damned_institute | Night 41: Main Hallway, 1-West

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Night 41: Main Hallway, 1-West

[from here]

The main hallway was empty, too. The quiet was broken only by squeak of S.T's shoes on the tile floor and tiny creaks of metal as the toolbox swung as he walked.

This was the part in the horror movie where the cheerleader took a knife to the throat. Good thing he'd left his pom-poms at home. As long as he was the idiot friend or the brains (hell, both) he should make it at least to the third act.

He hurried along, hugging close to the left-hand wall.

[to here]

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Edgeworth shot the elder von Karma an icy glare of his own. "No, but that's an ideal I don't particularly care to live up to, as it would involve being both a murderer and an attempted murderer." The next look was to Franziska. "There's a witness to the second one, not that you would consider speaking to him of your own volition. You're certainly free to talk with Wright about it, however, seeing as it happened here a bit less than a week ago." Another shot across the bow, this time a bit more carefully aimed.

"I suspect that you know exactly what I'm talking about, unless you would rather admit to being the one that posted the initial 'nomination list' for the 'sleep studies'. Of course, though, your way of doing things generally involves only a single target, as collateral damage is far too messy for your likes. That, and you're not the type to play games. The person who did it is that type, as evidenced by the fact they did it so many times."

He'd thought to take a copy of the list from the bulletin board, but it was one of the copies. It would be immediately dismissed. "I don't feel that I have anything else to say to you, Herr von Karma, but I do have something to say to you, Franziska. You have a number of options in front of you. I would advise you to choose wisely."

Just what in Justice's name was going on?! Her father was denying the accusations on one hand, and Miles was piling them up on the other. She hated hearing anyone say it so plainly, too - her father's crime. His crime. Such things should have been impossible. A man dedicated to the law and to perfection should never have fallen in such a way. And Miles Edgeworth knew how much of a sore spot her father was for her, so why was he bringing it up like this?! After all that time she'd spent in the Prosecutor's Office and all the help she'd (inadvertantly) given him, was he finally showing his true colors like this?

"Typical of you, Miles Edgeworth. To turn your back on the ones you owe the most to. Without absolute proof, you have no case." The talk of a witness didn't escape her attention, even if it was Phoenix Wright. He would have to be interrogated later, when her father wasn't around to see it. Even if he-- Why was he here anyway? None of this made any sense! She was careful not to outright ignore her father, but at the same time, she honestly didn't know how to react to him. He'd been absent most of her life and the only real time she'd seen him was in the papers and in the news when he had been standing triumphantly at the end of a trial. His name had haunted her throughout her life and then, suddenly, he'd been gone. And now he was back, like a specter that shouldn't exist and yet did. "Unlike my foolish brother, I am not one to stray from the path set before me."

Even if she didn't know where that path was anymore.

And was Edgeworth telling her she had options now? Options? Bah, that foolish brother of hers hadn't learned a single thing in the time she'd left him in America! She had no options! She only knew one thing, and that was to follow her father's legacy. She'd tried, in her own way, to continue her career, but no matter what, her only basis for law had been the von Karma method. She knew nothing else and right now she had no idea what to do because, despite all the information gathered, it hadn't prepared her to meet Manfred von Karma again. Not like this.

Crossing her arms, Franziska closed her eyes and took a few shallow breaths. She had to think. She had to think carefully. She knew, logically, that her father had committed a horrible crime. He had murdered a man in cold blood and then tried to frame another man for a different murder. She knew all this and yet, she couldn't just abandon him like Edgeworth could. He was and always would be her father and her mentor. "I don't need you to tell me that, Miles Edgeworth. Pass your foolish advice off to someone who actually needs it."

von Karma had been silent this whole time, listening to the two argue about him. Though his outward expression never showed it, he had been resigned to the likelihood that his daughter might take the brat's side instead of his. After all, Franziska had to have been aware of his ignominious fall, as it had made national news in both the United States and in Germany. The fact that she had not tried to contact him at all after that miserable debacle most likely meant that she wanted nothing more to do with him. Very well. He accepted that. After all, were their positions reversed, he would have summarily ousted her from his family. Even a single loss in court would have been grounds for disowning her; a true von Karma never failed, never lost, which was why he had pressed for the expedited sentencing in his case.

As Franziska responded in complete support of von Karma, his expression remained just as impassive as before, as though he had expected nothing more and nothing less of her. "Very astute, dear daughter. Of course he has no concrete proof. If he had, he would have presented it by now." And even had the Edgeworth spawn held the original note in his hand, he would have had no way to prove that the handwriting was von Karma's; though impeccable, it had been well disguised.

von Karma then folded his arms, closing his eyes as he addressed the boy's accusation of what had happened only six nights ago. "Furthermore, consider that the boy claims that this witness to this alleged murder attempt happens to be a defense attorney, of all people. Can you honestly trust the word of someone who aids and abets in allowing the guilty to shirk their responsibility of paying for their crimes?"

"If I presented it, neither of you would have believed it, so why should I waste the effort? Of course, I wouldn't make an accusation without it, but it seems a moot point, since you've made up your mind already." Miles gestured with his free hand as he spoke.

"That said, I'd expected better of you, Franziska, particularly from the point in time you seem to be from. I had hoped you'd be thinking for yourself and not chasing after a long-dead demon's shadow. Or is it that you turned into a murderess yourself, in some sort of self-fulfilling prophecy? I would certainly hope you wouldn't be emulating your father in that aspect." The words were carefully chosen in order to force the younger prosecutor to think, not just blindly follow.

"Also? An eyewitness is an eyewitness, no matter their occupation. Unless you'd like to speak to a member of the staff regarding the incident? If so, please feel free to speak to Dr. Gregory House, seeing as I had very little choice about presenting the injury. If you'd rather not go that route, you could certainly ask any of the patients I spoke to during the days immediately after the incident. You left a rather obvious and messy trail behind you, Herr von Karma, though I'll give you the fact that you kept an exceptionally low profile after the incident. Did you honestly think that the evidence would go unnoticed?"

There were a few things that Franziska would not, under any circumstance, allow to be said in her presence. Snide remarks about her age or gender, references to her defeat at Phoenix Wright's infuriating hands, and finally - talk of her father's crime. She knew he was a criminal and that she should abandon him like the world had. But then the world hadn't been followed by whispers through the halls about how the legacy was over, or how it had been a sham from the very beginning. Talk like that shook her to the core. It stole everything she'd tried to do from her.

And the world be damned if she was going to let Edgeworth insult her like that. Before she knew what she was doing, Franziska had stepped forward and raised a hand, slapping the younger man straight across the face. She didn't know what he meant by time, or what he had hoped to achieve, but calling her a murderess was too much. It wasn't until she felt her palm stinging that she realized what she'd done and the fury in her eyes abated, albeit slightly. She had to stay angry, just so she didn't let her real emotion slip through. Edgeworth couldn't know how much his words had just hurt her. "There are low blows, Miles Edgeworth, and then there is what you just did."

Stepping back, Franziska looked down at the ground, noticing her notebook there. She must have dropped it. "..." Reaching down, she picked it up and tucked it under her arm again before she turned to look at both men. Her voice was steely when she began speaking again, as if her emotional outburst had never happened. One hand stayed anchored at her hip, the other gripping the edge of the notebook - both were here lifelines, a careful pose made to erase any doubt of her dominance and her control. Even if she had none at the moment. "Consider the case under investigation. All witnesses, including Dr. Gregory House and Phoenix Wright will be interrogated." Including you, Papa. "Attempted murder is a serious accusation. Be ready to present evidence and alibis in a timely manner. Miles Edgeworth, bring me a list of those you would count among your witnesses, and do it quickly."

"Messy evidence trail?" Bah. The blasted Edgeworth brat had to have been bluffing. For one thing, the only possible piece of evidence that existed was the weapon that von Karma had used. Unless there was a forensics team on the premises willing to examine it for fingerprints and dents denoting that it had broken a man's shoulder, it was no more decisive than the new flashlight he gripped in his hand. The wound on the boy's shoulder seemed to have already healed completely, judging from his apparent full range of motion on the side that had been broken. And even were it still injured... anything could have caused it. Aside from the pesky defense lawyer's word -- and what other concrete evidence could exist to back it up? -- the other "witnesses" were most likely little more than recipients of mere hearsay. They... had to be, for von Karma had seen no one else in the hallway at the time of the incident.

Before the older prosecutor could retort back to his former student, his daughter suddenly struck at the younger man in an outburst of anger. Very much like old times, von Karma mused to himself, remembering how Franziska used to literally whip some discipline into her "little brother," ensuring that he didn't stray from his studies.

"My dear Franziska," he admonished her, waving a finger (though deep down, he was quite pleased at her commanding action against Edgeworth). "This is not the time to lose your cool. Clearly, the boy is delusional. Just listen to this nonsense he is spouting! 'Point in time?' Bah!" He stopped short of mentioning the previous discussion they had had, lest the boy reprise the miserable argument about the "circumstantial evidence" of his death. He was especially loath to continue it in front of his daughter.

Though he, too, was skating on thin ice, he himself could not afford to show it. Why risk giving the brat the satisfaction? Instead, he merely smirked, feigning complete serenity over his "innocence" of the charge. "Boy, since you are so willing to accuse me of such a heinous crime, I, too would like to hear what these 'eyewitnesses' have to say. And what is this 'evidence' you claim I am overlooking?"

"Furthermore..." he shook his head at the boy, clicking his tongue at him again, "your implication that your sister is a murderess is quite shameful and highly unreasonable of you. How pitiful that you would resort to such slanderous attacks against your own family. Though Franziska acted rashly, I can hardly blame her for her action."

[OOC: I posted this entirely from my phone. I can still edit as needed, however, so please let me know if I left something out or if it needs to be fixed in some way. Thanks. ^^ ]

Edited 2009-06-18 23:04 (UTC)

Miles' stance didn't change - he'd been expecting the slap at some point, and while it stung, at least it meant one thing. Franziska might actually be open to thinking now and not following blindly.

"You'll have that list in hand in the morning," he said, calmly. "And I do apologize, but frankly, you weren't thinking straight, and it's incredibly rude to hit a woman." Now, then.

"You'll have to forgive me, Herr von Karma, but you're terrible at playing dumb. You know exactly what I mean. Metal bats don't simply disappear from the premises. It should be no trouble to go to where they're kept. What's more, I'm willing to wager that your sudden 'disappearance' was related to the fact you did expend quite a lot of energy and effort; it's not unlikely that at your age, that would have caused some complications. Medical records don't suddenly disappear, either."

He shrugged his shoulders. "One more word of advice, Franziska: Don't alienate everyone, and don't chase a false ideal. You're better than that, even if I suspect your father doesn't believe so."

With that, he turned on one heel, the tip of the sword pointed behind him to deter any further attempts to attack from behind, and left.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/630419.html).]

Edited 2009-06-18 23:51 (UTC)

Unfortunately for her father, Franziska knew what nonsense Miles Edgeworth was spouting. She knew about the time differences and the strange worlds and the impossible things that became possible here. She knew it all, but that didn't mean she was ready to accept it. Nor was she ready to accept Edgeworth's guidance or his thinly veiled advice.

Rude to hit a woman? She hated that phrase. She hated how it indicated that women were the weaker of the species, and how it seemingly mocked her own willingness to administer punishment to anyone equally regardless of gender. Gritting her teeth, Franziska pretended to ignore what Edgeworth said, even as every word was carefully filed away in her mind.

Metal bats. Medical records. Yet again, she was watching from the outside as a battle was fought between her father, her brother and their greatest rival. This time, though, she was here, not in Germany and gods be damned, she was going to get to the bottom of it. She didn't miss the pointed tip of the sword as Edgeworth left, and scoffed at it, turning her back to him.

Now came the hard part. She was left alone with her father. She hadn't seen him in so long, and hadn't even been able to attend his trial. Everything had moved so fast that, by the time she'd been able to gain a reprieve from work, he was already gone. Folding her arms with her journal tucked firmly against her side, Franziska looked at Manfred and... couldn't think of anything to say. She'd never been particularly emotional, but when it came to family, she was particularly bad. She rarely spoke of them or to them, preferring to stay on her own as much as possible.

"..." Gripping her sleeve with one hand, Franziska looked away and finally said, "Fools will say what they will. It means nothing to me."

At the boy's abrupt departure, von Karma merely scoffed, "Hmph," a slight smirk on his face as he folded his arms and shook his head. Such a foolish coward, holding the sword behind himself like that. Did Edgeworth honestly fear that his former mentor would pursue and attack him in a hallway full of potential witnesses -- including Franziska, of all people?

Besides, von Karma was completely unarmed save for his flashlight, and he could ill afford the risk of damaging it needlessly. Furthermore... what difference did it make where the bats were kept? The only one that truly mattered was the one that was in Mr. Wright's possession six nights ago. He seemed to have quite a habit of collecting trivial rubbish to present it to court (Bah. Articles on nonexistent monsters, indeed!); von Karma highly doubted that this same snooping defense attorney would casually return a piece of potentially decisive evidence to the activities shed.

However... the boy did have a frustratingly valid point about the medical records. Now that the concept had been brought up in front of his daughter, von Karma would have to resume his trek to the file room near the building's entry way to retrieve his file as quickly as possible, lest the brat find it first. Thankfully, Edgeworth had retreated in the direction opposite of the entrance, which meant that von Karma possibly still had time to get there before he did. Also, fortunately, there was no indication that Edgeworth knew von Karma's false name that the Institute had given him; if the files were organized by these false names, then this provided an extra modicum of security for him... for now, at least.

But first, he had to deal with his daughter, whom he also had not seen in many years. Not wanting to display any unnecessary emotion, he distantly and silently returned Franziska's gaze. From the look on her face, she was clearly at a loss as to what to say to him at first. For a moment, he just studied her, noting how much she had grown and matured over the past few years since they had last seen each other...

Franziska suddenly tugged at her sleeve and looked away from him, breaking the silence with words that were more familiar and comfortable to him. He nodded. "Indeed. Their meaningless insults and accusations are beneath us. You are very wise to comprehend that, dear daughter."

"So now that your foolish younger brother has taken his leave, what were your plans for tonight, daughter?" If she had none, he would offer to let her tag along to the file room -- taking the necessary precautions to prevent her from seeing his file, of course. At the very least, they could discuss along the way how she ended up in this miserable hellhole.

There were times when Franziska wished she could force her mind to stop working. She was, unfortunately, her father's daughter, which meant she had to be a genius like he was. She had to push herself to her outer limits in order to out maneuver everyone around her, so that she stood at the end as the victor. But when the enemy was her family, how could she hope to triumph? It had been hard enough learning the outcome of the trial, but to think that she'd see her father convicted of another attempted murder?

It wasn't possible. If she had to hide the evidence herself, she would. It was foolish and weak and very definitely illegal, but this was her father. While Miles may have no love lost for the elder von Karma, Franziska would never be able to separate herself completely from him.

Allowing a very slight nod in response to Manfred's approval, she had to wonder whether the accusations were true. Had he really attacked someone? Would he really do that again? What evidence was there to hide? And whose side would she take in the end?

"I was looking for my belongings - my whip in particular. After a brief investigation, I concluded that such articles might be found upstairs." She paused and then looked down the hall. Where had he been heading? Had he known that she was here? There were so many questions that she just couldn't ask, which meant she'd have to wait until he offered answers naturally. "...but considering the new circumstances, I find myself without any concrete plans. What of your plans?"

As Franziska peered down the hallway in the direction he had been heading, von Karma slightly lifted his left eyebrow. Had she suspected what he was truly planning to do? Why else would she abandon her plan to retrieve her whip?

"Franziska," he said in a stern tone of voice. "What 'new circumstances' could possibly compel you to stray from the worthy goal of retrieving your possessions? That sounds like a very suitably concrete plan to me. What has changed your mind so abruptly?"

"As for my plans," he closed his eyes thoughtfully for a moment, "I am heading to one of the restricted areas near the building's entrance to gather some information on this institute. It is only possible to do so during the night shift, when there are no syringe-wielding staff members to hinder one's efforts. However..."

He opened his eyes to look intently at her. "Whatever you have been told of this hellhole, I can attest to the sheer bedlam and hazards to which it subjects the patients at night. For instance, right now on the recreational field outside, there is a reckless motorist who makes all of the drivers of Los Angeles seem docile and courteous by comparison." For now, he would refrain from discussing the mutant scorpion and the corpses of monstrous felines he had seen, until he was certain that his daughter would be more amenable to accepting the absurdities of what happened within these walls.

"Ergo, I highly encourage you to find your whip as soon as possible. Unless your 'new circumstances' are truly significant, I recommend that you maintain your original plans." He would have offered to accompany her, for the prospect of getting his own belongings back was promising... but to suddenly change his own plans would imply weakness of will. Besides, the longer he took to look for his file, the more chance he was affording the brat and his spiky-haired watch dog to find it first and use it against him.

The circumstances were obvious, weren't they? You are still alive, Papa. You're alive and you're here, being accused of attempted murder. That sort of revelation changed everything. However, it wasn't something that Franziska could voice without sounding like a weepy daughter. However, she could not afford to be ambiguous with her answer as that would only draw suspicion, or worse distrust. That left being completely and utterly blunt, which wasn't something she particularly cared for doing at the moment.

Thankfully, Manfred was kind enough to give her an out and she took it, grabbing it like a lifeline in a storm.

"My investigation of this place and the current accusations against you requires information beyond that which I may gather during the daylight hours." She only had to think of his objectively and it was easier - or so she convinced herself. Nothing would ever make facing her father easier on her. "My whip can wait, but getting to the bottom of this and building my case cannot. I will not lose any ground to Miles Edgeworth or that foolish spikey-haired buffoon he dares to call friend." Even if she'd been close to calling him an acquaintance herself. She still hadn't forgiven him, regardless of whether or not she had helped him in that last case. "If there is information to be had, then I shall find it."

"Hmmm," von Karma muttered in response, pondering Franziska's explanation as he folded his arms. Quite a compelling, plausible reason, indeed. Still, he suspected that there was more to it than what she merely said, but to voice his own suspicions that his daughter knew more than what she was letting on might well be tantamount to an immediate admission to the boy's accusations.

In the end, it was Franziska's mention of not wanting to lose to her bratty brother and to Mr. Wright that convinced him to let her join him. Not just because of his own personal vendetta against those two, but also because he wanted to find out how she truly regarded them... and, if necessary, to steer her away from them. Had she not mentioned them, he would have given his daughter an austere reprimand over allowing petty reasons to lead her astray from her goals; information gathering could take place at any night, but arming oneself in a place like this was crucial to do as soon as possible.

"Hmph, very well," he finally answered in a gruff, commanding tone that indicated that he would disapprove of frivolous nonsense from her. "The file rooms are very close to this hallway, according to my map. We will go there right away to conduct our investigations. Then, provided that there is sufficient time tonight afterwards, we will head upstairs to retrieve our belongings."

He beckoned to her, snapping his fingers. "There is no time to waste! Come along, Franziska." He waited for her to obey him before actually heading east down the hallway.

[To here]

Edited 2009-06-23 11:18 (UTC)

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Night 41: Main Hallway, 1-West

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