69 Unexpected Arrival

“The key to holding a logical argument or debate is to allow oneself to understand the other person’s argument no matter how divergent their views may seem.”
~Auliq Ice~

Miles Edgeworth and Franziska Von Karma
Von Karma Estate, Germany

Unfortunately, the peaceful feelings of contentment and serenity amid the prosecutors didn’t last long.

To Miles’s great chagrin, right after the holidays were over and done, it seemed that all goodwill between them had followed suit. He and Franziska simply resumed their previously icy polite, strained interactions, speaking only when spoken to, and only to convey essential information, such as whether or not they would be dining together that night. The answer was usually not, much to his deep despondency.

How had their union, once so mutually pleasurable and exhilarating, now been reduced to this?

For the longest time, the very sound of Franziska’s lilting cadence used to warm him like fire, the mere scent of her perfume had made his heart race and the touch of her hand had sent tingles down his spine.

It’s nigh impossible to fathom how that was merely four months ago. Now, in sharp contrast, since winter break, we continue to tip-toe around each other within this sprawling mausoleum, being extra careful to avoid body or even eye contact whenever possible.

Since then, they’d just focused on their work, often taking longer or later hours where applicable so they could avoid each other; Franziska more than Miles. Date nights had been replaced with working shifts; laughing and socializing with others had been replaced with drinking tea before the fireplace in their separate chambers or the living room – alone. They passed each other like ghosts; neither with enough emotional reserves left after their vocations to take care of the other as they used to. Life had become a monotony. With all the best motives they had lost what was precious to them, the reason they worked so hard. The dream was dying in the wind and they had not enough energy to fix things. They had both become so unhappy that each of them spent idle moments wistfully thinking of former or alternate lovers who might have provided a quick fix to a deeper problem.

They said to expect the unexpected, but truly, what did that mean? There were some things in life that one could never anticipate, or even fathom, in their wildest dreams or imaginations, simply because the ability to do so was beyond the human realm. Could even the most gifted clairvoyant psychic have foreseen all of this? That by taking on an investigation case that was supposed to be the most challenging and rewarding one of his career, it was going to cost Miles everything he’d ever known, and ever really loved, in one fell swoop? That it would make his past come colliding with his present, irrevocably altering his future, with the forceful cessation of a comet hitting the earth, shattering everything he held dear to his very existence? That his revered colleagues would regard him with barely disguised judgement, or worse, pity, where they’d once regarded him with respect and reverence since the fateful day of Ku’s dinner party, when all past sins had been exposed? That his former paramour, with whom he’d thought time would’ve softened by now into a noncomplex, amicable relationship, could now barely look him in the eye? Or speak to him without some level of angst or strain in her voice?

And worst of all, how could he have ever fathomed that the woman he’d loved most of his life, in one way or another, would become a distant, cold, withdrawn stranger to him, even when in the same room … even though they supposedly lived under the same roof?

How could Miles ever have anticipated any of this calamity to occur when he’d opted to take this sting operation on with Franziska nearly six years ago … any more than he could have foreseen the even more traumatic events that were soon to follow?

Ultimately, as much as he was loath to wallow in self-pity and regrets, the cruel hands of fate had decided thus that the worst was yet to come.

Franziska Von Karma and Maggey Gumshoe
Von Karma Estate, Germany
February 15, 2025, 8:00 AM

Franziska had always been well-read, despite her somewhat sheltered existence. She’d thoroughly studied every medical book and website she could get her hands on since she’d known she was pregnant and had known it would be no cakewalk and that her body would change drastically.

She’d been fully prepared for the knowledge that her hands, feet, and ankles would get puffy, so her swollen and aching limbs didn’t surprise her, although she was still saddened when her engagement ring had stopped fitting her at Christmastime. Despite how strained things had been between her and Miles, she’d never wanted to take it off that symbol of his love and commitment. However, she couldn’t bear the thought of having to cut it off, should it have gotten stuck, so she’d taken to wearing it around her neck on her gold chain, which she tucked discreetly under her clothing. Miles had looked so pained when he’d seen her barren left hand, but while she was sentimental about the ring, she was still too furious with him to explain.

After all, if he was supposed to be such a prodigy genius – let him figure it out then!

Although she’d brushed aside their banal commentary at the time, she was still mortified about both Gumshoe and Phoenix’s proclamations that she was bigger than she should have been – and had hence tried to get an appointment to go see her doctor, who had been the Von Karma physician since she and Katharina were children. He hadn’t been able to see her until nearly the third week of January, as when he’d returned from holidays he’d been completely booked, and she had been too embarrassed and proud to have put enough stock into her friends’ amateur observations to consider going elsewhere for an opinion in the meantime – after all, what did they, as men, know about having babies?

It turned out the foolish former attorney and detective had been right all along – Franziska was diagnosed with polyhydramnios. Naturally, Miles had been alarmed and had insisted on accompanying her to all the follow-up tests after she’d been determined to have excess amniotic fluid, resulting in her overly swollen body. She’d told him he was being foolish by worrying himself so – really, polyhydramnios was just a fancy word meaning excessive fluids had caused her uterus to grow a bit more rapidly than it should have, hence the fact that she resembled a hippo with a gland problem!

In the end, Franziska was relieved the scary-sounding diagnosis hadn’t ended up being anything too alarming. It was, however, what had been causing her abdominal discomfort, increased back pain, shortness of breath, and extreme swelling in her feet and ankles. The good news was that post ultrasound and testing, the possibility of fetal abnormalities, amniocentesis, and gestational diabetes had been ruled out, although her doctor had told her he’d be monitoring her closely during labor to ensure everything was going smoothly.

She’d remained optimistic when she got the results back. Sure, her pregnancy wasn’t textbook definition perfect, but that was alright. Just because her gestation period wasn’t flawless didn’t mean her baby wouldn’t be, after all. And thus far, there was nothing she couldn’t handle. A little extra swelling of her body and limbs seemed to be a small price to pay for the precious life inside her, which had been conceived with all the love in the world between her and the baby’s father, even if a small part of her still wanted to wring said baby father’s neck for his still yet-to-be-redeemed, imbecilic, perfidious, deceitful behavior regarding the whole Lana situation!

Such was Franziska’s state of mind, until the second week of February, three or so weeks from her delivery date.

That morning, she’d woken up with upper abdominal pain, under her ribs on the right side. She threw back the bed covers and was certain she was seeing things – how was it her right leg looked more swollen than the left one?!

She felt like a foreign alien was inside her body … and was starting to contemplate whether or not she was losing her mind! Was she being a foolish, pathetic wimp because the sharp pains she’d been feeling in her back and abdomen were now veering into the more unbearable zone?

Frowning, she glanced at the clock on the bedside table. She desperately needed to talk to someone – someone who knew of what they spoke, who could tell her if she was overreacting or just going through the final bizarre pregnancy body changes because she was so close to her due date. But with whom could she speak? Adrian didn’t even know she was pregnant, and wouldn’t be more than a sympathetic ear as she had no children of her own yet. Her doctor was near impossible to reach by phone and it was a gamble if his foolish, loose-lipped, airhead secretary would convey a message in time. Katharina was at work … who else did she know who had any baby experience that she could consult?

Maggey.

The answer came to the pregnant Frau as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. The act of doing so made her step directly into a ray of sun that was peeking through a crack in the drawn bedroom draperies. It shone right into her newly wakened eyes, making her wince painfully. She hastily pulled them shut, effectively blocking out the stream of light, and rubbed her temples as she fired up the laptop on her desk – her head had been killing her since yesterday.

She averted her eyes from the computer screen as she waited, silently begging for her friend to pick up. Ugh, had the monitor lights always been so bright?

Gumshoe answered the video call, a big smile on his broad face at the sight of her.

“Hey, Sir! Happy Valentine’s Day!”

Franziska blinked, then looked at the clock on the computer again, realizing it was 11:00 PM, and indeed the overly celebrated Romantic Day of Fools in the States still. So that had been why Miles had left a dozen roses at her bedside yesterday morning! She’d thought it was all still part of the groveling process, the same reason he’d bequeathed her a diamond tennis bracelet for Christmas! Her fiancé had been out the rest of the day, so she hadn’t even been able to thank him in person … her ever-exhausted state meant that she’d been out like a light by 9:00 the night before, way before he’d probably returned home. It seemed her betrothed was spending more and more time at that gentlemen’s club he so favored since they’d been on holiday.

“Same to you, Gumshoe,” Franziska muttered, horribly self-conscious of her visibly swollen state. She was also mortified at the thought that she may have interrupted a romantic evening. “I hope I did not awaken you two?”

“Not at all! Wow, you look about ready to pop now for sure! It must be any day now, huh?”

She scowled at him.

“Not for another near month. I will thank you to refrain from any further commentary, you fool!” Even as she spoke, a wave of dizziness came over her, and the sight of her friend on the screen no longer looked clear. Was their long-distance connection skewered? The big detective appeared to look blurry … and ouch, what was with that abdominal pain?!  “Might the lady of the house be available, perchance?”

“Sure thing, I’ll get her. I’ll leave you two to your girly talk.” Gumshoe gave her a mock salute, and a moment later, Maggey’s smiling face appeared on the screen.

“Well, this is a surprise, Sir! I didn’t think I’d hear from you again so soon! How are you feeling?”

The German felt beyond gauche. As much as she liked both Gumshoes, she’d always considered them more comrades of her fiancé’s than her own. Despite his reassurances, she’d never squelched the lingering paranoia they were only her friends by association, who merely tolerated her for Miles’ sake. Consequently, she rarely socialized with them when he was not present and was thus uncertain how to proceed with this conversation.

“Erm … that is actually what I wanted to speak to you about. But before I get into that … how are you two doing? How was your Valentine’s Day?”

“Well, since you asked…” Maggey’s eyes sparkled with excitement, and she lowered her voice a tad. “It was wonderful! Dick took me to a swanky restaurant while Trucy and Pearl watched our son for a few hours. We got the best Valentine’s Day gift ever! It’s still sort of early, and I’m not sure if Dick would want me to tell anyone just yet, but I’m so excited, I could just burst! Do you remember what little Gordy’s Christmas wish was?”

Franziska nodded.

“I just found out I’m six weeks pregnant, Sir!” The Chief’s wife joyfully clasped her hands against her chest. “Gordy’s going to have a little brother or sister this fall!”

“Congratulations!” The expectant mom momentarily forgot about her discomfort, as she was flooded with genuine happiness for the kind duo. “I can certainly understand not wanting to tell people when you are only in your first trimester. I promise you that I will not breathe a word to anyone, not even Miles.”

“Oh, that’s not necessary. You can tell him, if you want!” The spectacled woman insisted earnestly. “I’d hate to be the reason you kept secrets from your future husband!”

Franziska gritted her teeth, partly due to her now glaring headache, and partly at the unintentionally triggering words that her friend had just uttered.

“It is fine, Maggey,” she ground out with a forced smile. “It is not as if Miles has not been guilty of keeping a few little secrets from me in the past, after all!”

“Ah, alrighty then…” The benign brunette trailed off uncomfortably; the vehemence in the other woman’s tone had been impossible to miss. “So, er, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?”

Franziska stood up hesitantly, still massaging her aching temples, letting her friend see her enormous belly and thick, sausage-like fingers.

The poor dear stifled a gasp and was immediately penitent that she’d chastised her husband so severely the month prior for his misgivings regarding the former prosecutor’s proportions.

The other woman looked like she was at least having twins now – she was almost twice the size she’d been in January! But what was most alarming was when she raised her leg to the camera and showed her ankles, which were now nearly indecipherable from her calves. The right one looked like a grapefruit compared to the left one! It appeared her former officer husband knew of what he’d been speaking, after all. As large as she had been, with an 11-pound baby in her stomach, the former policewoman had been nowhere near the prosecutor’s league.

“Please hang on for just a moment, Franziska…” Maggey whispered shakily as she rose from her seat, her eyes wide with alarm. “I’m going to call Dick over …”

Miles Edgeworth and Franziska Von Karma
Von Karma Estate, Germany
February 15, 2025, 8:05 AM

The chess enthusiast was sitting in the study, having just finished his breakfast. He was polishing off his second cup of tea while reading the paper when Helga appeared in the doorway.

“Guten Morgen. You have guests at the door, Meister,” the housekeeper informed him, reaching down to collect his drained teacup. “A young Frau and a Wolf-Mann who says he is your boss. He wished me to convey that he needs to see you urgently.”

Lana. Lang.

The prosecutor shot up from the armchair immediately and self-consciously brushed back his long fringe. While his mane was free of hair products and not combed into the slicked-back style that his alter-ego, Max Banks, preferred, he was fortunate to already be fully dressed. Moreover, he was grateful he’d had the foresight to have kept his goatee and gotten his roots touched up a few days ago. After all, Lang had advised that Miles needed to be ready to resume his position at the drop of a hat the moment Ku returned!

Despite it now being well past the holiday season, his days of partaking in Interpol’s languishing waiting game whilst despairing over when the drug lord would ever return from his overseas trip to Asia were officially over now.

It appeared that time had finally come.

His suspicions were confirmed as he strode up to the main hallway, and found his ex and the Wolf Man standing there, both with suitcases in their hands and apprehensive looks on their faces.

“Ready to go?” Lang barked by way of salutation. “Our insider has informed us Ku is on his way back to Borginia. We’ve already instructed Badd and Kay to meet us at the HQ over there immediately. I already have our plane tickets for the next flight, which is in two hours. Let’s move!”

“Of course. Just allow me to get my bag from my room. I’m already packed,” Miles replied, smiling wanly at Lana in greeting as he started up the staircase. He was halfway up when he raised his eyes and spotted his other half standing at the top of the landing. She was fully dressed, and her cold, accusing gaze riveted first on him, then down to their unanticipated arrivals in the foyer below.

Lang gaped at the unpredicted sight of her, as well as her drastic change in appearance; the last time he’d seen Franziska, she’d barely been showing at all!

“Going somewhere, Miles?” The silver-haired woman asked coldly, one hand on her hip as she glared first at him, then Lang, who hurriedly shut his mouth and dropped his gaze to the ground, where the brunette’s eyes were already cast. “And were you planning on telling me at all, or merely creeping out of here like a thief in the night – except, of course, it is still daylight?”

Her eyes hardened at the sight of Lana.

“Also, what is that Schlampe doing here in my house?!”

Miles groaned inwardly.

Not this again. Not now… of all times!

“Franziska, they simply came to fetch me en route to the airport. I was on my way to inform you right now that Ku is headed back to Borginia, so we’ve got to get a move on,” Miles told her honestly. “I was just coming to get my portmanteau from my chambers.”

From his chambers? Lana cringed at this indication that the couple was now sleeping in separate quarters, and mentally cursed herself, yet again, for her role in the matter. She vowed silently to keep her mouth shut, hence, no matter how many insults the tempestuous German hurled at her. It seemed a small price to pay, after all, considering she felt largely responsible for the rift between the couple.

“How nice that you are so prepared, yet never thought to prompt me to do the same!” Franziska snapped, before turning to their boss. “Also, thank you so much for the lack of notice, Lang, considering we have been on holiday for two months! Fortunately, I am a light packer.  I shall just need a moment to get my things…”

“Agent Von Karma…” Lang cleared his throat. “We only need Miles … you can stay put.” He met her fuming expression without flinching. “Don’t you give me that look! You’re hardly in any condition to be going
anywhere right now!”

“Condition? You sexist fool! I may be pregnant, but I am fully capable of doing my duties just as well, if not better, than half the other foolish agents you have!” Franziska argued. “Besides, I am not due for nearly another month…”

“Meine Dame, you know he’s right about this,” Miles stated reasonably, his eyes imploring her to understand. “Moreover, you cannot fly this late in your third trimester.”

“Then I shall take the next train over and be there within a couple of hours,” she declared, completely undaunted. “I can be packed and out the door in 20 minutes or less. I will have Hans drive me to the station so I will get a head start…”

“Agent Von Karma, this is not up for discussion!” Lang exclaimed. “We’re not talking mere surveillance anymore. This is the actual dealer of the illegal cocoons now, assuming Ku can be trusted, so it’s far too dangerous. Also, we can’t risk any… setbacks at this point, should certain things occur that aren’t as planned…”

“I am hardly going to go into labor anytime soon!” Franziska cried, forgetting that she’d been about to come downstairs and have Miles take her to the doctor after getting both Gumshoes’ nervous recommendations about her state. “Furthermore, if you think I am going to just sit idly at home, twiddling my thumbs while letting my fiancée do undercover…” she practically spat out the word. “Work of any sort with that shameless, home-wrecking, horny Miststück there, you’re a bigger fool than I thought, Wolf Man!”

Lana didn’t require a German translator to know she’d just endured her second barbed German insult within the last minute! She bit her lower lip so hard she thought she tasted blood, yet still, she said nothing.

“Franziska, please,” Miles pleaded, hating to see her so incensed. He reached for her hand but she yanked it out of reach, as though she’d been scorched. As he dejectedly turned away, he failed to notice when she let out a muted, impromptu moan just then, while clutching at her abdomen.

Taking Lady von Whippingberg’s momentary silence as acquiescence, Lang reached down and grabbed his bag from the floor.

“When you’re in a calmer, rational state, you’ll see the validity of my logic, Ane-san, as well as the fact that this debate is now over.” There was a note of finality in the Wolf Man’s tone as he turned towards the door. “Come on Lana, Miles … our cab’s on its way.”

“Don’t you dare turn your back on me, Uneheliches Kind!” Franziska shrieked, lashing at the Interpol Agent with her whip as she hurriedly scampered down the stairs. She missed her mark and ended up flicking Lana’s hand, instead. The Agent yelped, more in shock than pain, and she cracked the leather weapon again, this time hitting the Wolf Man on the ear just as he was almost out the door.

“What the – ” Lang spun around and glowered at her, his expression murderous. “How dare you!”

“How dare you!” Franziska screamed back, cracking the whip again. This time, it struck his weathered cheek. “First, you have the audacity to bring diese Hure into my home, knowing I cannot abide even the air that she breathes! But then you have the gall to swoop in and grab Miles by the ear, as though he were your pet dog and loftily decree that he is leaving with you posthaste, without the courtesy of giving either of us any notice! You are the one with one Hölle of a lot of nerve –!”

Suddenly she bent over, nearly falling to her knees as she clutched her stomach again, this time with both hands, her hair falling into her face so it was obstructed from view.

“Franziska!” Miles yelled, rushing to her side just as she collapsed to the floor, her face scrunched up and red with pain as she let out a howl of such piteous agony that the sound would forever be seared into his soul. “My God…” he gasped in alarm as a puddle began to form underneath her. “I think her water just broke!”

“Noooo!” The pregnant woman screeched, even as she jerked and strained violently in her fiancé’s arms. “No… I can’t be in labor already! I’m too early!”

Lana’s hands flew to her mouth.

“Please!” The barrister plaintively shouted at his colleagues as he helplessly held the flailing love of his life in his embrace. “Someone, do something!”

“Quick!” The ex-detective gripped Lang’s leather sleeve. “Dial 112!”

The Zheng-Fa native stood frozen as though in shock.

“Agent Lang, snap out of it and call the ambulance and emergency services – right now!” The ex-detective commanded harshly, her voice raising rose several octaves as her supervisor remained standing there in a thunderstruck stupor while she fumbled in her purse for her mobile. “I’ll call the others!”

“W –What’s happening? What’s going on?” Lang’s eyes were saucers as he dumbly complied, the phone already at his ear. “It’s just her water that broke, right?”

As she impatiently waited for Badd to answer the line, she gaped in horror at Franziska, still in her fiancé’s hold. The German woman’s crimson phizog was now pale, eyes squeezed shut as excruciating convulsions overtook her entire body and the terrifying colored puddle beneath her grew steadily larger.

Lana shook her head at the Kafkaesque scene transpiring before their very eyes, struggling to get the words out as she stared at Lang with a stricken expression.

“I don’t think … that there’s supposed to be blood when your water breaks…”

All of a sudden, without warning, the thrashings ceased completely. The Wild Mare’s entire body went limp, her eyes now tightly shut and she lay completely still in Miles’ arms.

“Franziska!” He cried hoarsely, his composure completely obliterated as he impotently shook her lifeless form. “Meine Dame! Please stay with me!”

Miles Edgeworth
Emergency Unit, Hospital, Germany
February 15, 2025, 11:00 AM

“Why won’t they let me see her?” Miles ranted, pacing for the millionth time in the ER lounge. “Or even speak with me?! I keep begging them for an update, but they keep shooing me away as if I’m some sort of … pesky fly, instead of a man whose future wife and daughter…”

His voice trailed off then and he slumped down into the chair next to Lana, burying his head in his hands.

It was just the two of them in the waiting room at that moment. Lang had gone to use the bathroom. Kay, who’d recently arrived, had volunteered to go get them all coffee from the cafeteria. Badd was still on his way over – he’d been halfway to Borginia when he’d gotten the call – coming on the first train back to Germany.

Lana put a consoling arm around his shoulders.

“They’re doing everything they can,” she whispered. “All we can do in the meantime is pray…”

“You pray, Lana!” He snapped back. “How exactly am I supposed to put my faith in anyone or anything at a time like this? You tell me, how? That’s my fiancée fighting for her life …  for our baby’s life, in there right now!”

His face was a mask of anguish.

“The fact that they’re even having to endure this nightmare makes me wonder if there is anyone up there at all! I’ve already been through so much loss in my life … I refuse to believe that if there is a Someone in the Heavens that He would be so cruel, so merciless as to take them away from me!”

“Please … you can’t think that way…”

Lana watched him helplessly, at loss for words as she took in his tortured expression. In all the years she’d known Miles Edgeworth, she’d never seen him so close to falling apart like this. He was always in charge; so cool, so brusque, so calm. He was a pillar of strength in all strife, which she’d historically always been able to lean on and depend on. When she’d cried in the past, his strong arms had held her, comforted her. Now that their roles were reversed, she didn’t know what to do, except try to think positively, despite her fear and fretfulness about the horrible situation.

“She’s in good hands, Miles,” Lang said thickly, clapping Miles on the shoulder as he walked up to them, having heard the last part of his words. “Keep the faith.”

“They have great medical care here, Mr. Edgeworth,” Kay added gently, setting down the tray of drinks on the table in front of him and shuffling her feet awkwardly. “I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

“The doctors asked me, if I had to choose, whom they should save between Franziska and the baby,” the prosecutor relayed to them hollowly, barely registering their shocked, distressed faces upon hearing this dreadful news. “What kind of fresh hell is this? How can any man ever choose between his wife and child?”

Lana tried to hold back her sympathetic tears. The more anxious she became, the more she tried to understand and analyze the situation; as if her intelligence could somehow force a positive outcome. She mentally split and examined the perspectives of everyone around her, trying to find a solution. She didn’t know what she would do in this kind of situation herself, and she prayed to any higher power that might be listening that she would never have to find out and that her friend wouldn’t be faced with such a difficult choice.

“What did you say?” She prompted softly.

“I told them to save both of them!” Miles cried helplessly. “Who am I to play God with their lives? I love them both! I – I want them both! What have I ever done in my life that I should have to make this kind of decision?”

His voice broke then, and he dropped his head back in his hands.

“Th – They told me they’d do what they could … but they couldn’t promise anything because Franziska has already lost so much blood…”

“She’s a tough girl,” a gruff, familiar voice interjected, putting a hand on his back. “That little hellion … I know her. If ever confronted with the devil himself, she would unleash a wrathful fury so forceful that she’d send him straight back to hell with his tail between his legs, wearing the marks of her whip on his back!”

Kay tittered slightly at the imagery and smiled in relief at the long last arrival of Tyrell Badd.

“We’re so glad you’re here Uncle Badd.” She wrapped her arms around him in an effusive hug. He hugged her back, then glanced at the Wolf Man over her head and jutted his chin towards the nurse’s desk.

“Any updates since you called me?”

Lang shook his head and fidgeted with his sunglasses.

The five of them sat there in silence, each lost in their thoughts and prayers, for what seemed like eons, until at long last, one of the doctors came out to the front.

“Miles Edgeworth?”

The legist’s head shot up from his palms and he all but ran at the medic, his eyes wild and tormented as he waited for the bulletin that would forever change his life.

The doctor’s phizog was stoic and impossible to read as he told him the news.

The words hit him with the force of an Arctic wave; his mind was sent reeling, unable to grasp or register the mental images being sent to his mind. The icy cascade was a stark contrast to the flames that seemed to be blistering the prosecutor’s mien. Each new fiery trail seared a path of burning agony; his shoulders rose and fell vehemently as shockwaves of emotions coursed through his frame. He gasped and shuddered as waves of emotion washed over him. The icy coldness felt like sharp needles stabbing his heated skin, and a soul-crushing desolation filled his heart as the cold, hard truth of the situation unraveled the threads that were holding him together.

It started slowly, with him snuffling into his sleeves as a pair of droplets broke the barricades of his eyes and raced down his cheeks, then slowly graduated, until the heart-wrenching sounds of his noisy sobs echoed through the nearly empty waiting room.

The tears came as if his pain had at last condensed into an inundating downpour. Crippling sorrow emanated out of his every pore. From his mouth came a cry so pitiable and raw that even his friends’ eyes were suddenly wet with tears. His white knuckles tightly gripped onto a chair so that his tremulous frame would not topple over; his eyes gushed a river of tears even denser than when his father had passed away. The doctor was still talking to him, but he was beyond hearing. The rest of the world had faded away, and there was only excruciating despair left, pain so intense that it threatened to break him and change him beyond recognition.

Badd, Lang, Kay, and Lana were forced to helplessly endure the sight of something none of them ever thought they’d ever live to see, and never hoped to witness again.

Miles Edgeworth breaking down completely.

His breath caught in his throat and his knees became weak as he slumped to the tiles of the hospital ground. There was no hope for a man who wept as if pleading for his own death on the cold linoleum floor, drowning himself in his own tears of hell.