Chapter Three

Freedom's Prison

It was almost noon when Athena finally looked up from her browsing. "Simon!"

Surely he was at the Detention Center with his sister. Maybe he needed to collect his things from the prison, too. Maybe he was still there. Either way, Athena should be there for him. He needed someone at his side for this.

So, he's worth sharing your body with me?

"Of course he is!" Athena insisted. "Simon is the bravest, most determined person I know! He nearly gave his life for me, the least I can do is give up part of mine for him."

How poetic of you. His reply was dry, sarcastic even. From what Athena now knew about Kristoph Gavin, she doubted he'd felt that way about anyone in his life.

And so she took off without hearing another word from him, ordering him to be silent on the way over. Now that the Detention Center was holding visiting hours, the waiting room was getting crowded. Athena overheard lots of nervous chatter about the holidays, listening to people discuss what can and cannot be given to prisoners as Christmas gifts. Right as she was about to go up to the counter, Athena spotted Simon Blackquill stripped down to his work pants and undershirt. He was hunched over in a corner with a large bag in hand, not seeing or speaking to anyone.

"Simon!" she called out, giving him a big wave. He looked up at the sound of her voice, offering a brief nod of acknowledgement. The people surrounding them went silent.

Athena ignored their stares as she came over, doing her best to keep a large smile on your face. "So it's official, right? You're free now!"

"To an extent," he grunted. "Due to the apparent psychological trauma induced by being on death row for seven years, the state has appointed me a counselor I must visit every week until she's done with me. And while they process my release reports and clean my record, it is recommended that I neither leave the state nor apply for anything that requires formal paperwork, lest I be listed as a convicted felon."

"But you're not in a cell anymore," she pointed out. "No one's threatening you with execution, and you can go anywhere you want handcuff-free! What are you waiting for?"

"Prosecutor Gavin to conclude his interrogation of my dear sister. I fear her trial isn't going to end well." Blackquill turned to her, haggard. "There are news reports insisting she be charged as a domestic terrorist for what she's done."

"Mein gott!" Athena's hands flew up to her face, Widget jumping to a surprised yellow. "What is Prosecutor Gavin going to do?"

"I don't know, and I'm not in a position to find out." Blackquill's eyes darted to the counter, then around the room. "Mr. Edgeworth kicked me out of the Prosecutor's Office until the next year. By the time I'm back in court, Aura's trial will be over, and the Infernal Noise Machine will have put her away for life."

"Do you want me to defend her?"

Simon grunted. "Even if I said yes, Aura is bound to refuse. If she has any sense, she's going to ask for Justice-dono or Wright-dono."

"Well, if she wants Apollo, then her trial will have to wait until after Christmas. Apollo doesn't come back to work until the twenty-sixth."

"That blasted-" Simon shut his mouth before he got too loud. People were still staring at them. "Hmph. No matter. I'll simply go to Wright-dono, unless he's also taken an inpromptu vacation?"

"Nope! Someone has to watch the office while we're out." It was then that Athena remembered. "Speaking of, the boss gave me the same amount of time as Apollo so I could help you out. Anything you need from me?"

"Don't waste your time with me," he growled. "Take care of yourself. Yesterday, you could barely speak."

"Speak for yourself!" She bristled at his dismissal. "Yesterday, you were headed for the hangman's axe! Don't you need a place to live or something?"

"As it just so happens, Aura offered her apartment to me. But she left her keys at the Space Center, and getting there without the press latching onto my surcoat is going to be a death march into the sea."

"Is that why you changed some of your... wait." Athena paused. "If you don't have keys to her apartment yet, where were you last night?"

"Here. The prison, to be exact."

"But why?"

"Processing my release took hours, and the pillocks handling the matter were too tired to complete their task efficiently, it seems. They didn't understand why I refused to stay in prison one more night, and ended up taking until two in the morning to get everything sorted out. At that point, I decided I didn't want to traverse the city at that hour, and simply sat in this chair until morning, when the Detention Center opened."

"Sacrebleu!" Athena cried. "The point of yesterday was so you wouldn't have to spend another night here."

"Indeed."

Athena wasn't sure what to say next. "Do you have any money with you? If not, I can pay for us to get lunch somewhere. Then we can come back and talk to your sister. She might not be happy about it, but she's not going anywhere."

Simon snorted, the hint of a smile crossing his haggard face. "I suppose that's true. Where do you suggest?"

"There's a Burger Barn down the street. We can walk there."

Simon laughed. "My first taste of freedom will be the lowest common denominator of fast food. Very well. I can work my way up to the quality material."

"If you want somewhere else, just say so." Athena balled her fists. "I'm the one with the wallet, here!"

"For now, yes." He stood slowly, stretching the stiffness out of his bones. Had he really been here for hours? "By your lead, Athena."

Athena. After months of him referring to her by her last name, hearing him say it made her feel warm inside. It was closer to what she imagined meeting him again would feel like. Closer to what she wanted for him.

Walking over there, Athena almost forgot about her little situation. About what it had taken to get her and Simon to the place they were now. Watching him take in the sights of the city like it was all new to him, it made her feel better about the choices she'd made. She'd been rash to do it, but she hadn't been wrong.

If that's what it takes for you to come to terms with your fate, then yes. Risking your soul to save a man you knew as a child was the right thing to do.

"Be quiet." She snapped, getting Simon's attention.

"Hm?" He turned around, stopping in his path.

"Oh, nothing!" Athena was quicker to recover than before. "I thought Widget was about to say something, is all." she looked down at the device on her neck, even though he wasn't what she was talking to. "I thought I told you to be quiet."

"You ought to thank Aura for building that device, when you get the chance. Her pride in her work may be your way in."

"Maybe," she replied, mentally cursing the demon in her head. Was it premature to start researching exorcism? Either way, there was no way Athena was going to be able to keep this up forever.

When the sign for the restaurant came into view, Athena was more than grateful for the distraction. "There it is! Let's cross the street up here." She and Simon walked up to the nearest crosswalk, waiting for the lights to change.

Athena glanced at the prosecutor out of the corner of her eye. "How does it feel?"

"Hm?"

"How does it feel, walking around in public? Unescorted, I mean?"

He snorted. "You're as infernally peppy as that impostor, so it isn't that much different. But I suppose it's pleasant to no longer feel the chains of cruel fate on my soul."

Unlike Athena, she assumed. Had she broken the chains, or taken them upon herself? It was getting hard to tell nowadays.

No, she was being dramatic. Sharing court privileges with a demon wasn't a picnic, but she would take it any day over being wrongfully imprisoned on death row. Simon had gone through so much undeserved pain that she didn't have a problem making a small sacrifice for his life and happiness.

Or so she told herself.

When they walked up to the counter at Burger Barn, Athena ordered her usual cheeseburger while Simon deliberated on whether or not he should one with jalapeno cheese. She asked if they had any orange juice left over from the breakfast run while Simon got his first Coke in years. It felt so normal, so peaceful. She could hardly believe it was real.

Simon gravitated towards the table in the corner, the place where the fewest patrons could see him. Was he doing it to avoid attention?

"You excited?"

He raised an eyebrow. Athena sighed.

"Silly! It's the first burger you've gotten in years! Do you even remember what they taste like?"

"In the occasional dream, yes. But I would hardly consider this an important matter. The next time I sit on a couch, you're going to ask me if they feel the way I remember."

"Well, it's not like they have any in prison, right?"

Simon laughed, a wry tinge to the sound. "Not unless you knew the right people."

"You mean they let some prisoners have that stuff?" Athena asked. "Like who?"

Like me.

Athena jumped at the intrusion in the conversation. Simon studied her, a questioning look in his eye. "Are we a fidgety chick today?"

"...I'm fine." She mentally scolded herself, then Gavin. "What were you saying?"

Simon shook his head. "It matters little now, but I knew of this one man who served his sentence in solitary confinement. He was a persuasive man with friends in high places and used his snake-like tongue to get undeserved privileges. But he hardly has them now."

"Why is that?" Athena asked, suspecting she knew the answer.

Simon laughed, a hollow sound. "He's dead. They killed him off about a month ago, with little fanfare."

Quite rude of them, if you ask me. They didn't even send for poor Klavier when it happened.

Did Athena not tell this guy to be quiet?

And why would I be quiet when you're discussing me? Don't you know? Speaking ill of the dead brings bad fortune.

"Enough about prison," Athena insisted, steering the topic in a direction Gavin wouldn't feel the need to comment on. Or so she hoped. "What are your plans for the next few days?"

Simon looked away, eyes unfocused. "Badger Wright-dono into defending my sister, get her apartment keys from the space center, and see if she kept any of my old things. Knowing her, I imagine they were all thrown out."

"Do you have any money? You know, from before you were arrested?"

"Considering how young I was? Very little. But Mr. Edgeworth said I should be getting paid for the cases I took behind bars. The paycheck will be coming any day now."

"Any idea how much that is?"

"None."

"Hm... At least you have a job lined up?"

Simon snorted. "Indeed."

"If you need any help, I'm here for you. You know that, right?"

He looked away when he answered, repeating what he'd said before. "You're obligated to do nothing of the sort. Don't trouble yourself for my sake. You've done enough."

Oh, if only this man knew.

Athena stomped on her own foot, hoping the demon would feel the pain. "Of course I'm going to help you, Simon. I can't just watch you struggle and not do anything. That isn't who I am. You should know that by now."

"I know you're too stubborn to understand when to quit," he warned. "And not just in my case."

"Oh, and you're not stubborn?" she challenged him, eyes getting fiery.

He didn't budge."Simply ensure you don't get into messes you can't get out of. The clink taught me that better than any advisor could."

Athena was pretty entangled at the moment, but sure, nice advice. She briefly considered telling Simon what was going on, only to decide against it. Even if he believed her, what could he do about it? Not to mention how much it would upset him.

"Athena?"

"Yeah, okay," she responded distractedly. "Just... keep in touch with me, okay? We've been through too much to not trust each other."

The rest of lunch was terrible. Their first meal together with Simon freed, and both were too caught up in their own thoughts to carry a real conversation. And despite all of Athena's attempts to be happy for him, her mind just kept drifting back to herself, and what she'd done to get to this point.

Did she regret it? She didn't think so, and she'd never say it out loud. But things were still so unreal. How long would it be until the weight of her bargain really set in, really made her realize the cost of what she'd asked for? Had a deal with a demon really been the only way to save Simon? Would he have died without a savior from hell?

If it really was the only way, the world was more hopeless than she'd thought. Blind optimism could only keep her going for so long.

Hers or his, the feeling of cynicism was thick in the air. So much it almost choked her.

After throwing away their trash, Athena offered to walk Simon to the Wright Anything Agency, and then to the Space Center. Until he mentioned going there, she'd forgotten he hadn't actually been to either place in years. The only time Simon had been allowed to investigate in person was at Shipshape Aquarium.

Mr. Wright was surprised to see her again so soon, but Athena didn't say much about it. She spoke as little as possible, discreetly covering Widget to prevent another mishap. All in all, Simon didn't need her help for this part. Phoenix ended up agreeing to represent Aura in court, and promised to get her the lowest sentence possible for all the things she'd done. It didn't sound like easy work, but Trucy sounded excited to help him investigate again, and promised to testify as positively as she could about Aura's treatment of her hostages. They were likely to finish by Christmas Eve at the latest.

The trip to the Space Center was far more eventful. Simon thought he'd be able to ask Director Cosmos for the keys to Aura's apartment, only to walk in on the man getting fired. Arguing with the higher ups from the federal government took over an hour. If Athena had to guess, the only reason Simon got his hands on the keys was raw persistence on both their parts. And who says being stubborn doesn't have its advantages?

"Do you want me to go with you to see your sister?" she asked as they were leaving.

Simon shook his head. "I don't think sister dearest would be all that enthused to see you. Years of hatred are difficult to let go of for some."

Gee, Athena knew someone like that. He was living in her head!

Be as childish as you desire. My purposes with you have nothing to do with your boss. Though I wouldn't say the idea of taking possession of his associate in a trial gives me no pleasure.

Athena felt nausea at the thought. What did possession even feel like? Look like? Would she look different to others?

If you'd like, I can demonstrate. When we're in private, of course. You'd have to make an exception in the contract, however.

Athena didn't answer the demon right away. After parting ways with Simon at the entrance to the Detention Center, she had the idea of whipping out her phone, pretending to take a phone call as she spoke with him.

"I don't want to be in court the first time it happens. What's it like, anyway?"

From your end? I have no idea. I've only ever possessed one person, and that was Mr. Justice. And you, very briefly.

Athena stopped in her tracks, nearly colliding with the person behind her. "Wait. Last night? You mean, in my dreams?"

Yes. Best I can tell, the only physical difference is in the eyes. Which is odd, considering it was-

"Is it different for every person?"

Were you not listening earlier? I've possessed a total of two people in my time as a demon. Ask some other spirit. Or your coworker.

That didn't exactly fill Athena with confidence. "Well, the eye thing isn't that noticeable unless you're looking for it. I mean, the boss's eyes change all the time, and no one ever accuses him of being possessed."

That got him to laugh. Well, go back to your apartment, and we'll test things out for ourselves. Assuming you agree to doing this and don't go soul-selling over the affair.

Athena bit her lip, turning down the road to her apartment. "Can I trust you to not leave the apartment in my body while we do this? And give control back when I ask?"

It'd be very stupid of me to ruin this arrangement for myself over something petty. And on the first day, no less. You have my word.

That really didn't mean much. But what did she expect? "...Okay, fine. I'll head back."

Excellent.

A/N's: Hello again, everyone! Seeing as this is my Camp NaNo project, I'm somewhat violating the rules by posting it now. And editing. But I'm too excited to be working on it and don't want to leave my readers in the dark without updates. So here they are:

Aside from this story, the only one I am actively working on this month is AAI3. Skies to Heavens (the drabble series) only gets updated when I'm frustrated with something else, so expect a couple of those. Beyond that, all fics are on hold. I'll be posting as much on my profile.

Even so, I hope you enjoyed this filler chapter. I start writing the next one today, and so far, all I have planned for it is fun with possession! Lots of experiments and practicing in front of a mirror. Not sure how I'll make it exciting, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Thanks for reading, please review, and I'll see you on the far side!