CHAPTER TWO

Phoenix and Trucy were waiting for us in the baggage-weighing area. When we entered the building, Trucy tackled me down in a hug. Phoenix had to pull Trucy away from me. I slowly got back up—I had cramps from that. Beside Phoenix, there was a person wearing a magatama, purple robes, and black shoes.

"Hi, Apollo!" She smiled brightly.

"Uh… hi," I responded. "Er… what's your name?"

Her jaw dropped. She turned to Phoenix and grabbed him by his suit and shook him. "NICK!" she yelled. "He doesn't remember me?!"

Phoenix covered his ears. "Alright, Maya, why are you blaming me for that?!" The girl released him, and Phoenix turned to me. "Apollo, this is Maya. Maya Fey. Maya, this is Apollo. He will be coming with us on our excursion. Oh, and by the way, Maya testified in your trial remember?"

I held out my hand, and she grabbed it. Her grip was very tight—it felt like my hand was broken. Before Maya could cause any more damage, Trucy cut in.

"Polly!" she shouted. "My daddy says that we're heading to England! Says something about a professor."

"Trucy, shush! You'll spoil the surprise! I mean… you've never met the professor before, have you?"

"No, but I think I've read about him before. Wasn't his name… Edgeworth or something?"

Phoenix sighed and Athena groaned. Trucy looked at us with an insulted expression. We remained silent until the screen listing the flights changed. Apparently, our flight was delayed for about forty-five minutes, so our flight was delayed to about nine.

"Anyway," I started, "is there anyone else we're waiting for?"

Phoenix nodded. "Well, Edgeworth is also coming, but he won't show up for at least a day. He has a trial in Berlin he has to complete."

"How long would it take to fly from Berlin to London?" Athena asked.

"Not too long. Only about two hours. The flight from New York City to London, though… that's going to take a long time."

Athena reached into her raincoat pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. She unfolded it, revealing a map of the airport. Phoenix asked for the pamphlet, and Athena handed it over. Before he could unfold the paper, Maya snatched it.

"We haven't eaten breakfast yet, Nick," Maya noted, and Phoenix nodded. "Maybe we could pick up McDonald's or Burger King. Besides, the flight time will be about eight hours."

"Why are we going to England?" I asked.

Phoenix wouldn't make eye contact. "There's a trial there scheduled for tonight. Layton says he needs assistance. The trial has gotten so severe, he can't defend his client anymore." His phone started ringing. "Hang on, Apollo. I need to take this call." I nodded. "Hello? Yes… um… the flight's been delayed. We'll arrive there at about 5 PM. Okay, your client is disrupting the trial? Well… ah, alright, fine. I'll meet you at the main courthouse." He hung up. "It's gonna be a long flight. Anyway, let's get something to eat!"

Trucy grabbed my hand and rushed me away. Phoenix and Maya walked in the other direction. We met up with Athena again in the McDonald's line. I pulled out my wallet and ordered us some burgers and returned to our spot. Phoenix and Maya were still missing. I sat down, trying to think about what could've happened when I heard a loud scream. It sounded like… Maya.

"Come on, guys!" I shouted. "Maya must be in trouble!"

"And Mister Wright, too," Athena noted.

"Whatever. They need our help!"

We ran through the terminal, trying to find Maya. Eventually, we found her, sobbing, and praying. In front of her, Phoenix was unconscious, an arrow sticking out of his leg. I looked at the second-floor balconies, trying to find a suspect, but I couldn't. On the ceiling, I saw a shadow dart by. It was there for about a second, and it just vanished.

"Miss Maya!" Trucy shouted. "Wh-what happened to him?"

Maya was too shaken to respond properly. "W-witches… attacked… him… arrow…"

She continued sobbing, and we couldn't calm her down. I looked closer at Phoenix's leg. Blood was trickling from the wound, and the arrow glowed light blue. The light was so bright it felt like I was getting blinded. Before I could mourn his… well, he probably wasn't dead… I heard the sound of someone taking pictures and recording. I turned around and noticed a man with a familiar face.

"Y-you!" I shouted. "What are you doing?!"

"Oh, nothing," the man replied, hiding his camera. "Just wanted to get a few shots and videos to post on social media."

Trucy turned around. "It… It's Mister Reus!" she shouted.

Athena, however, started shouting at the top of her lungs. "YOU LITTLE PUNK! YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY?! TRYING TO RECORD PEOPLE WITHOUT THEIR CONSENT?! WE COULD REPORT YOU FOR STALKING US! HOW WOULD THAT LOOK ON YOUR NEWS CHANNEL?!"

"Calm down, lass," Reus chided. "I just needed to collect some information about random stuff happening. I didn't expect to find a murder in the airport. Now, I must do more recording."

Athena grabbed onto Reus's camera and smashed it on the ground. The screen cracked, and the camera—just like a grenade—sent metal flying everywhere. Athena smirked, and Reus backed down.

"Heh. You can't record anything now! You have nothing to record with! You will have no proof that the murder even took place!"

"Hmm… you're right, Miss Cykes, I do not have any proof anymore. But…" He gestured toward the corner of the room. "I do have security footage."

Athena screamed in rage. If I wasn't able to hold her back, she probably would've beaten Reus to death. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Reus pulled out a new camera and took several pictures. Before Athena could strike again, he dashed toward the gate entrance.

Trucy started sobbing as well. She touched her dad's neck to feel his pulse. She started sobbing louder.

"A-Apollo…" Athena stuttered. "You—you don't think he's… he's—"

"No. He has to be alive." I turned toward Maya. "Can you explain what happened? Explain it fluently… so we can understand you."

"O-Okay," she stuttered, wiping her face with her sleeve. "Well, Nick and I were using the restroom. We knew it was going to be a long flight, so we prepared ourselves. As we were walking back to our seats, Nick yelped in pain! He hit the ground, and I could see a blue stick protruding from his leg. He started bleeding heavily, and he stopped moving. I just… sobbed here for… forever!"

"I see," I said. "And nobody else witnessed this happen?"

"There were many witnesses, Apollo. However, once the first shot was fired, they all panicked and evacuated the airport. Some people ran through the gates into the airplanes."

"Do you mind explaining what the suspect looked like?"

Maya paused. "Well, I couldn't see what they looked like! There was a black-haired man standing on the second floor, leaning against the railing. Suddenly, he just vanished!"

I thought about it. "We saw a shadowy figure moving across the ceiling a few minutes ago. We found it suspicious… but we thought it didn't matter."

Suddenly, Trucy gasped in pain. I turned around and noticed her lying on the ground, groaning. There was a black arrow lodged in her back. Athena tried pulling it out, but it wouldn't budge.

Behind her, a black-haired teenager holding a bow was staring at us angrily. Athena lunged at him, but he quickly dodged and fired an arrow. Athena also collapsed. I ran over and picked her up.

"ATHENA!" I shouted. "No…"

I turned to the teen and glared, my eyes turning watery. "You did this," I growled. You monster!"

I did something really stupid and charged directly at him. (Note-to-self: melee units don't work well against ranged units.) He fired an arrow which grazed my chest and flew into a plant nearby. While he was trying to find another arrow in his quiver, I ran behind him and grabbed his bow. I desperately slipped his bow over his head and pressed it against his neck.

Suddenly, an arrow appeared in his quiver. I noticed it and grabbed it. He leaned backward and I slammed into the wall. I started seeing double, and before I could be aware of my surroundings, he impaled me with one of his glowing arrows. I hit the ground, barely awake. He grabbed my body and threw me near Trucy and Phoenix. He turned to Maya.

"Don't… you… dare…" I started to say, but my voice was so quiet, I could barely hear it.

Everything around me was fading. I saw the boy grabbing Maya's shoulder.

"You shall be kept alive," he said coldly. "We have somewhere important to go. Unfortunately for you, your friends—they won't make it."

Maya burst into tears. She tried tackling the boy, but the boy fired an arrow at her leg.

"Guess not," the boy growled. "Now, your souls will be pulled to my world—a terrible world."

I stared at Maya, who was still sobbing. I reached out to grab her hand, and then the world disappeared.