"What?! How?!" Apollo asked, shocked.

"Once you and Ex Machina passed out, the court went berserk. Someone kidnapped her during the frenzy." Phoenix said, worried as he ran a hand through his black hair.

"I… damnit…" Apollo said, shocked. "She… She trusted me…"

"No, she trusted me. She wanted me to get her one of the best. And, I gave her you. You are one of the best. And this happened… I let her down." Phoenix said, sadly as he buried his face into one of his hands.

"Franziska… I'm…" Phoenix said faintly.

"Sir…?" Apollo asked, raising a hand to Phoenix.

"Damnit Phoenix, stop it." Phoenix muttered to himself softly. "Apollo, we have to talk to Asmodeus."

"…Daddy?" Trucy asked

"Trucy…"

"This wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone here who kidnapped her."

Phoenix still looked shattered.

"Don't worry, daddy! We'll find her! We promise!" Trucy said.

"Truce…" Phoenix said, patting her daughter on the head.

Apollo wanted to know more about what went on behind the scenes of what Phoenix told him about his stories with Franziska, because it seemed now that he was rather protective of her.

Very protective.

"Asmodeus… Where is he…?" Apollo asked. He had no memory of what had happened before.

"He's upstairs. There's a ward there for Bioware patients…"

"We have to talk to him… I…" Apollo said, still holding his head.

"Do you need a wheelchair, or…?" Phoenix asked.

"No. I'll be fine. Let's go." Apollo said. "Augh, my head."

***

June 20th, 11:55 AM, Hickfield Clinic: Room 84

The room was dimlit, and cold. Asmodeus' jacket and shirt were thrown to the side of the room, messily. He was shirtless, and now Apollo could see more of the damage done to his body. The tube that went down to his throat wove underneath his skin. A plate, made from sturdy transparent material, exposed his artificial heart. Scars were all over his chest. His mechanical eye did not have his red iris, the light had apparently faded away into darkness. His other eye was closed, and his black and white hair was matted from his dual perspiration.

His body was limp, but his torso was strapped to a table that was affixed to the wall. More startling than this, perhaps was the fact that both of Asmodeus' mechanical arms were suspended by robotic claws on the ceiling. The two pipes which usually mounted themselves on his back were also missing. Strong lights on robot arms shone onto him, exposing him even further.

The exoskeletons on his legs were even more revealed since his lower half was hidden from behind the Prosecutors Bench. They seemed flexible and strong, Black metal.

Despite this, he seemed to be perfectly relaxed in his slumber.

"Asmodeus…" Trucy murmured.

"Hullo Trucy… Hoho." A throaty voice said from the door.

"Hello, Doctor." Trucy said, nervously.

"As-Mod-E-Yous Ex -Mashiina, izzit? Odd name." Doctor Hickfield said, as he scratched the plume of pink hair on the top of his head. "Hoho."

This 'Doctor' always made Apollo (and Trucy, for that matter) uncomfortable.

"Hm… He's been asleep fer an awfully long time. Better wake 'im up…" Hickfield said, opening his eyes as he scratched his shoulder.

"A-Are you sure that's a good idea?!" Trucy said, worried.

"Don't worry yer pretty little head, Trucy… I'm a doctor. Hrmhrm."

With that, Doctor Hickfield shuffled over to a switch and pulled it. The damage was irreversible now. The whirr of machinery filled the air, which turned into a light blue with the roars or electricity. Trucy had to hold onto her had to prevent it from being thrown off her head.

The two claws holding Asmodeus' arms whirred over to his sides. His arms slid into the metal socket of one of his shoulders with a loud snap. The whirr grew louder still as the arms revolved, spinning both arms into place. Electricity cracked and snarled around Asmodeus' frame as he was being reconstructed in front of their eyes.

"It's alive!!" Hickfield cried over the commotion. Trucy screamed. Apollo did too.

Trucy lost her hat as the metal bands that secured Asmodeus to the operating table unsheathed, and he landed on his feet, causing a small indent in the flooring where he landed. Two other arms brought the pipes, which hooked into his back. After one twist, they were in place.

His breaths were short hisses in the chaos. Eventually the electricity and noise subsided. His eye opened up with pure white, the other mechanical one lit up with its bright red light.

Asmodeus Ex Machina was awake.

Asmodeus scanned all three of them drastically. All of their hair was puffy, save for Apollo's antennae, which were gelled to the point that nothing could disturb it. Trucy's blue top hat alighted on top of Asmodeus' head, soft as a feather.

He took off the blue silk top hat, tailored to perfection. His robotic eye scanned it frantically.

"...I BELIEVE THIS BELONGS TO YOU." He said, handing Trucy her hat back.

"ALSO, YOU MIGHT WANT TO DO SOMETHING WITH THAT HAIR. HATS DO NOT FARE WELL WITH AFROS…"

"Um, thank you… Sir." Trucy said, putting it back on her head. Her hair eventually deflated back down to its normal size as did Apollos and Doctor Hickfield.

"…HRRN. SO, I TAKE IT YOU AND APAWLLO ARE HERE TO SPEAK WITH ME? ABOUT THE CASE, NO DOUBT." Asmodeus asked Phoenix, who was surprisingly unaffected by Asmodeus' anarchistic revival.

"YOU CAN BE REST ASSURED, THAT I HAVE IT WELL IN HAND. FRANZISKA VON KARMA WILL BE ARRESTED AND GIVEN THE PUNISHMENT THAT SHE DESERVES…" Asmodeus said, metal feet pacing cold stone flooring.

He eventually got to Apollo. "COUNT ON IT." He hissed in Apollo's face.

It was clear that Phoenix was angered by how Asmodeus spoke of Franziska. Accident or not, it made him angry to see him speak of her as no more than another guilty verdict. Franziska didn't deserve this. No one deserved this. He spoke up.

"…I wouldn't count for long, Ex Machina… At this rate, you'll never get the guilty verdict for Franziska."

"HA! PRAY TELL, HOW DO YOU FIGURE THAT?"

"Well, because while you and Apollo were catching some Z's, someone saw fit to kidnap her... No accused, no verdict."

"WHAT?... INCONVIEVABLE! I'LL NEVER LET THE GUILTY ESCAPE!"

"Good, because we have a suspect now for the kidnapping."

"HEHEHEH. PERFECT." Asmodeus said, linking metal fingers together. "ONCE I REDEEM THIS MISTAKE IN COURT, I'LL FIND HER, PROSECUTE HER, AND GIVE HER THE GUILTY VERDICT SHE DESERVES… I WONDER WHO I'LL FACE…" Asmodeus said. His face lit up with the all too familiar emotion of joy.

"…Me."

"...APOLOGIES?"

"What?!" Apollo and Trucy said, apparently as shocked as Ex Machina.

"I said… Me." Phoenix said. He took his hand out of one of his pockets, and flashed his new Attorneys Badge, shining in the light. "You will be facing me, Asmodeus Ex Machina…" Phoenix said, smiling.

"Mister Wright, I…" Apollo said, amazed.

"…HM. THAT WON'T DO. I HAVE TO DIRECT POLICE ATTENTION TOWARDS VON KARMAS CAPTURE… I DON'T WANT TO EAT DESSERT FIRST... I WANT TO SAVOR THE TASTE OF FRANZISKAS GUILTY VERDICT."

"…Seems to me that you're skipping on dessert to have a nice dish of crow, with a side order of chicken." Phoenix mocked.

"HRRRRN. REST ASSURED, I'LL HAVE YOU EATING A GENEROUS PIECE OF HUMBLE PIE WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE, PHOENIX."

Asmodeus smirked and crossed his arms.

"AND I'M A MAN OF MY WORD."

"We'll see about that." Phoenix said as Asmodeus walked out the door.

All of a sudden, another doctor entered through the door. Much to everyones surprise, they looked exactly the same, from the tip of their puffy pink hair to their sandals. Even their voice and teeth looked similar.

"What the…" Apollo started.

"Hiya, Director Hickfield."

"Mmm, yes, Doctor Hotti?" Hickfield asked

"Director, I have a patient. Lotsa trouble. Hurm." Hotti said, scratching his cheek.

"Hmhm… I see. One of those patients?" Hickfield asked.

"She's a kickin' up a mighty big fuss… Lotsa trouble. Hoho." Hotti said, scratching his belly.

"Mmm? Well then… I think that we're about done here, yes…" Hickfield said, observing Apollo, Phoenix and Trucy.

"I think I'll need help with this patient, Director. She'sa feisty one." Hotti said, looking at the other with concern.

"Mmm. Isshe? In that case, let's see if we can't tackle her together. Hoho."

"Hoho." Hotti replied.

The two walked out the door.

"…That might have contended for one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen." Apollo said, amazed.

"Not quite there, but almost." Phoenix said. "…But, I digress. I don't want to explain the hows and whys here, so can we go away from here?... Assuming you're alright, Apollo."

"Sometimes, it's better to pass things off as a hallucination." Apollo thought to himself. "I'll be fine, Mister Wright. We have no time to lose!"

The trio exited the clinic.