(Post Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies. Apollo tried to hide his broken heart from his family-but ultimately failed! Now his life's hanging on a string! Phoenix, Trucy, Athena and a slew of loyal friends race against time to save Apollo's heart from overwhelming darkness-but the journey's far from easy, as they find out this chapter!

A deep investigative phase begins, in the hospital's waiting room! It's a search for the truth, as a family works to save a precious life!)

Note: For some reason, this site enjoys deleting character names after the chapter has uploaded. I'll try to catch it, but feel free to either point out missing names or play fill-in-the-blanks! Thanks guys!

"Daddy, who is it?"

The response is hoarse. "Athena."

He presses the button that allows her call to come through. And it's a million miles away from pleasant.

"Guys, we've got a problem! It's happening again, but this time, it's worse than ever! And remember the five Apollos? They're all saying the same thing! They're all…"

"What, Fraulein? What's going on?!"

Athena is unable to speak for a second. When she regains her voice, her words are heavy with anguish.

"I am nothing. I am no one. I have no self."

—

"Well. between dealing with Mr. Justice , calming down Mr. Wright, and this lovely storm, I do believe it has been a rather wonderful morning!"

Everyone reflects on the weight of Hugh's words, sitting in the cold room known only as the waiting room. Once his phone call from Athena came to an end, Phoenix ordered an emergency conference with all parties involved. Investigations on how to restore Apollo's heart ground to a halt, with the investigation parties rushing back to the hospital. And upon arrival, they found two causes for happiness: Hugh and Robin. Two more brave hearts had joined the fight.

Phoenix is sitting in between Miles and Trucy. He hasn't fallen apart at the seams yet because of the support flowing through the room. Because of the hearts and souls willing to fight for someone he loves. The words 'I'm glad they're all here' echo through the deepest chambers of his battered mind. He was barely able to emerge from Apollo's latest nightmare; the very reason Athena called him.

Apollo's condition has grown a bit quieter, leaving them to deal with other urgent issues. " Bowwe and the others say he should be able to sleep for a few hours," Athena explains, rubbing her chin with two fingers. "but there's no solid guarantee he won't have another nightmare."

Gumshoe's voice is gentle. "What's giving him all these nightmares, pal? Is seeing his best friend's death or somethin'?"

"Perhaps," Blackquill responds, taking Athena's hand. "but it isn't as simple as that, Detective. There's much more to this beneath the surface, like his haunting echoes of the Phantom's soul."

Athena's heart goes out to Phoenix. Miles is gripping his hand, with the softest, most comforting expression on his face. She has only known Prosecutor Edgeworth for a short while, but from 's stories, was able to ascertain that Miles doesn't easily show off tenderness.

I'm glad you're here, Prosecutor. Thanks for coming.

"Everyone, think back to when I told you there were five voices. Five different Apollos going around in this lil' head of mine. Well, back there, they were all saying the same things: I'm no one. I have no self."

Larry folds his arms. As soon as he speaks, all eyes fall upon him. "Come to think of it, the second journal's entries were kinda like that! They weren't anything like the entries inside the first journal. They were pretty short. Blunt."

Robin looks over to Athena. "You guys put the Phantom away in your last case, right? Maybe Pollo's mimicking th' guy because he spent some time around 'im! I mean, from what you told me, th' case was pretty intense! Maybe it left a mark on 'im!"

Miles speaks next, his voice as soft and warm as sunlight. "I'm afraid I must mirror Blackquill by saying this: it isn't that simple."

"Why would Justice-dono mirror the voice of his best friend's murderer? One does not cope with the loss of a loved one by restoring the foundation of that loss."

"But you've hit one nail on the head, Robin," Athena says with a twinkling smile, giving her friend a thumbs-up. "There's a possibility that Apollo's-"

"Wait!"

All eyes fall on Phoenix Wright. "Hold on," he says breathlessly, eyes ablaze. Trucy exchanges a radiant smile with Robin, then redirects her eyes to her father. "Right before our grand finale, Apollo mirrored someone else."

He gives an apologetic smile to Klavier. "His behavior was far too similar to that of his first mentor, Kristoph Gavin. I always thought his drastic switch in behavior was odd, even with his grief over !"

Athena takes the baton. "A hop, skip and a jump down the road, and boom-Apollo was back on our team!"

"Right," Phoenix continues, bowing his head. "I'm trying to link these nightmares of his to that intense change in behavior."

Hugh shuts his eyes, immersed in thought. "So if I'm right, Justice is battling these nightmares in the same manner he battled against his Phantom-related trauma?"

"Hold on," Trucy's father cuts in gently. "I really don't want to go down this road, but I've got to go back to Mr. Gavin . Kristoph Gavin, not the one you see before you. He was Apollo's mentor. There were times when we left Apollo alone. We don't know much about the time Polly shared with Kristoph, but there was a strong link between them. Is it possible that-"

"Nein."

All eyes dash over to Klavier, who's shaking his head. Phoenix's eyes widen in alarm.

"Klavier?"

Klavier's words are laced in ice-cold poison. "Prinzessin Forehead has not seen mein bruder. Of that I can assure you."

"But how-"

Klavier smiles at a concerned Phoenix Wright. "It's a story for another time, lieber freund," he says softy, shakes his head, and continues. "Now. Safely cutting any possible ties between my brother and the Phantom, we can continue."

Gumshoe gasps. "Say! Did establish any contact with the Phantom, at any time? Before, during or after the case?"

Athena bites her bottom lip, searching for any possible situations on Apollo linking with the Phantom, but Edgeworth cuts through her thoughts.

"It's absolutely impossible to establish any form of contact with such a high profile criminal. The Phantom is under heavy surveillance!"

Blackquill feeds Taka. "You have forgotten, Prosecutor Edgeworth, that our beloved Phantom was once disguised as Bobby Fulbright."

Athena jumps out of her seat, driven by high octane. "But wait a minute, hold on there Simon! Detective Fulbright never said anything like 'I'm nothing' or 'I'm no one'! That was all straight Phantom talk! All Detective Fulbright ever talked about was justice!"

Blackquill wags a finger at her, with a mischievous smile. "True, Athena, but you're committing a treacherous crime: underestimating the power of one's mind. After all, we are speaking of one of the world's most merciless criminals. By using his kind persona, our Phantom could've easily began Justice-dono's descent into darkness."

"It sounds like we're taking a solid path, but I think we need to try another one," Phoenix puts in. Despite feeling a thousand years old, he finds the strength to speak and think. "There wasn't anything off about Apollo until 's death. The Phantom…well, at the time, anyway…was focused on supervising you, Prosecutor Blackquill."

"This is all very fine and well," Hugh groans. "but I'd like to redirect everyone's attention to Prosecutor Blackquill's earlier question. Why, oh, why on Earth would echo the voice of his best friend's killer?"

Robin holds up a finger. "Let's go back to what our lil' lady Athena was saying earlier. She said I hit a nail on the head, by saying Pollo had some connection to the Phantom."

"Big bro tried really hard to hide his emotions. Daddy told me that the Phantom tried really hard to hide his emotions. Do you guys think…"

Everyone turns to Trucy, who's clasping her face with her hands.

"Do you guys think big bro's been captured and replaced by the Phantom?"

Gumshoe shakes his head. "No way, pal. We would've heard about an abduction. Especially one done by a big-shot like the Phantom."

Athena speaks tenderly, comfortingly. "And no, sweetheart, Apollo tried to hide his emotions, but…I could still hear his heart. It was our Polly's heart, all right."

"Not to mention Justice-dono's heart condition. Those without souls cannot be afflicted with ailments of the heart."

"And with him working on a new recruit…"

Klavier became the center of attention, but did not enjoy it on that particular occasion. "It is in his best interests to act secretly, ja?"

"Wait a minute, sweetie," Athena puts in, her voice radiant with affection. She's rapidly digesting information, mentally constructing an analysis. "The Phantom isn't going around in a disguise. He's working behind the scenes!"

"And beasts like that prey on the weak, Fraulein."

Larry frowns. "But the Phantom's locked up, right? And he's got all these super secret agent guys protecting him! What's he doing, trying to recruit Apollo via telepathy?"

Edgeworth beams at his old friend. "I'm impressed, Harry. You aren't worth much outside of troubled times, but when the chips are down-"

"Hey! I can hold my own, you know!"

Hugh takes his turn to frown. "Is the Phantom capable of telepathy?"

Blackquill grins, with Taka once again perched on his shoulder. "The focal point of this discussion might be, good sir. The Phantom we know may not be, but-"

"There's more than one?"

"Indeed," Edgeworth nods, in response to Robin's question. "I did a little research in the wake of my latest case, and dug up a few interesting facts. A spy of that tremendous prestige did not operate alone. And, if the UR-1 Phantom possessed telepathic abilities, he would've avoided capture. Perhaps by communicating with his allies, or luring others into traps."

"The nightmares."

Athena's put under the spotlight. "The nightmares," she repeats, pumping her fists. "The nightmares! They might be a part of the Phantom's telepathic abilities! He's forcing Polly to have nightmares, and he's fighting against them! Which explains the fifth voice's original words: make it stop!"

"So we agree on the possibility of a second Phantom?"

A cloud of verbal agreement strikes the air, in the wake of Edgeworth's question. "I don't understand why Apollo channeled his first mentor in our last case," Athena goes on, her eyes flashing. "Maybe…maybe the Phantom told him to! Maybe…he thought-"

"Excuse me, Athena? Everyone?"

"Darn it, , I'm on a roll here! Whaddya want?!"

Trucy and Miles take Phoenix's hands. Phoenix is exhausted beyond measure, both physically and mentally, but scans the faces around him with the warmest smile. It takes him a moment to begin, and when he does, his voice is small, warm and tearful.

"Thank you. Thank you, everyone, for coming. For being here."

A cloud of 'you're welcome's and 'don't worry about it's fill the air. Phoenix chuckles weakly, then continues.

"Thank you, everyone. Hugh, Robin…Prosecutor Blackquill…Detective Gumshoe…Larry, Miles…Klavier…you've all taken time out of your precious lives to help us. To help Apollo. And that means more than any of you will ever know. Athena, Trucy…I'm so sorry. I'm sorry about everything. But I'm so proud of you girls, because-ow!"

Eyes have gone as wide as the moon; Edgeworth slugged Phoenix on the back of his head. "It's bad enough to discredit me, Gumshoe and Larry," the Prosecutor growls. "who have been beside you for years, not to mention these other good people, but your own daughters?! For shame, Wright!"

As Gumshoe cries out 'yeah, for shame, pal', Athena gives her superior the biggest, warmest smile she can manage.

Phoenix returns the smile, rubbing the back of his neck.

Edgeworth folds his arms. "Proceed with the rest of your message, please!"

"Who died and made YOU Judge?" Phoenix asks, beaming from ear to ear. Trucy whispers 'aren't they cute? That's Mommy and Daddy' to Robin, while her father braces himself to continue.

"Anyway, everyone…thank you. Thank you for wanting to help Apollo. Thank you. This is…everyone being here…this is the only Christmas gift I'll ever need. Thank you."

"Aw, screw that, Nicky! We're doin' it up big! Everyone's gettin' a parade of Christmas presents once this is over with!"

Hearty cheers follow Larry's words. The cheers quickly die down, with Phoenix echoing the words on everyone's minds.

"Now. Getting back on track. Let's connect the dots we have-after a short recess. Can't do anything for Polly if we pass out from exhaustion, now can we?"