Athena's Apartment
September 6 7:30 a.m.
The attorney awoke on her bed, barely under the covers. Her alarm clock had already rung passed her usual time, still on sleep mode to ring for the late alarm ring to cause an earthquake from a loud and strong vibrations. She was partly disheveled, along with the sheets of her worn bed. The dress she had worn the night before had creases and dents, creating almost a new design to the article of clothing.
Athena's head rose from her warm pillow, her eyes squinting from the window light. Time passed for her to finally catch a coherent thought from her groggy state. Her head whipped left and right, along with her red hair ricocheting against her face. She shot out of bed, completely baffled on how she made it home.
'The taxi…?' Were the words that ringed in her head, along with the alarm clock that just exploded it's jingle to remind her it's time to rise and shine. Her arms jolted her backwards from the sudden noise and she flew off the bed rim, landing at the foot of her bed. The knock back caused her to be winded, completely phased on the crash landing. "Ow…" Widget somehow muttered electronically.
Athena arose from the floor, gaining back at least some of her embarrassed composure, before presuming her venture to the alarm clock to shut it off. Traveling out her room, she squinted, finding to familiar faces in her living room. The cyan blue dress raised calmly at the chest as her peaceful slumber mimicked the other girl who laid opposite to her. Athena saw Pearl and Trucy slumber quietly on her recliner and sofa. It was an admiring site to see, but Athena shook her head slightly, 'How did they… ooooh...'
She winced, realizing they tagged along with her that night to give their favourite pair private time. A sigh escaped her, as she continued her lead t the bathroom. Cool water splashed against her face as she tried recollecting what happened last night. It only concluded to a blank. She only remembered the party and that dance with Apollo. "...!"
The cool water became more heated as she stopped sending the wet wafts to her face. The tips of her hair were drenched as they dropped into the small puddle created in the sink. 'The dance?'
She blushed. The memory of Apollo holding her was something she enjoyed. However, it was short lived by the mocking he made afterwards. Her prissy mood became smoldered. A pout escaped her as she grabbed her toothbrush and squeezed a jetstream of minty paste from the tube. Violently splashing foam that collided against the bathroom mirror in front of her and the sink below. After two minutes, she looked like a rabid dog, foaming at the mouth with minty suds. Athena raised a cup of water to her mouth and rinsed. The water collided fiercely in her mouth, loud swashing accompanying her aggravated mood. Her head leaned back as she gargled once mouth and spat the tainted liquid into the sink. She splashed water around the mirror and sink to clean her mess before heading to the towel rack. After drying her face, she proceeded to the door. Trucy surprised her, causing her to flinch backwards, almost losing her footing on the tiled floors.
"Ah! Trucy! You're awake…" Athena exclaimed, causing Pearl to raise her sleepy head. Trucy had heavy eyes. Her appearance was more disheveled than Athena. Her phone dangled by two fingers, slowly losing its place by her weak grip.
"Yeah…" she shuffled groggily. She sucked a breath through her nose before looking at Pearl's direction. "My phone is dead… I gotta go walk to my dad's…" Her words were very mumbled. "Thanks for letting us crash here, Athena."
"Anytime!" Athena's spirit was a little more lifted. 'But just don't use it to get your dad privacy… Try Mr. Justice next time.'
Trucy slowly hobbled her way to Pearl, tapping her shoulder. "C'mon, Pearl… We gotta go."
"Mmmmrrnrngn…" Pearl waved her hand, shushing Trucy away. "C'mon Pearly, I have a show later…" Pearl still remained unphased, her hands tucked under her for support. The magician sighed, looking to the heavens for some strength to wake this stubborn spirit medium. Her head fell back to Pearl, "I'll invite you as an act?" The magician played with the words. Pearl shot her head up at Trucy. Her eyes gleamed with sleepiness, but composed mostly of excitement. "Ok!"
The spirit medium squirmed from the sofa, the burrow she made, now gaining back its round shape. Pearl slipped her toes into the sandals and rose from the furniture. Trucy gave a weak smile before heading to the door. Pearl was still rubbing the sleep out her eyes when Trucy turned to see Athena. "Thanks Athena. We'll see you at the office!"
Athena waved to the magician, "Okay! See you then!"
Apollo's Apartment
September 6 7:50 a.m.
The dark silhouette of a man stood before him. In his hand he held a scalpel with Clay lying unconscious at his feet. It was the Phantom. The murderer constantly stabbed Clay, unending, drilling holes into his friend right in front of him as blood splashed onto his face. Apollo thrashed violently, but couldn't move, dark claws held him back by his arms, preventing him from saving his dear friend, who bled profusely onto the ground. The sadistic man who claimed to be Bobby Fulbright laughed demonically as large bloody gashes covered Clay until he was unrecognizable, nothing remained, but the blue jacket with Terran's ID. The white suit of the Phantom was no longer the clean ivory detective, but a replica of his own red suit. The blood spread across the floor and drifted into the empty abyss of the surroundings.
The demon Fulbright arose from the bloody mess, camouflaging his stained suit. His body twisted towards Apollo. The blood-stained grin stared at Apollo. Fulbright dug into his pocket and pulled out his ID, which flipped open. "IN JUSTICE, WE TRUST!" The detective guffawed maniacally at the fear stricken attorney.
The attorney wanted to scream, but not one syllable was released. The horrific man approached him, his white gloves ripped as claws protruded from the fingertips. The claws grabbed Fulbright's face and scraped large gashes into his own flesh. The skin peeled away like wallpaper, starting from his forehead down to his chin. Underneath the necrotizing flesh, another face. The claws kept scraping away at the Phantom's head. Each rip revealing familiar faces. His friends, his coworkers, people he sent to jail, and his boss. The last grappling revealed one last face. It was Apollo.
Apollo spasmed as he saw his own reflection stare at him with the most evil appearance. The demon attorney grabbed Apollo's jaw, making sure his view fixated on his evil doppleganger. "Do you want to see what you really look like?"
Apollo froze. The voice was made of the whispers of all of his friends. The attorney was devoured in the horror of himself. "Let me show you…how I look like. Let you show me… how you are. Let me show myself… How I really am!"
The dark claws reached behind the demon attorneys ear and ripped the flesh slowly from the muscle, red essence dripping and spraying onto Apollo. The visage of a two horned, black bestial savage demonic horror from Hell glared at him with his perceiving eyes as enormous shark like teeth consumed his view. A giant serpent tongue with large barbed pincers at the end protruded from the glottis of the Hell beast. The voices of Phoenix, Athena, Juniper, Hugh, Robin, Klavier, Pearl, Simon, Trucy, Clay and so many others raped his ears in their shallow breaths.
"THIS IS WHO YOU ARE!"
Apollo screamed, but strained his voice to the point he suffered a coughing fit. A nightmare creeped on him. The graphic scene... His sweat drenched his back and forehead. The two horned hairs streaked against his face like a wet napkin. His coughing did not cease. They became louder and more frequent to the point he convulsed out of his bed, dragging his sheets with him. His fist curled, coughing into it, completely drenching it in saliva and… 'blood?'
The sight of the red caused him to flinch, struggling to keep air in his lungs. Leaning onto the wall, his strength diminished from the lack of oxygen. He crawled toward the bathroom, his chest burned and swole. He gripped onto the sink, using whatever strength he had left to lift himself. His knees leaned against the cold tiled floor. The dizziness added more to the weariness of his body. Apollo's arms shook violently as they tensed to support his weight. The tap turned on, washing his hands and coughing any bodily fluid down the drain. The water intermingled the blood in a swirl as it traveled along the ceramic sink. Despite almost hacking his guts out, his throat was very dry. The fit somehow managed to stop. His heart jumped recklessly in his chest, "Am I DYING?!"
The oxygen deprived attorney managed to gain color back in his face. His body relaxed as his lungs were rejuvenated by the fresh air. The attorney glared at the mirror, his face was still partially ghost-like and his eyes still puffy from the fit he just experienced. He leaned forward, opening his mouth. Fiddingling with his finger, he dug around to see where the blood came from, but to no avail. There was nothing, just a swollen throat. His brows furrowed as he came to realize something conspicuous; his boss also had a coughing fit, not as bad, but similar. 'He better not have given me something!'
Apollo cleared his throat, but the sore muscles tensed. "uhhh...I feel like taking the day off..."
He stumbled to the shower, the tap releasing refreshing water onto his face. His head tucked downward, as he let the water spread to his back. 'This is going to be a long day...'
