Clay… was gone.

He was gone, and Athena was missing.

He was able to hold himself together until they arrived at the Cosmos Space Center, but fell apart just outside of Boarding Lounge One.

He just couldn't do it yet. He needed Clay to find Athena, and Athena to accept Clay's fate.

Mr. Wright had gone in a while back to take preliminary pictures for the police as a bargaining chip for an initial investigation. Any non-police involved in the case would be allowed to investigate that afternoon, but everything was marked off in yellow tape now.

While he was sitting there, begging himself to be fine just long enough to say goodbye to his best friend, Detective Dunn returned to report none of the people evacuated to the shelter were Athena.

He couldn't start over again. He couldn't be alone again. Just when he'd finally realized his dream of being a defense attorney, of being like the great Phoenix Wright; just when he'd begun to settle into adulthood from all the turmoil his younger years brought, life had to take his two most loved ones away.

"Apollo? The police have to take him now, so uh, if there's anything you'd like to say…"

"Thank you, Mr. Wright. Just let me get up…"

December 15th, 2027

11:00am

GYAXA Front Gate

Everything was in shambles. The detectives, the Wright Anything Agency, the Cosmos Space Center… They were all piles of ash now. To hear a suspect had already been arrested, and that statements were already being taken was shocking despite such timeliness being common for the police. Apollo wanted to meet the suspect, but was thankful they were still in questioning. No more until he'd processed everything else. He'd decided to walk around just outside the police tape, and that's when he heard what sounded like a crash in the bushes. "Detective? I think there's something in the brush over here. Mind if I take a look?"

"Sure. Let me know if you find anything. Need to stay behind the tape here. Fulbright's in charge of the inside, I'm expected to keep things secure out here."

Whatever was in there, it couldn't make the day any worse. Unless it was Athena's dead body. But he'd just heard the crash. If it was her, she couldn't be dead yet, right?

"Okay… Here comes Justice."

He took a few steps into the bushes, then heard more rustling noises up ahead. Once he pinpointed which bushes they were coming from, he hopped over and pulled them back. "Athena!"

Her eyelids fluttered open, but stopped halfway up her eyes. Her head was thrown back by something, and her lower body seemed limp. He saw the unfocus in her eyes, yet still expected a response from her. "Athena! Can you hear me?!" In one leap, he hopped the bushes and began to check her over. Once she was in his arms, he felt her pull into his figure with a dropping grip and a shuddering body. "It's okay, Thena, I've got you." Aside from the limpness in her back, nothing seemed abnormal. Her shaking was called for, considering the events of the past day. Then, he began to shake as well, and in her presence, everything came rushing through. "Clay's dead, Athena, they just found his body in the boarding lounge. And where were you? We've been so worried! Oh, I couldn't keep from worrying you were gone too!" He buried his face into her shoulder to stop his words.

After enough time passed to soothe himself, a voice was heard from outside the brush. "Mr. Justice? You didn't get eaten did you?"

"Detective Dunn! Over here! I've found her!"

"Oh!" She was right by his side. "Oh, goodness! Doctor Cykes, can you hear us?"

They received a weak nod before her eyes rolled back and her head dipped into Apollo's chest.

"Poor thing, I wonder how long she's been out here? She's probably dehydrated." Dunn rubbed Athena's shoulder. "You're going home."

"Something's wrong with her… her back is so limp. I wonder if she took a blow."

"Okay… let's get her inside. We'll give her a drink and have a doctor check her over."

Apollo carefully stood up and Dunn helped him get Athena settled in his arms. Initially, she just curled up and snuggled on his shoulder, but when Wright called out in relief, she raised her head and began leaning out towards their boss.

"Careful. I don't want you falling." Apollo pressed her back towards his shoulder.

"There's a sofa just outside the Space Museum we can lay her on. Follow me, Mr. Justice." While they walked, Detective Dunn phoned for the GYAXA medical staff and had her partner bring a bottle of water from a nearby vending machine.

"Ah, there she is. I'm glad to know she's safe and will be going home. Softens the blow of this tragedy here, just a little."

"Mr. Justice, this is my partner, Detective Chiva. Amy, this is Mr. Justice."

"Thank you for everything… with Athena… and Clay…"

"I'm deeply sorry for your loss."

"Thank you…"

Athena nudged him with a now empty bottle. "More please." Her voice was still a raspy whisper.

"You sucked that dry, Cykes." He kissed her head. "I'll get you another in a second. You have to have your emergency dose first."

"Okay…" She gingerly stretched her closest arm out while Apollo set the small backpack he'd been carrying around down and carefully dug through the contents.

"Ah, it's a medical bag. I had been wondering why you brought such a bag all the way out here."

"Yeah." He took out a sealed alcoholic swab and a sealed pre-filled syringe. "Sorry your 'welcome home' is me sticking your arm, tiger."

"You do what you have to."

Without much more grandeur, the dose was administered. "There." He kissed her temple. "Three more, Thena."

"I think you're at a higher risk of needing one than I am."

He chuckled. "I don't get one, even if I could use it." He pulled a small biohazard box out and put the used needle inside.

"Thank you, Pollo."

"Of course."

"I'll grab another water for her, Mr. Justice."

"Thank you, Detective Chiva."

"Detective Dunn? What do you need me for?"

"This young lady was the missing woman we've been searching for over here. I wanted to know if you'd look her over before I sent her home.

"Of course. I'm glad you're found-" The doctor looked more closely at Athena. "P-Princess? …Is that really you, Athena?"

Apollo held her closer, as if she softened some kind of sting that the doctor brought. "Yes, it's her."

"You've been gone so long… yet you still look the same."

"She's actually been in the country for a while. They found her in Europe a year ago, I think."

"Oh really? That's quite a ways off…" Her voice rolled into a mumble. "no wonder it took so long to find her…"

"She seems just fine… except her back's really limp… I just want to make sure she doesn't have some sort of spinal injury. Not… paralyzed or anything."

"Of course, let me see her."

Apollo tried to stand and move from the doctor's way, but Athena gripped his leg and seemed quite willing to be dragged across the Space Center. "Noo, Apollooo."

"Hey, lemme go, Athena. I'm just getting out of the way."

"Nooo."

"Hey, what gives? You're usually not this clingy." He scrubbed her forehead, then bent down beside. "It's okay. She's not going to hurt you. I won't let her. But you've gotta let her look. If something's wrong…" As he placed a quick kiss on her forehead, hot tears began to leak from his eyes. "You've still got so much life left… I can't let it be taken from you too."

With big blue eyes, she looked from him to the older woman. It wasn't her that was frightening, but an ever-sinking feeling that continued to grow inside her. Ever since she could remember, pinpointing feelings had always come naturally. She knew where Apollo's feelings were coming from, she could pinpoint the emotions of the two detectives standing beside, waiting almost impatiently to wrap up her case and move to other matters… just like every other time.

She'd failed them, failed to do the tasks she'd been assigned… but she couldn't go back. She couldn't let them take her.

Where was this feeling coming from? She couldn't place it, it overwhelmed her. It came from all sides, and all she could do was bear its brunt; let it rush over her and hope she came back up. Apollo was sinking, and she was too. She had to stay afloat, because it's ever clear he couldn't. This was just another boat that only she could stop from sinking, but she was just… so tired…

"Here, I think you're overwhelmed, and this will help with all the colors." That doctor draped a fabric cloth over her face, she couldn't sense anything else until pressure came running through her lower back. "Did you see her move her foot just now? She's got enough sensation for a reflex. Maybe she just tripped and her back gave out. Let me get a closer look, oh. Hello."

"What is it?"

"These scars. There's so many. Most of them look like she got in a bad fight or two, but these here, they seem surgical. All these little ones surround this larger scar just on the left of the spine… doesn't look like typical spinal surgery though. Seems like she had a removal surgery, maybe a cyst or a foreign body. These little ones… I'd almost say it was a cyst. Looks like someone was trying to drain it by creating small punctures. Mr. Justice, are you aware of which part of Europe she was found in?"

"Exactly where? No, but I do know she stayed with a shelter in Spain while they waited for her visa."

"Ah, yes. Spain is a much poorer part of the Union, especially as far as non-profits are concerned, and this seems like your typical lower-income emergency surgery. She was probably on the waiting list for an operation, and the smaller cuts were done to keep an infection under control."

"Athena?" He picked up the fabric, and she took more than a few blinks to focus on him. "Could you tell us about the scars on your back?"

"I don't want to talk about it." She pulled the fabric back down.

"I see. Well, Mr. Justice, detectives, that's really all I could tell you without her willing to share. I believe her back just slipped. There's no bruising, and she still has feeling in her back and legs. She should be able to get back up after some rest."

"Thank you, I'll keep an eye on her. Detective Dunn, thank you for helping us find her."

December 15, 2027

1:30pm

Boarding Lounge Number 1 - Cosmos Space Center - Third Floor

"You're sure you can handle this, Pollo?"

"I have to. I need to make sure whoever did this to him…"

He didn't resist when she cupped his cheek for a calming kiss, but she didn't remove the deepening pit in his stomach. Everything felt so wrong, so dark.

He steeled his resolve there. Whoever killed Clay, whoever did it, was going down. He would not let them get away, no matter how he'd felt about them before. They were a killer, and they took his best friend away.

"Apollo! Restez concentré!"

"Huh? Hey, how come you get to snip at me when I zone out, but I don't get to snip at you?"

She pointed back at herself, tossing her huge ponytail for emphasis. "Disabled," then pointed at him "not disabled."

"Athena."

"I'm kidding, Apollo. You know how I feel about people who do that. You just had a bit of a spiral-y vibe going on there. When I spiral, I like to be snapped out of it. Figured you would too."

"Ah. Yeah, that did help."

"See! Psychology!"

"Okay, okay, don't get ahead of yourself." Scratching his arm, he glanced over the case outline in his hand. "Where should we get started?"

"I always like to start with the body's location, then spread out from there! But, uh, I'm open to starting somewhere else. I know this is kind of a sour watermelon for you."

"A what?"

"A sour watermelon."

"A sour watermelon?"

"Yeah, sour- oh, did I mess the idiom up again?"

He found himself laughing. "Yeah, just a little bit. It's 'a tender spot,' Athena, not 'sour-' oh my gosh."

"Heheh, oops. Sorry."

"Don't apologize. You haven't even been in the country a year yet. I'm proud of you for trying, and thanks for the laugh. I needed that."

"You're welcome! Now let's get investigating!"

Athena was lying.

She was lying about the investigation.

But why would she need to lie?

What was the fear in her eyes for, when he asked that question?

Why did his bracelet assault his wrist as all her tells fired in succession?

What caused her to abandon logic as she lied to his face?

Why did she lie about the knife that took Clay's life?

What did she know?

Why did she know?

And how could he move forward with her right at his side?

She'd wandered off for the time being, as Athena typically does. After her disappearing act the night before, the detectives were stunned that he let her just walk off. However, with what occurred between them over the outline of Clay's body, he hated to say it, but he needed more distance from her.

Of course, he had every intention of going and finding her sooner rather than later. But perhaps he should've waited just a bit longer, perhaps if he had, he would've been blind to the conversation in the ever-foreboding robotics lab.

"Your status as princess does not exempt you." It was an older woman's voice, rasped with anger. "Neither does your little disappearing act."

He'd been in this situation before, where he or Mr. Wright stumble upon suspects arguing about matters. The best thing to do was try and at least stay out of sight; gather the information. If things started getting too out of hand, he'd leave. But these types of encounters have been critical information more often than not.

"Disappearing act?" A-Athena? "You insult me." She sneered her remark back at the older woman, he hadn't heard such malice since he fought Kristoph that one last time.

"I thought many things when I was told you'd become a doctor. But that's just an arbitrary title, isn't it? You don't care."

"No. You don't care."

"I amend my statement. You don't care of anyone but yourself. A selfish little princess, feeding from the efforts of her white knights, taking the little such peasants have.

"Aura!"

Aura? Athena's mother-not-mother-aunt-not-aunt-relative-not-relative?

"Ha! You think your words scare me? I'm a government employee. Words don't scare. But for an emotional twit like yourself? They're a critical blow."

"You have no idea what I've seen! What I've done; because of this!"

An objection-worthy desk slam startled Apollo's brain to produce thoughts. They raced through, threatening to derail second after second. What had Athena seen? What did she do? An emergency message rang throughout him. No… no, no, no!

"Oh really, princess? What are these things you've seen and done, these things somehow verifying that you really and truly do care about anyone but yourself. Something that exempts you from the ropes you so stupidly forgot to cut from your ankles, the blood on your hands you forgot to wash away! Confess! Confess here and now! What is it, princess?! What makes your life more important than Starbuck's?!"

He didn't like where this was going. He-

"Do you have any idea what it's like to watch someone die?! To die like that?! To be silent with it all, because you know exactly what they'll do to you if anyone ever tells?! Are you taking someone else's blood to your grave?! Are you, Aura Blackquill?!"

He heard shoving, then a large mass collided with something steel and heavy. They both screamed, slinging profanities towards the other as quickly as possible. If he went in, they probably wouldn't notice, but he wanted out. He couldn't be laid low just before Clay's trial, he just couldn't.

Especially because he knew Athena couldn't take his place.