"I'm sorry."

She heard the discord in his voice; loud and unchanging. Athena wanted to cover her ears at that moment, but stopped herself. She needed to hear his voice; even if it was only a sigh or an insult.

Athena could not understand anything; whatever had happened to make him feel like this? Was it her fault? Was it to do with the case? Was it to do with Aura? Whatever it was, it had hit him pretty hard. She hoped she could see him again.

Athena reached out to grab him; his coat; his hand; anything, but failed to do so. Instead he had walked away. His grey eyes were imprinted in her mind.

"Wait!" She heard herself yell.

Her voice echoed in the halls of the courthouse; it faded into an eerie silence. She cried out his name long after he had left; her feet were glued to floor and her hands fell to her side. Athena could have screamed some more, cried some more or even moved some more. But her emotions had got the better of her; she was silenced, Simon Blackquill had left again.

She did not want him to leave her life again; even the fleeting memories had got the better of her. It was as though she was stuck in another time with no conviction to move forward.

And she had done nothing to stop him.

Two weeks had passed since the day he exited her life. Athena had taken to contacting him by phone and leaving messages on the prosecutor's answering machine. But there was never any reply. He probably did not even pick up the phone and took to emailing. So, Athena had tried to email Blackquill several times but it probably got sorted out into his 'Junk' folder.

It was too obvious; he was never going to reply to anything she sent. Heck, in his eyes, she would probably be acting like some young woman lusting over a hard-to-get man.

But she was not going to stop at all; Athena wanted answers to questions that had been there for a very long time.

Pearl set down her cleaning equipment. She had finally finished off work on Phoenix and Apollo's office. Next, she would have to deal with the clutter in Athena's work space.

The young Fey picked up some clean rags and a mop; she proceeded to make way into Athena's office.

Pearl was greeted by Athena's back hunched over by the window. There were shards of glass on the floor; several papers were strewn about alongside some ribbons and pens. The girl tiptoed her way around the room, avoiding the mess, and placed a hand on Athena's shoulder.

"Hey, what's the matter?"

"Nothing…"

Pearl clicked her tongue as she helped Athena into her seat. "It's not 'nothing' if you've got all this clutter in here. You've been acting a lot more strangely lately."

"Keen observational skills, Pearly. Why don't you pursue a law degree?"

"Hey, Athena, listen. I'm trying to be helpful, if you don't want me to help, then I'll just leave."

To prove that she was not just joking, Pearl picked up her cleaning utensils and headed to the door.

"Wait, I didn't mean to. Sorry, I've just been so way over in my head lately."

Pearl sighed. "Okay."

Athena pulled out a photograph out of its destroyed glass frame. Fey recognized it almost instantly; it was the photo she saw when Athena had first come into the office in tears. It was a picture of Metis Cykes, Aura Blackquill and a younger Simon Blackquill. Unlike as they were now, their faces and smiles were full of life.

Pearl remembered watching the trial with surprise and shock in her face as Aura Blackquill revealed her reasons for kidnapping the hostages and Simon's Blackquill's undying faith. Now, they were the shells of who they had once been; proud and happy. Not even seven years of misery could change their feelings and thoughts.

Athena gave the frame a clean using her sleeve and pressed her thumb against her mother's face.

"She loved them more than she ever loved me…"

"You mean Prosecutor Blackquill and Ms. Aura?"

"Yes; they were always around her and she cared for them as friends. I was just in the way."

Pearl placed a hand on her friend's arm. "But can you say that for sure?"

"I-I don't know." Her voice faltered and her shoulders drooped slightly.

"Exactly," Pearl whispered softly in reply.

"I don't think anyone understands what I'm trying to do – or even say…"

Pearl watched Athena with gentle, sympathetic and caring eyes. She had understood what it felt like to lose someone important. Even though Morgan Fey had been somewhat cruel and cunning, Pearl had never known until the last moment. The young Fey had always looked up to her mother as an important figure in her life, she had never once sought to follow Morgan's path. In her dysfunctional family, it had been comforting in some way to know that someone had loved her.

As she watched Athena, the young lawyer had been through a similar phase in life. Athena was never sure if her mother loved her even, or that Aura Blackquill was someone to consult; Athena had turned to Simon Blackquill for help, a man with almost no social skills, and he had helped her as something of a brother. He cared for her, read her stories and even played with her; everything that a sibling would do.

Yet, looking at the picture of Metis Cykes, Aura and Simon Blackquill, Pearl sensed that everyone alive in there had changed immensely. Aura Blackquill sought revenge for seven years and her brother had thrown away his life, to what most people would say: a meaningless cause.

There were no knights in shining armour, or damsels in distress; life was not a fairy tale. Athena Cykes' life had hardly been perfect; and neither had Pearl Fey's.

"I understand what you mean." Pearl said.

Athena looked up at her. "At least I have you to count on."

It was true actually. After being driven into saving Simon, she was only to be repaid by his silence and avoidance, and being friends with Apollo led to awkwardness due to some suspicion and Aura's hatred only proved to chip away at her heart even more. Pearl Fey was someone she could count on; even if it was just for a little while.

Blackquill glared at the documents displayed in front of him. The Phantom case was proving a lot harder than he thought. There were various investigators from Interpol who were taking care of the investigation and some members of the FBI were also involved.

However, the documents in front of him were neither from his superior nor from the Interpol. Oddly enough, Apollo Justice had sent them over with a small note saying that he had found these in the Archives room under the courthouse.

Blackquill praised Justice, despite being something of a hot-blooded, loud and tense lawyer; he knew how to gather relevant information and had it in several files. Simon wondered if it had something to do with Terran's case when Justice had been absent from the trial, and being a defense attorney, he gave the information over to the prosecution who worked with Interpol.

For the last two weeks after Aura's trial and his last encounter with Athena, Simon had spent the New Year working on the Phantom case. He had spent endless nights questioning the man and following up on leads, and when he would return home, Simon would just fall asleep on the bed almost immediately.

Any irrelevant thoughts were pushed aside; his attention was focused on the Phantom case. Once or twice a week, the man would make time to visit his sister in jail. He was never sure why he did it, he supposed it could be a payback to all those times she visited him. But Aura had her reasons, and all of that was wasted breath. Yet now it was silence; heavy and awkward.

Simon had adjusted to his life in his workplace fairly quickly; he had added a few bits and pieces to the office as well as working.

There were a few samurai swords placed on a stand inside a glass cabinet lodged between two bookcases to the left of the room. On the other side was a black leather sofa where he occasionally lounged when he pulled an all-nighter; most of the time he used it to stack up files where there was no space. His desk and chair were by the window near the center of the room, a dark burgundy carpet covered the floor in the center. To the far left, behind the dark mahogany bookcases was a perch which Taka would usually rest in.

As he was seated in the chair beside his desk, he leafed through the files that Justice had given him. Simon smirked to himself, the documents were sure to come in handy anytime soon. He made a mental note to thank Apollo later in the week.

Phoenix's eyebrows creased together into a frown. "Hey, Apollo…"

"Yeah?" The other man looked over his shoulder to face his boss.

Phoenix beckoned towards the seat in front of his desk and gestured for Apollo to take a seat. Normally the seat was reserved for clients; however it was now occupied by Apollo Justice, who in some ways, was a client himself now. They had not really conversed together ever since the Phantom case was closed, and that had been three weeks ago.

Phoenix was actually quite good at heart-to-heart talks, usually had been with his many former assistants when the agency used to be the 'Wright and Co. Law Offices'.

"So, what's been bugging you the past few weeks? Is it us, is it just you, is it something to do with Clay?"

"It's not much really, I just feel stupid all the time. All those suspicions and stuff, they kinda got the better of me, y'know?"

Phoenix acknowledged this quietly.

"And well, I miss him so much. One minute, he was with me, crashing at my place, next he's lying under some headstone."

"He's in safe hands now. He's up there among the stars. Clay's alright. Don't let anything change that thought."

"Thank you, Mr. Wright."

"Hey, come here." Phoenix outstretched his arms as though to pull Apollo into a hug.

Justice did not hesitate as he stepped into the embrace; it was comforting and soothing. He had spent so long wearing a rigid and fake mask of emotions that concealed his true self. Now, it was all over.

And Phoenix Wright had ended his pain again.

"Thank you, thank you, thankyou…"

He muttered the words under his breath until it became an incomprehensible and meaningless chant.

Edgeworth set down his teacup on the tray before adjusting his glasses. He turned on the laptop, gave it time to boot up and then accessed the call center. A small blue screen appeared and several usernames showed up. Miles then clicked on two usernames and pressed the call button.

"Hey, Mr. Prosecutor,"

Edgeworth nodded at the person on the screen. "Good day, Lang,"

The man on the screen smirked. Lang's golden hair stuck up in various angles, over the last few years it had grown past his shoulders and down to his upper back. It was still shaped as Edgeworth remembered it; like a wolf. His eyes were dark hazel and concealed slightly by a pair of wire rimmed glasses. From what Miles could see, the agent was dressed in a black button down shirt and a grey suit jacket.

Despite a slight change in appearance, Lang still had the same smug personality; however his respect for Edgeworth had increased quite a lot. When Edgeworth had first met the man, they had shared a mutual dislike of one another. Shi-Long Lang had always tried to assume responsibility over a case and act as a figure of authority. That made Miles constantly irritated due to the fact that he was a prosecutor and Lang was part of Interpol.

However after solving a double murder and stopping a smuggling ring, they both became a little less rude to one another. Their meetings did not stop there after Miles went off to work at the ICPO branch in Germany. After solving cases together, they became acquaintances and good friends. As Miles recalled, Lang and Edgeworth's sister worked together and were even closer than the two men were.

He pushed away old memories from his mind and rubbed at his temples. The reason Edgeworth had called Lang and Franziska was to see how the ICPO were handling the investigation overseas. In return, he exchanged information. They needed evidence against Phantom and figure out who were the higher-ups involved. No doubt was in any of their minds that it was going to be a large scale operation.

"So, how's the case going?" Lang's slightly accented voice came through the speakers on the desk.

"It's not made much progress, I was hoping that one of you found something."

"Well," Lang turned his head to look away, his eyes were shut. "Nothing's turned up here. I've checked with the Zheng-Fa police and the Borginian agents, there's nothing."

Just then, a cracking sound filtered through the speakers, Miles recoiled. Another webcam feed showed up on the screen.

"Hello, dear Franziska,"

"Hey, Sis," Lang tilted his head at the newcomer.

Franziska von Karma tilted her head sideways, an annoyed expression filled her face. From what Miles could see, Franziska had her trust whip in her hands.

Typical, he smirked inwardly.

"Miles Edgeworth, why are you discussing the case outside my presence? You know better than to do that, fool!"

A few more crackling sounds made way into Miles' speakers. He gritted his teeth as though he was receiving the lashes physically not through means of sound.

Franziska von Karma had always been an impatient woman, and Miles had known that for so long that he would dismiss it. Yet, looking back on times, he missed her impatient and somewhat rude attitude.

Franziska's hair had grown out since he last saw her, it had reached shoulder length. Her face had aged slightly in the last five years and, like the other two, she wore a pair of oval glasses that rested on her nose. Her attire was somewhat the same; the puffy sleeves had been replaced by a simple work shirt and she wore a turquoise blazer on top.

Like Lang, her appearance was a little different but her attitude was still, for the most part; the same Franziska von Karma that Miles had known since she was a little girl.

"Have your foolish American police figured anything out?" Franziska's slightly German accent was present in her voice as she spoke.

"Not really, however Prosecutor Blackquill has been given evidence by Apollo Justice. The file detailed various missing persons that have disappeared in the last decade and a half; they were around the same age and in the same area of the city when they disappeared."

"Does that mean anything?" Lang asked.

"It gives us something to work on. From Justice's deductions and Blackquill's input, I can guarantee it was the Phantom that took their identities and killed them."

"Hmm. Have you found anything out, Lang?" Franziska nodded in understanding to Edgeworth's deductions.

"No. I've been through Borginia, Zheng-Fa and the Balkans. Nothing has shown up on our charts, Sis,"

"Thank you, Agent."

"However," Lang scratched his chin in thought. "Going by the various points that Edgeworth has come with, I'll do another check on the regions in the Balkans, Borginia and Zheng-Fa."

"Good. And you, Franziska?" Edgeworth tilted his head in question.

The feed showed Franziska smirking at him and Lang. "I'm glad you asked, Little Brother." She pulled out a stack of papers that were labelled and stamped in German.

"I've found out that the murder and kidnapping rates have increased in Central and Northern Europe. In fact, they've increased a lot in Germany, Denmark and Holland. Perhaps it may mean nothing, but it's a first. The evidence points to a criminal organisation that runs overseas. It's a possibility that it's based in a less developed country, decreasing the chances of the ICPO finding out."

"That's a very good point, Sis."

"Of course it is." She allowed herself a small, sly smile.

Edgeworth closed his eyes; he took in the information and began to process it. The ideas, assumptions and evidence gathered from their findings were, no doubt, valuable. However, it was mostly circumstantial and not very conclusive. He would have to postpone their next call to a later date.

"Well, despite our discoveries, I cannot really give Interpol responsibility over the Phantom case. It'll have to wait until we find more proper evidence relating to the case. We should look on a national scale and turn to less-developed countries. Nothing may come of it, but I want to make sure."

"Very well, Mr. Prosecutor, I entrust the case to you…for now."

"All right, Miles Edgeworth."

"Until later, then. Thank you."

Simon sighed, he placed his hand on the doorknob and turned it.

Relax; you're only going to thank Justice-dono. There's nothing else to worry about. Simon inwardly cursed himself.

When he entered, he was greeted by Trucy Wright, behind her was Athena Cykes and to the side of the room was Apollo Justice who was sipping on a cup of coffee while he sifted through some nodded to Trucy before crossing the room in two long strides.

Apollo looked up from his seat at the figure that was towered over him. He let out a short yelp. It was quite odd to find a prosecutor – let alone Blackquill – here at the agency. Justice composed himself and set down the files.

"Oh, did you want something, Mr. Blackquill?"

Blackquill looked away briefly before he faced Justice again. "I came to express my gratitude on finding evidence for the Phantom case. It has helped immensely."

"It was my pleasure, Prosecutor Blackquill,"

"And well," He watched Simon as he rummaged in his pocket for something. "I'm sure your 'Space Boy' friend would be thankful as well."

In Blackquill's hand was a square piece of paper; a note, a photograph?

Apollo gingerly took it out and gasped in shock as he turned it over.

It was an old picture of a younger Clay and Apollo. Justice recalled it as one of the first times he had visited the Space Center. They were dressed in simple t-shirts and shorts; Clay had his arm around Apollo and made a peace sign with the other hand. Apollo, on the other hand, had his eyes shut in a laughing expression with his mouth wide open. In the background was the entrance to the Center, it was slightly different back then; the earth emblem was just above the GYAXA sign and there were security guards stationed by the launch pads.

He felt his heart skip several beats as he gazed at the photo. Apollo felt tears stream down his cheeks as well; a comforting hand was placed on his shoulder.

"Justice-dono, you can cry. Terran-dono would've wanted you to have this as something of a memory; a token of your friendship…"

Apollo's chocolate brown eyes were raised to meet Blackquill's ash grey. "H-How did you find this?"

"Aura gave it to me when I last visited,"

"Th-Thank you, tell her that too…"

"Of course," Blackquill nodded solemnly before he straightened his surcoat. "I'll be taking my leave now."

Silence filled the room, Apollo hesitated slowly, he shook his head and whispered softly.

"Thanks…" he trailed off and turned his attention to the floor. Just when he thought he was past it all, it had all come back - he just couldn't shake it off. No matter how hard he tried, he would never be free of his chains.

This is my chance, I've got to tell him!

Even though probably nothing would come of it, Athena had to tell him now. The perfect opportunity had arisen; Blackquill was here.

Athena silently rose from his seat towards the prosecutor.

He turned to leave the office but before he could reach the door, a cold hand grabbed his. Simon took one step away from the door frame and looked up at them. It was Athena.

Her blue eyes bore into his.

"Why do you always have to leave?"

He raised an eyebrow behind his fringe. "Cykes-dono, I don't–"

"Don't 'Cykes-dono' me! You've always run away from me, and now you're still doing it. Why can't you understand?"

"I can't understand because you are not allowing me grasp your reasoning. What is it then, Athena?"

Simon put emphasis on her name; an attempt to coax her into getting irritated. Athena was his last concern at the moment. It's stupid, really, he mentally swore to himself; the only reason he had come down here was to thank Justice, not to deal with the emotions of a young woman.

His grey eyes studied her; there was a small sign of hesitation as he watched her rubbed her hands together. He broke off his gaze and glanced at the wall to his right. There was nothing of interest apart from a couple of photos of what he assumed to be Wright's friends. Eventually he heard her voice.

"I love you."