Dat cheesy ending in the previous chapter. I want to hide under a rock for eternity. Enjoy this cheesier last chapter. Yes, this is the ending already. Kinda.
Disclaimer: I do not own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom owns them.
Epilogue: The Loving Family
Date: ?
Place: ?
She gradually opened her eyes, but she wished she hadn't. It was so cold around her. Her cheeks were going against the strong breeze, hitting her like small pieces of piercing broken glasses. It hurt, but she'll manage, she thought. Looking up, the clouds were fading away, revealing the unusual bright moon and even the shining stars above, glittering in their full brilliance. They were giving enough light to make out her dark surroundings with more ease. The sky was so stunning; she had never seen it in its splendor from the city thanks to the light pollution. She felt grateful to be able to observe it in its natural world, far from the civilization.
Yet, despite the freezing weather, the ambiance seemed so warm at the same time. She saw two arms covering her on her sides, and behind her, a taller body protected her from the most savage winds. Above her head, she noticed his gentle face. His whole body was shivering like a newborn.
Her big brother was holding her securely, guarding her from the wild natural world, including the icing air.
Poor Polly…
She remembered everything now: the accident on the bridge, the fall and their dive straight to their death toward the rocks. That was it, until something, or rather someone, pushed them to the river in the mid-air, preventing them from landing on the solid grounds. What happened to the one who pushed them? It couldn't have been Clay, couldn't he? And… what if it was… the other one instead? The father?
Then she had lost consciousness as soon as she and her brother hit the fast current below. She had no idea what happened after since she just woke up about a minute ago.
Trucy was not sure how far they were from the suspended bridge of the Eagle Mountain, but the snow appeared to have melted all around, so they must have been drifting few miles from there at least. They were only few meters away from the river, with a thick, dark forest surrounding them. The sand under them felt wet and soft to the point she thought she'd be sinking further if they moved over it.
The girl wanted to free herself from her brother's arms to explore the place, but with her still wet clothes and the strong winds, she couldn't bear the cold that struck on her. She was just feeling so warm and well between his arms that she leaned deeper into his chest to find more comfort from her beloved family.
All of a sudden, she sensed a small cold drop falling straight on the tip of her nose. Instinctively, she used her fingers to wipe it out, but another drop fell on the same spot. She shuddered at it and hoped it wasn't starting to rain.
However, when she looked back on her fingers, the drops she wiped out were dark with a faint distinctive smell.
Blood.
Suddenly, Trucy feebly freaked out between Apollo's arms, but her brother wasn't moving from his spot. Her heartbeats madly fastened with fear. He couldn't have bitten her during her torpor! No, he promised! Nervously, she started rubbing her neck, but she found no such biting marks or pain. Wait a minute… she felt her heartbeats… Phew!
Curiously, she took a more careful look above her head and she noticed a terrifying, disgusting flow of blood that remained around Apollo's lips, drops streaming under his chin. But if he hadn't reached for her flesh, what did he devour?
When an unexpected small black mass with a distinct sound of flapping wings flew close to her head, her nosy sight followed the thing. When the shadow revealed itself to be one of these scary dark birds, it landed just beside a bloodied, full grown wolf lying dead on her far left in the soft sand, with few more crows around taking the opportunity for this easy feast. Trucy released a long relieving sigh. She realized the wolf was probably Apollo's last meal. Perhaps he was going after the animal instead of her so she could be safe from his own predatory instincts with his hunger now satiated.
She smiled when she held her brother's shivering and freezing hands. Yet, her heart grieved from the sight of few visible wounds on Apollo's arms. They probably came from his fight against the strong canine.
"Polly… You kept your promise…" Trucy weakly whispered.
The more she spoke, the more Apollo's body trembled, but he didn't mutter a word.
"I'm glad we're back together," she continued, but her body quivered along. Even if she was being covered by him, she was still freezing from the cold air around.
"M-Me too," Apollo finally let out, his unsteady voice trying to sound relaxing. "I-I've m-missed you, T-Truce…"
In the end, his comforting voice gave the desired intention when Trucy strangely started to giggle to herself. Amazed by his little sister's sudden joy, Apollo looked down on her, and she looked back at him, beaming with life despite her weakened condition.
"You know, this reminds me of that night," Trucy began, unexpectedly hit by a nostalgia. "When we first met Mr. Gavin, when we fled the foster home."
Apollo gently chucked along. "I-I remember too," he revealed. "T-There was a huge r-r-rain, we were both w-wet and we hid in that children p-park."
Trucy nearly cried with her next memory. "And you covered me with your arms so I could stay warm."
"You know, y-you had a good memory for a f-four years old back then…" Apollo teasingly expressed.
The girl lightly hit her brother on the chest with her fist, expressing a pleasing grin at him. "Hey, we've got the awesome Gramarye genes," she voiced in a sarcastic manner.
Despite the cold and the unusual location of their circumstance, both felt like in heaven. The loving family was reunited once again.
Date: January 4th 2028, 3:01 AM
Place: Eagle Forest, River
They must be alive somewhere, they must be!
Vampires were made sturdy, and no river, no matter how fast the current was, could kill them!
Clay couldn't use the snowmobile anymore to follow the flow of the river, and he had to run along the border instead with Phoenix running a bit far behind. In fact, the mentor had arrived on the scene just after everyone fell down, watching the scene hopelessly since there was nothing he could have done to prevent this unfortunate accident.
Now the only thing they could do was to find Apollo and Trucy, fast. Phoenix was more confident to find them alive since he had a good run with the same river nearly nine years ago himself. He shuddered at the awful thought. While he managed to get out of the mess with a simple cold, he wasn't so sure if the siblings had the same luck as him.
But they'll live, he was sure of it.
It was in such times Clay wished he still had his enhanced smelling sense to check if the siblings were around, but because of the medications he had taken, he couldn't smell anything at all. If only vampires had another sense to find people by their presence… But hey, that'd make them too broken and magical... At least he was glad he still had his newly acquired piercing eyesight. Not only he was able to see anything despite the darkness, but he was able to distinguish anything from a full mile away in the horizon.
In the end, Phoenix had disappeared behind. Being the simple human he was, he must have been tired of dashing non-stop. Guess that was another advantage of being a vampire, having much better stamina than a normal human…
Clay continued to scrutinize the horizon for humanoid presence, and finally, he found them afar, relieved his lasting running had paid up. Not wishing to make the same mistake he did earlier by being too slow, he didn't lose a single second this time. He readied his special gun.
…
A weak sound made Apollo jolt, though Trucy couldn't hear it. Of course, the sound came from about three to four hundred meters away. There was no way for a human not named Athena Cykes to hear such tiny thing from that far. Apollo slowly turned his head to the sound direction, and upon noticing his move, Trucy did the same. It was hard for her to see in the dark, but there was definitely something running after them. Of course, Apollo recognized the shadow, but all he did was returning back his glance to its original position, completely ignoring the one that was coming for them. This caused Trucy to give a puzzled glare at her brother.
"Who's there?" Trucy curiously asked.
Apollo did not answer, but like a wise one, Trucy did not insist for a reply.
It didn't take too long for Trucy to finally see who the shadow in the darkness was. However, that latter one didn't even give a moment for her to call the newcomer when a loud bang came from the shadow's direction. A sudden dart went straight on Apollo's shoulder, causing him to hiss a loud yelp, but he offered no resistance. Panicked, Trucy cried out to her brother when his arms quickly failed to hold her. Soon, he landed on the sand in a soft thud sound, his limps trying to reach for his sister so he could keep her warm, his eyes half-closed, struggling to keep them open.
"Trucy!" the shadow called as they put their weapon aside and approached the siblings.
Yet, Trucy was still leaning toward her slumbering brother, totally ignoring the voice she immediately recognized as Clay's. She tried to shake Apollo awake, but it was no use. The dart on his shoulder must have some kind of powerful sedative or something.
When Apollo's piercing eyes slowly lost their vivacity and disappeared behind his lids, Trucy angrily turned to Clay, causing the young man to stop his track. "W-Why did you shoot him?" the sister yelled out, few small tears soaring around her.
Clay gently bent down on her side, laying his hands on her shoulders, attempting to calm her down, though it didn't give the anticipated effect when she just childishly back away from him. "I'm sorry," Clay apologized with a worried frown on her. "I had no choice. Sooner or later, he'll go back to his instincts."
"No, he won't!" Trucy protested, and this time, she hit the ground with her mad fists. "Polly saved me, he kept me warm in his arms and… and… we were having fun conversations together, just like in our old life!"
The young vampire tiredly sighed and exasperatedly shook his head. "Trucy, you… still don't understand us, don't you?"
Seeing his comment brought absolutely no comfort to the girl, Clay added a more relieving remark. "And don't worry about Apollo; I just shot a sedative on him. He'll sleep for few hours, but we'll need to bring him to the lab to give him the meds. He's going to be all right."
That was when Phoenix finally reached them, giving awful, exhausted breaths, trying to gasp for air. It was hard being a human running for straight miles. "Truu… cy…" Phoenix huffed as he curved down, his hands resting on his knees. "I… I'm… glad… you… ah… maaade it… Huff, huff…"
Hurriedly, Phoenix took off his coat and wrapped it around Trucy so she could be safe from the cold wind. Still furious, she stayed still, not even making a move to thank Mr. Wright for the coat or react to Clay's previous comment. She just couldn't bear to watch her brother flat on the ground while everyone else was happy.
But deep inside, she knew it was for his own good.
She finally went to give everyone an unexpected affectionate hug.
The darkness.
The place where he stood was completely dark.
How strange, it had been a while he hadn't seen the complete darkness, ever since he got these enhanced sense of sight, in fact.
Oddly enough, he could totally see himself walking in the blackness of the place like his body was glowing with its own light.
He walked around, trying to call for a presence, but he heard no one, he smelled no one, he saw no one. Where was he anyway? Something was definitely off. He was not scared or anything, but he felt like he was not alone in this seemingly wide room.
"Hello?" he cried, but the only responses he got were his own echoes. Disappointed, he gave up and prepared to sit down.
That was when he finally heard a voice, a rather familiar one. His jaw dropped from the amazement, but it brought him a grin at the same time. He'd recognize that voice anywhere.
"Hello Justice," the mysterious one called.
When he turned around, he saw him, his former angelic mentor standing behind him, all alive and well, displaying his usual peaceful smile. "M-Mr. Gavin!" Apollo spoke with a quaking and confusing tone. "B-But, sir? Weren't you… executed?"
Mr. Gavin gently laughed at the question. "Was I? Maybe, maybe not."
With a sentiment of glee, Apollo dashed forward the man who had saved him and his sister. He couldn't wait to give him that merry hug he had deserved since forever, even if the conditions right now felt so cheesy. After all, Mr. Gavin had never been the hugging type. However, when he reached for him, Apollo tripped as he went through his old mentor like a ghost.
Wait, the Mr. Gavin before him was a ghost.
"Don't worry about me, Justice," the man let him know with his friendly smile. "You won't be able to reach me. I'm merely here to voice my opinion on you."
"Mr. Gavin…" Apollo called again, a bit gloomy of the situation. He went back on his feet, dusting the dirt away from his clothes. His head was kept low as a way to display his little despair for the moment. He had missed his mentor and the fact he couldn't even touch him gave him shivers.
"I just want to tell you how I'm proud of you and your little sister. You've done well. You've become a successful lawyer, and I'm sure Trucy will become a successful magician in the show business one day. You both are truly the Gramarye children. The success runs in your veins."
Yet, Apollo couldn't lift his head up on these encouraging words. "But… I became… one of your kinds…" he shamefully protested.
"How will that prevent you from continuing your dream?" Mr. Gavin kindly interrupted.
The young man went silent. He wasn't so sure of the answer anymore. He had seen his mentor, a vampire, managing to live with humans undetected for long years, like nothing had happened to him. He had witnessed his best friend Clay, even after being hit by the same curse of being reborn, controlling his primal instincts to help the humans. Why couldn't he too? Just when he went into more deep thoughts, another spirit appeared beside his mentor. Apollo shuddered upon seeing the new one.
"Kl… Klavier…" Apollo shyly murmured, almost frightened of him.
But the rock star was giving him a gentle grin. "Are you still feeling bad for what you and Herr Terran had done to me?" Klavier laughed. "Don't worry. It wasn't your fault."
"Though, I must admit, the experience, while oddly thrilling, was awfully painful."
"Klavier!" the older brother strictly cried to his prosecutor sibling, smacking the back of his head.
"Ach!" Klavier exclaimed, surprised by Kristoph's sudden move, but he simply giggled along. Apollo wasn't really finding all of this funny and his mortification worsened instead. "Anyway, Herr Forehead, while I wish I could have stayed longer on Earth, the afterlife isn't too bad. And I came to tell you this."
"You cannot completely return back to your old human life. However, you should use your more powerful senses to make use of your last name."
"You cannot revive me back or revive any of your victims, but you can still bring justice in this realm, make the place a better world where everyone can live together in peace."
"Think you can do that for me, Herr Forehead?"
Finally, after giving Klavier's words deeper considerations, Apollo was able to express a weak smile at his old friend. He possessed a better strength than he had in his human life. He was now aware of his humanity like he could keep his instincts under control, just like before. Klavier was right, he should put his new senses and powers in good use. He nodded in agreement.
"Thank you!" Klavier happily uttered.
He and his older brother turned their back, ready to go back to the realm of the afterlife. Apollo wanted to run after them, but he knew he couldn't. He watched them as their presence started fading away from his view.
"Achtung, baby! It's time for the last serenade!"
And they were no more, though a faint guitar melody was continuously played in the background.
Alone again in the darkness, the slumber started invading Apollo's mind, causing him to close his heavy eyes to the pleasant sound of soft music.
Date: January 6th 2028, 6:19 AM
Place: Brellaum Laboratory, Cells Room
The artificial lights when he blinked nearly blinded him. It took him about a minute or so to get used to the brightness after witnessing so much of the night and the darkness for weeks. When all slowly revealed itself around him, he realized he was inside some kind of cylindrical cell of transparent glass in a grand room devoid of living things except himself.
Apollo panicked.
He nervously tried to slam into the glass and hit it with his fists. He even went as far as trying to scratch it with his nails, but the glass prison appeared to be unbreakable. Had human put him in here like a savage animal?
Finally, he glanced around, alarmed by what kind of stuff the people in the place might have been doing to him while he had been deeply unconscious. All the other empty cells and the scientific equipment found around appeared so fishy it gave him shivers on his back.
Then something close to his feet comforted him...
Trucy was outside the cell, peacefully slumbering in a sleeping bag on the floor. He could even hear her gentle, familiar snoring going along her slow breathings.
Wait a second. What was he doing here? What was Trucy doing here? What was this place, anyway? Was this some kind of weird laboratory where people and anything underwent twisted experimentations? Did he become some type of lab rat, a mutant of the sort? What did the humans shove into him?!
It seems you're finally awake, buddy!
Apollo jumped at the far away voice. He could hear it perfectly despite this wall of glass that separate him from the rest of the world. He turned to the voice direction to see the one who expressed these friendly words.
"Clay?" Apollo softly called.
Clay appeared to have been sitting far in the room for a while, probably waiting for his friend to wake up from his deep sleep. He was grinning just like his old human self. "Apollo, it's good to see you!"
But Apollo was still worried. "W-Where are we?" the captive one asked.
Like a mascot welcoming guests in an attraction park, his friend opened his arms wide to him. "Welcome to the Brellaum Laboratory!" Clay enthusiastically yelled out, trying to contain his chords of steel to not wake up the girl close to his feet. "That's where they test meds on us, vampires!"
The captive one fell on his butt. He couldn't believe this. His expression of fear revealed a small frown along. "W-What? S-So I'm really a lab rat?" Apollo fretfully blurted out.
His friend gave away a small laugh at him, though Apollo didn't take any offense from it. He knew his friend too much to see this as a mockery. "Not really," Clay confessed. "You do remember Dr. Metis Cykes's researches for the medicines for vampires, the ones that allow vampires to contain their predatory instincts so they don't control their actions anymore?"
That was when Apollo's eyes went wide, nearly blank from the sudden ancient memory that resurfaced before him like a bullet in his soul. "I admit… I have completely forgotten about it…" Apollo declared, ashamed of himself.
"Don't worry, I have forgotten at first too," Clay commented on this with his shy smirk. "Well, it seems Ema and her friends managed to recreate Metis's formulas already, and so far, they have positively worked on all test subjects! With them, our hunger is controlled and we don't need to kill anymore to survive! Isn't that amazing?"
Apollo's expression baffled with realization. He gasped when he directly stared at Clay into his eyes. "So that was why… you were on their side…" Apollo gathered.
"Yeah! And they gave some meds to you too!" Clay almost too proudly exclaimed.
Wait, was that why Apollo felt so serene, despite being stuck between these walls of unbreakable glass? Now that he put more thoughts into it, he couldn't smell anything nor did he feel any hunger or the need to eat anything. Even the recall of the formerly delicious blood didn't awaken his predatory needs.
So Metis's meds worked for real.
"The meds not only control our hunger, but they also allow us to go outside with the sun above our heads!" Clay happily added, though his tone went down a little with his next remark. "Well, we still need to put lot of sunscreen all the time, but hey, it's better than nothing!"
"We still have most of our enhanced senses and our more powerful strength, but unfortunately, we'll probably never go back being human…"
The last of Clay's reveal somehow troubled the mood of the moment, but it didn't matter to Apollo. All he could see were the advantages of these medications when he directed his attention back to his sleeping sister.
"Clay," Apollo gently called his friend again. "Do you mean… I won't have… to change Trucy to live with her?"
A determinate expression came back to Clay upon hearing his best friend's question. "That's exactly it," Clay confirmed with a cool smile.
The tension completely disappeared from Apollo in the very instant. The family will be reunited for good, at last. He'd be crying right now if he wasn't so proud of his manly side before his friend. "That's… good to hear…" Apollo happily murmured, watching the peaceful Trucy who was still in her reverie world.
Another quick grasp hit the captive young man. What about his other family? "Clay, do you know where my mom is?"
He had nearly forgotten about her, and now he was so eager to see her back. Ever since she had disappeared from his life and Trucy's, the thought of his mother never ceased to hunt him whenever he felt lonely.
"Don't worry about Mrs. Gramarye," Clay commented. "She's probably in the laboratory somewhere, helping the scientific folks in the other room. She's been safe with Machi and other humans since you met her!"
Apollo was grateful for the answer. However, someone else was missing and he wanted to know what happened to that particular individual as well.
"And… what about my dad?"
As expected, the question was welcomed by a silence from Clay. His friend frowned, his stare directly into Apollo's. "I'm… sorry about Eros, he never made it." Clay informed.
Apollo's glare took a serious turn. "What happened to him?"
Clay nearly bit his lips at the question. "Eros… was the one who saved you and Trucy. You were falling straight to the rocks below, but your father immediately jumped toward you and pushed you both so you fell in the river instead. However, because of that, he was the one who landed on the rocks. Everything happened so fast, like in two or three seconds."
To this, another silence filled the already quiet room. His father was not the most saint of the men, but Eros still cared a lot about him. "I… see…" was all Apollo said.
Still, Clay didn't need Athena's power to see the little sadness in Apollo over the death of his father. It appeared the son and the father managed to bring their relation closer with each other with the time spent together in the wild. But the subject should rather be shifted for a better turn to avoid more discussion about Eros. Speaking about fathers prompted Apollo to ask another question that would freeze Clay's veins.
"And what about your father, Clay?"
Yet, Clay managed a smile anyway, though it was a quite depressing one. It was true; Apollo might not know about Clay's father's whereabouts, but he would rather not speak about it now.
After all, Clay wanted to grieve alone when the time will be right for him.
"Apollo… I'm fine…" Clay weakly revealed.
"We're… fine, indeed," Apollo went along with his best friend, knowing something had probably happened to Mr. Terran. For the sake of his friend, he just ended the conversation here.
However, Clay insisted of having a more silly chat to uplift the depressing mood. They were going to sink further into a certain sadness if he didn't act now.
"Dude, I've got an idea!" Clay abruptly exclaimed with a huge grin.
"What?" Apollo embarrassedly expressed.
"Let's have our Chords of Steel session!"
"… What? Right now?!"
"Why not?"
"Trucy's asleep!"
"It's okay, she'll have to wake up anyway!"
"… Okay, fine."
It didn't take long for Trucy to wake up to the sudden loud cries that echoed in this wide room. She tiredly shook her head and was surprised to observe… the strangest event of these recent times. Her brother and his best friend were literally having a contest of who was the finer and the louder of the two. Their shrieks felt like it could destroy the eardrums of anyone passing by. She was glad she had been used to her brother's chords of steel sessions at home, but it was her first time hearing the session from two people at the same time. It was murder to her hearing.
When the two young men noticed the newly awakened girl, they immediately stopped with a muffled laugh as they attempted to cover their mouth in a scornful manner. Normally, Trucy would have grown extremely annoyed by their loud childishness, but this time, she was more than simply pleased to see them act that way together.
It was the reunion she had hoped for.
It didn't matter if her brother became an immortal vampire. He was now back to his old self with his friend. They were now part of the humanity with her and the rest of her companions.
When she felt a warm stream over her red cheeks, she burst into playful tears.
Of course, she wanted to grab Apollo's hands to hold them forever just like when she did as a child so he could protect her from all evils. Unfortunately, this wall of transparent glass wouldn't let her do that. All she did was to put a hand on the glass, waiting for her brother with a peaceful smile. It felt exceedingly cheesy, but to hell with that! She'll enjoy the moment whenever the others will like it or not!
"I'm so glad you're my brother again, Polly…" Trucy sniffled when she muttered her words.
Smiling back at her, Apollo gently placed his hand where Trucy put hers. "I'm so happy to be living with you again, Truce…" Apollo whispered to her, loudly enough for her to hear.
Not long after the awaited reunion, interrupting their blissful moments, it was time for Ema to check on her newest… test subject. In a way, she was scientifically excited as ever to be able to watch over Apollo's progression with the medications, but she was still sad over his fate. Immortality didn't sound too appealing and neither was having the hunger controlled all the time. Ema had told him they still had to put him in this glass cell as safety precaution. Seeing the medications had also worked on Apollo when he had been running wild much longer than Clay, Ema was now positively confident they will work on all vampires.
Finally, soon after Ema's checkup, the one Apollo wanted to see finally made her apparition.
His mother, Thalassa.
However, she didn't appear that pleased to see her son and her daughter. There were regrets and melancholy in her eyes when she carefully glanced at them. Even so, Trucy rushed to her, giving her a long wholehearted hug. Apollo wanted to do the same, but obviously he couldn't. He still bore a grudge toward her since he had learned she was still alive, for leaving them behind after she had been reborn. Even the shame wasn't a good reason enough for her to not come back; she chose to stray away from their lives on her own.
"I'm… sorry for what I've done to you…" Thalassa softly told them, unable to direct her sight on them anymore.
Yet, Apollo understood how she felt about it. He was ready to do the same for Trucy's safety himself, but fate had been kinder to him, it seemed. "It's… all right, Mom…" the son compassionately declared. "We still did well after you were gone, in the end."
However, Thalassa's next move startled everyone.
She was taking her bracelet off and gave it to her daughter. Trucy's eyes opened wide as her mother gently slid the jewel to her wrist. To her daughter's surprise, it slightly shrank down, fitting Trucy's wrist perfectly.
"I… don't need this bracelet anymore," Thalassa added with a smile. "But I'm sure it will be useful to you."
Trucy was left speechless. As she still gulped with curiosity over her new family jewelry piece, she wasn't sure how to react to this. She couldn't even let out a simple "thank you" and instead, she slightly shivered when she touched her golden bracelet with her opposite hand.
"I have so many regrets in my life," the mother remorsefully started. "I have abandoned my first husband, your father Eros, to his doom. Then, even if you forgave me, I still have abandoned you both. That's why… I want to travel the world and do my best to help as many vampires as I can within my power to redeem myself. If I was unable to help my family, at least I'll help others."
"But first, before I go back to the world of darkness to help the ones in need…"
"There's a circus that will stay in town for the entire winter and I want to bring you both there with me as a part of the promise I made to you, all these years ago. I have never forgotten about it."
The two children gasped at their mother's reveal. They couldn't believe it. After all these everlasting years, that insignificant promise she made over her children's overreaction to the town's circus was still deeply hidden in the woman's soul, even when darkness was the only remaining companion in her new life.
Mommy had never stopped to love her cherished children in the end.
But let's go see this tomorrow, shall we? I'm going to have a hunt session with Uncle Valant and Zak tonight, but tomorrow I'll let them know that I promised you and Trucy we'll go see the circus! Just be patient for another night, all right?
Although their "another night" had lasted more than few years…
…they both cried.
Date: March 25th 2034, 4:16 PM
Place: Wright Anything Agency, Office
"Polly! Polly!"
The older brother let escape a weary sigh as he detracted his focus from all his cases paperwork to look at his calling little sister instead. To his surprise, she was not alone this time: she was tenderly holding the hand of an unfamiliar young man. Both Trucy and the man on her side were widely smiling together. It didn't take a genius to guess the man was his sister's new boyfriend. If not, then he was possibly a very, very close friend stuck in the famous friendzone men feared so much, strangely enough. Yet, with Trucy's age and her weird tendency to speak without a slight shame about her adventures with her male companions, Apollo very much doubted it. Probably another random one she met in her university, he exasperatedly thought.
"Look!" Trucy insisted to bring further attention from her brother to the new guy beside her. "I want to introduce you to Cody Hackins!"
Shyly but still self-assured of himself, the young man waved a hand at the serious lawyer behind the desk. "Hey there, buddy!" Cody greeted Apollo. "Nice to meet ya!"
However, Apollo's lips returned absolutely no sign of visible smile as he kept his intense glare on the young man holding his sister's hand. Cody tensed a little, but he was aware big caring brothers were always a little more protective with their younger siblings. "Hello, Mr. Hackins," Apollo finally welcomed in return, his voice virtually sounding like a robot with no emotion. "I'm pleased to make your acquaintance."
Trucy coldly shuddered to her brother's emotionless and formal voice, but she was used to it. It seemed to be his natural way whenever she had male friends on her sides and whenever Apollo was around them. "Cody, meet Apollo, aka Polly!" the sister squealed to her new boyfriend. "He's my big brother and he's a lawyer working under the famous attorney Phoenix Wright!"
A gasp took over Cody before the excitement appeared on his expression. "Oh yeah!" the young man exclaimed. "I remember Mr. Wright! He was the one who defended Will Powers, the Steel Samurai actor back then!" A sudden pride was seen in the glint of his eyes. "I even took part of his trial as a witness! Thanks to my awesome testimony and my photograph talents, Will Powers was found not guilty!"
As expected, the comment got no reaction at all from the lawyer, but it drove Trucy to sweetly hug Cody for his heroic feat. "Wow! That must have been awesome indeed!" she cheerfully blurted out before she turned to her brother. "Don't you think so, Polly?"
To please his sister, Apollo decided to play along, managing a weak, fake smile, still with the same monotone voice. "Yes, it could be."
"Oh no!" Trucy cried out with a jump, putting her hands on her mouth. "I forgot my phone in my car! Just wait here, Cody, I'll go get it!"
"W-Wait!" Cody spurted out, but Trucy was a fast runner: she had already disappeared behind the door. Quietly, Cody turned back to the working lawyer's direction, realizing he was now alone with the ostensibly overprotective, icy glaring older brother who still had his piercing hazel eyes at him. It slightly scared the young man.
"Hum… so yeah…" Cody timidly tried to start a conversation with Apollo. "Trucy's a great girl…"
The reply he got from the brother was a strict silence. Cody faintly backed away from him, sweating bullets. "… Nice weather, isn't it?"
This time he got a small reaction: a stern frown appeared on Apollo's face. Cody froze to it. "So you're Truce's new boyfriend, aren't you?" the lawyer nearly interrupted him, completely ignoring the young man's silly question.
In this awkward moment, Cody nervously grasped at his own collar, faking to replace it. "Huh, yeah!" he simply answered.
Apollo's frown furrowed further. "Can you tell me what do you find in her?" the brother resolutely asked.
Cody was now afraid to open his lips, but he had to make a good impression on him, for his girlfriend's sake! "Well…" the young man sluggishly started. "I find her very beautiful and AHHH-"
Poor Cody had been interjected by a spontaneous loud, rough growl that escaped the lawyer's lips. "So you're only here for sex?" Apollo snarled at him, having absolutely no disgrace to openly mention the "S" word like it was a natural thing and yet a type of sin at the same time.
The other man nearly fell on his back, wanting to run away, but… he loved Trucy too much to back away now! "W-What!?" Cody fearfully chattered out stridently. "N-No! N-Never…! Wait! Not n-never! B-But no! I m-m-mean… She's so… so… charming, s-smart, funny-y, intelligent, g-geeky like m-me…"
PleaseDontEatMe! Cody murmured very speedily but lowly, practically covering his head with his arms like he wanted to hide away, but Apollo could hear him perfectly.
For a split of second, to the young man's relief, Apollo directed his attention on the piece of jewel his left wrist was wearing. Oddly, Cody was astonished it looked exactly like the bracelet Trucy had on herself. However, his freedom from the older brother's intense glare only last a mere second before he felt watched again.
To his appeasement, this time, the greatness of the frown on Apollo's brows lightened. "Okay, I believe you," the lawyer finally revealed, and to this, Cody felt like melting by the release of the pressure. He had been accepted at last by the big brother and it seemed like he had passed the ultimate question of an awful but very important school exam.
The happiness reigned over the agency as soon as a flushing sound was heard from the bathroom, which attracted the curiosity from both young men. Another young woman with a scarf over her long orange-brown hair and with few cleaning equipment on her hands walked out of the bathroom. She had a visible frown that appeared to be directed toward the lawyer sitting behind the endless papers on his desk. Was she the cleaning lady of the office?
Wait, she had an attorney badge on her collar too. An attorney… cleaning the toilets?
"Hey, Apollo!" the woman cried out to him, practically scolding him. To Cody's astonishment, Apollo was actually listening to her with a slight horrified expression. "Stop scaring all of Trucy's male friends! I heard everything you just said and now, that Cody boy's terrified to death!"
Upon listening to the woman, Apollo bashfully scratched his cheeks as they blushed from a faint humiliation. "I'm… sorry, Athena," he apologized with an undignified tilted head on the side, turning away from the girl. Wait, was the overprotective big brother actually apologizing, for real?
This time, Athena rushed closer to Apollo, strictly bending over the sitting older brother. Aggressively, she incessantly started poking him with her index on his head and his shoulders. Surprisingly, the man offered no struggle against the woman, though he was defenselessly trying to stop her finger trajectories with his hands. "Don't apologize to me!" Athena reprimanded him furthermore than necessary. "You apologize to poor Cody!"
Finally, when everything seemed to have settled for the better to Cody's side, with Athena rigorously crossing her arms as she glared at the working man, Apollo returned his concern on the still slightly frightened young man. This time, a more lively vigor was now seen over the brother's face. It was so new to Cody the "happier" expression on Apollo scared him more than his impassive face.
"All right, I'm truly sorry about this, Mr. Hackins," Apollo finally made a sincere apology to the petrified young boyfriend before going straight for a huge grin, unintentionally revealing his fangs in the process. Cody jumped again from the sudden scare. "It's just… Trucy's my little sister… It's a big brother instinct, I tell you!"
Cody truly hoped there weren't more than brotherly instincts.
"Heya guys, I'm back!" another flashy feminine voice saved him from the terror that filled his spirits. The young man felt like bouncing uncontrollably behind his girlfriend as a way to protect himself from the vampire brother that might take another look at him in a funny, angry way. However, he attempted to remain the stable and intrepid boyfriend for Trucy, at least. How could he be so scared of his hypothetical future… stepbrother?
Clearly, it was now time for Trucy to give a weird eye when she noticed the sweats on her boyfriend. "Hey, Cody, you look tense. What's the matter?"
"N-No, I'm f-f-fine!" he responded back with a ceaseless shiver.
Yet, Trucy's piercing stare was still intensifying while he muttered these words. When she felt her bracelet tightening, she gave away a tiny grimace of pain before returning her focus on her boyfriend. "Huh? Stop lying to m-" she began with a perplexed tone… until her mind turned to Athena who still had her arms crossed like a strict mother and Apollo whose frown was back with a hint of discomfiture.
Then she made the connections with a mortified "Oh…"
In a sneaky manner, the alarmed Cody approached himself closer to Trucy, tensely whispering into her ear. "Y-You never told me that your brother is a… a…"
Realizing what had exactly caused her boyfriend's awkwardness, she warmly gave him a quick hug to reassure him before beaming with a wide, soothing smile. "Oh, sorry about that!" Trucy exclaimed with glee, louder than required. "It's just… I see him, like, every day, and he's my dearest family! So he's my favorite big brother!"
"Also, you don't need to whisper, he'll still hear everything you say," she derisively added, and her remark killed the relieving moment for poor Cody.
To remove furthermore worry from the young man, Athena decided to help him too, drawing her sight on him with another comforting grin. "You shouldn't worry about such little things, Cody!" Athena cheerfully informed. "We're a bunch of happy lawyers and magicians family after all!"
"Yeah, that's right!" Trucy declared with her friend. "And aside, Polly shouts more than he bites, literally!"
Thus, Cody REALLY hoped Trucy was right. Because the cold, protective glare he was being given by the older vampire brother was still glued onto his person as soon as the two protecting girls had let escape the lawyer from their sights.
Since the year 2030, realizing the success of Metis's researches with the medicines for vampires thanks to the good talkative side of the Cosmos Space Center director, new laws had been implemented for the vampires under the medications to live in peace among the human population. At nearly one hundred percent of positive results on the test subjects, the fear for vampires, while still present among the mass, had lessened to the point it was seen as a normality for them to wander among people.
However, to make sure people were able to distinguish humans from vampires, those "licensed" vampires under the medications must have a tiny tracking chip planted in their back. They must also wear a fairly visible collar around their neck with an electronic device that took a small, painless sample of their blood every day to make sure the medications were flowing in them. These collars indicated with a light whenever the vampire took the medications or not. They had to wear it each time they went outside in the public world and they had to have their chip inside them, or else they'll be deemed as normal roaming vampires and they could still be killed like in the old hunting laws epoch.
Since the government was now funding the researches to help these vampires, and along it, making the world a safer place to live for both humans and vampires, their presence was still seen as a controversy. Debates were being discussed about licensed vampires: some of them still committed evil deed like murders and other humane crimes. However, there were evil humans among the population as well, so any licensed vampires found guilty of their evil doings were still judged like humans. That was unless they were proven to have not taken the medications at the time of their crime.
Sadly, the vampire living with humans were bound by the medications and these restrictions, but most of them led a good life with their old friends and families, whenever they were related by blood or simply by the foster system. Most of them even got to have normal jobs.
Instead of searching for vampires to kill for their own lucrative reasons, hunters around the world were now being funded to find these creatures and capture them as test subjects in the many laboratories that have opened all around the country, and soon the world. A new ambitious name was given for these hunting sessions which the mass called the vampires' "Second Chance". This new "law" basically forgive all the human victims who had fallen under the fangs of the newly licensed vampires before they were subjected to the medications. Yet, that was the only chance given to them. See them fail only once by returning to the world of instincts and darkness with new human preys and they won't get any more luck. A "third" chance didn't exist.
With the years, the late Metis Cykes was honored as a heroine around the globe and the vampire menace weakened over time. Even if there were still many of them lurking around for blood lust, they were getting more uncommon since any vampires under the medications permanently lost their powers to give a "rebirth" on humans.
Each vampire had now their second chance to come back and live with the humans in peace, just like they did before they were reborn.
The world was now a slightly better place to live in, with one worldwide problem in the midst of others partially solved.
Using her immortality to take all of her time for new discoveries and knowledge, Aura Blackquill was now carefully studying psychology with her little brother Simon as way to continue the technology side of Metis's researches. She wished to improve the robots she will create, making them even better than their creations born from their collaboration, Ponco and Clonco.
Simon Blackquill continued his career as a prosecutor, though he has stopped hunting since that path wasn't that lucrative anymore. He became a top-notch lawyer that would almost rival his former comrade Miles Edgeworth and he was given the nickname of the Samurai prosecutor. Oddly enough, he was still the only one who was allowed to bring a pet in court, his trustful hawk Taka.
Athena Cykes maintained her defense attorney job in the Wright Anything Agency, keeping on using her famous Mood Matrix function from her Widget device to help witnesses and defendants. She would be the one to bring joy among all the other employees of the agency. She found herself a side job as a psychologist for the people in need of consulting in nearby schools and few special centers.
Ema Skye had finally taken a liking into her detective job by working with few other prosecutors who all seemed to approve her scientific techniques during investigations. She also enjoyed making the lawyers, prosecutors and defense attorneys alike, use her science equipment, still pretending to be too clumsy with the things. She was later offered a new career in the crime forensic department in the city. Obviously, she immediately took on the offer. She still accompanied her law friends during investigations whenever she was free.
Thalassa Gramarye and Machi Tobaye decided to help random hunters capture more vampires for their "Second Chance" to make up for all the human lives lost on them. They also travelled the world in separate ways as missionaries for the sane vampires who wished to undergo the medication process to live among humans. While they hardly get to see Machi again, the siblings constantly received a surprise visit from their mother.
Phoenix Wright remained a great lawyer and a mentor for all of his employees. Soon enough, his agency was the main subject in the world of law within the city. Though his pupils were pleading him to move their office to a bigger place, Phoenix insisted of staying in the same rented office because this place reminded him of his late mentor. He went as far as keeping that movie poster on the wall no one knew about and their plant mascot, Charley. One day, he had finally decided to take contact again with his old girlfriend, Iris, thanks to the constant pressure he was getting from his old assistant Maya Fey. Her cousin, Pearl Fey, remained bitter over the couple. While Phoenix and Iris never married, they happily lived together until the end without having any children.
Clay Terran had taken his time to grieve over the death of his father and was invited back to the Cosmos Space Center for more missions in space. He had finally achieved his long life dream of flying over the moon. To the Space Center joy, since his vampire medications cost much less than human food, sending Clay to space was much cheaper than sending humans. Thus, Clay had been chosen for a mission to Mars that will last a year. Thankfully, his mission on the red planet was a successful one.
Trucy Enigmar was finally able to maintain a long time relationship with Cody Hackins. They married and had a boy from their relation. With her new son, her husband and her brother, her family had lived a prosperous time together. To Trucy's disappointment, her son wasn't too keen on becoming an illusionist like her. Trucy became a famous magician in the show business. She recruited few other magicians for her newly formed troupe which she also named the Gramarye Troupe to honor her late grandfather and the old adult trio. She sometimes performed with her mother when she was available. To her joyful surprise, one day, a familiar man had decided to help her with few trick performances for her shows. The man's name was Valant.
Apollo Justice remained a successful lawyer in the Wright Anything Agency. Despite his vampire condition, he was still the same easily flustered young man he used to be in court. He always managed to keep the innocents away from a guilty verdict. To make up for the victims he had killed before being subjected to the medications, he watched over the people around him and especially his family that kept growing up thanks to his sister's marriage. Obviously, all of her descendants ended up calling him Uncle Polly or Grandpa Polly, though he never minded the nickname.
Date: May 4th 2111, 8:01 AM
Place: District Cemetery
Even without his sense of scent, he could feel the soft smoking cloud from the strong incense hitting his delicate nostrils. Carefully holding it between his palms, he gave away few gentle whispers in front of the restful gravestone raised solely for her. After he finished his peaceful spoken words, he meticulously placed the incense so it stood still in the moist soil. Slowly, he raised back on his feet, giving a kind smile over the tombstone.
Lifting his head up, he started a monologue to the sky.
"Well, you'd be one hundred years old today, so I came to give you a little greeting. I guess you're fine wherever you are. Our family's all right and healthy and I still watch over them for you."
Feeling a little uncomfortable to be speaking alone in the middle of this cemetery, among all the other beautifully erected carved marbles, he watched around him to see if there was anyone who'd attempt to listen to his words. He blushed a little, but the shy, warm feeling of his tension faded away when the only people he noticed around the place were other families far away, grieving over their lost ones just like he was doing.
Safe from their views, he went back to his private speech.
"You know, it's kinda funny. Remember the old years, when people keep telling us how we looked younger than our age? I remember people telling me how I looked like a fifteen years old when I was twenty-three. Now that doesn't even apply. One hundred seven and still looking like a twenty-three years old, or rather fifteen. I guess there's a sad side on this immortality, watching all the loved mortal ones outgrowing me, getting old and finally fading away, but…"
He gradually shrugged before he released his shoulders, letting them heavily fall down, leaving out a long breath, nodding to no one in particular.
"… I guess that's part of my everlasting curse."
His lonely monologue ending in a sad note, he turned away from the stone. However, he stood still, not really wanting to move from his spot. His head curved back to its former direction in a feeble, nostalgic way. His eyes refused to budge from the grave.
"Hey, Truce," he softly called. "Tell everyone over there I love them too, all right?"
… Apollo…
A sudden mild voice tenderly called him from the front as his head turned away. "W-What?!" Apollo fretfully called, returning his sight in front of him like a lightning bolt. "Who goes here? Wh-"
Upon seeing the one who stood before his eyes, he interrupted himself, shutting his lips when his panicked surprise became a curiosity. A young man, almost like a boy, stood there, his calm, angelic stare looking over Apollo like he was some revelation to him.
The stranger smiled furthermore when he approached him. However, his eyes were giving away a little sorrow. "Hello…" the other one shyly greeted.
Apollo's orbits widened, keeping his glance on the boy. Like himself, he was wearing one of these collars all licensed vampires had to carry around their neck whenever they got out among the mass.
No, that was impossible…
"I thought… you died…" Apollo remorsefully whispered.
The other vampire gently laughed on these words. "Did… anyone actually see me… die? It should be a family tradition now," he softly muttered, almost mockingly, but there was a faint tone of regret.
A short pause was made before Apollo smiled back at the young man. At last, it seemed his companion decided to come back in the human world, leaving his sinful past behind, choosing the path of light over his road of darkness.
"Long time no see, Daddy."
The End
Author's comment: I might add that the part with Apollo VS Cody was probably my favorite part to write in this entire story. It has all the awkward and family/friendship moments I like in a fictional scenario.
I really enjoyed writing this piece. After all, it's my very first "experimental" fic where I started writing every chapters in English from scratch without using a full French version as a draft. There were many parts where I had so much difficulties I was about to give up, but in the end, I managed to finish my longest story ever (my former longest story was a Fire Emblem family fic that can also be found on this site, which I never got to finish due to loss of inspiration for the fandom in general and the fact I was busy as hell with college at the time).
I'm aware my writing isn't perfect and definitely not novel-like, but I shall keep writing to get better, eventually. Criticisms over my writing and the plot are always welcome.
I'm not the kind of person to beg for reviews, favorites or anything of the sort, because to me, people have the freedom to not comment or to hate a story if they choose to, even if they read the entire story. HOWEVER, I humbly thank anyone who had commented on this story, because, frankly, you gave me happiness over my mood and my writings. Before getting any reviews, I wasn't too much aware how my writing was because English is not my main language, so getting few encouraged me a lot!
I also GREATLY thank "THE real assistant" for basically reviewing EVERY chapters since you started reviewing on a certain chapter! You are actually one of the main reasons for fast updates! If any of you like this story, I suggest reading their stories too!
Of course, I also thank everyone who read this story, put it in their favorites, follow this fic, comment, etc. You are all awesome. Merci beaucoup!
Also, there's going to be an extra ending soon. :)