((A:N: Making these one shots are becoming a bad habit of mine I swear. This silly little idea just came out of nowhere while I was doing a RP, possession. I know, a little out of place in the AA world, but we are talking spirit mediums here. And oh look, a slightly Apollo focused story too. Well, at least I'm writing again. XD So let's get this show on the road. I do NOT own Ace Attorney, or else Clay would some how find his way into AJ2))
The man quickly sat up, clutching his chest as his eyes shot open. He gulped a few deep breaths of air as he blinked, his vision blurry.
Why was everything around him so far a blur?
Then he remembered the knife plunging into his chest, his breath turning into gasps as his vision faded. "... How did-" He stopped talking, blinking a few times in shock.
His voice did not sound like his own.
"... Anyone..?" He slapped a hand over his mouth, alert. "..." He slowly removed his hands from over his mouth, shaking as he shut his eyes. "... That was me..?"
"APOLLO!" He nearly fell off the couch he was sitting on as a woman jumped over it, nearly crushing him in a hug as over exaggerated tears streamed down her face. "I'm so so sorry! What is the boss going to think? He left us for a few days, and I nearly get my co worker killed by pushing him down the stairs!"
(... Huh?)
"I'm not Apollo though." The girl shot up, as if she was shocked, to stare at Apollo. "... Ha ha..." She laughed, nearly falling off the couch as she did. "N-Nice tr-try A-Apollo! But y-your g-g-guilt trip won't w-work on me th-this time!"
The other man shook his head, before pointing at himself with his right hand. "No, really, I'm Clay! Apollo is my friend."
The girl suddenly stopped laughing, the man finally noticing the strange necklace around the girl's neck as it changed to yellow. "..." The girl sighed, her necklace glowing a dark blue. "Apollo, I know your best friend died, but you don't have to go around pretending to be him."
The other man shook his head, frowning as he pointed to himself again. "But I'm not pretending, I really am Clay-" He stopped short when he noticed the object around his wrist.
It was a strange bracelet, one he was only allowed to wear once in his whole life, knowing that only one existed in this world.
(... A-Apollo's bracelet is on my arm...)
His breathing started to seem hysterical as he hugged himself, drawing the other person to give him concerned looks as she walked over to him. She gave an awkward smile as she poked the man's shoulder, making the other man turned his frightened gaze towards her with dazzling blue eyes.
She suddenly stopped smiling, sitting down next to the other man. "Oh my gosh... Y-you aren't joking are you..?" The man shook his head as he shut his eyes again, digging his nails into his arms. "I remember dying... A-and that's i-it! Th-this shouldn't be h-happening!" He covered his face, his friends face, as he weeped into his hands. "..." He felt a small tug on his sleeve, wiping his eyes as he looked into the woman's blue ones. "... I... I think we can talk to someone... One sec..." She quickly jogged off into another room, leaving the man by himself.
"..." The man looked down at himself, seeing his friend's signature red vest above a white shirt, the sleeves rolled up, probably to not disturb the bracelet on his right arm. His business pants and socked feet both the same shade of brown. He blinked a few times before looking around. He was in the middle of... Some sort of messed up room.
A pile of strange objects, ranging from large boxes to knives, was on his left. To his right was the couch he was on earlier, a small coffee table seeming to stand guard next to it. "..." He walked over towards the cluster of items to his left, and almost stepped back in shock.
A small mirror layed down on one of the boxes, which he just saw himself in. He took a few deep breaths before jumping in front of the mirror.
And just as he expected, his face was not his own.
It was his friend's face. The same strange hair style, the same facial features, heck, he even held some of his friend's old glare in his blue gaze.
That's when it hit him, like a strange slap in the face.
He stumbled back onto the couch, staring at the mirror in some sort of daze.
(... Wha..?)
Clay was snapped back into reality as he heard the familiar voice, nearly falling out of the couch. "Apollo..?"
(... What's going on?)
Clay could actually feel his friend's presence in the back of his head, almost like he was a self conscious in a sense. Clay covered his face with his hands again. "Thank god..."
(What is going on?! Who is this, and why can I not control my body?!)
Clay tensed up at hearing the other man's panicked voice, his whole body going rigid as he thought over an answer. "... I-I'm sorry 'Pollo... I didn't want to do this..." He could almost see his friend's horrified expression as he realized he had no control over his actions, having himself controlled by someone he still had no idea who they were.
(Please... If this is your way into some sort of twisted vengeance, please don't make me hurt anyone, I beg you...)
Clay shook his head, crossing his arms as he shut his eyes. "I would never do that Apollo... We were good friends after all..."
(..!)
It was almost as if Clay could hear the gears in Apollo's head suddenly stop at his last sentence, his friend's fearful face turning into one of disbelief.
(... Clay..? Clay, what are you doing..?)
"Who you talking too?" Clay nearly fell of the couch as he quickly turned. The woman who walked off earlier was standing there, smiling sheepishly as she awkwardly stood there. "You're jumpy, aren't you..?"
"..." Clay blinked a few times, trying to ignore Apollo's shouting.
(Athena!)
The woman, who Clay guessed to be Athena, shuffled her feet as she stared at the office entrance. "I'll just... Wait outside for Pearly to come..." Clay watched as the necklace seemed to turn a dark shade of blue, some how silencing Apollo. She started to walk towards the door, staring at the ground as she did.
"Athena!" A strangled cry tore through his throat, something Clay didn't even try to say as he watched Athena turn around.
Athena turned to see her friend's eyes flash to a light hazel, seemingly in pain. "Not... Your... Fault!" The man gasped as he grabbed his shirt's neckline. "Not... Clay's either..." Athena ran over to the man, hugging him tightly before shaking him. "Apollo, vergib mir, I didn't know this would happen!"
The other man shook his head as he screwed his eyes shut, tensing up as he gritted his teeth. "No... Not... It wasn't... You, it... Was..." He let out a gasp as the man opened his eyes, revealing them to be a startling light blue. The man took a few deep breaths of air as Athena watched him, almost seeming angry at him. "What did you do to Apollo?"
The man shook his head as he took one last deep breath. "I... I'm sorry, I didn't want to hold him back like that. I actually... Tried to get him to stay... He's..." He tapped the side of his head, smiling sheepishly. "He's still here, just, not physically."
Clay could hear his friend in the back of his head, moaning in pain.
(You okay there buddy..?)
The moaning stopped, replaced with short breaths. Athena frowned as she grabbed her necklace, pressing a small button on the top of it. Clay watched, amazed, as a small holographic screen popped up. "... Wow..." Athena smirked as she swiped at the screen with a gloved hand, throwing some of the things aside to leave just a dark blue screen with four corners. "It's called a Mood Matrix, pretty cool, huh?"
Clay could almost see his friend rolling his eyes, he snickered.
(Don't you roll your eyes, you probably thought this was cool too.)
(Yes, but she didn't look so smug about it!)
(And what about you and your bracelet?)
(That was different!)
"Am I interrupting something here?" Clay shook his head as he laughed, smoothing his hair down. "No no, 'Pollo's just jealous."
(I am not jealous!)
Clay rolled his eyes as he removed his hand from his head, the spikes on his hair shooting straight up again. Athena laughed, before pressing a few things on her Mood Matrix screen. "Alright then. So... I don't really know how to start this off..."
"Start what off?"
"... Nothing important, I'm just, wondering..." Clay yelped, before grabbing his right wrist. "Ow! What the..?"
(... Clay, she's lying. The bracelet reacted to her lie.)
(Dude, that hurt!)
(It doesn't hurt that much! Stop whining about it.)
(Says you... Oh wait...)
Clay could hear his friend sigh, smiling sheepishly. "You alright Ap-. I mean, Clay?"
Clay shook his head, waving Athena off. "I'm fine, this is all just strange to me..." Athena let out a bitter laugh, setting her hands to her hips. "I can only imagine what it's like for the both of you, now then, while my friend is on her way here... Which is about in twenty or so minutes... I think... We'll just have a little discussion with Widget here. So..." She tapped the screen a few times. "Can you tell me how you're feeling about your death, and how it may be connected to what's happening now?"
"... I... I don't know..."
(Come on Clay, there's nothing to be shy about!)
(I'm just not so sure about this...)
(Hey, where's the out going Clay I used to know, ready to take everything like it was nothing?)
(How can someone take this like it was nothing?!)
(... Good point... But please, just speak to Athena, she's trying to remain calm as much as we are.)
(And your little trick I think didn't help.)
"..." Clay took a deep breath before letting it out. "I... I was just laying down on the ground before it happened, I was exhausted after carrying Mr. Starbuck off the rocket. My eyes were just about to shut when I saw a man, standing over me, I was about to say something when he... He..." He placed a hand over his chest as he went limp on the couch, his eyes seeming to shut in pain.
"... He stabbed me. It was painful... I could barely feel it, yet I could feel my heart slowing down until... It just, stopped..." Athena nodded slowly as she tilted her head to the side. "... That's strange. When you talked about your heart stopping, the matrix seemed to pick up a little bit of happiness."
"... What does that mean?" Athena swiped at the screen a few times, Clay finally noticing a glowing green orb on the top left of the screen, blinking as a small blue one also blinked. "I don't know, it is your emotions, you should know why you're feeling that."
While Clay had hundreds of questions over how that necklace could read his emotions, the question Athena asked him stood out. "What made me... Happy..?" He leaned back in the couch again, crossing his arms in thought. "... Oh!" He snapped his fingers, making Athena blink a few times, as if Clay spooked her. She shook her head. "Sorry, I'm just not used to seeing Apollo think like that... What is it though?"
Clay nodded slowly before answering. "I... I think I thought I would get to see my mother again." Athena nodded a few times before pressing the screen, smiling slightly as a bar in the top left corner grew smaller. "Yes! The noise went down!"
(...)
(... What's wrong Clay..?)
(... I... I never did see her...)
(... Buddy, I'm am so sorry, I didn't-)
(Don't apologize, it's not your fault... Maybe... Maybe after this, when I actually leave, I'll get to see her!)
(I hope so buddy... God dammit, why did you have to do this?)
(Do what?)
(Don't you play dumb, why did you have to possess my body?)
(... Are you trying to say something to me Apollo?)
(... Yes, I'm saying you intentionally did this.)
Athena watched as the other man's eyes flashed from blue to a sharp hazel, the man mumbling darkly, before a knock on the door came. She quickly stood up, ignoring as the man suddenly went tense.
(You are saying I didn't want to see my mother!? That I wanted to rob my friend's body!?)
(Something to that degree, yes.)
(What the hell happened to you to think this way?! Was it my death that snapped you? Or did Kristoph finally get to you?!)
(... Clay, I-)
(Don't you dare Clay me! I don't even know who you are anymore! You're just some sort of monster-!)
Clay stopped speaking back to the other conscious, his mouth hanging agape as he stared at his hands.
(... Apollo... I... I didn't mean that... I...)
(... Apollo..?)
(... Apollo?)
(... Apollo?!)
Clay could still feel the other man in the back of his mind, yet, it was as if it was small, almost faint. Like a small child hiding from an abusive parent.
(Apollo... I didn't mean that, I swear!)
(... I am a monster...)
He almost openly sobbed at the other man's voice, his friend's voice didn't sound loud or full of confidence. It sounded weak, almost as if the person was about to quit and give up everything.
(Apollo, I may not know what happened after my death, but you have to listen to me, you are not a monster, you're my friend!)
(And what kind of friend am I..? I accused Athena of killing you Clay. I wanted to trust her so badly, and yet I just threw everything behind me... Just like Kristoph... I even followed his teachings then and there, maybe you are right...)
Clay shook his head, gripping it between his hands as he shut his eyes.
(No Apollo! You were angry! You were depressed! You are not the only one who could have done it in that situation-!)
He stopped as the other consciousness seemed to dissapear. His eyes widened as he ran a hand through his hair, biting his lip. "... N-no..." Athena walked back into the room to see the man, who was still sitting on the couch, as he ran a hand through his hair. "... He's gone..."
Another person, a small young woman, stood behind Athena. Her eyes widened as she saw the man on the couch, hiding all but her strange hairdo behind Athena. "M-Mr. Justice..?"
The man's head shot up, his startling blue, teary filled eyes meeting her own, scared blue eyes. "H-he's gone... I... I..." He rubbed his face with both of his hands before sobbing into them. "I just killed off my best friend..."
Apollo stood there silently in the dark room he was in, shaking a bit in fear. The small TV in front of him no longer playing the events of the outside world due to him unplugging it in a fit of rage.
Now all he did was sit there, and think over the words his friend said...
You think I wanted to rob my friend's body?!
Did Kristoph finally get to you?!
I don't even know you anymore!
You're just some monster!
"... Maybe he's right... Maybe..." He didn't notice the shadows wrapping around his body slowly, and if he did, he wouldn't even care. "Maybe... Maybe I am a monster." The shadows leaped on him, racking a deep pain all over his body.
"What do you mean he's gone?!"
Clay shook his head as Athena glared at him, the other girl standing by her side, clutching a small object in her hand. "He's not talking to me, I don't feel him, and... And it's my fault..."
"... He's still there..." Clay and Athena turned towards the young woman, who had begun to walk around Athena. "I... I don't know why... But, he's in a lot of..." Her eyes widened, and it seemed her grip on the glowing green stone she held slackened a bit. "Oh my..."
"... What?" That's when he felt Apollo's consciousness again. His face lit up, his frown deepened, though.
(... Apollo..?)
(... Don't... Look... For me...)
(A-apollo? Wh-why-?)
(I said DON'T!)
Clay gripped his head, wincing in slight pain as the other conscious faded away once again. The young woman stepped forward, holding the green stone in her hand. "We need to do this quickly, we need to send you to Mr. Justice, Mr. Terran!"
"..." Clay took a few deep breaths, before turning towards Athena. "First... I need to do something..."
Clay moaned as he sat up, rubbing his head in pain. "... Pearl, you said it would be painful, but not as painful as my death..." He opened his eyes, and looked around, it was all an inky black, with only one door standing in front of him. He looked down at himself as he stood up. He was wearing his old jacket, with a plain white t shirt and jeans. He sighed in slight relief as he ran a hand through raven colored hair, smiling sheepishly. "Well, that seems a bit better..."
He frowned as he glanced at the door, before quickly grabbing the door knob and opening it. He walked into the room, keeping the door open, just in case. "Hello!"
"..."
He walked over towards the TV, tapping it a few times. "... Was this how Apollo saw the outside..?"
"... Cl... Ay..?" Clay's attention shot away from the TV, and towards the direction of the voice. He smiled when he saw a body, bent over, but stopped when he saw the figure grasping his stomach in pain. "R... U... N..." Clay watched as the figure stood, turning their bright red gaze to him as they gave a low growl. Clay took a step back, holding up a hand in defense. "Wh-what are you-"
He was cut off short when the person roared, dashing towards him. Clay quickly turned, and ran out of the room, shutting the door behind him. He almost missed the changed scenery as he turned and ran away from the door.
(This looks like... The school Apollo and I went too!)
He didn't hear the door slam open, he did, though, hear the sound of quick footsteps from behind him. He just barely turned to see a red blur jump, and pin him to the ground. He looked up, his breathing quick and ragged, at the person above him. His eyes widened as he saw the face of his friend.
And the new additions to his appearance.
His body didn't take too many changes, but the ones it did take were horrifying. The man bared his newly sharpened fangs as he raised a clawed hand, his red eyes never leaving their target. And on the man's back were what could be described as wings from hell, they looked almost shredded, with a few holes in them here and there, with clawed tips at the end of each one. Clay's breath hitched as he stared at the man, no, creature before him. "No... N-no... A-Apollo, y-you a-aren't a d-demon..."
The other man only growled, drawing a few tears from Clay as the creature lowered its hand, digging its claws into his shoulder. "Pl-please A-Apollo. This isn't y-you... S-stop acting like th-this... Y-you're my f-friend..." The creature stopped for a few seconds, his red eyes dimming slightly to his normal hazel. "... Fr... Friend..?" Clay winced at the creature's voice, it sounded deep, with a small growl, but it still held a hint of Apollo's voice in it. He nodded slowly, reaching up to touch the other man's face. "Yes... Friend..."
"..." The creature seemed to shake as he watched Clay's hand come closer, their eyes flashing from hazel back to bright red, a low growl in their throat but small whimpers accompanying them. Clay stopped, watching as the other man shivered, getting off Clay only to fall on his knees close to the man. Clay slowly sat up as the creature's eyes opened, revealing them to be the hazel he grew up with, the one he associated with his close friend. "A-Apollo..?" The creature quickly turned, falling on their backside as he stared at Clay. He looked down at his bloodied claws, claws of all things, before scooting back a bit, whimpering slightly.
Clay smiled sadly as he watched his friend, before crawling over to him, hugging the other man before he could escape, careful not to accidently hit the other man's wings. "Shhhh, I know it wasn't your fault Apollo... It's over, it wasn't you..."
"... Yes... It... Was..." Clay couldn't help but shiver at his friend's deep voice, which the other man quickly picked up on. Apollo frowned, looking away from Clay as the other man stopped hugging him. "Sorry..." Clay shook his head, a frown of his own etched onto his face. "No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called you a monster, when I didn't know what you went through after I died."
"..." Apollo remained silent as he stared at his bloody claws, a small shiver running up his spine. "... Did... Thena... Tell you..?" Clay nodded, shutting his eyes in thought as he did. "Yeah, she did. And I understand, you were upset, lonely, afraid. You had lost me, and I know I was like a family member to you."
Apollo didn't even blush as he nodded, wrapping his arms around his knees as his wings did the same thing for his body, almost like a safety cocoon. "And I... Almost... Killed... Him again..."
Clay gently pushed his friend, smiling slightly. "That wasn't you... And you know that..." The man shook his head, shutting his eyes as tears fell down his face. "I... Saw everything... I... Saw myself dig... My claws..." Apollo shivered slightly to admitting he had that animalistic feature, making his friend frown. "... Come on." He stood up, pulling on his friend's shoulder, careful not to hit the pointed tip of the wings again. "Let's get out of this dreary place. I want to see if it's there..."
Apollo didn't protest, he only gave a small, almost playful, growl, which caused the other man to smile. "You aren't going to ask?" The other man shook his head, smiling slightly, but hiding his sharp fangs.
In a few minutes, the two got to a flight of stairs, which they both quickly ran up. Apollo, who was the first one to get there, opened the door.
Outside was the roof to the building, which some how still had the stars and the sky above.
Clay smiled as he looked around, walking outside with his friend close by. "Wow..." He sat on the edge of the roof, while Apollo sat next to him, smiling slightly. "It's just like when we were little, isn't it?"
Apollo nodded, smoothing his hair down as he smiled sheepishly, before allowing it to straighten up. "Yeah..."
(... I wonder...)
As his friend closed his eyes, he quickly reached up, and began to gently pet his friend's hair. The other man's eyes shot open, tenseing up, before shutting his eyes in contempt, purring slightly.
Clay burst out laughing, holding his stomach as the other man looked at him in confusion, grabbing the other man's shoulder carefully. "... What..?" Clay snickered before poking his friend's shoulder. "You purr." This time, Apollo did blush, his eyes widening a bit. "W-well... I guess... I would, since... I do growl... I'm... Surprised... You don't... Poke fun... At me whimpering..."
Clay shook his head, leaning back a bit. "Nah, I know you whimpering is the same thing as you crying 'Pollo, I'm not gonna make fun of that." Apollo thought it over before nodding... "I guess... You're right..."
Both of them sat there in silence, just enjoying the others company as they stared at the sky above, just like they did when both were alive.
Their peace did not last long, though.
Clay was just about to shut his eyes when he heard a loud roar. Thinking his friend had lost control again, he shot up, scooting away from his friend before getting a closer look at him.
His friend was growling threatently, but small whimpers of pain accompanied them again, and he seemed to be shivering as tears streamed down his face.
"..." Clay shook his head before crawling back over too Apollo, grabbing the other man's shoulder. "Wh-what's-" He was cut off as the other man roared again, this time, swiping his claws in his friend's direction. Clay grabbed his chin as his friend stopped shivering, staring as Clay removed his hand to reveal blood dripping down it. Apollo shivered slightly at the sight of it, his eyes flashing back to red before going back to the panicked hazel.
Clay shook his head, wiping the blood off his hand before taking a deep breath. He calmly forced himself to sit in front of his friend, crossing his legs as he gave a weak smile. "Hey Apollo... You still in there..?" The creature growled slightly, their eyes slowly turning a shade of red. Clay sighed, looking up at the night sky. "... Remember when we first met? Wasn't it here? Well, in the real world." He chuckled softly, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah... I... I was upset because my Mom died, and I pretty much had nowhere to turn too for help... Since Dad was going through mourning too..." Clay shivered slightly as the creature went silent, only a speck of his friend's old eyes remained as the thing bared its fangs at him. "I..." He gulped, tugging on his collar. "I thought it was actually silly, at first... To yell I'm fine... But after that day..." He smiled, scooting a bit closer to the other man. "I... It became the start of the best friendship I ever had." When he was close enough to him, he quickly hugged the creature, earning a small roar which was quickly cut off, claws half heartedly digging into his arms, which he ignored. "Please... Say you're fine Apollo, say you're fine..."
"..." He heard his friend whimper as the pain in his arms disappeared slightly, still bleeding, but with the claws gone. "I'm... Fine..." Clay nodded slowly, keeping his arms wrapped around his friend. After a few minutes, he heard his friend sigh in relief, and arms wrap around him again. This time, no claws dug into his back. Clay opened his eyes, and looked at his friend. He smiled when he saw no more wings on his friend, and no fangs in his mouth as the other man smiled back. "I'm fine now... Thank you... Clay..."
"..." Clay nodded before letting go of his friend, sighing. "... Apollo... I... Will have to go." Apollo nodded, his sad frown nearly breaking Clay. "Yeah... I understand buddy..." He looked at the ground, ignoring the blood on his hands as best as he could. "I'll miss you..."
Clay smiled sadly as he took a bracelet out of his pocket, placing it in Apollo's hand, using the other to tap the side of his head. "Don't worry 'Pollo, I'll always be here!"
The man quickly sat up, clutching his chest as his eyes shot open. His blurry vision didn't catch as someone tackled him in a hug, crying into his shoulder. "Apollo, you're back!"
"Ack!" The man blinked a few times before pouting towards his co worker, amusement in his eyes. "Athena, please! I just got back!" Athena pouted back, but reluctantly let him go, allowing the young woman who was watching to walk towards the two. "Uhm... Mr. Justice?" The other man nodded, ignoring the girl's strange outfit. "Speaking?"
"Uhm..." She held up a small object, before yelling. "TAKE THAT!" Apollo blinked a few times before grabbing the badge. "..." Athena was surprised a bit to hear small snickers from the man. "Did Clay put you up to this?"
The woman nodded, earning a small smile from the man as he read the note. "... I'll miss you buddy..."
Guess I'm not the only one that was able to present their badge anymore! Isn't that right 'Pollo?
((A:N: OH MY GOSH I ACTUALLY FINISHED THIS! Okay, so about the badge, it's just a little idea I saw when I was going through social media *cough* tumblr *cough*, where Clay gets this silver badge, just like the astronauts in NASA... I believe it was something to have to do with someone who works in space, and that it's a running joke that Clay will try to present his badge everytime Apollo would as some sort of surprise, but Clay never got to do it. But oh my gosh, I actually finished this. Literally, I'm sort of proud of this, this might be 5000 words by the time I'm done. Originally, Apollo wasn't gonna go insane like that and it would just be a peaceful ending, but nah, let's have this instead. Why you ask? Cause I'm an evil authoress. Mwah ha ha. Anyway, R&R, and remember, your flames warm my family!)