and Tilea drew out a pair of scissors so that she could attempt to style it like the older man's.
"So, how do I look?" he asked, facing Tilea.
"Hmm…" She tilted her head this way and that to get a look at him, thinking hard. Then, without warning, her fist came out and connected with the left side of his jaw, laying him out instantly. "Perfect."
"Ow, damnit!" Ares glared up at her from the floor, a bruise forming where she had hit him.
Tilea frowned. "Well, it's not quite as dark as his, but it'll do."
Miles observed this scene at a complete loss for how to react.
"Okay, he'll be down here soon," Tilea said, looking at her watch. "We need to hurry." She brought a small radio up nearer to her mouth and pushed a button to speak into it. "Detective, quickly."
"Roger that, pal!"Tilea stooped and—placing one arm around his upper back and the other beneath his legs—lifted Edgeworth from the floor. In his absence, Ares moved into his usual place and lay on his stomach with his head lying in his arms. Phoenix moved across the room and headed up the stairs, standing at the top and waiting.
"I'm going to give you to someone else," she said quietly to Miles, who tensed up a little at the thought of this.
"Who…?" he asked nervously.
"He's a detective," she informed him. "He's going to take you to a hiding place outside of here, but you have to remember to stay absolutely silent when he takes you."
Miles nodded. "I will…" He still looked a bit afraid, and that fear increased as footsteps reached their ears.
"It's okay," Phoenix whispered, able to tell simply by the sound of them that it was not von Karma approaching. The door opened and Gumshoe's large frame blocked most of the light that would have come flooding in.
"Quickly," Phoenix whispered urgently. "But be very careful; his body has been heavily damaged and it'll be easy to make it worse."
"O-of course…" Gumshoe murmured as she passed Miles to him. His face was rather pale as he stared down at the man he was now carrying, Edgeworth's once sharp and ever-alert eyes now lifelessly gazing up at him from behind long and stringy bangs.
"I know this is hard, Detective," Tilea said, her voice more friendly now, a change from her commanding tone just a few moments ago. "He doesn't remember you right now, and he's suffered more than physical damage. However, just get him to safety without being seen, and I'm sure that with some expert medical care, he'll be back to his former self eventually. Now hurry and get out of sight; von Karma will be down here any moment now."
Gumshoe nodded, and Tilea was sure that, had he not been in the vicinity of others, he would have started crying. He had idolized Mr. Edgeworth, and to see his hero like this had to be a crushing blow from a cruel reality.
As Gumshoe turned away, Miles gave Phoenix one last apprehensive look, still not comfortable being in the grasp of this very large stranger. However, he had to close his eyes as he was taken out of the basement, for the brightness of the light outside of it was something he had not seen in months and it was blinding him. Tilea could faintly hear von Karma's voice in the distance and whispered another urgent, "Hurry!" to Gumshoe before closing the door and sprinting back down the stairs to pull her wig back on and hide Ares' suit in her bag. "Franziska, now!" she said into the communicator before hiding it as well.
When the door at the top of the stairs opened again, it was von Karma who stepped in to witness his maid scrubbing a spot on the floor and 'Miles' lying perfectly still as usual. He hadn't even noticed the guard's odd position, for he had gotten used to seeing the man in the same spot every day and had stopped bothering to glance over at him at all.
He descended with his usual proud demeanor, then stopped to stand with his arms folded and his cold gaze upon the young girl. "You might want to wait to clean up," he suggested, a smirk playing on his lips.
He watched as she tensed up and stopped scrubbing. "Um… M-Master von Karma, I don't think that—"
"Miles Edgeworth." The words issued from von Karma like a routine, and he expected the same result to occur as usual…
…but it didn't.
"Um… Sir…" she said timidly. "I think… he's unconscious…"
With an irritated growl, von Karma strode forward. "And what gives you that idea?"
"Well…" she said, now sitting instead of on her hands and knees. "…I thought he was just asleep at first, but I couldn't wake him up. I think he just… passed out."
Okay, so it had happened before, but that was normally after one of their 'sessions', not right before it. The boy had no concept of time being down here, so there was no way he could have known von Karma would be coming soon and simply pretended to be unconscious for this girl to see. Unless, of course, she had told him to do so.
Von Karma took another step forward and gave Ares a kick in the side, but he received no reaction. He did it again, and still nothing, not even a flinch. He was now convinced that this could not be an act; Miles did not nearly have enough endurance to keep from reacting to a blow like that, much less two of them.
Just then, the door opened once again and Manfred spun around in surprise. "What?!" he barked to the silhouette standing in the doorway.
"I… apologize for interrupting, Sir," came a male voice with a German accent from the top of the stairs. "But… there is someone here to speak with you."
"Can't it wait!?" the first snapped, having already been irritated enough by finding his toy momentarily out of order.
"It is your daughter, Sir."
You could have cut the tension in the room with a knife.