"That was amazing," Klavier said to Trucy, turning on all the charm. "You truly are a magician!"

Trucy blushed and fluttered at the praise and Klavier grinned at her. She practically melted at his feet.

"It's a lot of work," she admitted. "But I feel more like myself when I perform than at any other time."

"I can understand that," Klavier told her. "A lot of what the public sees is just an image. But when I play, ach that is the magic time, I offer up a piece of my soul."
"Yes," Trucy breathed. "That's it exactly."

"And here is your proud father," Klavier said. "Come to whisk you away, no doubt."

"Well, it is getting late and somebody has school tomorrow," Phoenix said amiably. "Where's Apollo?"

Klavier frowned and scanned the crowd. "He said he had to hit the restroom," he said. "Maybe there's a line."

"I better go check," Phoenix said.

"Nein, let me do it," Klavier said. "You need to get Trucy home."

"OK," Phoenix said. "But I expect to hear from one of you that he's safe."

"You worry too much," the blond advised.

"Given the events of the past few days, can you blame me?" Phoenix said.

"Fair enough," Klavier replied and bowed to Trucy. "Fraulein, I will see you tomorrow."

"Good night! Don't keep Polly up too late!" Trucy said cheekily. Phoenix swatted her good-naturedly on the arm.

"Behave, Truce," he said.


Klavier entered the men's room and looked around but there was no sign of Apollo. The stalls were empty and the only man in there, currently washing his hands, cast Klavier a curious look as he checked each one. He left and looked around the club. There were no more than a dozen people still milling around, plus a few staff members clearing up. He walked up to a petite brunette who was doing a stock take at the bar and flashed her a smile. She sneered at him.

"Whaddaya want?" she snapped. "We're closed."

"I'm looking for my friend," Klavier said. "He's short, wears a red suit, has spiky brown hair like this," he demonstrated with his fingers.

"Oh, you mean Trucy's friend, Apollo," she said. "Yeah, he came out of the men's room and went out the side door. Looked like he was in quite a rush."

Klavier knew he was being rude but that did not sound good. He turned on his heel and looked around for the door she mentioned. He spotted it and dashed towards it, yanking it open so hard the hinges squealed in protest. He spotted Apollo almost immediately, crumpled into a heap on the filthy ground.

"Apollo! Mein Gott, Apollo!" He lifted the young attorney's head and felt for his pulse. Strong and steady, thank goodness. There was a large welt on his forehead. "Apollo!" The brunet stirred and his eyes fluttered open.

"Klavier?" he said indistinctly. "What happened?"

"I was going to ask you that?" Klavier said.

Apollo's eyes flew open in alarm. "Shit! Klavier, we have to stop Mr Wright!"

Klavier didn't hesitate, he pulled Apollo to his feet and dragged him down the alley towards the front of the club.


"Mr Wright!" Apollo yelled as they rounded the corner. "The car! Stay away from the car!" But he was too late, Edgeworth had already pulled the door open. The blastwave blew outwards in all directions, the sound so loud that it actually hurt Klavier's ears. Car alarms began going off up and down the street and he dashed forward, tugging his cellphone from his pocket as he ran.

Phoenix and Trucy were lying on the ground, eyes closed. Apollo shoved Klavier towards Edgeworth and kneeled down next to his boss.

Klavier staggered over to where Edgeworth had been thrown by the blast. His clothing was torn and his face was blackened by soot and dirt.

"Edgeworth?" Klavier said as he knelt down next to him. He checked the man's pulse. He was alive! He peeled one of the man's eyelids open but Edgeworth didn't flinch. He dialled 911.

Trucy was already beginning to move when Apollo touched her wrist. "Trucy?"

"Polly," she said. "Where's Daddy?"

"He's right next to you," Apollo told her. "He's not awake yet."

"Is he OK?" Trucy said.

"Let me check you out first," Apollo said. "Are you in any pain?"

"I think I banged my head," she said. "Everything else is OK. Now what about Daddy?"

"All right, all right. Mr Wright?" Apollo checked his wrist and found a pulse. He was breathing. But there was blood streaming from a wound on his head and his eyes remained closed. He looked up to see Klavier standing and talking on the phone. Trucy began to sit up and he pressed her back down. "No way, Trucy. Not until the EMT's take a look at you."

He could hear the sirens already. "They'll be here soon." He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Ema Skye.

"What the Hell just happened?" he demanded.

She gave him an uncertain look. "I'm no expert," she said. "But I think that was a bomb."

"No kidding," Apollo said. "I overheard two guys in the restroom talking about which car was Mr Edgeworth's. It seemed really weird to me so I followed them out of the club. I guess that wasn't very smart."

"No, it wasn't," Ema said. "Why didn't you come and get me? You know, the trained police officer?"

"OK, OK," Apollo grumbled. "I said it was dumb."

An ambulance came screaming around the corner and Apollo was reminded that he'd recently suffered a blow to the head himself. But that was going to have to wait.


The next few hours were a blur. Apollo grudgingly allowed a doctor to examine him in the ER, and she told him he had a concussion and some minor contusions but nothing too serious. Trucy had needed a few stitches to a cut on her arm but other than that was not badly hurt. Edgeworth was more serious, his concussion was worse than Apollo's and he had a broken bone in his foot. But he was awake and making the nurses unhappy by not sitting still as instructed.

Phoenix Wright was the real cause for concern. They'd whisked him off to the intensive care unit, and were talking about surgery, to release pressure on his brain. Trucy was distraught.

"Fraulein," Klavier said, hugging her tightly. "He will be OK, I promise." She just wailed and wept into his shoulder.

Edgeworth limped over, his face pale and drawn. "What's the news?"

"They're taking Mr Wright into surgery," Apollo told him. "He's bleeding into his brain or something."

"Fuck," Edgeworth said, sitting down heavily. Everyone stared at him.

"Not helpful," Klavier said, looking meaningfully at Trucy weeping on his chest.

"I'm sorry," Edgeworth said contritely. "Trucy, your father is the luckiest, most resilient, indestructible man I have ever known. He'll pull through, I swear."

Trucy nodded and pulled herself free of Klavier's hold, launching herself at Edgeworth instead. "Uncle Miles!"

Edgeworth hugged her tightly with his good arm and kissed her hair. He looked close to tears himself. Apollo pinched the bridge of his nose, his head throbbing.


Minutes bled into hours. Finally, the doctor appeared a little after 3am and spoke with Edgeworth and Trucy. Evidently she'd taken Trucy's calling the prosecutor uncle at face value.

"The operation was a success and he's stable, if still critical," she told them. "We're going to keep him in a medical coma for now, give him a chance to heal. You should go home, get some rest."

"I can drive us all home," Klavier offered.

"No," Edgeworth said, shaking his head. "I'm not leaving. But you should take Trucy and Justice home."

"I want to stay here!" Trucy said defiantly.

"I know," Edgeworth told her. "But there's nothing we can do but wait, and you might as well go home and get cleaned up, maybe get some sleep. I'll let you know if he wakes up, I promise."

"You need rest and a shower too," Klavier pointed out.

"I can do that here," Edgeworth said. "I've asked my assistant to bring me some clothes and toiletries. I'm still in contact with the investigation team at the scene, so I can't sleep yet anyway."

"OK, Herr Edgeworth," Klavier said. "I'll bring Forehead and Trucy back in the morning, and I can give you a ride home then."

Edgeworth raked a hand through his hair and frowned at the tiny pieces of concrete he found. He nodded to Apollo and Klavier, pressed a kiss to Trucy's head and then headed down the hall to Phoenix's room.

A tall young woman with short, curly red hair and a long pointed nose dashed up to them.

"Liza Canard, Los Angeles Inquirer. I heard about the bomb. Klavier Gavin, rockstar and prosecutor narrowly escapes death at the hands of a psycho killer! Are you being stalked by a crazed fan? Maybe one who disapproves of your recent… liaisons?"

Klavier stared at her in astonishment as she rattled away. "Ms Canard," he said coldly. "This is hardly the time."

"Look, I got this story before anyone else," Canard said. "It's mine. If I wait for you to be ready to give a statement, it'll be everywhere. I lose my exclusive!"

"That's your problem, not ours," Apollo said curtly. This woman was unbelievable!

"Ah ha!" she exclaimed. "Klavier Gavin's clandestine affair with a young defense attorney shocks fans! What will Cassandra Silverstein think of your sneaking around like this? And with a man!"

Klavier had only been irritated before. Now he was furious. "Ms Canard, I will not say this again. I have no comment for that appalling rag you work for. I will not listen to you slander my friends. And if you print any of these outrageous lies, I will sue you and your pathetic excuse for a newspaper out of business!" He brushed past her, dragging Trucy and Apollo with him.

"You can't silence the truth!" Canard yelled after him. "The public have a right to know."

Apollo watched in horror as Klavier eviscerated the gossip columnist in front of two weary nurses and a half-dozen curious onlookers. And then Klavier grabbed him and Trucy and bodily hauled them down the hallway to the parking lot.

"Uh, I don't think that was such a good idea," Trucy said.

"I know," Klavier snapped. "It's been a long day and I lost my temper."

"Hey," Apollo said. "Don't take it out on Trucy. It's not her fault."

Klavier let out a big sigh. "Fraulein Trucy, I apologize. I did not meant to be short with you."

"It's OK," Trucy replied. "I understand. Polly's just being a big old meanie."

"Let's just go home," Apollo said, tiredness dragging at his heels.

"Ja," Klavier said. "My car is over here."


Once inside the sporty little Mercedes, Trucy curled up on the back seat and went to sleep. Apollo watched her for a moment and then turned away, staring out of the window.

"She's just a friend," Klavier said suddenly, after he pulled out of the lot.

"What?"

"Cassandra. She's a friend of mine, has been for years. She dated Daryan for a while, back at the height of the Gavinners fame." Klavier didn't look at Apollo as he said this.

"OK," Apollo said slowly. "It's not really any of my business." He didn't want Klavier to know how that barb the horrid journalist had thrown had hit home. But Klavier apparently thought it required some explanation.

"It could be," Klavier said obscurely.

Apollo's head whipped round and he winced. Given how hard he'd been hit on the head, that had not been smart. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Klavier swallowed, hard. "My threats of legal action probably won't be enough to deter Canard. She's never liked me, and some of the things she wrote about me and Daryan when he went to prison and the band broke up, well, they weren't libellous per se, but it was clear she thought I had betrayed my friend."

"OK," Apollo said, mystified. "So she what, writes a scurrilous rumor piece, laden with 'allegedly' and 'sources say'?" He shrugged. "It'll blow over. Any reporter with half a brain will quickly see it's nothing more than a bunch of made up nonsense."

"Made-up nonsense…" Klavier repeated.

"Yeah. I mean, what are you afraid she'll find? If you're really just friends with Cassandra Silverstein, that'll be pretty obvious after even a shallow dig into your past?" Apollo said. "And if you're worried about me, well it's going to be even more obvious that she's just making up nasty rumors to smear you."

"It will?" Klavier said, his face taking on a pinched expression. "Why's that?"

Apollo stared at him for a moment. He really didn't want to say this, but it seemed Klavier needed to be hit over the head with it. "Because I'm just some underpaid, overworked defence attorney. There's nothing interesting about me, really. Why would anyone believe we were having some super secret affair? I'm not at all your type. Anyone who suggested such a thing would be laughed out of the room."

Klavier's face hardened. Apollo didn't know what he was saying that was making the rockstar prosecutor look like that, but he wished he knew how to make this better. Klavier swung the car into the gated community and into the driveway of his house without saying another word. Silently, he picked Trucy up off the back seat and carried her into the house, laying her down on her bed and closing the door behind him. Apollo followed, anxiety clenching at his gut. He'd really pissed Klavier off it seemed. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out how.

He busied himself in the kitchen, pouring a glass of water and locating some Advil. His head throbbed. Klavier came in as he was downing the pills and his face softened.

"I'm sorry, Apollo," he said. "I didn't think about your head injury. But we need to have this conversation, now."

"What conversation?" Apollo said, thoroughly weirded out. "You mean, the one we were having in the car?"

"In a sense." Klavier stalked closer to him and took the glass from his hand. He placed it on the counter and crowded Apollo back against the refrigerator. "You have some odd ideas about me," he said.

Apollo blinked up at him. "I do?"

"Yes," Klavier said, in a soft, almost menacing voice. "Even though I've told you, many times, that my image is not who I am, you still insist on seeing the facade and not the person underneath."

"That's unfair," Apollo defended. "And it's not true."

"Very well," Klavier said. "In some areas, you're right. You do see the real me. But you seem to think that I am utterly shallow when it comes to relationships. That I have a string of notches on my bedpost, groupies and Hollywood actresses and the like."

"Well, don't you?" Apollo said in surprise.

"Nein," Klavier said. "At least, not as many as you'd think. And not all of them were women."

"Uh," Apollo managed, his brain short-circuiting.

"Also," Klavier continued, still in that soft voice that was doing all kinds of odd things to Apollo's concentration. "I object to your characterization of yourself. I value you very highly, Apollo. Our friendship has been the one bright spot in a very dark time in my life." He reached out and stroked his fingers along Apollo's jaw. "You don't know anything about who is and is not my type."

Apollo bit his lip and Klavier's eyes fastened on his mouth. "Klavier, I uh… I'm sorry. I didn't meant to upset you. It's been a crazy night and I'm pretty freaked out."

"Yes," Klavier sighed. "But you're not listening." He swallowed hard. "When Herr Wright cornered me a few nights ago, warning me away from you, I told him he had got it all wrong. That I had no hopes in your direction, because I didn't think you were interested in me in that way. It's why it was always safe to flirt with you, because I didn't think there was any risk of you being hurt."

Ohshitohshitohshit, Apollo thought. He knows. He knows and now he's trying to let me down gently. "Klavier," he began, his voice breaking. "It's OK. I understand. You don't need to worry about me doing anything embarrassing. I mean, you must have people crushing on you all the time, right? It doesn't have to be a big deal."

"Crushing?" Klavier said, looking surprised. "Apollo, are you telling me you're attracted to me?"

"Wait," Apollo said, his heart sinking. "Isn't that what this conversation is about? You telling me you know about my stupid crush and trying to cushion the blow?"

"Nein," Klavier denied. "This conversation is about how I have flirted with you, frequently, blatantly and in public because I thought there was no chance you would get hurt and now you're going to have your name dragged through the mud in the court of public opinion. That's my fault and I wanted to apologize."

"Oh," Apollo said, feeling about five inches tall. He looked down at the tiled floor, his face heated. "Well. That's uh, that is, oh." Very eloquent, Justice!

Klavier shifted closer to Apollo, almost pinning him against the fridge. "It seems we were having very different conversations, you and I," he said. He tilted Apollo's face upwards with his fingers on Apollo's chin. "Talking past each other, you might say." He leaned forward and Apollo thought he might pass out. Klavier laid a soft kiss on his lips and Apollo wondered if this was a hallucination brought on by concussion or maybe a dream. But he didn't wake up and when Klavier leaned forward again and kissed him again, he let his eyes drift closed and concentrated on the sensation. He shivered and Klavier deepened the kiss a little.

"Apollo…" he breathed. It would have been easy to let Klavier continue, God knows he wanted to just sink into this, to drown all his worry and fears in the heat of desire. But they were both vulnerable right now and it wasn't a good idea to ignore that. Apollo gently disengaged and moved away a fraction, trying to control his wildly beating heart.

"Klavier," he croaked. "We can't…" He backed away into the living room.

The blond turned his head away. "Of course," he said brokenly. "I understand."

"No," Apollo said firmly. "You don't. I'm your friend and you are going through a very difficult time right now. We've just been through a traumatic experience. That means not doing something you'll regret later."

"Why would I regret it later?" he demanded. He stalked towards Apollo until the young attorney's legs hit the arm of the couch.

Apollo sighed, the man's moods were so changeable! "Because we're both freaked out and it's easy to want to shut the world out, drown yourself in sensation. And I'm the only one here."

"You think this is about convenience?" Klavier said, sounding scandalized. "You think I would throw myself at anyone who happened to be nearby?"

Apollo winced, but yes he did. He opened his mouth to speak but Klavier lunged at him, attacking his mouth and he had no choice but to submit under the onslaught. This kiss was savage and wild and Apollo groaned as his willpower crumbled. He wanted this so much and his ability to resist Klavier was rapidly diminishing to zero.

He tore his mouth away and shoved Klavier backwards. As the blond fell back onto his elbows on the floor, Apollo launched himself forward, grabbing Klavier's ponytail and tugging hard to tilt his head back and expose his throat. He bit down once onto Klavier's collarbone with a growl and then lifted his head to look into Klavier's eyes, breathing hard. The prosecutor's eyes were wide and his pupils were totally blown, his lips parted as he matched Apollo, breath for ragged breath.

"Mein Gott, Apollo," Klavier whispered, his gaze sweeping up and down the smaller man.

"Is this still what you want?" Apollo panted.

"Ja," Klavier said reverently. "Beautiful Apollo, I've never wanted anything more."

"This is a mistake," Apollo said regretfully. "But I can't say no to you."

"Shut up and kiss me," Klavier said. "Let me prove you wrong."