There was nothing but darkness as far as he could see. He tried to call out for anyone but the response he got was the complete silence. He decided to walk around to see if there were any signs of his friends at all.
What he saw next was something that made his blood cold. He wanted to scream but no words come out.
A young man around his age was lying on a pool of blood, a knife stuck to his chest. Apollo recognized him at once.
"CLAY"
Apollo yelled his friends name and ran towards where that same friend who was laying dead on the floor. He fell to his knee as he reached the body of his friend.
"No. Why? Why did it have to be you?" he asked as he tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall.
The sound of approaching footsteps told him that there was someone else there with him. Apollo saw the silhouette of someone approaching him. The figure came closer to the grieving young man. Apollo wanted to run but he felt his whole body was frozen.
The figure was close enough for Apollo to see. Apollo was to stun when he finally the face of the shadowy figure.
Before he could say anything or react in any way, the figure had trust a knife into his stomach. The feeling of pain began to overwhelm him.
"You couldn't protect those who are dear to you. You're weak."
He couldn't believe that the person he trusted the most would do this. The last thing he saw was the grin on Athena's face.
"Goodbye Apollo Justice."
Almost immediately Apollo woke up with a start. Sweat was dripping from his face and was panting while trying to catch his breath.
Apollo looked at his surrounding and realized that he was not in his room. In fact, he was not familiar with his surroundings. He was hooked to machines. It didn't take him long to realized that he was in the hospital.
Apollo realized a blue jacket that was left on the bed. The jacket belonging to his best friend.
Everything came back to him. Clay murdered. The trial. The courtroom bombing.
The door suddenly opened as Trucy walked into the room. When she saw Apollo, she couldn't contain the joy she felt and rushed towards him.
"Polly." Trucy didn't waste any time and brought her "unknown" half-brother into a hug. "I thought…I thought…" she said close to tears.
Apollo then saw his boss and Trucy's adopted father Phoenix Wright enter the room as well. A look of relief was seen on the older man's face when he saw his employee.
"You gave us quite a scare Apollo." He told the younger attorney.
"Sorry about that." Apollo managed a small grin. Trucy had release him from her hug. He saw her trying to wipe the tears away from her face. He was touched by how much she had been worried about him.
Apollo tried to sit up but was stop by phoenix.
"Apollo, don't push yourself. You're still recovering. Lay down for now." The older man's tone of voice sounded that of a father. Apollo just did what he was told.
He saw the older attorney took a chair and sat next to his bed, Trucy doing the same thing.
"Did anyone get hurt?" Apollo then remembered Juniper and how she was nearly buried under the ruble. "What about Juniper?" he asked, concern for the younger girl.
"Apollo, relaxed. We all got out. Juniper as well. Everyone's ok. You're the one who suffered most injury from the bombing." Phoenix assured him.
Apollo sighed in relief.
"Mr Wright, Trucy." His voice was soft, not at all like the sound of his chords of steels. "What on earth happen? How could there have been a bomb in the courtroom?" Apollo asked his employer.
"We don't know Apollo. Everything had happened so quickly." Phoenix told him.
"And the trial?"
"It had to be postpone. I'm sorry Apollo. I know how important that trial was to you." The older attorney couldn't bring himself to look at his employee as he said those words.
Tears threatened to fall down on his face. But he can't cry. He didn't want them to see him like this. So hopeless and lost.
All sorts of emotions were playing inside him. Anger, frustration, sadness. Apollo figured Athena wouldn't like to hear all the overwhelming emotions inside him right then.
At the thought of his partner, it was then Apollo realized her absence.
"Are you wondering where Thena is Polly?" Trucy eyed him curiously. Leave it to Trucy to be very observant.
Apollo couldn't answer the question and he found himself staring down at the blanket that covered his body.
"She's waiting outside with Junie. They never left the hospital. They were really about you." Trucy told him.
Apollo tried to hide the disbelief he was felt from those words. Truth be told, he didn't want to see her yet. The nightmare had made him uncomfortable to face his partner. He could still feel the pain at the spot where he was stabbed in the dream.
A man wearing a white coat, obviously the doctor, enter the room. He smiled at their direction.
"I see your finally awake, Mr Justice." The doctor walk towards where his patient was laying.
"Mr and Miss Wright, would you please leave the room for a minute while I examine Mr Justice." the doctor instructed them. The two wrights didn't argue and stood from their chair.
"We'll be outside. If anything, don't hesitate to call, alright Apollo?" Phoenix said to the younger man. Apollo only responded with a slight nod. He then saw his boss leaving the room with Trucy.
"Daddy." Trucy called to her father.
"Yes Trucy?"
"Well, just now. When I mentioned Thena, I saw his body tensed." Trucy informed her father.
Phoenix stared at his daughter in confusion. What did she mean by that?
"Why would Apollo feel tensed at the mention of Athena?" Phoenix wondered.
His eyes then saw the said young lady sleeping at on one of the chairs. Her friend, Juniper Woods was asleep as well next to her. He decided to wake them up. They would want to know that Apollo was already awake.
Apollo tried to sleep but found himself unable to do so. Whenever he tried close his eyes, he found himself having the same nightmare playing in his mind. And besides that, there was another problem that had risen along with his other problems.
The police had come earlier and arrested Juniper as a suspect for the courtroom bombing. It only added more to the confusion Apollo was feeling.
Apollo only knew Juniper for a while but he knew that she would never do anything like blowing up a courtroom.
He had decided to take on her defense, ignoring the protest the others were giving him. He didn't care how injured he was. He trust that Juniper was innocent and he couldn't let her get arrested for a crime she didn't commit.
Apollo had once again awakened in an unfamiliar surrounding to him. He was patting and out of breath. That dream had been haunting him again and again for the past few days.
The defense attorney automatically reached for his head. He could still feel the pain from the debris that hit him. He tried to remember the face of his attacker. The police had also came later to question him about it. But everytime he tried to remember, his head hurts.
His boss and co-workers were relieved once again that Apollo had made it through another life threatening situation. He was told by Mr Wright that Trucy hadn't utter a single word ever since he was attacked and Athena couldn't sit still since she was to worried about her partner.
Mr Wright and Athena had like to visit as often as they can but with the continuation of the trial the day after, found themselve unable to do so. Because of this, Trucy was the one to accompany him during his rest in the clinic.
And Apollo had prefer if they didn't come to visit. Or at least Athena. He still wasn't comfortable around the young female attorney.
Later that evening, Apollo lay on the bed in the clinic, reflecting the events that had transpired for the past few days.
He stared at the bracelet around his bandaged arm. His mind wandered to his co-worker. What was she hiding from him? Why did his bracelet react every time he asked her about the Clay's murder? Why did she seem to recognize the knife used as the murder weapon? Was it because she had seen it before? But when? And how? Could it be when she had….stab Clay?
No. Athena would never kill anyone. There's no way.
Everything was confusing the young attorney. He felt like screaming out his frustration. But he can't. He couldn't scream his usual "I'm Fine" because he was not fine. It hurts too much. It only reminded him of Clay and how he can no longer say those words with him.
Apollo felt as though fate was out to get him. First, his parents abandoned him in an orphanage when he was even too young to remember. Then in school, everyone treated him coldly and they sometimes bullied him. Then, he found out that he had been working under a murderer the whole time.
But through most of those times, Clay had been there with him, supporting him, saying that they'll be fine and that they could get through with the challenges they were facing.
The attorney felt his hands shaking. It wasn't fair. Clay was so close to realizing his dreams. He had almost fulfilled his dream of going to space. The dream that he had since he was young. Those words were still fresh in Apollo's mind.
"Hey Apollo. When I grow up, I'm gonna be an astronaut." The black hair boy said to his friend with a grin.
And now Clay's gone. He wasn't there to comfort Apollo this time.
And it seemed like Athena was the one who had done the deed. What should he do? He never had been like this before. Where it seemed like his friend was the one to kill another one of his friend.
"Maybe I'll ask Mr Wright. He might have some advice on how to handle a situation like this." He thought to himself.
As if on que, Apollo suddenly heard the door open, distracting him from his thoughts as his mentor walk into the room. Phoenix gave him a small smile, took a chair and sat down next to Apollo's bed.
"How you feeling Apollo?" he asked his protege.
"I been better, Mr Wright." Apollo answered truthfully. He sighed in relief when he didn't see Athena with the older man.
The older man did not need Athena's special hearing to hear all the anger and sadness Apollo was feeling.
It wasn't surprising after everything Apollo went through. Not only had he been involve in a courtroom bombing a few days ago and barely surviving the incident, he was then assaulted.
"Shouldn't you be preparing for the trial tomorrow?" Apollo asked him.
"We tried to find any lead that could help us find the killer but well, we couldn't find any new information. Plus, we couldn't have concentrate anyway with you being the victim." Phoenix told his employee.
Phoenix poured Apollo a glass of water and the latter took gratefully. He gulped down a few drops before handing the glass back to the older man.
"You know, Juniper was blaming herself for what happened to you. She taught that of you hadn't gone back to look for her doll, than you wouldn't have been attack like you did." Phoenix told him.
Apollo thought this was as a good time as any to ask Mr Wright the thing that had been bothering ever since his bracelet reacted to Athena's claims.
"Mr Wright?"
"Yes Apollo?"
"Can I ask you something?" his voice sounded weak but determined.
"What is it?"
Apollo took a deep breath before the words left his mouth.
"What if by some chance one of a client you were defending was truly guilty?"
Phoenix was stunned by what Apollo had said. Apollo didn't pay his boss's reaction any mind and continued.
"I mean, what if the person your defending turn out to truly be the murderer. Would you still defend that person?"
Phoenix waited for the words to sink in. He didn't understand why his protege was asking this suddenly.
"Apollo, I don't quite understand why you're asking this question so suddenly but I tell you one thing my mentor had once told me. A defense attorney's job is to believe in their client until the bitter end. If we continue to believe in them, then we'll surely come to the truth. Whether we like what the truth reveals, we have to except it."
"And what if we don't like what the truth reveals. What are we supposed to do then?" Apollo asked, not quite satisfy yet with the answer.
"Then let me ask you something. All the time you been defending someone? Did you have any doubt that they were innocent?"
"Well, no. I believed what they say and that they didn't commit the crime."
"And if feel any doubt towards their claim. What would you do?" Phoenix asked, his gaze meeting the younger man.
"I…I would question them. I'll try to find any another possible way for the crime to be committed. And remove all suspicion from the person I was defending."
"There you go. Whenever you have doubts, you need to face it head on. Cause if you don't, you'll never be able to truly trust that person."
Apollo hadn't said anything after hearing what his employer said. He knew he needed to do a lot of thinking. But first, they needed to help Juniper. As Apollo had no doubt that Juniper was innocent.
"Mr Wright?"
"Yes?"
"Good luck for the trial tomorrow. Promise me you'll safe Juniper."
"That's a promise." The older defense lawyer smiled and left the room.
Apollo was standing in front of the door of the Wright Anything Agency. He had thought long and hard about what Mr Wright had said. And he had made a decision.
He had just annouce his leave of absence from the agency to the others. Their reaction was what he had expected.
The wind felt as it was gently blowing against his hair. But it didn't ease the heaviness he was feeling.
Apollo clutched on the jacket he was wearing around his shoulders. He softly whispered to the wind.
"I know what you're thinking Clay. But this is the only way I can do to find the truth." As he said that, the young attorney left the doorsteps of the Wright Anything Agency. Every step felt heavy to him as drew further and further away from the people who were as close to him as a family. Guilt was beginning to build inside of him but he knew he couldn't turn back now.
And with that, the young man made his way towards his destination. Cosmos Space Centre. The place where Clay was killed.
*This idea had suddenly come to me. Hope I didn't make the characters to ooc. And sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes. English isn't my first language. Anyway, feel free to leave a review. If you like it, I'll continue with a second part. Thanks for reading.