"Dad! Dad! Teach me how to do magic!"
Ares laughed at his son's enthusiasm, "I didn't know you were that interested in magic, Apollo."
"Dad, please," Apollo gave him a straight face. "I've been asking you since forever. You promised you'd teach me today, didn't you?"
"Alright, alright, I'll teach you," Ares grimaced. He ditched the stacks of paperwork he was working on. His magic shows hadn't gotten better, but his underground casino was working miracles. Money was rolling in, that was for sure.
Apollo beamed as soon as he heard the words leaving Ares' mouth. He stood up straight, staring at Ares with eyes full of anticipation.
They started slow, with Ares teaching him the classic the-coin-is-in-my-left-hand-now-it's-in-my-right-well-now-it's-behind-your-ear trick. For Apollo, it wasn't hard at all, but it was pure fun. Lately, Ares had been busy, and they couldn't share as much time as before. Today, however, Ares promised he wouldn't go anywhere and that his time would be dedicated to Apollo.
"There! You got it already! Smart boy," Ares said proudly as he ruffled Apollo's hair.
"Teach me another trick, Dad," Apollo said as he threw Ares a wide-eyed look he knew Ares could never resist. "Please?"
"… I can never say no to you, can't I?" Ares sighed, "But I don't have any other trick in store for you. Hmm, let's see. What about I teach you a song instead?"
"Song? What song?"
Ares' eyes lit up with excitement, not unlike Apollo's own. "It's the key to win a game I have prepared for you. The game's not ready yet, though."
"When will the game be ready?" asked Apollo curiously.
"It might even take years before it's ready, so don't expect me to ask you to play that particular game anytime soon," Ares shrugged. "Now, about the song…"
Apollo stared at the piece of paper Thalassa had given him. On it were the lyrics of the song Ares created for Apollo's 'game'.
"The circle will finally run
And receive the judgment of the scale
From the owl, wisdom given it will be
And the gold people yearned for badly
Sweat will roll down the cheek
Blood will fill up the creek
In the end, may the winner be the one the treasure confides in – what does that even mean?" Apollo muttered he read the writings.
Apollo slumped on the couch. The song made no sense at all. Thalassa had also pointed that the reason why she still remembered it so vividly was because of the lack of sense in the lyrics…and also the fact that Apollo used to sing the song every day when he was a kid. He couldn't remember the lyrics anymore after so many years, but he could still make out the melody. He realized that he still hummed it sometimes, especially when he felt happy like when he manages to win a case or when he receives his paycheck.
He began to murmur the song softly, and the words left his lips with ease. He found that he didn't need to read the lyrics to sing it; he could still remember it perfectly.
"What are you singing, Polly?"
Apollo jumped in surprise, "Trucy! Don't appear out of nowhere like that!"
Trucy simply laughed.
Apollo sighed and showed her the paper, "These are the lyrics of the song Father made for me. I think it might be an important clue since Mother said that Father told me this song will be the key in a game he prepared for me."
"Ah, so you think this whole treasure hunt is the game?"
"I wouldn't call it a treasure hunt, but yeah."
"Hmmm," Trucy mused as she read the lyrics, "You're right. It makes no sense. But I'm sure it'll make sense when you need it the most!"
Remembering most of his nonsensical cases, Apollo couldn't help but grin.
"Now, Polly, let's go!" Trucy pulled Apollo up and dragged him to the door.
"Wait, go where?" Apollo asked even as he took his coat.
"Daddy asked me to go buy some groceries, and Mommy said you're out of coffee."
"Oh, that's right," Apollo muttered, remembering the almost-empty can of coffee back in his apartment. "I do need coffee. And I guess Mr. Wright wants to get more grape juice?"
"You guessed correctly, my dear red attorney," Trucy answered playfully. "And we also need cereal and milk. And I wonder if I can make Mr. Hat's clothes… flashier."
"Hmm. And how would you do that?" Apollo asked, taking the same playful manner Trucy was displaying.
"Do you think a bit of silver gothic accessories will do?"
"And glitter, maybe."
"And don't forget the pink bow!"
"Oh yeah, a reeeeally big pink bow…"
The two tried to imagine Mr. Hat with all that and burst out laughing.
"It's nice to see you so relax every once in a while, Polly," Trucy commented.
"Well it feels nice to be relaxed every once in a while well, forever."
"Way to be optimistic, Trucy..."
It took them a long while to finish shopping because Trucy's list suddenly expanded infinitely when they reached the department store. From basic needs like food, it expanded to snacks, and then fabric for Mr. Hat's new costume as the old one was ripped. When she saw a sale on the clothes section, she practically squealed in delight and bolted to get a share.
"Trucy, I don't think we should be here for too long," Apollo called after waiting for fifteen minutes, watching Trucy trying to get some nice casual clothes for a change instead of her usual magician's outfit.
"Shush, Polly, shopping for clothes is sacred for girls," she said seriously.
"What will I do if my future girlfriend is like this?" Apollo muttered to himself.
"Are you sure you're getting a girlfriend?" Trucy asked, sounding absolutely doubtful.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"
After another fifteen minutes, Apollo decided that he had been standing without doing anything useful and yelled to Trucy, "If you don't decide on something in five minutes, I'm going to leave you here."
"Wait, wait, you can't!" Trucy said, and then turned to Apollo with two dresses in hand; one was soft pink and the other baby blue. "Which one should I take?"
"The cheaper one," Apollo deadpanned, "since we're going to use my money anyway."
"Polly, that's mean! I have a bit of money too, you know!" Trucy said, offended. "I've been saving some from my performances."
"Oh, good," Apollo sighed in relief.
"So? Which dress?" Trucy asked again. "Maybe the pink one, though. I've had too many blue clothes."
"Take the pink one, then."
"But the blue color is so pretty…"
"Then take the blue one."
"Polly, you're supposed to help me with this!"
"You want me, who wears red all the time, to pick clothes for you?" Apollo asked, giving Trucy a look.
Trucy thought it through. "Fair enough… I'll take them both."
Apollo resisted the urge to whoop in joy. "Let's go to the cashier and just go home then," he said instead.
Thankfully, Trucy didn't get any other sudden urge to raid the bargain sections.
As they paid for everything, Apollo received a phone call. He left Trucy his wallet in case her own money wasn't enough and left to answer the call.
"Justice speaking," he said.
"Herr Forehead, this is Gavin."
"Prosecutor Gavin," Apollo acknowledged, mildly surprised. "What is it?"
"Ema had just told me about your involvement in the murder of Hera Winters," Gavin said, and Apollo groaned inwardly. "If you could, I wish to hear it straight from you."
"I don't mind," Apollo said.
"Good, then I'll come to the agency. I'll be there in thirty minutes."
"Okay. See you later, Gavin."
"Who was that?" Trucy piped curiously as she walked closer, carrying bags of the groceries.
Apollo took his wallet and a really heavy bag of grocery from Trucy's hands. "Gavin. He wants to ask me something about Hera's murder."
"Oh, alright," Trucy nodded. "Good thing we just finished shopping. We have nothing to serve at home."
The sound of fingers tapping against the table was getting unbearable. Other than that, an absolute silence hung in the room. It was awkward and tense at the same time, and of course, it was very, very uncomfortable.
"Mr. Gavin, is something wrong?" Apollo decided to break the ice. He had just finished telling the German prosecutor his story, about his relationship with Hera and the entire money problem he was having, complete with Cain and his confession. Although he did mention that he had no proof about the confession.
"Ah, no, I'm sorry," Gavin waved his hand nonchalantly. "Nothing's wrong."
Apollo grimaced when his bracelet tightened. "Is it about Detective Skye? I couldn't help but notice that you mentioned her as Ema in your phone call earlier instead of the usual Fraulein Detective."
Gavin sighed. "Nothing gets past you, eh, Herr Forehead? It's classified information, unfortunately. Police Department only. It's related to this murder case, that's why I'm asking you in this setting."
"Why not just drag me to the Police Department, then, to get an official statement?"
"Because I want to do it as a friend," Gavin's answer surprised Apollo. "In that building, I am a prosecutor and you are a witness, nothing more, nothing less. Out here, we can talk as something more than that."
Apollo nodded. "I appreciate that," he said. "Thank you. But I want to ask something. Is this classified information mentions an accomplice of sorts?"
Gavin's brow shot up.
"It does, doesn't it?" Apollo muttered. "I have an idea who that accomplice is. Mr. Wright filed a report yesterday, and I believe that the offender is the accomplice."
Gavin flipped his phone. "He filed the report to Detective Dick Gumshoe, ja?"
"Yes."
"I see. This is very helpful information, Herr Forehead. Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
After chatting a bit more, Gavin decided to call it a day. Apollo walked him to the front door, commenting about the prosecutor's loud bike. Gavin simply laughed and told him that he loved the bike too much to replace it for a car.
"Alright, Herr Forehead, that was a… fun chat," Gavin said.
"Fun, indeed," Apollo mumbled. "I guess I'll see you later, then. Good –"
Apollo's words were cut when Gavin suddenly pulled him out while yelling, "Look out!"
As he stumbled outside, he turned his head to look back and he managed to catch a glimpse of something swinging towards him, but then a purple sleeved hand tried to stop its trajectory.
He heard something breaking, and Gavin's yell of pain. Mixed within the noises was a loud female gasp.
"Mr. Gavin!" he called out in panic as he saw the rock star prosecutor crouch down on the floor while clutching his right hand in pain. Apollo pulled the injured hand to inspect it closer. His eyes widened when he saw that the thumb was bent in an odd angle.
"I don't think I'll be playing a guitar anytime soon," Gavin remarked dryly.
A girl stepped out from the door. Apollo looked at her and recognized her immediately. She was the brutal waitress, her hair as red as ever. She stared back at him with her stormy grey eyes but, this time, they held a tint of guilt. "Oh God," she muttered.
"How'd you get in there?" Apollo asked, baffled.
"I picked the lock," the words sailed smoothly from her trembling lips. "Your friend…"
Apollo's eyes trailed to her hand, which was holding a glass bottle. His eyes widened. "You assaulted him with a bottle," he said, stating the obvious. "That kind of bottle with that kind of force, you could've killed someone. Was that your intention?"
"No! I was – I wanted to hit you but not that hard, but then he was in the way and I panicked and –", she gasped for air, and it was easy to see that she was panicking, "I was only told to do it, alright? I didn't mean to hurt anyone – ", she cut her own sentence and dropped the bottle. Without saying another word, she ran away from the scene.
Apollo rose to his feet but Gavin held him back. "You don't have to, Herr Forehead," he said. "Since Herr Wright filed the report, several officers have been stationed around the neighborhood to scout in case something bad happens."
"Oh… okay," Apollo stared at Gavin's hand. "Will you be alright, though?"
"Given the time, yes," Gavin nodded. "Can you please call the ambulance? I think I dislocated my thumb."
A/N: ...I promised for this chapter to be up weeks ago, didn't I?
I can only say that I am so very sorry for the late update... I hit a writer's block in this one. In the end this chapter never really satisfied me and I sent it over to my beta reader, and then after that I had to edit a few things again. Long story short, lots of things happened, and I can only say that I'm sorry I couldn't upload this sooner.
I broke my promise of a fortnight update, and I guess I have to say that the next update, too, can't be predicted for sure. Let's just say that it'll be sporadic. I'll try to be quicker with the next updates, though. It irks me that I was unable to fulfill my promise, since I enjoy writing and such... Or is it the upcoming midterm test speaking? Le sigh.
This has been awful of me, so once again, I'm sorry. Though hopefully the kindhearted readers can leave me a review or two?