Beep.
He kept slipping in and out of consciousness. He couldn't think much.
Beep.
The first time, he heard a voice...Female, perhaps. They were talking quickly and the emotion...Frantic, he guessed.
Beep.
The second time, he heard a lot of voices. They were loud. They swam in his head.
Beep.
The third time, he actually managed to find the strength to open his eyes, even if it was for a brief moment. Everything was still blurry. He could see weird shapes hovering over him.
Beep.
He could hear voices. He could hear words. The emotion frantic popped up in his head again. Along with another...Sadness, maybe?
Bits and pieces came to him each time he woke up. He was...In a courthouse. And...Something exploded. What was it...A bomb? Yes, a bomb. A bomb had exploded. He was trying to save a girl. The girl...Somebody's friend...Juniper Woods. He was trying to save a girl called Juniper Woods.
Beep.
The sixth time was the longest he stayed conscious. He opened his weary eyes again, trying to name the faces he saw.
"Apollo, you're awake!" The same female voice he heard before was talking to him. She had orange hair...He identified her as Athena.
"P-P-Polly!" The next female voice had a stammer to it. He didn't need to see any blue top-hat to know it belonged to Trucy.
"Apollo, please, you can hear us, right?" The sudden change of voice from female to male startled him slightly. The voice belonged to...What was his name...Phoenix. Phoenix Wright.
"Mister Wright." Apollo had tried to say, but no words came out.
"Shh, don't talk." Phoenix soothed, placing a hand on Apollo's.
That was when he noticed he couldn't directly feel his mentor's hand. He tried to look at what was wrong, only to find his arms were covered in bandages and wires and needles. From the binded feeling his arms had, he guessed his entire body was covered in bandages as well, considering they had the same feeling.
"Apollo, w-we almost lost you twice in the past h-hour a-a-and..." Athena was clearly trying hard not to cry.
Apollo tried to move, but suddenly a searing pain went through his entire body. He didn't have the strength to muffle a scream. "Aaagh!"
"Don't, Apollo," Phoenix said, his voice calm, "don't move."
Apollo breathed heavily. He could feel himself slipping again, but this was worse than before. It felt...Colder, heavier. He noticed the monotone beeping in the background seemed to be becoming less frequent.
"No! Polly! Don't leave!" Trucy pleaded. New tears threatened to fall from her eyes.
"Mister Wright...Athena..." Apollo breathed, mustering all his strength to talk. He couldn't go, not yet. "Find Clay's killer...Please..." The corners of his eyes were growing darker. The world was starting to lose its colour. It was getting harder to breathe and talk. "Mister Wright, Athena...Trucy...I-I'm...Clay...Clay...I'm...I'm so...So...Sorry..."
With that, Apollo closed his eyes for a final time.
Beep...
Beep...
...Beep...
...Beeeeeeeeep...
"I'm sorry, we couldn't save him."
The heart monitor wasn't doing anything. All it did was let out a long, continuous beep. Something like this would normally just sink into the background, but this one didn't, couldn't and wouldn't.
"No...No!" Trucy screamed. Tears spilled from her eyes like a waterfall. She clung Athena and bawled into her chest. Athena returned her crushing embrace, sobbing into the younger girl's shoulder.
Phoenix put his hand on Apollo's. Even through the bandage, he knew Apollo's hand was getting colder. He had to remain strong for the girls. He managed that perfectly earlier.
But now, his façade shattered.
"Apollo...No! Apollo!" Phoenix clutched onto the other man's hand tightly. His tears trickled down his cheeks in streams. "Apollo! Please, wake up! Please!" Phoenix's composure was shaky, and he knew it.
"D-D-Daddy..." Trucy sobbed, looking at her always-cool-always-composed father break down in tears.
"Apollo! Please! I haven't gotten the chance to tell you so many things! You're like a son to me! You still have a family! PLEASE!" Phoenix slammed his head down onto the bed and wept. There was no bringing him back, and he knew it.
Apollo had passed away in his hospital bed by the hands of who had stolen his best friend's life.