Author's note: I'm not gonna lie, I think this one came out OK at best. I had a decent idea of what I wanted to put on the page, but I had trouble actually conveying everything. I feel like I came back into it in the end, but it's still a bit choppy. May actually give this chapter a face-lift later on, but I think it's good enough for now. This will most likely be the second-to-last chapter. The next chapter will hopefully wrap everything up for THIS story. But, I already have a continuation in mind. Remember when I said it would be based around Apollo? Well, I changed my mind. My next story will most likely be focused on Phoenix and Maya. Oh, and a court case. I don't wanna spill any details until the final chapter of this story is up. But, I think the concept is one you guys will like.

As always, thank you for the amazing reviews that have been keeping me motivated, and I hope you enjoy chapter 8!


June 10
7:43 PM
Fey Manor

Athena and Apollo sat in separate beds, Athena absent-mindedly scrolled through screens on Widget's hologram screen while Apollo was reading a manga.

"Apollo," Athena started. "Are you gonna tell me why I hear so much overwhelming anger from your heart right now?" She asked, not looking away from Widget's screen.

Apollo looked from his book towards the girl. "Are you using the Mood Matrix on me?"

Athena closed Widget's screen and looked at her boyfriend. "Don't need to. Your heart's so loud right now, I'm afraid I might go deaf. So what's wrong?"

Apollo closed his book and sighed. "It's Mr. Wright. I talked to him earlier about Maya and all he did was give me excuses. He went out of his way to try and get you and me together, yet he refused to acknowledge any of my advice. If you ask me, if he's just gonna keep making excuses, he doesn't deserve to be with Maya."

Athena was taken back. "Yikes, Apollo. He must have really pissed you off. What exactly happened?"

"He tried lying to me about what Mia's note said at first. When I called him out on that, he started saying that Maya held some kind of grudge against him for pushing her away over the past few years. When I told him he needed to talk to her about it, he told me he didn't know how to apologize for ignoring her for so long. I finally snapped at him. I'm not stupid. All it boils down to is him being afraid of a relationship. I get it. He had a rough past when it comes to love, but lying about it is just pointless."

Athena listened intently. I can tell talking about this isn't going to calm him down. But I know something that will.

"Apollo, stay here, I'll be back." She said, standing up and leaving the room.

Apollo sighed and returned to his book. Guess when I'm in a bad mood, even Athena doesn't wanna be around.

Athena wandered to Pearl and Trucy's room and knocked on the door. Pearl answered.

"Hey Pearls, I need a favor."


Phoenix was awoken from the most peaceful sleep he'd had in years by Maya poking incessantly on his for head.

"Nick. Nick, wake up!"

Phoenix groaned. "Five more minutes." He heard Maya giggle.

"Get up, you old fart! It was a nice nap, but we have a LOT to tell everyone."

Phoenix buried his face in the pillow. "Can't that wait? You know as soon as we tell Trucy and Pearls they're gonna start planning our wedding right there."

Maya laughed. "Please, at this point, I'm pretty sure they have the wedding, reception, and honeymoon planned, as well as what we're gonna name our first kid."

Phoenix sighed and finally lifted himself from the pillow. "Can we at least save them for last?"

Maya giggled. "Fine."

Phoenix stood up from the bed. "I need to apologize to Apollo anyway."

"Apologize to him? For what?"

Phoenix thought for a moment before sitting back down. "Well, I guess I should apologize to you too."

Maya looked at her new boyfriend questioningly.

"What I told you about earlier, about me thinking you were mad at me for neglecting you for so long. That was all true. But it was far from the only reason I held back my feelings from you. The truth is…"

Maya placed her hand on his. "Go on, Nick. I'm listening."

Phoenix looked down at the floor. "The truth is, I was afraid."

"Of what, Nick?"

"Of being with someone. You know my dating history. Dahlia tried to kill me, and even though she had the best intentions, Iris lied to me. I was hurt immensely by all of that. And I was afraid to be with anyone. Even you."

Maya looked on at Phoenix as he continued.

"I know with every fiber of my being that you would never hurt anyone. But I was still afraid. Afraid you'd hurt me, too. And that's unforgivable."

Maya put her hand on Phoenix's shoulder. "Nick?"

Phoenix looked over at her and was greeted with a soft kiss on his lips that lasted for nearly a minute. Finally, Maya pulled back and looked Phoenix in the eyes.

"I forgive you."


Apollo sat in his bed, continuing to read his manga, when a knock came at his door. He kept his gaze on his book. "Athena, it's your room, too. You don't have to knock."

He heard the door slide open and then a voice spoke. "Athena? That's a weird way to say my name."

That voice. No way… Apollo slowly shifted his gaze up from his book to see exactly who he had guessed.

"Clay?"

His friend smiled at him. "Long time no see, Apollo."

Clay looked admittedly goofy, wearing Pearl's robes and having her trademark pretzel shaped hair. He also lacked the bandage he normally wore over his nose. But Apollo didn't care. He rushed over to his friend and threw his arms around him. "Clay! I never thought I'd see you again!"

Clay returned the hug. "Same here, man."

Apollo pulled away. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Well, some cute redhead apparently asked someone named Paul to channel me so I could talk to you."

Apollo chuckled. "I think you mean Pearl, Clay."

"Pearl, huh?" He looked at his clothing. "Guess that explains the dress. Here I was, thinking I was called by a crossdresser."

Apollo laughed. "So you met Athena, huh?"

"That the redhead? Yeah, I met her. Real cutie, that one."

Apollo gave his friend a light punch on the shoulder. "Hey, back off, man. Not only is she mine, I also doubt she's into necrophilia."

"What? You're kidding, right? You scored a girl like that? Nice." He held out his fist to his friend, who met it with his own.

The two chuckle before clay took a more serious tone. "So, I heard you're having a rough time."

Apollo collapsed back onto his bed. "You don't know the half of it."

Apollo proceeded to tell Clay everything that had happened, beginning with Clay's own murder trial.

"You're kidding. They actually arrested Solomon for that? Were the cops drunk?"

"No, just corrupt. The lead detective on the case turned out to be the real killer. And a spy. He only killed you to protect his identity because a sample of his own blood was on the moon rock."

Clay pondered for moment. "So, since you know that much, that must mean you caught the bastard, huh?"

Apollo nodded, thinking back to that trial. "Yeah, but I made some mistakes back then. My dumb ass actually accused Athena of killing you."

Clay looked at his friend. "I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess this was before you two got together."

Apollo nodded again. "Not my proudest moment."

"Hey, if it HAD been her, not sure I would have minded." Clay joked, earning a laugh from Apollo. "So, I gotta know, what'd you guys end up doing with my body?"

"Oh! How could I forget about that? You'll love this. Your dad, Mr. Starbuck and I talked for a while about it, and we eventually talked the director into letting Mr. Starbuck spread your ashes during his next flight. So you can finally make it to space."

"… Dude, you are the best friend a guy could ask for." Clay said to his friend, grinning. "Can't believe old man Cosmos agreed to that."

Apollo shook his head. "Not Cosmos. He got demoted for his scheme to switch the launch pads."

"Dang, didn't see that coming. Then again, I guess it DID kinda get me killed."

"Did it hurt?"

"Huh?" Clay questioned.

"When you got stabbed. Did it hurt?" Apollo asked.

Clay looked at the ground, a faint smile on his face. "Nah. Died instantly. So you can at least rest easy knowing I didn't suffer."

Apollo smiled at his friend. "Yeah. I'm glad to hear that."

The two chatted on for nearly an hour, laughing and joking as if nothing had ever happened.

"So what's up with your arm? Already piss off that girl of yours?"

Apollo laughed. "This?" He said, indicating his left arm. "Oh, this is nothing. Just something I got a few days ago when a professional wrestler tossed me through the air."

Both men burst out laughing.

"Urk!" Clay cried, holding his head.

"Clay? What's wrong!?" Apollo asked his friend, worriedly.

"Major headache. Pretty sure it means Paul's about spent. Gah!" He held his head tighter.

Apollo's smile fell. "So I guess you have to go, huh?"

Clay composed himself. "Looks that way. But it's been great being back, man." He held out his hand to Apollo, who took it and pulled his friend into a hug. "Call me again sometime. You'll have to formally introduce me to that redhead."

Apollo smiled. "Will do."

With that, Clay put his hand to his head in a salute before closing his eyes. Apollo watched as the form of his friend faded away and changed back into Pearl, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Apollo smiled at the young girl and used his good arm to pick up her tiny form and lay her on Athena's bed.

"Thank you, Pearls."


Phoenix and Maya walked towards Apollo and Athena's room, knocking on the door.

"It's open." Apollo said from the other side.

Phoenix slid the door open, shocked to find Trucy and Pearl in the room as well.

"Geez, the gang's all here." Maya said.

"Yeah," Athena started. "We were just talking about you guys."

"Nothing bad, I hope." Phoenix said, glancing at Apollo who seemed to avoid his gaze. The man walked over to the bed Apollo sat on and took a seat next to him. "Apollo, I wanted to talk to you."

Apollo kept his gaze away from Phoenix. "What is it?"

Phoenix took a moment before speaking. "I wanted to say sorry." He was fully aware that everyone in the room was watching him, but he ignored them.

"You were right. I was being a coward. Making excuses only made it worse." Apollo slowly turned his head towards his boss. "So, I hope you," He looked at everyone in the room. "All of you will be happy to hear that Maya and I… are together now."

Everyone's eardrums nearly shattered as Trucy and Pearl let out high pitched squeals.

"Congratulations, Mr. Nick!"

"Oh, does this mean I can start calling you Mommy, Maya?!"

"Aw, you guys are so cute together! Almost as cute as me and Apollo!"

Apollo remained silent, but smiled at the two, who were grinning ear to ear trying to answer the girls' questions. Maybe I was a bit hard on him when I talked to Athena earlier. The two of them won't hurt each other. They've just been needing a push for the last ten years.

Apollo finally stood up and put a hand on Phoenix's shoulder. "Congratulations, Mr. Wright." Phoenix turned to him and smiled. "Thank you, Apollo. And again, I'm sorry about earlier."

"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have snapped at you."

Phoenix opened his mouth to say something, but Maya interrupted.

"Nick! You know, there's one more person we need to tell."

Phoenix looked at his girlfriend questioningly. "Who?"

"Mia, of course!" Maya the turned to Pearl. "Pearly, could you channel sis for us?"

Pearl looked at the ground. "I'm sorry, Mystic Maya. I'm too exhausted to channel anyone right now. I used all my power earlier to channel Mr. Polly's friend."

Maya hugged the girl. "Oh, it's fine, Pearly. We can tell her tomorrow."

Phoenix turned to Apollo. "Your friend? Does she mean Clay?"

Apollo smiled. "Yeah. Athena asked her to channel him earlier."

Phoenix smiled at his employee. "That must have been nice. Hearing from him again."

"It was. Before I found out what Pearls and Maya were capable of, I never thought I'd see him again."

Phoenix patted his employee on the back. "With friends like the Feys, death is just an inconvenience." He paused for a moment. "And with a girl like Athena, you won't have any reason to not be smiling."

Apollo turned his gaze to Athena, who was laughing at something Maya had just said. "Yeah. You're right." He then paused for a moment before turning back to Phoenix. "Wish I could tell you the same, but you're too attached to your wallet to always be smiling around her."

Phoenix laughed. "Yeah, you got a point. But if the only thing she's gonna hurt is my wallet, I've got no reason to be sacred."

Everyone chatted for a while before finally walking out of the crowded room and to the living room to watch movies and eat the cake that had gone mostly untouched.


Everyone yawned loudly as the credits began to roll.

"How many of these movies are there?" Apollo aske, rubbing his eyes.

Maya began to count on her fingers. "23."

Apollo threw his hands up in defeat. "Can't do it. I'm out. Good luck to you, Mr. Wright." He then stood up and began walking to his room.

Athena stood up. "I'm with him. Steel Samurai is awesome and everything, but I'm spent. Good night everyone."

Phoenix chuckled. "Good night, Athena."

Trucy stood up next, shouldering Pearl. "I think we're done too, Daddy."

Pearl was so tried she was nearly delirious. "No, Miss Trucy. We have to stay up and plan the wedding."

Maya chimed in, sleepily. "No, no wedding planning tonight. You should have been sleeping instead of watching movies with us, Pearly."

"But Mystic Maya-"

"No buts, Pearls." Phoenix chimed in. "You're exhausted. Trucy, please take her to bed."

"Good night, Daddy." Trucy said as she began to drag Pearl along.

Phoenix and Maya could just barely hear Pearl call Trucy a traitor as they disappeared down the hall, causing the two of them to laugh.

"We should probably get in bed too, Maya."

"Whoa, Nick. We just started dating, not sure I'm ready for that yet." Maya joked.

Phoenix looked unamused. "Funny." He turned off the TV and grabbed Maya's hand. "C'mon, I don't wanna nurse you out of another Samurai hangover in the morning."

Maya reluctantly followed him. "Ugh, fine. Killjoy."

Phoenix chuckled. "You'll thank me in the morning." He led her to her room and laid her on the bed before kissing her forehead. "Good night, Maya." He began to walk away when Maya grabbed his hand.

"Nick, will you stay with me tonight?"

Phoenix looked at the girl to see an almost puppy dog look in her eyes. He hesitated for a moment. "If that's what you want, of course. "

Maya smiled softly as Phoenix slid underneath the covers. She then turned towards him and cuddled closely to him. Phoenix returned the embrace.

Maya spoke with her face buried in his chest. "I'm so happy, Nick. I've been in love with you for so long, and until recently, I never would have imagined you felt the same."

Phoenix smiled. "When did you first start to have feelings for me?"

Maya stayed silent for a moment. "I guess during Edgeworth's trial. When you defended me, I didn't know you very well, but by the time Edgeworth was accused of murdering Hammond, I'd seen you go through hell and back for people you barely knew. Just to prove them innocent. And defending your friend against an impossible case was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen."

Phoenix smiled again before Maya asked him a question. "What about you? When did you first start to care for me?"

Phoenix barely hesitated before he spoke. "Right after you left to continue your training here. When we got Edgeworth acquitted, I realized what a great team we were, and when I found out you were leaving, I was devastated. I refused to take cases directly after that because of… Well, I guess at this point I'd call it a broken heart."

He felt Maya's smile fade. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to leave, but I had to. I had to come back here and train and mature."

He lifter her head to look at her. "Please, I don't think you'll ever really mature."

Maya smiled at him as she leaned up and gave him a kiss on the lips.


Athena slid underneath the covers and cuddled next to her boyfriend.

"You're getting too used to this." Apollo said, placing his arm around her.

Athena cuddled closer. "What can I say? You make a good pillow."

Apollo chuckled. "Sure is gonna suck for you when we go back to the city."

"Awww, you're not gonna let me stay at your place?" Athena whined.

Apollo chuckled at the girl. "Hey, you can stay over whenever, but I'd say it's a bit early to start planning to move in together."

"Damn, guess I'd better tell the moving crew to take everything back." She joked.

The two laid in silence for a moment before Apollo spoke. "Athena, thank you for earlier."

"Hm?"

"You know what I'm talking about. For calling Clay. You knew exactly how to cheer me up when I was so angry at Mr. Wright."

The girl smiled. "You don't have to thank me, Apollo. You said you were going to ask her yourself before we left."

"True, but you called him when I really needed my best friend most." Apollo thought for a moment. "By the way, what'd you tell him when Pearls channeled him?"

"I just told him who I was and that he was using Pearl's body."

"And what'd he say to you?"

Athena stayed silent.

"He started hitting on you, didn't he?"

"… Mildly flirted, yes."

Apollo laughed. "I set him straight, don't worry. But he said he'd like to formally meet you sometime."

Athena smiled. "I'd like to talk to him some more too. As long as he doesn't flirt with me. I'm not into necrophilia."

"That's what I told him!"

The two burst out laughing, earning a yell from Trucy across the house. "Keep it down! Some of us need our beauty sleep for the stage!"

The couple immediately piped down, learning over the week how terrifying a sleep deprived Trucy was.

"Maybe we should actually try to sleep before Trucy murders us. We both know she'd get away with it."

Athena giggled. "Yeah, if she didn't just hide the bodies in her magic panties, her dad would get her off the hook." This earned a chuckle from Apollo.

"Good night, Athena."

"Good night, Apollo."

Apollo closed his eyes to go to sleep, but a minute later, he heard Athena speak.

"Apollo?"

"Hm?" he questioned, his eyes still closed.

He felt Athena softly press her lips to his.

"This is the best vacation ever."

Apollo smiled and kissed her. "Yeah. It is."