Apollo held it in his hand. The one thing he needed.
He held a black, circular object, inspecting it closely. The darkness of this object was almost scary. Apollo was kneeling down, wet rain getting onto his clothes and hair. It felt light but the lawyer felt the gel in his hair melting from the his horns, and his normal hair coming into full effect. The rain hit the object he held, getting light water drops on it. Apollo wiped the water drops off the object with the sleeve of his jacket.
Apollo wrapped his fingers around the object, clutching it close in his hand. He wasn't letting go of it. He shoved the object in his pocket, and put his hand on his right knee to support himself as he got up. He stared down the alleyway where it happened. The rain created small puddles and small flows of water made their way to the drainage, only to drop down into the darkness below.
Apollo breathed in, heavily. He held that breath for a second, before letting that breath all out in one big exhale. He slowly made his way down the long alleyway and said only one thing to himself. Somehow, he felt it didn't help anyone, but he pretended that she heard it.
"Hang on, tiger..."
(O)
2 Days Earlier
"Smile, Apollo!"
Apollo suddenly saw a phone shoved in front of his face, the display showing off him with his devil horns, red shirt and the face of a man who has no idea what the girl next to him is doing. The girl put her head on Apollo's shoulder, smiling, before tapping the camera button at the bottom, snapping a photo of Apollo and this girl and permanently marking the moment in history where an 18 year old girl scared the crap out of a guy with a photo.
That story was fully told by Apollo's shocked face.
"Athena, you can't just shove a camera in my face and expect me to look good!" Apollo complained. Athena tried to hold in her laughter as she looked at Apollo's dumb face in the photo.
The two of them had gone to the L.A Airport after deciding they needed a break, and Phoenix fully agreed.
Athena placed her suitcase on the baggage drop belt, and the lady at the desk tagged it. It was bright yellow, made of polycarbonate. Athena had only purchased it a week ago, and she loved it. Apollo then placed his dark red suitcase made of tegris on the baggage drop belt.
"Even your suitcase is red? How obsessed are you with that color?" Athena questioned. Apollo's head faced the woman at the desk, but his eyes shifted to Athena.
"About as obsessed as you are with yellow. Don't even think about judging me." Apollo replied.
"Fair enough."
The woman handed Apollo two tickets. He took them, handing one to Athena.
"Seat 3B?! No fair! I want window seat!" Athena complained. Apollo sighed.
"You can take my seat then. It's not like I'm gonna be doing much on the plane." Apollo offered. Widget lighted up green, and Athena joined her hands up beside her head.
"Aw, thanks Apollo!" She said. Apollo scratched the back of his head.
"Yeah, y-you're welcome... I guess."
The two made their way over to departures. Before they got there, they heard someone call from behind.
"Hey! Where's our goodbyes?"
Apollo and Athena turned around to see Phoenix and Trucy.
"Oh, sorry!" Athena apologized as she made her way over to them. Apollo walked over the father and daughter pairing.
"See ya, boss! Don't get too lonely without us!" Athena said, wrapping her arms around Phoenix.
"Bye, Polly!" Trucy exclaimed, holding Apollo tight towards her.
"You gonna miss me, Trucy?" Apollo asked her. Trucy put her hands on her hips and huffed, looking somewhat angry.
"W-what?! No, I'll be fine!"
Apollo felt his bracelet tighten on his wrist. He rubbed his wrist, looking at the gold bracelet.
"Sorry, what was that?" Apollo asked.
"I said, I'll be FINE!" Trucy yelled.
GOTCHA!
"Trucy, your hands tightened onto your cape as you said that. Why are you lying to me?" Apollo said. Trucy put a hand over her mouth, surprised.
"I-I... I... Well, I guess I'm gonna miss you.." Trucy whimpered slightly.
"C'mon Trucy, you can tell me." Apollo said, reassuring her. Apollo felt Trucy wrap her arms around his neck.
"I'm gonna miss you so much, Polly!" Trucy whimpered, her face buried into Apollo's cotton shirt. Apollo held Trucy close to his chest.
"I'll be fine, Trucy! Just like you said. I'll be back before you know it!" Apollo told her. She smiled at that statement.
"And if you don't come back, I'll just make you come back with magic!" She said tipping her top hat at him.
"That'll be interesting for sure." Phoenix commented.
"Have you ever summoned a human being with magic?" Athena asked Trucy.
"Well... No... But Polly can be a first! It'll be an interesting experiment!" Trucy said. Apollo's horns slumped down.
"Good to know I'm a subject to your tricks, Trucy." He said.
"We should be going now. We'll see you two in a week!" Athena said.
"Bye, Mr. Wright! Bye, Trucy!" Apollo called out as he turned around. He carried a backpack that had some manga, books and his phone if he ever needed it.
"I'm excited, Apollo! Everyone says Maui is a great place!" Athena said.
"It did seem that way. I just need a break, honestly. Ever since that Phantom trial, stress has been my best friend." Apollo told Athena as the two made their way to departures, dodging crowds of people.
Athena carried her bright yellow athletic bag by her side. It was the bag she mainly used for her gym equipment and other things, but now she had packed it with her phone, headphones and a few books, mainly about psychology.
"You really need a break, Apollo. Especially since..." Athena wanted to say something but stopped.
"Since what?" Apollo asked.
"No, its alright," Athena shook her head. "It's nothing anyway."
"Especially since what happened to Clay." Widget chirped out. Athena didn't get mad at Widget. Instead she gave a concerned looked to Apollo.
"I'm fine, Athena. I don't want to talk about him." Apollo said, trying to avoid that topic.
"I want to help, Apollo!" Athena begged.
"I'm. Fine." Apollo said, glaring at Athena. He immediately regretted doing that, and looked at the floor ahead of him as he walked, a sad look planted on his face. He gripped the straps of his backpack.
"Sorry..." Apollo apologized. Athena put her hand on Apollo's right shoulder as they both kept walking.
"I'm here if you need me." She told him. He looked up at her, slightly smiling.
"Thanks."
The two of them eventually made it to the security check. Apollo took off his backpack, placing it on the baggage belt, and Athena followed him, as well as placing Widget on the belt. They both took off their shoes, placing them through a security check. Apollo stepped into a tall, circular device.
"Raise your arms, sir." A guard instructed Apollo. He did so, and he saw scanners slide around him, inspecting him.
"Alright, you're all good." The guard told him, not taking his eyes off the computer screen in front of him. Apollo stepped out the otherside, and grabbed his shoes and backpack.
Athena followed exactly what Apollo did, raising her arms. She was clean and clear to go through. Athena grabbed her athletic bag, shoes, bright yellow jacket and Widget. She eventually clipped Widget around her, and was good to go.
"Ugh. I hate going through security. I feel like I'm gonna get detected for no reason on something." Athena commented as she walked alongside Apollo towards their gate. Apollo looked up at a TV screen, and saw where he had to go.
Maui 15:00 Gate 18
The two made their way down a long hallway which had crowds of people going both ways, making their way to some unknown destination.
"Thanks for taking me, Apollo. I thought I should say that." Athena told him, smiling with Widget illuminating green. Apollo smiled back at her.
"I've been saving up for this trip, and I wouldn't take anyone else." He said.
"Almost makes me sound like your girlfriend." She teased him. He slightly chuckled.
"Maybe you are."
Athena laughed, knowing he wasn't serious.
Although on the inside, she kind of wished he was serious.
The two eventually reached Gate 18, and found two spare seats. They sat down next to each other, and Apollo unzipped his backpack, pulling out his phone to check the time.
2:45 PM.
"Boarding should be in about a quarter hour." Apollo told Athena as he locked his phone, putting it away in the front pocket of his bag.
"Hey, Apollo!" Athena yelled out suddenly. Apollo looked at her, and she held her phone in her hand.
"How about I give you time to actually be ready?" She said. Apollo sighed.
"Okay, fine."
Athena raised her phone in the air, the front camera on. Apollo looked up at the camera, and put on the slight smile he had. Athena put her right arm over Apollo, flashing a peace sign on the right on his head as she pushed her right cheek against Apollo's left cheek. She took the photo, and slid her arm off Apollo to look at the photo she had taken. Apollo's smiled slightly as he looked at Athena, who bared a full teeth smile, with her arm around Apollo, flashing a peace sign. The two had their cheeks pushed together.
"I like that. You should send that to Mr. Wright." Apollo told her. She wasted no time tagging a photo in a message to Phoenix. She then turned off her phone, putting it back in her athletics bag.
"Attention all passengers flying towards Maui on LAX Airlines, please proceed to gate 18 for boarding. Thank you."
Apollo smiled at Athena.
"Let's go!"
The two got up and proceeded towards the doors that led to the plane. Apollo handed his ticket over to a man who scanned it under some sort of device.
"Enjoy your flight, Mr. Justice." The man told Apollo as he handed the ticket back. Apollo stood by the door as he watched Athena hand her ticket over to the same man.
"Safe travels, Ms. Cykes." The man told her.
"How do they know our names?" Athena whispered to Apollo as they proceeded through the door and into the long jetbridge that led to the plane doors.
"It's on our tickets, Athena." Apollo replied with a monotone voice.
"Oh."
The two saw the plane door, and a woman standing in a nice flight attendants outfit. She smiled at the two of them. Apollo handed his ticket to her, and she inspected it before extending her hand down to point at the cabin.
"3A is on your right, the window seat." The woman said in a polite tone.
"Thank you." Apollo said as he made his way down the cabin. Athena handed her ticket over to the stewardess.
"3B, just next to him." She said. Athena jogged down the cabin.
"Apollo! I'm window seat, remember?" She called out.
"Yeah, I remember, Athena." Apollo sighed as he moved out of the way for Athena to sit right next to the window seat.
"Thanks, Apollo!" She said. Apollo sat down to the right of her. He looked past her and out the window as well. People worked everywhere, small vehicles sped down the runway. The sun was on the side somewhere, still glowing, lighting up the world.
"How long is the flight gonna be?" Athena asked Apollo.
"About five hours, I think." He said.
"How many times you been on a plane before?" Athena asked Apollo. He thought for a moment.
"Um... About three times," He answered "They kinda terrify me, to be honest."
Athena looked at Apollo, surprised.
"You're scared of planes?!" She asked.
"Everyone's scared of something. Mine just happen to be flying coffins." Apollo said.
"Okay, Apollo, first, you're gonna be fine. Second, the chances of crashing are freaking low," Athena slightly slid her hand and placed her hand atop Apollo's "And I'm here, too." She said.
She slid her hand off Apollo's, and placed it back in her lap.
"Thanks, tiger."
The plane eventually reversed, lining itself up with the runway. Apollo and Athena both buckled their seatbelts, and looked out the window. The plane did a slow taxi through the runway, which took about five minutes. The anticipation was almost too much, and it was getting to Apollo.
Then the plane started speeding.
It zoomed through the runway, before the top slowly lifted off the ground, and sent the rest of the plane with it.
Apollo tightly gripped Athenas hand as he was pushed back into his seat. He looked out the window, and saw the plane getting higher and higher. The buildings were tiny, and Apollo thought he could see the agency from where he was. Athena tightly held Apollo's hand back as she stared out the window. They eventually started to see clouds flying by the window.
Then, they had reached the sky.
A sound rang out, and Apollo saw that the seatbelt light had been turned off. He kept the buckle on, in hopes of actually living.
"I'm gonna sleep if that's alright," Apollo told Athena "Don't wake me if a food tray comes along."
"But Apollo! The food tray is the best part!" Athena joked. Apollo's horns dropped.
"No, Athena. Staying alive is the best part." He said.
Apollo then realized he still had his hands locked with Athenas. They both took notice, but decided to keep it that way.
If it helped Apollo, then that was OK.
Apollo tilted his head back into his seat and closed his eyes. Athena looked at him, and smiled.
She looked at her hand, locked with Apollo's. The warmth of his hand was incredible, and his strong fingers felt good. His grip loosened as he fell asleep, but didn't completely loosen. Athena decided she should probably sleep too. She leant over to her right, and rested her head on Apollo's left shoulder, her hand still locked with Apollo's. She closed her eyes, and fell asleep.
(O)
"Could all passengers please place their tray tables up and put their seat in the upright position before we land. Thank you."
Apollo's heavy eyes slowly lifted open and looked down the cabin. Other people awoke the same way he did. Apollo felt a weight on his left shoulder, and looked to see Athena asleep on his shoulder. He smiled, and saw his hand was still locked with hers.
The plane slowly began to descend, and Athena eventually woke up. She lifted her head up from Apollo's shoulder, and immediately looked out the window. The sun was setting along the beautiful Hawaiian coast. The land lighted a beautiful orange tint and she saw tiny cars driving on the road. The plane had nearly fully descended into the runway, and Apollo knew he hated this part. He tightened his grip on Athenas hand.
"I've never seen you act this way." Athena teased Apollo.
"Shut up."
The planes wheels eventually smashed against the tarmac, sending a jolt throughout the plane, Apollo's spine and his bravery. The breaks were put into full gear, and a loud noise echoed throughout the plane. The noise slightly hurt Athenas ears. She winced in pain, tightly closing her eyes and tightening her grip on Apollo's hand. Apollo put one hand on Athenas left ear, and buried her right ear into his chest.
"I'm Athena Cykes and I'm fine, I'm Athena Cykes and I'm fine, I'm Athena Cykes and I'm fine..." She repeated over and over to calm herself. The plane eventually stopped, and slowly taxied itself to a place to park. Apollo slid his hand off Athenas left ear.
"Thanks." She whimpered.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Maui, Hawaii, where it is a beautiful 96 degrees Fahrenheit. The time is 6:07 PM, currently two hours behind L.A. If you are staying for a holiday or other such things, you can collect your baggage at baggage claim number 18. If you are returning home, welcome back, we hope you enjoyed your stay in L.A. Mobile phones can now be switched on. Thank you for flying with LAX Airlines, and we hope to fly again with you soon."
"Nice script there, buddy." Athena joked, causing Apollo to slightly snicker. Athena grabbed her phone to check her notifications. She noticed a text from Phoenix.
'You two look good! You arrive yet?'
Athena tapped on her screen to reply, and Apollo checked his phone for notifications. He only had one from Trucy.
'How was plane, Polly?'
Apollo left a very brief reply.
'It was all good. I was fine. How are you doing? You don't miss me too much?'
Apollo sent the message to Trucy before locking his phone. Athena finished up her reply.
'Arrived safe and sound!'
Athena decided to finish the message by sending another photo of her and Apollo. She took it from a medium viewpoint just to get the side of her face and Apollo. She sent the photo to Phoenix, before locking it and looking at the rest of the passengers getting up from their seats. The two of them followed, picking up their bags and stepping out from their seats. They made their way down to the side door of the plane, and stepped out into the hot outside of Maui. The sun hit Apollo's face, and he got some sunglasses out from his backpack, and put them on, shading his eyes.
"This is boiling! I love it!" Athena said, Widget lighting up green.
(O)
He saw Apollo and Athena stepping up out of their seats, making their way out of the plane. The man had been following the two of them since they arrived at the airport. He got up from his seat. He needed to wait until the time was right. He needed one thing, and one thing only.
Revenge.
(O)
Apollo and Athena stepped into the airport. Athena spotted a sign
Baggage Collection to the left.
"Apollo, this way!" Athena said as she ran down the hallway to the baggage claim area. Apollo smiled to himself.
She was so excited, it was almost too cute.
The two eventually reached the baggage carousel. Suitcases had already been placed, and Athena was jumping up to look over people's shoulders. She spotted hers, and started to run through a crowd of people. She eventually reached the edge of the baggage carousel. She grabbed her bright yellow suitcase immediately.
"Got my case first. Suck it, Justice!" She teased, sticking her tongue out at Apollo. Apollo sighed, shaking his head. He eventually spotted his, and calmly made his way towards the dark red case. His was significantly larger than Athenas, but contained much less. The two made their way out the front door. As they waited for a taxi, Athena asked Apollo a question.
"Where are we staying?"
Apollo eventually hailed a taxi, and opened the back door, getting in.
"Where to?" The driver asked Apollo as Athena crawled into the car.
"Great Wailea Resort."
(O)
The taxi eventually pulled up in front of a large building with a water fountain out the front. Past the large building was the resort.
"Apollo?"
"Yes?"
"How much did this cost?"
"A lot."
"Oh."
The two made their way to check in, carrying their bags and suitcases behind them.
"We are Apollo Justice and Athena Cykes." Apollo told the man at the counter.
"Ah, yes. Let me just check..." The man typed a few things into his computer before looking up, smiling. "Yep! Mr. Justice and Ms. Cykes! Welcome to the Great Wailea Resort!" The man welcomed the two of them. He went into a little office to retrieve the room keys for the two of them. Apollo and Athena saw the distant beach. The pool and gardens had very few people. Apollo intentionally chose a place with not much people, just to make the experience better. The beach looked spectacular. The man eventually came out of his little office.
"Here you go! Room 109, third floor! Enjoy your stay!"
"Thanks!" Athena replied. She immediately grabbed both her bags and sprinted down the hall. Apollo walked calmly to the elevator to go the third floor. As the elevator came down to his level, Apollo looked right to see Athena still running down the hall.
"Athena, you're not suppose to go there!" He told her.
"Shut up, Apollo! I know where I'm goi- oh." She looked at the room numbers. Then she turned and sprinted back to Apollo.
"Always good to get a bit of exercise, don't you think?" Athena panted, leaning all her body onto Apollo.
The elevator doors opened, and the two stepped in. Apollo pushed the 3 button, and the doors closed. Apollo crossed arms, while Athena still rested her entire body on his side.
"So... I can take your excited?" He asked her.
"I.. I guess you... You could.. Say that.." Athena said, speaking words in between panting. The elevator door extended open, and Apollo grabbed his suitcase and started to move forward. Unfortunately, Athena was still resting her body on him, and when he moved, she wasn't ready. So when he started to walk out the elevator, Athena was taken with him, and she fell down.
"Ow..." She moaned into the floor. She slowly got up, and looked at Apollo. She held both her fists out.
"Maybe warn me next time?!" She yelled.
She grabbed her suitcase and bag and the two headed down to their room. Apollo stuck the key into the door that had the sign 109 on the front. The key turned, and the two of them stepped into a neat, air conditioned room. The room had one giant king sized bed in the middle, with the TV at the feet end.
"I.. I think there's only one bed..." Apollo said. Athena flopped onto the bed dozily.
"Eh, Mahts Finph" She tried to speak with her face on the bed. 'I think that translated to That's Fine' Apollo thought. A balcony was also out the back of the room, and Apollo stepped out onto it. Athena eventually looked up and saw a scene straight out of a movie. Apollo leaning forward on the balcony, his hair and clothes blowing with the wind, the curtains flopping with the wind, and the sunset making the sides of his body glow. She got up and stepped out onto the balcony with Apollo.
"Beautiful sunset." Apollo commented.
"Yeah..." Athena said, gazing in wonder at the view beyond her. The sun set behind the deep blue ocean, and the very slight glow of it is what lighted the world. Apollo felt this was a suitable moment to put his arm around Athena, and he did so. She let him. The two watch the sun set behind the sea.
"Goodbye, sun... I'll see you tomorrow." Athena mumbled to herself.
"You even speak to the sun?" Apollo asked. Widget went red.
"W-what?! N-no way!" Athena stuttered. Although Apollo felt his bracelet react, he decided to let this one fly.
Apollo went inside to check the fridge to see if there were any drinks. Just as he ordered, he found some orange juice. He grabbed out a glass bottle of one, and went outside to hand it to Athena.
"They make glass bottles of OJ?! This is the greatest day ever." Athena exclaimed as she unscrewed lid, downing a sip. Apollo went back inside to get his favorite juice.
Apple.
He went outside and leaned against a wall next to Athena as he drunk a sip of apple juice. He held his glass out to right of him.
"Cheers, tiger." He said. She clinked her bottle against his, and took a sip of OJ.
"Cheers."
(O)
When the darkness of the night reached them, and they both finished their fourth bottle of juice each, they decided it was time to sleep. They stepped inside, Athena shutting the balcony door.
"I might take a shower before I hop into bed." Athena told Apollo as she stepped into the bathroom.
Apollo stared at the single bed. Sleeping in the same bed as Athena would be weird, but he'd have to get used to it. He grabbed the bottom of his shirt, pulling it over his head. He ruffled his hair, removing the gel from it and returning it to its normal, long state. He stepped into the bed, and reached into his bag, pulling out the current manga he was reading.
The hot water soothed Athena's skin. She washed her long orange hair, before stepping out of the shower. She dried herself off, and wrapped the towel around her. She stepped out of the bathroom, the towel covering her. She made her way over to her suitcase, and pulled out a long orange shirt and yellow underwear. She looked over at Apollo, who was busy studying his manga. She was surprised with how fit he looked. He didn't have abs, but his chest muscles were a lot bulkier than she'd expected, and she kinda liked that. Once she was in her pyjamas, she crawled into the bed with Apollo. Apollo noticed her, and placed his bookmark into his manga, before turning off the light. Complete darkness invaded the room. Apollo's head hit the pillow, and he closed his eyes.
"Good night, Apollo." Athena whispered to him. Apollo looked at her, and smiled.
"Good night, tiger."
(O)
"Help me, Apollo."
Apollo was stuck in a dark room, surrounded by nothing. He only heard noise. A voice. The voice of his old friend.
The voice of Clay.
"This hurts so much, Apollo." He said.
"Is dying quick? I don't like the pain."
Apollo tried to call out, but couldn't say anything. He saw a blood drop hit the floor. The blood drops got quicker and quicker. Apollo then had the realisation.
The blood drops were coming towards him.
Apollo tried to move, but his legs were stuck to the floor.
"Do you know how it feels to be stabbed?"
Apollo started panting. He wanted to get out.
"Maybe one day you'll find out. But one thing is for sure..."
Apollo then saw Clay appear in front of him. He had a knife sticking out of his chest, and blood running from his eyes and mouth. He stared at Apollo, straight in the eye.
"It's hurts. It hurts so goddamn much."
Apollo's eyes flew open, and he sat up quickly, looking around. He was back in the real world.
"Apollo? Are you alright?"
Apollo looked right to see Athena. He felt her concerned look through the darkness.
"It's... It's just Clay... He's haunting my nightmares again.."
Apollo felt Athenas arms wrap around him. He felt her soft hair rub against his bare chest.
"It's okay, Apollo... You're fine... It's just a nightmare..."
Apollo eventually calmed down. Athena released her arms from around Apollo. She rubbed his hair.
"I'm here if you need me, Apollo."
She laid back down, her head facing Apollo. Her eyes were closed.
"Night, Apollo."
Apollo slowly laid down.
"Night, Athena..."
Do you know how it feels to be stabbed? Maybe one day you'll find out. But one things for sure... It's hurts. It hurts so goddamn much.
That sentence just stuck with Apollo.
He tried to ignore it.
Tomorrow was the first day of his holiday.
He should be happy.
And when he's with Athena, he can achieve that goal.