Mikeko woke him up, meowing urgently and slapping his face. "Mikeko, I'm trying to sleep! What do you want?" His cat continued meowing and led him out the door, to where he suddenly heard violent coughing. "Athena? Athena, are you okay?"

The coughing didn't stop a beat, sounding like his girlfriend was hacking something up. A few coughs even sounded like she was choking.

Where was Athena? What was wrong?

"Mikeko. Where's Athena, boy?" He could hear well enough, but he wasn't very good at actually locating the sounds. Thankfully, his cat was willing to lead into the bathroom, where the coughing was getting louder and more violent. "Athena? Athena, are you in here? What's the matter?"

She was there alright, collapsed on the floor as foaming blood spurted from her mouth with each cough. Strained desperate breaths lead to more violent coughing, and it was obvious she wasn't getting enough air.

"Athena! Athena, can you respond?!" She could barely look up at him, drowning under the foaming blood that covered both her and the floor. "Hang on, honey. Hang on!" He ripped his phone out and subsequently dropped it on the floor, swiping the little bar on his lock screen before ripping off her cuffs and scanning the words on the backs.

9-1-1, what's your emergency?

November 27th

Pavilion Crisis Care - Inner Lobby

The Wright Anything Agency did not open that morning. How could it, with both employees at the hospital?

The paramedics arrived about seven minutes after Apollo called 9-1-1, but it may have well been hours. Both occupants, the room and the obnoxious little cat had blood on them when the ambulance arrived to take Athena. She was admitted to the general hospital's ER until she could breathe again, then transferred to the next-door asylum, Pavilion Crisis Care, per the court order's instructions. Available ER staff helped Apollo clean up, then sent him to Pavilion's waiting area. He completed the required background checks, then was permitted into the asylum's inner lobby.

Phoenix met him there at 6:15am.

"I dunno what happened, Mr. Wright! She came home from that study interview thing at four, and was fine the whole night. Then she was just on the ground… I don't even know how long she'd been there for."

"Take a few deep breaths, Apollo. You did the right thing by her."

"We're in an asylum, Mr. Wright. People don't normally end up in the asylum after overnight ER calls."

"You couldn't tell this was an asylum just by the inside though. It's nice, open. I think I saw a botanical garden."

"I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine…"

Phoenix pulled his trembling employee in for a hug. He didn't know what occurred in the pair's apartment that warranted the 9-1-1 call, but Apollo was obviously traumatized by it. It was just about 7:30 when a pink-haired nurse approached them. "Is either one of you Apollo Justice?"

"I-I am…"

She smiled with a soft, understanding gaze. "Miss Cykes is ready for you."

"Thank you, ma'am. Thank you."

She filled them in as they walked down the halls. "She had a psychiatric episode, either schizophrenic or post-traumatic. The current theory is that she had a nightmare and couldn't settle herself before her blood pressure skyrocketed and some of her blood vessels burst. Mister Justice, do you know if Miss Cykes suffers from either schizophrenia or post traumatic stress disorder?"

"Uh, all I really know is what's on this. Sorry, I forgot to give it to the director." Apollo fished Athena's cuffs from his pocket.

"Psychiatric warning bands! Yes, we were worried they'd gone missing!" She took them when Apollo handed them over. "Ai ai, she's got a record… yes, PTSD, here it is."

"Excuse me?" Phoenix cleared his throat. "You said the doctors believe some of Athena's blood vessels burst?"

"Yes. That is what took so long. Miss Cykes has a… suspected genetic defect. The smaller blood vessels directly responsible for exchanging carbon dioxide and oxygen in her lungs are very weak. They're abnormally thin, and extremely susceptible to rupturing in high blood pressure. Preliminary testing determined it wasn't due to lifestyle habits or carcinogens, at least no major ones anyway, so the current theory is genetics. We're still waiting on some basic testing and a quick medical history check, but the more in-depth analysis likely won't be ready until next February. Holiday rush and all that."

Apollo gripped his arms so tightly his tinted skin turned white. "So that's why she was coughing up blood…"

"It appeared she'd been foaming at the mouth too, which is what gave us the original indication that something was wrong with her lungs."

"Yes, the blood she was coughing up had a lot of foam." He pressed his finger against his head, processing the nurse's words.

"Foaming at the mouth is extremely uncommon and very serious as far as symptoms go. Typically only seen with overdosing, seizures and rabies. It usually means something's gone wrong with the heart and lungs. No drugs in her system, and no rabies virus. Meaning an episode must've occurred."

"Do you know how long she was like that?"

"The blood was filling her lungs faster than she could cough it up, and she was already wearing out from lack of air. She couldn't have been in that state for more than thirty minutes. Based on the amount of blood drained from the lungs, I'd say they ruptured about five to eight minutes before you found her, Mister Justice. And she's very lucky: had she been home alone, all we would have now would be her dead body."

A disgusted, agonized noise shuddered from Apollo's throat. Had she still been living in the WAA office… that would have been the worst workday ever, to walk in on that. Especially knowing now it would have been an agonizing and frightening death.

"She's recovering rather well, all things considered. It seems she hasn't been on medication for her condition in quite some time, which will make her prescriptions very fun to issue."

"Do you know the chance of this happening again?"

She flipped through the notepad she'd been referring to. "Two percent permanent risk, ten percent just by getting worked up, fifty percent as soon as she starts having an episode, and an over seventy-five percent risk if the episode becomes so severe her vision goes black. However, that's in her current unmedicated state. It's impossible to know what it will be once she's on proper medications. The director is handling that."

"Yikes… the fact this is the first time is a miracle. She's a very wound up woman."

"Really, sir? And what is your name?"

"Ah, Wright. I'm Phoenix Wright. Athena's boss."

"How soon can she come home?" Apollo knew how Athena felt about asylums, even more so than he did. Something had gone terribly wrong in one from her past, and she was fearful of them. His concern, however, was she'd relapse by being here.

"I don't know. That's out of my hands. Pavilion has a lot of liability just by working with these types of patients. The director handles all discharges."

"It's alright, Apollo. They'll send her back home when she's well."

"Come see her, Mister Justice. That should put you at ease."

"Pollo!" She waved at him, to which he rushed over.

"Thena!" He gripped her face in his hands. "Oh, I was so worried!"

She gripped his undone hair and nuzzled her face, breathing tube running through her nose, into his shirt and heaved. He began to wheeze as hot tears shuddered down his face. "Pollo… Pollo, it was so scary… I couldn't breathe… I couldn't see…"

"I know, Thena, I know… all that blood… ugh, I'm a defense attorney, blood shouldn't get me that much…"

"I'll be okay, right, Pollo?"

"One day, Thena. They'll figure it all out for us… and one day, you'll be okay. You'll be all better one day…"

The rest of the day descended into chaos. As word of what happened spread, people from all over their lives came to check on Athena. To Apollo's displeasure, Klavier was one of the first to arrive. "Herr Forehead, how's your fräulein doing? I… could not imagine such a fate befalling mine."

Apollo swiped long-gone tears from stained cheeks. "She's really out of it right now. They have her on a lot of medications. Her body's stable, but she's not quite there."

"Ah. Her soul has not yet returned after its ordeal, ja? Would that not be how you'd describe it, Fräulein Mein?"

"Not entirely scientific, but yes, your point is understandable. Are there any theories on why, of all nights, Miss Cykes had a scrape with death now?"

"They're checking histories right now. They found a…-" He choked as tears came up and tightened his throat, crackling his once-strong voice. "-a more problematic issue that needed to be traced first."

"Your concern is piercing, Herr Forehead. For your sake, I hope it can be easily remedied."

A bag of Snackoos rustled in uncertain despair. "This wasn't just some fluke, was it Apollo?"

"No."

"We can't stay all day, but would you mind if we took a peek at her?"

"If she's asleep, you can look. If she's up, you better not. One of the meds is making her cranky. Like, willing to bite you cranky."

The prosecutor and detective followed the attorney and peeked into Athena's room. She was out cold on the bed, arms sprawled out as the nurse fiddled with the tubes and wires. "Good girl, Doctor Cykes," she cooed in a low voice, "get some rest, let your lungs heal. You're made for greater things for this ward, and the director knows it." She twirled a little bit of Athena's hair as she talked, and routinely pressed a button telling one of Athena's tubes to drain whatever fluid had built up so far in her mouth and lungs.

"I've never seen Fräulein Cykes so still… she seems almost like an entirely different person."

"Yeah, that's what scares me most."

The Themis crew came by a few hours later, around the lunch break. It turned out to be the worst time that day, as Athena had woken up from hunger and quickly dissolved into a very angry soul. No sooner had the crew of future legal professionals arrived at her door did Athena begin shouting drunken cuss words and obscene statements at the staff of the asylum. It took a heavy toll on Apollo, who was charged with keeping her restrained until her assigned nurse was able to take off her odd-looking belt (which quickly turned out to be an emergency straightjacket) and strapped Athena in. The restraints only made Athena angrier, and her shouting and resistance became louder and stronger. The decision was eventually made to secure her restraints to where she couldn't break loose, then leave her be until she was calm. The additional staff departed, and the pink-haired nurse remained with Apollo and the burritoed Athena.

Needless to say, seeing your only childhood friend straightjacketed with ropes resembling bungee cords snapped onto thick metal cables dangling from the bedframe, tubes running from her face and arms, was not the most pleasant of greetings. Juniper was startled beyond words.

"It's… what I expected… but not what I wanted to see." Hugh finally decided.

Apollo reached out for her shoulder, only to get teeth snapped inches from his fingertips.

"Thena…" Juniper pulled her sunflower from her hair and clutched it to her chest. "What's come over you, Thena? This isn't you…" Instantly, Athena whipped her head around and snarled. Juniper jumped back.

"N-Nurse Hirise, ma'am…" Apollo still clung to his nearly-lost fingertips. "She's going to come back to us, won't she?" This Athena… it was a violent, rabid being who knew nothing of the love its hostage woman held. He wanted his Athena back. He needed his Athena back, for himself, for Juniper, for Trucy, for Athena herself. If she was still in there, she had to be suffocating under the fear of this alternate being muting her true feelings by turning them to violence.

"It's possible either way. The medici-" She had waved too close to Athena's face, and instantly suffered consequences. "Doctor Cykes! I will muzzle you if you bite me one more time!"

"Ye-ouch! Not going anywhere near, no sir, no sir! This artist-slash-prosecutor wants her fingers, man!"

"Anyway," Hirise began again, scooting her chair a little further away from the chomp zone, "the medicine will either settle into her system and she'll return to normal, or the stress of this whole ordeal has already snapped her soul, and she'll be here, just like this, for the rest of her life."

Several more hours passed. Apollo was able to get a glimmer of Athena back after waving a gummy worm in front of her face. Her face relaxed, her scowl softened into a curious, hungry grin, and her eyes lit up at the prospect of a tasty treat. Awkwardly, it was a bit like feeding a dog, but a bag of candy was enough to soothe Athena. While she was happily distracted by the candy, she was also able to be fed lunch. Both her and Apollo were passed out when Trucy arrived from school.

Trucy had wanted to talk to them both, to see if Athena had recovered any from the morning, but her father wouldn't let her anywhere near either of the attorneys. "Look with your eyes, Truce, no mouth or hands. Apollo's very tired, and Athena's very weak."

November 29th

Pavilion Crisis Care - Consultation Area Three

Two stressful days passed, but Athena finally returned. Her prescriptions were finalized and she was back to her usual happy self. Her first desire was to apologize to everyone she'd hurt while the medicine had her acting erratic. Everyone was just glad to see she was okay. Apollo erupted into tears after she kissed him for the first time in days, assuring him the woman he loved had come back. He loved her so much, and all he wanted was for her to come home.

He nearly threw hands when the director told him that wasn't happening.

Chords of Steel ripped through Pavilion. "What do you mean, Athena isn't coming home?! What aren't you telling us about her condition?!"

"Mister Justice. Please restrain yourself. It's a legal concern."

"Director Shield. He doesn't know, it wasn't him. All this man did was love her."

" What's wrong with Athena?"

"Mister Justice," Pavilion's director, one Drake Shield, brushed his loose black bangs behind his ear before gesturing to a stack of papers in his hand. "Are you aware your girlfriend is an illegal pull?"

"A what?"

"It would seem not."

"Mister Justice, are you aware this is not Doctor Cykes' first time in an asylum?"

"Yes."

"Interesting… Nurse Hirise, you or me?"

"You, sir. I still must care for Doctor Cykes, and if he takes any of this out on me, it will make things harder for all three of us."

"Well, you see Mister Justice. Not only is this not Doctor Cykes's first asylum stay, but it is just another in a very long strand." He slid a paper, roughly translated from French, across the table towards Apollo. "Doctor Cykes was admitted into the European Union's asylum system. She was first admitted about six years ago, then a series of appeals, releases and re-admittances followed until just about a year and a half ago. Shortly after Doctor Cykes graduated with her doctorate and began finishing up her legal degree, there was a violent incident at her university in Frankfort, Germany. She was named the culprit during the investigation but, due to her history, was instantly admitted into the system once more instead of standing trial. Because this was nearing her tenth time to re-enter the system, she was sent straight to a Level Two asylum. She was given two appeal attempts, but failed both."

"What do you mean?"

"Doctor Cykes shouldn't be here, Mister Justice. In fact, she shouldn't even be alive. After failing both appeals, she was transferred to what is politely referred to a dead-end ward, the Sanatorium Lac de Libellules. To politely put it, the sanatorium had received an order to, um… put her down."

Perceiving eyes tightened. "The hell?"

"She was supposed to be executed by lethal injection back in February, but disappeared the night of her execution."

The table was slammed, and the sound echoed underneath Chords of Steel. "Executed?! What crime did she commit?! Where's the proof?!"

"Laws and regulations regarding the insane are not as forgiving as they are here. Public safety is valued over individual lives. Failing the third appeal is to sign your death warrant. The authorization for the lethal injection states that even the execution ward had trouble controlling her."

"Well, duh! She was scared out of her mind!"

Hirise reached out for his shoulder, gently pressing against it. "Inside voice, please , Mister Justice. I'd hate to have to admit you over this."

"Normally, someone in the system can be pulled as long as they still have one appeal left. This often happens with children that find themselves facing Doctor Cykes' fate. A special needs adoption agency in Valencia specializing in pulling children from the asylum system and children being held as evidence in trials sent in paperwork to the Level Three facility Cykes was currently staying in last November. The papers stated a man in the Los Kyoto area wanted to adopt Cykes, who was then named Venus, and pull her from the system. However, she failed her third appeal before the papers were processed in late December, and the request was denied. Her execution was scheduled at midnight on the sixteenth of February, and she was reported missing by the staff who'd come to get her ten minutes prior to her scheduled death. Venus Cykes was officially reported missing about an hour later. Three weeks later, an attorney's badge was issued to one Athena Cykes. Two weeks after that, the same Athena Cykes received a passport and a Japanifornian visa. Although the appearance of Athena was suspiciously timed with the disappearance of Venus, it couldn't be proven that the two women were the same. Somehow, Venus' records were stolen from Sanatorium Lac de Libellules, and whoever took them destroyed the original files after taking copies. When they finally got a lead on the disappearance, she was on a plane here. She has legal protection now, which is keeping the system from coming and getting her. However, we're under orders. Detectives and a prosecutor are coming to investigate."

"Is there any way for her to come home? Please."

"As matters currently stand, there is no way to negotiate with the detectives. As previously mentioned, the request to adopt Doctor Cykes was denied, so she has no guardian. You've seen it yourself on her bands. Without that emergency guardian… she must remain with us."

He was about to do something stupid. He wasn't even sure if he was ready to go that far, to make the relationship that serious. He didn't know what Athena wanted either. However, he knew what she needed, and he knew what he needed to do to make sure her needs were met. "What about if I do it?"

"Do what?"

"This whole thing is held up solely because Athena doesn't have someone's name on her cuff? Done, put mine on there. I live with her, and I love her. Put my name on her papers, and I'll take her home."

"Mister Justice!" Hirise had dropped her papers. "Are you realizing what you're asking? Becoming an insane's guardian is like adopting a child! A hundred and fifty pound child!"

"She's not that heavy, more like one-thirty. And wouldn't it be more like signing a marriage license? I mean, she's physically capable of holding her own, and a child can't do that."

"Mister Justice… please, don't make this decision rashly. Her life isn't in danger anymore. She's safe."

"No, she's not safe! She's stable. If she was safe, she could thrive. She could not thrive here. He pulled a pen from his pocket and began to spin it. "I love Athena. Out of all the people in the world, I'm one of the few that know her best. So take my name, put it on whatever papers you need to put it on, put it on her cuffs, and let me take her home."

November 31st

Pavilion Crisis Care - Therapy Suite Number Seven

10:45am

"Apollo! I-I can't!" Athena held the packaged cuff in her hands, shaking hands running over the engraving that would set her free.

He stroked the side of her face. "It's real, tiger. We're going home. I've got you."

"Why would you do this?"

"Because I love you, you silly redhead. I want to make it clear that I'll always be there for you."

"I don't deserve you, Pollo…"

Their foreheads touched, but Apollo's strong, comforting hand didn't move on her back. "You deserve the world, Athena, and I'm sorry no one has given it to you."

Her original cuff, which bore the words "ICE Unknown" was removed from her shoulder. In its place, Apollo's name and number glimmered in the late morning sunlight.

She was discharged at 11:15, and they went straight home. The Wright's picked Eldoon's up to celebrate, but the party was kept within the two-bedroom apartment.

That evening, Athena was still admiring her new trinket in the post-shower foggy mirror. She'd opened the door to let the steam out, and he came in to hug her. Her still damp skin was cool underneath his chin, and her wet hair smelled like Athena for the first time since the incident. "I promise…" He mumbled with a loving, sure tone before kissing her cheek and letting her scent wash over him.

The investigation didn't matter.

The missing documents didn't matter.

How in the world she even ended up in the European asylum system under the name Venus didn't even matter.

All that mattered was that she was Athena Cykes, and she was home.