Author's note: Inspired by the OneRepublic song of the same name. I decided to write this because I thought Phoenix was a bit of a donkey butt to Edgeworth during Turnabout Goodbyes (putting it very lightly), so yeah. I hope you enjoy it!

Post Dual Destinies. This features major spoilers for Dual Destinies, so beware.

My name is Phoenix Wright, and I'm a defense attorney.

I'm also a moron.

Where did that come from, you ask? Allow me to explain. People I love, beyond words, beyond all measure, are hurting and there's not a damn thing I've done about it. All I've done is stand by and watch. Watch as they've withered away. Watch as tears fell down their cheeks, each one holding a memory they never should have had to sacrifice. They're people I'd rip out my heart for, yet I haven't done a damn thing for them.

And I have the nerve to call myself a father.

Speaking of being the world's worst father, the last week with my family has been nothing short of excruciating. Last week was the anniversary of Mr Terran's death, or 'the day Apollo's angel returned to the stars', as Trucy calls it. I prefer it that way.

We all do.

Anyway, we attended a memorial service at the GYAXA Space Center. I hadn't seen anything so incredible before, and you know that's saying something, because I've seen a lot of incredible things over my career as a defense attorney. It was an occasion far and beyond beautiful, one that paid extraordinary tribute to the angel made of stars. I worked hard to hold my tears back, wanting to stay strong for Apollo, but failed five minutes into trying.

What do you know, Chief? Some things will never change.

Apollo was silent for the first half of the memorial service. As silent as he had always been whenever Mr Terran came up anywhere. Hiding so many precious memories away in a treasure chest, a chest he had thrown away the key to-our Apollo had become stained glass. Shards of a life he never should have had to lose, and much too afraid of acknowledging that lost life. We were afraid all of the silence would break Apollo, but then, when it finally came time for him to speak-

We wished we had remained silent.

It finally happened, Chief. He finally broke, and I wasn't able to put him back together. Apollo finally fell to his knees and released everything we had been wanting him to let out for so long, but upon seeing him all over the floor, like shards of a broken window, we knew we wanted the silence to come back. We wished the silence never even had to exist. We would've carved our souls out with our bare hands to undo the events that caused so much pain in the first place. Even Athena. Brave, strong, wonderful Athena, never acknowledging her loss even once. Never acknowledging the distance Apollo put between the two of them.

The last time Apollo brought up that particular case, he…well, Chief, he ran so many laps he could've qualified for a marathon. He could've become an Olympic gymnast, after the torture Athena put him through. So no need to worry about her, Mia. Athena's Athena. And she dotes over our Apollo, just like the rest of us. After Apollo cried himself to sleep during the memorial service, Athena told me 'his pain is my pain. That's how clear it is to me'.

'That's how clear it is to me'. That's how clear it is to me, too. I felt it then and feel it even now, rendering me breathless. Shredding me from the inside, like a pair of monster's claws. Facing Apollo's pain was like facing my own demons and having them eat me alive.

Facing Apollo's demons also made me realize something. Something I had ignored for far too long. Someone else was hurting, and hurting badly. Just as badly as Apollo was. He had just succeeded in hiding it, having mastered the art of concealing himself from the world. Keeping himself hidden in the shadows, like an assassin hiding from the light of day.

Apollo slept for a few days. I don't really even know how long he slept. I just know he was lost to us for far too long. And for what seemed like an eternity, I was lost. Stupid, worthless, unable to do anything for someone I had come to love like a son. Words can do nothing to describe the level of relief I felt, when he finally came back to us. But guess what happened when he finally woke up, Chief?

Apollo gave me a pretty hard slap. That's not a figure of speech either.

He let me have it, the young attorney I had come to love like a son. 'What are you still doing here?' he asked me, hands clamped on the sides of my face, eyes bearing into me like knives. I already knew right away where he was taking me, absorbing the pain, the sadness, the frustration burned into his eyes. I felt it all, as if those emotions had come from a nightmare I had experienced myself. 'I'm fine,' he told me. His tone proved otherwise, but he was determined. Ready to let me go. Ready for me to rescue someone else I loved, just as fiercely.

In a completely different way of course, but you get where I'm going.

'Go on, get after him already! I'll be here. I'll always be here! He won't, though! Not the way you're treating him!'

So, after years and years of fighting it, denying it, trying to let go, my Apollo made everything clear in a matter of seconds. Amazing what children can do, isn't it, Chief?

I've decided to go after him. To try to pull him back from the edge. To let him know, after all of these years, I'm here. I'm finally ready to REALLY pay him back, for everything he's done for me. I swore I wouldn't let Apollo suffer any more, and I swear not to let him suffer any more.

Mia, look out. My name's Phoenix Wright, and I'm finally going to do the right thing.