Chapter Text
A year long fight had finally come to a close. It was not a happy ending by any means, no justice had taken place in that courtroom, but it was over and there was nothing left for those involved to do but leave. Then, an earthquake struck. In an elevator, a singular balif became stuck while a prosecutor in turmoil passed by without a second thought. On the stairs, an attorney and his son took a tumble, not expecting the sudden shaking. They were hurt, but nothing some Tylenol and rest wouldn't fix. Everyone was hurt or otherwise shaken up, but they were alive. Not a soul died died that day.
Oh how von Karma wished differently.
Oh how he longed and yearned to see that accursed attorney die for his transgressions. To see him choke on poison, or go up in flames, or to simply lie on the ground with a bullet through the heart... what he wouldn't give to see the bastard get what he deserves.
Was his anger misdirected? Maybe. Should he have been angry at the one who sabotaged the case from the very beginning? Who did it all specifically to ruin his perfect record? Perhaps. But he was blind. Blinded with rage and selfish grief and all he could see was not the one who loaded the gun, but he who unknowingly pulled the trigger.
Von Karma decided. Gregory Edgeworth had to die.
It took a while for him to form his perfect plan. He studied Gregory's movements for a whole month. He made himself far too easy of a target. Every weekday after school had finished, he would pass through an empty alley way beside his office as a shortcut to pick up his son. No witnesses, no protection, it was perfect. And so, on a chilly Thursday afternoon, Manfred made his move. He was very careful, wore an old outfit he planned to burn, shoes a size too large, and a small kitchen knife. A gun would be too loud, might attract witnesses, and a knife would do the trick just fine. All he had to do was plunge it into his throat and watch the life fade from his eyes as he gasped for air.
One foot after the other, von Karma slowly approached. The snow crunched under his steps, alerting the soon-to-be-dead attorney to his presence. He was entirely clueless, calmly greeting the other man with nothing other than a slight confusion. At least, until the silver sticking out from von Karma's gloved hands reflected in the light. Von Karma didn't say a word, but Gregory quickly pieced together what he was here for when the other man lunged at him. Quickly, he dove out of the way, his heart thumping loud as von Karma quickly turned to strike again. Gregory attempted to dodge again, his back now against the brick wall, but he was ever so slightly too slow. The knife plunged into his shoulder, a sharp, searing pain radiating from the wound as Gregory cried. This was already taking much longer that von Karma had planned, he needed to end it soon so he couldn't afford to waste time delighting in the little agony he was able to inflict. He removed the knife and tried again, but was met with a hand around his wrist, holding him in place. Tears fell from Gregory's eyes as he used all his strength to hold von Karma way. He pushed him back, causing von Karma to stumble slightly, his grip on the knife never loosening. A growl escaped his lips as he lunged again and Gregory had to think fast. He fell to the ground, tripping von Karma as his momentum continued him forward, his face smashing against the wall. He screamed, aiming once more for any part of Gregory his blade could sink into as Gregory grabbed the first thing he could to defend himself. He didn't even process what he grabbed until it was over and the prosecutor was lying on top of him, choking on his final breath. A shard of glass from a nearby broken mirror had sunk into his throat. Gregory quickly scrambled out from under him in a daze. His right hand now cut from the glass added to the quick loss of blood he was experiencing coming from the wound in his left shoulder. The adrenaline covered most of the pain, but it still burned against the cold snow he sat in.
It was self defense. Legally, he'd be fine, he knew that, the scene was quite obvious. Medically, he needed to go to a hospital urgently. White was starting to blur the edges of his vision, but he had one, much more important thing on his mind. With shaking hands, he slowly dialed his assistant's number. He was busy studying for the bar, but Miles still needed to be picked up. Gregory didn't say anything about what happened, he didn't want to frighten him, but he could tell Eddie was worried. With that out of the way, he finally called for an ambulance.
And THAT is the story of how we ended up here. Two weeks later with Gregory's trial already finished, a justified self defense passed without question, and now Gregory sat across the kitchen table from a small girl with silver hair and a fancy dress, pouting at him.
He never expected to be a father of two, but, well... here they were. Gregory Edgeworth and his two kids, Miles Edgeworth and Franziska von Karma.