"Freeze!"
Athena could barely hear those words as a loud bang on a large door being smashed opened echoed throughout the parking lot. She could barely hear anything, except for her own panicked breaths. Her eyes were focused on only one thing.
Apollo, laying on the ground, blood slowly pouring out from his stomach and onto the ground.
She turned her head towards the large parking lot door that had been smashed down, and saw about four officers, all pointing their guns towards the man in the hood. He didn't even put his hands up. He remained as calm as ever.
The squad of officers moved towards the man, and he stood still.
"Put your hands in the air! Now!" One officer demanded. The man disobeyed.
One officer moved towards the man, while the other three stood behind him, watching the man closely. Athena watched as the officer pointed the gun directly at the man's face.
Then he saw the man move suddenly, grabbing the officers hand, and suddenly breaking it, causing him to drop the gun. The man caught the gun midair, and pointed it at the other three officers.
The man held the gun in both hands, aiming it at the other three officers. The three pointed their guns at him, safety released and finger on the trigger.
The man pointed his gun at the officers, and Athena could hear massive amounts of panic in his heart.
Then in a split second, the man raised the gun to his own head.
Athena slightly gasped and the officers started to sprint towards the man to stop him.
Then he pulled the trigger.
A loud gunshot echoed throughout the parking lot, hurting Athenas ears. She looked away, but knew she wouldn't get that image out of her head.
She heard the man hit the ground.
He had just committed suicide.
The other three officers gawked at his body.
Athena crawled out from under the car, and stood up. The officers pointed their gun at her in panic.
"No..!" She could only hoarsely whisper. The officers slowly lowered their guns.
Athena ran over to Apollo. His breathing was extremely forced. He was unconscious, still holding one hand over his wound. Athena slowly lifted up his shirt, revealing a gaping stab wound in the right side of his stomach, just below his rib cage. The sight was terrifying and truly disgusting, and Athena did everything in her power to hold back her sickness. She had to remain calm, but she knew that image of Apollo's wound would forever etch itself into her mind. She snapped out of her panicked state and focused on Apollo.
Athena immediately removed his red jacket, placing it on the stab wound to somehow slow the blood loss. Blood immediately stained the jacket.
"G-get an ambulance..! Please!" She hoarsely whispered at the officers. They had already started to call them in. They rushed over to Apollo.
"Godammit, get them here! He's gonna... He's going to..." Athena couldn't bring herself to mention death. No, he was going to live. He has to.
Athena pressed her hand over his stab wound, attempting to stop as much blood loss as possible.
"It's going to be fine, Apollo... You're going to be fine..." Athena told his unconscious body.
Athena could hear the sirens of an ambulance coming, and felt some relief.
Then she felt Apollo stop breathing.
"Apollo?"
Apollo wasn't responding. His forced breaths had stopped.
"No, no, wake up!" She begged. An officer started to perform CPR on Apollo, trying to get him to wake up. The ambulance drove into the parking lot, and four paramedics ran out.
"Wake up... Please... Don't go..." Athena begged, holding Apollo's cheek.
Then she heard Apollo gasp, and launch into a coughing fit before he started breathing again.
"Oh, thank god..." She said, slightly sobbing, relief in her voice.
The paramedics lifted the jacket slightly off Apollo's wound, and saw the hole in his stomach. They immediately put the jacket back on, and got out a stretcher for Apollo.
Apollo's eyes then slightly slid open, and the first thing he looked at was Athena.
"A..Ath..." He tried to grunt out something, but was immediately hit by a wave of pain.
"It's okay, Apollo... Just don't look at it..." Athena told him. Apollo looked up at the roof. He felt himself being lifted onto the stretcher and into the ambulance truck.
Athena walked along side Apollo as he was lifted into the truck. The driver of the truck decided that having her comfort Apollo would be the best decision.
The van door closed, and Athena felt the van speeding forward towards a hospital.
Athena grabbed Apollo's hand with both of her hands, rubbing her thumb over his hand.
"You're fine, Apollo..." Athena whispered to him. Every single tiny movement he made hurt like hell. He could only move his head to look at Athena. Her concerned gaze was all he saw in a blurred vision of green and red. All he could hear was his own heartbeat, and his breathing. He could feel both Athenas hands on his right hand, comforting him. He was trying to speak to her.
"A-Athen... Athen...A..." He could only hoarsely moan out.
"Apollo?"
He tried to get the words out.
"Are... Are y-you... O-okay...?"
Athena felt an overwhelming sensation of sadness throughout her. Here he was, stabbed in the stomach, on the verge of death, and all he could ask was if she was okay. It was enough for her to shed a slight tear.
"I'm okay, Apollo... Don't worry about me, just focus on staying awake." She told him. He looked up at the ambulance roof. Athenas hands were covered in his blood when he placed his jacket on him earlier, and some of that blood got onto Apollo's hand as she held it, but he didn't care.
He was just glad he saved her.
The ambulance eventually pulled up in front of an actual hospital after only two minutes. The back door was opened, and Apollo was lifted out of the truck in his stretcher, and wheeled in through a door. The paramedics ran him all the way down a hallway as Athena ran along side him.
"You're going to he okay, Apollo! They're going to save you!" She told him, over and over. They eventually reached a set of doors and the paramedics wheeled him in through the door. Athena was stopped by one of the paramedics.
"I'm sorry, miss, but we can't allow you in there." He told her.
She looked through the window, and saw Apollo being wheeled down the hallway, then rounding a corner. She couldn't see him any longer.
"How long will the surgery be?" She asked the man standing by the door.
"I don't know, but it certainly will take plenty of hours. You can wait here if you like?" The paramedic offered her.
"Okay... Tell me as soon as I can see him."
Athena walked into an empty waiting room. She looked at one of the seats, then realized.
She still hasn't seen that man's face.
The abandoned hospital couldn't be that far away. Maybe she could catch a glimpse? She also had to tell Phoenix and Trucy.
She started to jog back to that abandoned hospital. She eventually stopped at a payphone. She pulled out whatever coins she had, and she called the number for Phoenix's apartment. After a few rings, she was met with the voice of a tired girl.
"Hello...?"
It was Trucy.
"Trucy! It's Athena. I'm sorry I had to call you so early, but there's something you need to know... About Apollo."
Trucy stopped sounding tired almost instantly.
"Athena? W-what?! Is he alright?" She asked.
"He..." Athena didn't know if she could bring herself to say it to her. She knew how much Trucy cared about Apollo.
But she needed to know.
"He's... He's been stabbed..."
Athena heard a gasp on the other end, followed by some silence. Athena could hear Trucy slightly sobbing before eventually speaking softly.
"Is... Is he okay...?"
Athena could hear the immense sadness on the other end. It even made Athena sad to just hear it.
"He's in surgery right now. He should be fine. You reckon you can tell your daddy?" Athena asked Trucy.
"I'll... I'll go get him..."
Athena heard the phone starting to move on the other end as Trucy called for Phoenix. Athena waited patiently for about a minute before Trucy spoke again.
"Athena, daddy's not here..."
"What? Where could he be?!" Athena asked.
"Maybe out with Ms. Fey, or the Wonder Bar... I'll try and ring him."
"I'll call you in a bit. I just have to see something."
Athena hung up the phone and moved closer to the hospital. It was surrounded by a few officers, but not too many. She started to move past a crowd of them, gently pushing them out of the way. She peeked over a policeman's shoulder. The hood had been removed.
When Athena saw that face, she couldn't believe it.
She didn't want to believe it.
Lying on the ground, dead, was a man with spiked hair.
A man with dark blue eyes.
A man she considered a hero.
That man that had been hunting them, the man who had stabbed Apollo.
It was Phoenix Wright.
(O)
Apollo's vision still stayed as blurry as ever. He could see lights on the roof speeding past him, and he couldn't feel anything except for a burning sensation in his stomach. It was hotter than anything he had ever felt before.
He knew he had been stabbed, but he needed to get it out of his mind. Going unconscious would be the worst possible thing to do. He even thought he had nearly died for a minute.
He could hear voices, but he couldn't make out anything they were saying.
All he could think about was Athena.
How was she? Was she alright?
He had hoped that hooded man didn't hurt her. What if the man had stabbed her? He couldn't bare the thought.
Apollo couldn't imagine what Clay had felt. While he had only been stabbed in the stomach, Clay had been stabbed in the chest, near the heart. It already hurt like hell for Apollo. Maybe Clay died quickly? The pain was unbearable.
Apollo didn't even feel anything when he had been stabbed. It only felt like he had lost all feeling in his stomach, followed by a certain coldness. Just before he fell unconscious, and when he awoke, that's when it started to hurt.
Apollo was eventually, slowly lifted onto a bed. He knew he'd have to undergo surgery, and he was fine with that. As long as he didn't die in the process.
Apollo was eventually laid down on the bed, but another wave of pain burst from his stomach, vibrating throughout his body.
"G-Gah!" He grunted out. He tried to keep as still as possible. He felt some needles being injected into his body, before seeing a nurse place something over his mouth. Apollo knew what it was, and he knew he'd be gone within a few seconds.
His last thought before falling asleep was Athena in safety.
He fell asleep smiling.
(O)
Athena just stared at his body. Phoenix had lifeless eyes.
"No... No, that can't be..."
Athena slowly backed away from the crime scene. She ran back to the payphone, calling up Phoenix's apartment.
Trucy, yet again, was on the other end.
"Hello?"
"Trucy?!"
"Athena, I-"
"Trucy, when was the last time you saw your daddy?!" Athena immediately asked.
"Athena, please-"
"Where, Trucy?!"
"Athena, stop!"
Athena fell silent. She heard a man's voice. The man spoke into the phone.
"You alright, Athena? You're acting a little weird."
The voice on the other end was Phoenix's.
"W-what..." Athena whispered to herself.
"Athena?"
Athena didn't know the real Phoenix. Who was this man on the line, and who was the dead body?
"Trucy, get out of there! That isn't your dad!" Athena yelled through the phone without thinking, only worrying about Trucys safety.
"Athena?! Are you out of your mind?!" Phoenix yelled.
"Your... Your dead body... Your dead body is in that building! You killed yourself!" Athena yelled at the phone.
"Huh?" Phoenix questioned.
"You're laying on the stone cold floor, dead! Who are you?!" Athena demanded a name.
"Athena, that isn't me!" Phoenix told her.
"Then who is it?!" Athena growled.
She heard Phoenix breathe in on the other end.
"I... I don't know... Wait a minute..."
Phoenix obviously had thought of something.
"What?! Tell me!" Athena demanded.
"There was some sort of prison riot a couple days back... Bunch of escaped prisoners.." Phoenix explained, still thinking.
"There were about fifty-one escaped prisoners, including..."
Athena wanted to know.
"Including who?" Athena asked. Phoenix gasped on the other end.
"H-Him..!"
"Who's 'him'?! Tell me!" Athena started to get extremely mad.
"Him! The Phantom!"
Athena couldn't move, nor could she speak.
That body was possibly the Phantom, wearing a Phoenix Wright mask.
If it was, then that bastard Phantom was finally dead.
"Him..." Athena whispered. She couldn't believe it. She thought she had finally put that Phantom away for good. She had no idea he had got out, and if she did, she would've never gone on this vacation, knowing the Phantoms first targets would've been the lawyers that put him away. Dammit, she should've known! Apollo could've still been fine...
"What happened to Apollo, anyway?" Phoenix asked. Athena forgot that she needed to explain to him what had happened.
"The Phantom, he... He kidnapped me... Apollo saved me but..."
Phoenix had a bad feeling at where this was going.
"He... He was stabbed... By the Phantom..."
Phoenix felt as if ten tonnes of bricks had been smashed onto his stomach.
"W-W...What?! Is he alive?!" Phoenix asked, panic in his voice.
"He's in surgery right now... I hope he comes out okay..." Athena told Phoenix.
"That bastard... I can assume the Phantom is dead?" Phoenix asked.
"Yes... He shot himself." Athena explained.
"Okay... As soon as you can, please come back home. You and Apollo. Trucy and I can't exactly afford to visit." Phoenix told her.
"Of course, boss... Bye..."
Athena hung the phone onto the hook. She started to walk back towards the hospital where Apollo was currently in surgery. The rain had gotten much harder, and Athena could see the edge of the sun hitting the sky. It wasn't going to be the best of days.
She walked back into the hospital, and sat down in one of the empty seats. She closed her eyes when she laid down in one of the seats and tried to sleep, but she couldn't at all. All she got when she closed her eyes were images of Apollo's stab wound and the Phantoms suicide playing back over and over.
She heard one of the staff approached her, holding something in his hand.
"The doctors were wondering if you'd like to keep this?"
The staff member held out a red jacket. Athena took it in her hands. She inspected it closely, and sure enough, it was Apollo's.
"Yes... Thank you." Athena told the staff member. He walked back towards his office. Athena laid down in the waiting room chair. She clutched Apollo's jacket in her hand, as if holding some sort of teddy bear. She held it tight, not wanting to let go. She wanted to pretend Apollo was right next to her, comforting her. She clutched the jacket close to her chest, and closed her eyes.
Then, she fell asleep.
(O)
"Miss?"
Athena slowly opened her eyes, looking at the staff member in front of her. The sun was shining through the glass door of the hospital. The clock read 10:17 AM.
"Y-yes?" Athena moaned out, slowly using her arms to support herself in raising up to stand in front of the staff.
"The current doctor working on Apollo would like to speak with you."
Athenas eyes widened. She finally got to receive some news on Apollo. Right now, he could be fine, recovering, or he could be much, much worse, maybe even...
No, he has to be fine. She can't think about that.
Athena followed the staff member down a hallway to a door. The door opened once the staff member knocked on it.
A bald surgeon stepped out of Apollo's room. He was slightly tanned, and looked extremely intelligent. He pulled down his surgeon mask.
"Is he alright?" Athena immediately blurted out.
The surgeon crossed his arms, staring at Athena.
"He currently has thirty stitches in his stomach. Fortunately, a small knife was used, and it didn't enter too deep to hit any vital organs. He did lose a lot of blood, however. We have to watch the wounds. Any infections would cause serious complications."
Athena was slightly happy to hear the news, but decided to pop another question.
"Is his condition life-threatening?"
The doctor slightly smiled.
"I'd say it's more stable than critical, now. We worked for more than six hours. He will receive a blood transfusion for the amount he lost, but I'd say for now, he's doing well," the doctors expression changed from slightly smiling to dead serious "We still can't rule out any possible complications, however."
Athena didn't know what to think. Should she be happy or sad? Apollo seemed to be fine, but what if the wound became infected, or worse?
"Can... Can I go see him?" Athena asked. The doctor thought for a bit, looking down at the floor, arms crossed. It was almost exactly how Apollo did it.
"Okay, I grant you permission," The doctor eventually said. "Just don't touch or excite him in any way. Even catching a common cold right now could hault his recovery in serious ways."
The doctor eventually punched a code into the door behind him, before letting Athena in.
Athena immediately recoiled at what she saw. Apollo laid awkwardly on his side, blood seeping through dressings on his stomach. Electrodes stuck to his skin to monitor heart rate and blood pressure. He looked extremely tired, and he was facing away from the door.
"W...what do you n-need doc..." Apollo moaned out.
"You have a visitor." The doctor told Apollo. Athena realised that Apollo couldn't lay on his stab wound, so she had to go around his bed.
Through Apollo's blurred vision, he made out the eyes of a woman he knew all too well. His eyes adjusted to her, before finally, he could see Athena properly. He could barely manage an emotion, but slightly smiled.
"H-hey... Tiger..." He hoarsely moaned out, his head resting back onto his pillow.
"Apollo..."
He looked like crap, like he had walked through hell and back. He forced out a hand for Athena to hold, but Athena noticed the doctor shaking his head disapprovingly.
"We can't touch..." Athena whispered to Apollo, shaking her head. She felt a tear roll down her eye, landing on the floor with a slight plop.
"H-how... How are you... Feeling? He didn't... Hurt you too bad?" Apollo asked, moaning out each word.
Athena could only feel more sadness rush through her.
"Apollo, stop worrying about me... Please..." Athena whispered to her, her lips wobbling. She was on the verge of bursting into tears. Apollo didn't deserve any of this. All he was trying to do was protect Athena.
"I should've been the one..." Athena whispered. Apollo's smiled dropped immediately.
"W-what..?" Apollo said.
"I should've been the one, Apollo!" She yelled "I should've been stabbed, not you!"
Athena had finally let out all the emotions she had been building up over the last couple of hours. Apollo did not like what she said, and tried to raise up to get a point across. He was immediately hit by another wave of pain. He clenched his teeth, trying not to let a pained grunt out.
"A-Apollo! Don't do that!" Athena said in a panicked voice.
"Athena... Don't... Don't you ever think... That you did this... T-that you... Deserve this..." Apollo moaned out. It was clear that every word hurt to say.
Athena started to regret what she said. She had only just hurt Apollo more. She needed to control her emotions, but clearly, she couldn't. She didn't deserve to be anywhere near Apollo. All she was going to cause was more pain...
Athena got up slowly to walk out the room.
"A-Athena... D-don't go..." Apollo moaned out, stopping Athena in her tracks.
"S-stay..."
Athena turned around to look at Apollo. She could hear massive amounts of pain in his voice. He was begging her not to go. She walked back to the front of Apollo.
"Sorry..." Athena apologized.
"I-It's okay, tiger..."
Athena sat next to Apollo, looking at him, obviously concerned.
"He's going to need a bit more work, but he should be fine within three to five days." The doctor said.
"That's good. I better get a plane for then." Athena said.
"Y-yeah... Say, Athena...?" Apollo weakly said.
"Yes?"
"Who was it? W-who did this to me?" Apollo asked.
Athena breathed in. She knew that he wouldn't like what he was about to hear, but she'd have to tell him.
"It was the Phantom..." Athena said. Apollo closed his eyes, tightly.
"Him... I should've known..." Apollo said, pain in his voice.
"His blood transfusion is in ten minutes. If you have anything further to say, I recommend you do it now." The doctor said.
"Doc... D-do you reckon... You could give her back her g-gadget..." Apollo asked.
"Certainly." The doctor replied, walking towards a bunch of possessions on a table, and pulling out Widget. Athena took it in her hands, and it immediately lighted up blue in her hands.
"I think there's some people you need to speak to." Athena told Apollo.
"Yeah... I'll go with Mr. Wright and Truce right now... The rest after transfusion..." Apollo moaned out. Athena clipped Widget around her neck, and activated it.
"Fascinating technology." The doctor complimented.
"Thanks!" Widget chirped out. Athena used it to call Phoenix.
After about eleven seconds of ringing, the screen Widget illuminated came up with Phoenix and Trucy sitting on a couch next to each other.
"Polly!" Trucy immediately yelled out at the sight of Apollo. Trucy looked as if she had been crying for the last hour, and the wet patches on Phoenix's jacket proved just that.
"H-hey Truce..." Apollo said, weakly smiling and waving.
"Hey, Apollo," Phoenix said. "How's his condition?"
"They're saying his stable. If no complications occur, he should be fine in a couple of days. Thirty stitches, and a lot of blood loss. They're performing a transfusion in a couple of minutes, so this conversation has to be brief." Athena explained.
"Certainly don't feel f-fine... Argh!" Apollo was hit with another wave of pain after shifting a bit too much.
"Polly, are you alright?!" Trucy immediately yelled.
"Nngh... I'm fine, Truce... Y-you still missing me...?" Apollo said, slightly teasing her. Trucy tried to hide it, but another tear rolled down her cheek, and she quickly wiped it away.
"Y-yeah... I am, Polly..."
The doctor eventually spoke up.
"I am truly sorry, but you'll have to finish this later. The transfusion is being performed soon."
Athena nodded.
"Okay. Well, I guess I'll speak to you two later..." Athena said.
"Please be okay, Polly!" Trucy said. Apollo slightly laughed.
"I'll be fine, Truce. You'll see me... Before you know it..."
Athena cut the call, and looked at Apollo.
"I'll see you... In a couple of hours..."
Athena nodded, slightly smiling.
"Okay... I love you." She told him.
"Love you too, tiger..."
Athena started to walk out the room, but looked at her possessions on the table. She went to grab something.
As soon as she got what she needed, she walked out the hospital. She needed to get a cab back to the resort to get Apollo's stuff, and hers. She waited on the side of the road, holding the locket in her hands.
She flipped open the locket, and smiled at the image inside.
She knew that Apollo would be okay. Nothing could faze him.
He was going to be just fine.