I'm so sorry D: I know it's been forever since I've posted and I thank you for your patience. I HAD SOME REALLY BAD WRITER'S BLOCK XD I've been gone almost half a year, but I'm back with the first REAL chapter. Hope you guys enjoy! I'll start writing the next chapter tonight!

-Kyl

Chapter 1: The Surrogate

October 12, 2002,

-I think this journal therapy is working. According to my entries, it's been almost 3 months since I first came to the orphanage. I'm just now getting used to remembering other people's names. I can name Phoenix and Larry off the top of my head, which is good, but some of the other kids I still have trouble remembering. I think I need a little more practice.

-Phoenix woke me up early this morning. He and Larry said that I was crying out in my sleep again. I'm still having those nightmares, but I can't remember exactly what they're about when I wake up.

-We went to the oriental market after lunch today. I learned a few weeks ago that Phoenix was bilingual (if I look at an earlier entry), but I only learned today that he couldn't read or write in the language. When I asked him why, he told me that even though he was from Zheng Fa, and that Zheng Fan was technically his first language, he was too young at the time he left to have even started his writing lessons. He also told me that they had him learning English primarily, so that he'd be fluent in both languages.

-When we got back, another earthquake hit, and I passed out. I don't remember much of what happened, but Phoenix said that I was curled up in a ball the whole time. I still don't understand why I get really scared and angry during these times… I have to ask the doctor at my next appointment. I hope he doesn't mind.

-I really like it here, with Phoenix and Larry and everyone else. I have a lot of fun here, and everyone is really nice to me, even though I can't really remember who's who… There's a big part of me that never wants to leave this place, but I know that I will have to someday… It's really late now; I'd better get some sleep.

Miles closed the journal, setting it down on top of the others on his bunk – some blank, some full of his memories. It past dark by that time; Larry and Phoenix were sprawled out in their respective bunks below his own, contentedly slipping off into their own little dream worlds.

Heaving a sigh, Miles clicked his reading light off and curled up against his pillows, feeling tired from the day's activities, and prepared himself for long night that was ahead of him.

-November 8, 2002-

-9:36 A.M.-

-Hammond and Grossberg Orphan Center: Room 1228-

He didn't know exactly what woke him up first – the sharp blow to his right temple, or the high pitched shrieks of, "Wach auf!"

Either way he knew he was awake.

"Ow! Hey!" he shrieked drowsily, "What are you….?"

He blinked a few times, removing the sleep from his eyes to see the figure of a small child, a little girl with platinum hair that couldn't be older than two or three years old. She held a little orange rattle in her hands, an article that contrasted sharply with the blacks and blues of her frilly little dress. The first thing that came to Miles's mind when looking at her was "a doll."

"Sind Sie Miles Edgeworth?"

Miles blinked again, in confusion.

"Na? Sprich lauter! Sind Sie Miles Edgeworth oder nicht?!"

Miles frowned at the little foreign girl, "I am Miles Edgeworth, yes. Wha—"

"Komm mit mir," she said, crawling over to the ladder and climbing down with ease. Miles hurried down to join her, somewhat discouraged that he wouldn't get the chance to dress before having to leave the boys' shared room.

As they walked, Miles's temple began to throb. The girl was very fast paced, walking quickly on her toes with ramrod straight posture. Miles couldn't help but wonder who this little girl was and why she was looking for him specifically.

She led him down the hall to one of the conference rooms, the rooms that Mr. Grossberg used for handing adoptions. Pushing the door open, she announced her albeit small presence with a loud, "Papa, ich habe ihn gefunden. Er wurde durch den Morgen schlafen wie ein Narr."

Miles frowned down at the girl and looked up confusedly at the two men standing in the room, one of which was Mr. Grossberg, so the other man must have been the girl's "Papa." The man was older, in his 50's or 60's and dressed in very expensive looking clothing. Something about the man seemed familiar to him, but he decided not to dwell on it too much.

The man, who had been frowning before, smiled down at the little girl, "Good job, Franziska. You have done very well."

Franziska smiled brightly, pleased by the praise, and trotted off to go join the other girl (whom Miles hadn't noticed before) in the back corner of the room. The other girl looked much like Franziska, only she was much older, possibly in her early teens, and she was reading what had to be one of the largest books Miles had ever seen.

Mr. Grossberg cleared his throat loudly, eliciting both his and the man's attention. "Good morning, Miles, I see that little Ms. von Karma has successfully woken you up."

Franziska huffed from her spot in the corner. "It's kind of hard to sleep when someone's beating against your head with a rattle," Miles frowned, gently rubbing his temple.

"My apologies," said the man, "she can be very impatient."

"Oh! I'm terribly sorry. Miles, this is Mr. von Karma; he's the man who is interested in adopting you! Isn't that wonderful?"

Miles certainly had never felt happier; he just could not wait to be adopted by this intimidating old man and his abusive three-year-old daughter. Then again, it could be worse. "I guess that's… nice?" he tried, "…Where are Phoenix and Larry?"

Mr. Grossberg perked a smile at the sound of names coming from the small boy, "Oh! You can finally remember their names now! Well, I'm sorry to inform you, dear boy, that your friends are at the market, and won't be back for another hour or so…" He frowned sadly.

Miles's face fell, "Oh… I guess I can leave them a note or something. It's no big deal…"

Mr. von Karma crossed his arms, an impatient frown forming lines on his face, "Hurry and pack your bags, we are to leave for the next flight to Germany in a half an hour," he began walking towards the door, the completed adoption papers in his left hand, his cane in his right, and little Franziska trotting along behind him.

At the door he stopped and turned to glare down at the boy, "A von Karma is never late for anything. You'd best be getting used to it."

Miles gasped openly towards Mr. Grossberg, "Germany?! But what about my doctor's—"

"All of your medical records are being forwarded to Germany as we speak," said the other girl in the back corner, whom apparently, still hadn't left, "Your medical treatment shall be continued in Germany, everything has been set up and scheduled ahead of time." She regarded him with an encouraging smile, "You needn't worry about that right now, we have everything under control. Now go pack your things before Papa becomes angry with you." And with that, she snapped her book shut and got to her feet, standing tall and slender. She made her way past Miles, and, at the doorway, stopped to look back at him.

"Oh, and be sure not to be late. Papa will throw a fit."

Miles headed out to the car, now fully dressed, his suitcase in one hand and his journal with a pencil in the other. As an attendant came to put his bags into the trunk, he climbed into the back seat, buckling in right next to his two new sisters. For some reason, it hadn't surprised him that little Franziska wasn't in a booster seat.

As the car took off, the other girl turned to look at him, her hands crossed limply over the book in her lap, "Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Grazie von Karma. And I know you've already become aquainted with my little sister."

The little girl between them grimaced up at him, gripping her rattle, "I am Franziska von Karma, and you had better remember it you foolish fool!" She shoved the rattle roughly in his face, backing him up against the car door.

Gripping the door rest, he stared warily at the girl, and then stopped for a moment. "Wait… You could speak English this whole time?!"

"Of course!" she squeaked angrily, "I am a von Karma prodigy, and as such I am responsible for striving for perfection! How can one be able to reach perfection if one does not know the workings English language?!"

Between the look of confused shock on Miles's face, and the angry glare the small child was giving him, with her rattle at ready, it was just too much.

Grazie burst into laughter, clutching her book to her stomach as she doubled over in a fit of giggles. The seething little Franziska shook her rattle wildly in the air, squeaking out words in German, practically ordering her sister to "stop your senseless laughter at once, or I'll tell Papa what you did." The giggles stopped suddenly, replaced with a gasp of shock, "You wouldn't dare…"

Franziska smirked, puffing out her little chest, "I would, and I have evidence to prove it."

Grazie sat quietly, regaining her composure, "Fine. Have it your was princess."

Miles, completely lost in the situation, looked from the elder to the younger, "Er... right… Grazie… and Franziska…" He frowned slowly, tentatively opening his journal to a fresh page and readying his pencil, "How do you spell those, exa—"

Before he could finish, the little girl snatched the book and pencil from his hands and began carefully writing something. On a fresh line she spelled out the words "F-R-A-N-Z-I-S-K-A" and "G-R-A-Z-I-E" in precise lettering. She handed them back to him with a "hmph!" and a frown.

Blinking, Miles accepted the book and studied the lettering, mouthing each letter silently as he rewrote the names below the original, one line after the other. Grazie watched from her book, smiling at the look of blatant displeasure on her little sister's face, and the look of calm concentration on the other's. Franziska may be a brat, but she couldn't help but adore her little sister; her precociousness seemed to grow on people after a while.

Out of the car window, they could finally see the expansive runway of LAX, the spots filled to the brim with commercial airplanes taking people from place to place. Closing his book, Miles watched out of the window in awe, he'd never seen an airplane this close before (or if he did, he couldn't remember it) and was amazed at the sheer size of the machine. Soon, he'd have to board one of those and fly thousands of miles away from his old home, from the orphanage and his friends, to Germany, the country where he'd start his new life with his new family. Just thinking about it gave him a headache - he felt nauseous from the anxiety - but he'd have to put that behind him; the car finally slowed to the stop, and his door was opening.

Phoenix and Larry came back to their room to find it in a state of disrepair – their clothes laying random spots on the floor, the sheets on Miles's bed – a mess, papers were strewn across the carpet, drawers sticking out of the desk at awkward angles. And the weirdest thing about it – Miles wasn't there, and neither were his belongings.

Larry, being as he was, just stood there with his arms crossed, frowning pensively at the room. Meanwhile, Phoenix was a having his own mini-freak out. He stood motionless, staring at the empty corner, only to bolt out of the room in a split second and dash his way to Mr. Grossberg's office.

"MR. GROSSBERG! MR. GROSSBERG! MILES WAS KIDNAPPED! THEY GOT HIM MR. GROSSBER-!"

He stopped midsentence, panting out of breath, at the soft chuckle coming from the large man, "Welcome back, Phoenix. I was going to tell you and Larry during dinner, but I guess I can tell you now since obviously there's been a misunderstanding," he sighed peering over his glasses at him. "I am sad to say, young man, that Miles was adopted earlier this morning, just after you all left. Surely, he must have—"

Just then, Larry burst through the door, whacking Nick in the face with his fist, which was wrapped tightly around a small sheet of paper.

"NICK! EDGEY GOT ADOPTE—Oh! Sorry!" he said, pulling his hands back and helping his friend up.

"I know Larry, Mr. Grossberg just told me…" he said sadly.

"But, he left us a note see!" he said, holding up the paper triumphantly.

Phoenix took the note in his hands and began to read it aloud:

"Dear Phoenix and Larry,

I'd rather say this in person, but you guys are at the store and I don't have much time. I've just been officially adopted by Mr. von Karma, and am headed to Germany to live with him and his daughters, which one seems nice enough but the other one beat me with a rattle so I'm not so sure ha ha. Don't worry about me, I have my journals and I'll be just fine. But I know I'll miss you guys a whole lot. You're my best friends and I promise I'll never forget you! And I'll try to write as much as I can, I have the address with me.

Friends forever,

Miles Edgeworth"

"…"

Heaving a sigh and handing back the note to Larry, Phoenix turned and left the office, walked down the hall, and to his room. He closed the door, climbed onto his bunk and willed himself not to cry. But, eventually, the tears did come, and even with Larry there to comfort him, he continued to sob into his pillow through the night. His new best friend was gone.