Phoenix stared at the pile of paperwork on his desk. His brow furrowed and the corner of his mouth was raised in a grimace. The pile he'd been trying to finish since last week had somehow not gotten smaller at all. In fact, he was almost sure it had gotten bigger. He was dreading the thought of trying yet again to put a dent in it. Even with all the things he'd experienced in his career, all the harrowing trials where it was no exaggeration to say that his life as well as others were on the line, he would still rather stand in court right now and face those impossible odds than file even one more piece of paperwork.

He swiveled his chair around, choosing to look out the window rather than think about the work in front of him. Maybe if he pretended it wasn't there, it would go away. Better yet, maybe he could hoist them onto Athena. Not only had she finished her own pile of paperwork in record time, but she'd finished each one that came to her desk every day this past week. He admired her energy and was proud of her work ethic. She'd grown so much through her experiences and had come such a long way, becoming an exceptional lawyer and invaluable member of the team along the way. He only wished he could mimic even an ounce of her energy, even if it was just to keep up with the paperwork he could never seem to catch up on.

Despite her high work performance, Phoenix knew she wasn't as happy as she was letting on. In truth, no one had felt quite the same since Apollo moved away. Before, rarely a day went by that Phoenix didn't hear some kind of commotion going on in the office. Whether it was Athena and Apollo chatting and joking, Apollo complaining loudly as Trucy tried to try out a new magic trick on him or Apollo trying to reign in Athena when she just had more energy than she knew what to do with, there was never a dull moment at the agency. Now, even with Athena's seemingly boundless energy, Phoenix heard nothing but silence from the other room. It would be some time before they adjusted to not having him around and they were all dealing with it in their own ways.

Since he decided he was in no mood to touch the paperwork any time soon, he decided to think about a much more important subject, one he'd been thinking on for a while. The idea had been sitting in the back of his mind ever since Apollo left, but it remained just that; an idea. At the time it first crossed his mind, not enough time had passed for him to think on it any further. Things needed to flow and settle naturally over time before he could decide if the idea should come to fruition. He needed to be sure he had a full grasp on the state of Apollo's situation before he made a decision. So, he periodically called Apollo to check in on how the law firm was coming along. Though he never doubted that Apollo was capable of running his own law firm, his current situation was unique. He would be facing choices and challenges that no one else ever had. Phoenix wanted to help him along the way as much as he could, which is why he was so careful not to reveal his idea until he believed it was the right time. He needed to be certain that every person involved would only benefit from it rather than be burdened by it. He cared too much for them to do anything less. And since he would be ultimately responsible for anything that came of it, he needed to be sure he was fully prepared before he brought the idea to Apollo.

And now, after some of the dust had settled and he had a firm grasp on the situation Apollo was in, he had finally made his decision. He knew, without a doubt in his mind, that this was best for everyone involved. He turned his chair back to his desk, pointedly ignoring the pile of papers as he picked up his cell phone from the desk.


Apollo picked up the last stray paper on his desk and filed it into the manila folder in front of him. He wanted to be happy that his desk was now clean, every last stray paper being organized and filed into their proper places. But the second, much larger pile on the floor next to his desk loomed In the corner of his eye, reminding him that his work was nowhere near finished. He was grateful that the pile no longer resembled a mountain, but it made him no less tired of filing papers. After so many days of moving them back and forth in front of his face, they looked less like papers and more like a big black and white blur.

The phone on his desk began to ring. He didn't bother looking at the caller ID or even wait for the first ring to finish. Without thinking, he picked it up immediately. He was looking for any opportunity to postpone the pile of paperwork and he jumped on this as his excuse to put it off for a little while. "Hello?"

"Going for the phone answering record, are you?"

Apollo went quiet for a moment, just now realizing how ridiculous he must have seemed, answering the phone before it had a chance to even finish the first ring. And since it was Mr. Wright on the line, that meant he managed to look foolish in front of the man he still highly respected and saw as a mentor. "Hey, Mr. Wright. Sorry about that."

"No problem. At least now I know you're up for a conversation."

'Anything to put off this pile next to me.' Even if he wasn't looking for a distraction, Apollo still would have been happy to hear from Mr. Wright. He called every once in a while to check in, periodically giving advice that helped Apollo get the agency moving along. He knew things that came with experience, and they helped Apollo make the right decisions when picking which direction to take. Since his hands were already full enough with everything going on, he was happy to have a second, well educated opinion to help him out. "Yeah. I was just looking for an excuse to put off this last bit of paperwork."

Mr. Wright chuckled. "Yeah, I know the feeling. Anyway…" Apollo waited patiently as Mr. Wright went quiet on the other end of the line. "How's the hunt for new lawyers coming along?"

Apollo leaned back in his chair, suddenly feeling exhausted. Of all the difficult decisions he would have to make, he didn't think prioritizing the order to get them done would be one of them. His track record hadn't been good recently. He thought that the building needed nothing more than a thorough cleaning, just enough to make it presentable to meet with clients, and that restorations could wait until another time. But the more the cleaning progressed, the more problems came to the surface, making restorations a new priority. He didn't know what he was expecting; the building had barely been used in over twenty years. Of course it would be too run down to use without fixing it up first.

He also didn't believe they were ready to hire any more lawyers just yet. He certainly could use the help, considering he was the only one at the office who was capable of practicing law at the moment, but the office was in a delicate position. Even if he managed to find someone who was interested in working there, the state of the current law system in Khura'in was sure to scare them away. He decided it was best to take the work on himself and worry about getting more lawyers later. That is, until two new cases were dropped on his desk this morning.

Part of reforming the legal system meant re-investigating and retrying all the old cases that were brought to court while the DC Act was in effect. A defending lawyer was now required in each retrial. Depending on the circumstances of each case, sometimes the accused was simply released, but if a retrial was required, Apollo was sometimes called on to be the defense. The people in charge of the reform were apparently doing what they could to bring more lawyers into the country, but even they were having difficulty finding anyone willing to get involved with a country who's current legal system was undergoing a complete reform. They'd only succeeded in bringing in a few lawyers from an allied country who were willing to work temporarily to retry the old cases. It spared Apollo from being responsible for the defense of every single one, but he was still called on every once in a while when they needed more hands. That was fine on its own, but that along with all the new cases that were always being dropped onto his desk, he was feeling less and less like he could handle it all on his own. "Not good. The best I got so far was a few people saying they were interested in being lawyers, but they hadn't even gone to school yet, let alone passed the bar."

"That's a shame," Mr. Wright said. "I've had just about the same luck here. I found a few new lawyers that seemed interested in a career abroad, but when they heard of the current state of Khura'in's legal system, they all lost interest."

"Yeah, I figured as much. Thanks for trying." With the reform working so hard to retry all the old cases, new cases were sometimes given more time before they were brought to court. He thought of this as a silver-lining that would give him more time to handle all of the new cases on his own. He only hoped he could finish one before he had to start work on the other.

"Well, none of them were interested… but I might have found someone who is."

A small bit of hope rose in Apollo's chest. It would be the best news he'd had in a long time if there was really another lawyer who could help him. "Okay. Tell me about it."

"You know… when you mentioned needing more lawyers to help with the workload, I started asking around for someone that might be interested. But I'm not sure what I was thinking."

Mr. Wright paused, and Apollo wasn't sure what to say. 'Where's he going with this?' "Sorry, I think you lost me."

"Well, the problem was that I started looking elsewhere. Then I realized, 'Why am I looking any further than right here?'"

Apollo was feeling confused. Based on what he was saying, it was as if Mr. Wright was about to volunteer himself to help. But that didn't make sense. 'No, he can't do that. He has his own law office to run. Why would he even suggest something like that?' He appreciated the thought, but now he had to figure out the best way to politely decline. If he wasn't embarrassed before, he certainly would be soon.

"You need a lawyer you can depend on. Someone you can trust. And someone who's willing to work within the current Khura'in legal system. And it just occurred to me… who better to fill that role than our very own Athena?"

For just a moment, the wheels in Apollo's head stopped turning. He was so convinced that Mr. Wright was about to volunteer himself that his mind had a small misfire when he heard Athena's name instead.

"A-Athena?" He blinked and shook his head to get the wheels turning again. He was going to make a fool of himself if he was going to start stuttering. But he couldn't deny that he was taken completely by surprise. Athena? Coming to work with him in Khura'in? The idea made him… well, he wasn't sure what he was feeling. He swallowed and felt heat rising in his face, his chest expanding as he took in a deep breath, trying to calm a heart rate that was suddenly racing. In order to take on all that was necessary to run the new office, he'd put all of his emotions on the back burner, not wanting to let his personal feelings get in the way of what he knew he had to do. But now that he was caught off guard, the feelings he tried to ignore were flooding back. Feelings for her that he had to ignore. Blocking them out and not letting them come to the surface was the only reason he was able to go through with leaving in the first place. Moving to Khura'in wasn't just something he wanted to do; he needed to. And the idea of leaving Athena behind almost changed his mind. So he put his feelings for her away in order to go through with what he knew was right.

But now, he was being presented with an idea, a wonderful idea that had never occurred to him. The idea that Athena could be here with him, the idea that he didn't have to choose between staying in Khura'in and seeing her every day. Could he really have it both ways?

But then the cloud came in, the one that reminded him of all the reasons this could be a mistake. Did he really want her to move away from her home? It had been difficult enough for him to do it, but what about her? Even if she was just here temporarily, did he really want her to leave everything behind? And even if she went through with it, she would have to bear the burden of helping reform an entire legal system. She was a capable lawyer, but did he really want to burden her with that kind of responsibility?

All of that was enough for him to doubt if he should go through with it. Yet that wasn't the only thing that made him question this idea. He'd been able to go through with all of this because he agreed with himself that he would leave his feelings for Athena behind. He never told her how he felt about her, for too many reasons that he didn't even want to start thinking about right now, so there were no ties to sever, making his leaving all the more clean and easy.

But he'd just been kidding himself. The racing in his heart proved that the feelings hadn't gone anywhere. Leaving his feelings for her behind wasn't possible, and he knew it. But he had to try in order to go through with leaving. Though he tried to leave them behind, they were still with him. He needed to accept that making them disappear would never be possible. If she was here with him, would he be able to continue keeping his feelings on the back burner?

"Hmm? Is there something wrong with the idea?"

Apollo tried to clear his head and get his bearings. He was thinking too hard about this. The best way to figure this out was to slow down and think about it rationally. After all, this was Mr. Wright's idea. He wouldn't have just suggested this off hand. He must have put a great deal of thought into it. After all, he cared about Athena, too. He wouldn't suggest something that would make her unhappy.

Now that he thought about it, that was something he didn't consider until just now. How did Athena feel about this?

"Well… u-um…" Apollo cleared his throat, pausing to get his bearings since he was apparently still not clear headed enough to speak without stuttering. "What does Athena have to say about this?"

"I actually haven't talked to her about this yet. I thought it was better to run it by you before I brought it up with her. Since, you know, I can't exactly ask her if you decide this is a no-go."

'So… it's up to me?' He got a sinking feeling in his chest. Did he really want to be the one to decide something so important? It was true that the ultimate decision would be made by Athena. It was possible that he was worrying for nothing; she might just say no. But Mr. Wright wouldn't even ask her if Apollo disagreed. Which meant it was still up to him to decide if she was going to be presented with the decision at all. Could he really do it? Did he really want to be the one that made her have to make the decision in the first place?

Then, just like that, he felt ashamed of himself. He'd been so lost in his emotions that he was showing a complete lack of faith in Athena. He shouldn't have been so tormented by this at all. Athena had already shown herself to be a capable lawyer and a well-minded person. She was capable of handling anything that came her way, and always had been for as long as he'd known her. She would decide what was best for her as well as everyone involved, just as he had. She would make the right decision.

But that didn't stop the entire thing from frightening him from many different angles.

"If Athena is okay with it… then I'm all for it."


Right after Athena placed the last paper on top of the pile, she raised her hands high in the air and smiled. "Done!" She didn't care that there was no one in the room to hear her. She officially finished all the paperwork on the day it was brought to her, not just today, but every day this past week. It was a small accomplishment, but sometimes those were the best things to celebrate.

She raised her arms even further in a stretch, taking in a deep breath and releasing it in a long, tired yawn. She fell back into her chair, suddenly feeling exhausted. If she were to close her eyes right now, she was sure she would doze off. She had yet to completely recover from all the exhausting evenings she spent in magic trick practice. But now with the magic show over and done, she was free to get back to her own routine. The show went off without a hitch, and her concerns about safety seals of approval were proven wrong when she walked out of it without a single injury, not a bruise or cut anywhere in sight. All that worry about broken bones was for nothing. Now she could put it behind her and focus on her own necessities, like catching up on her sleep.

The sound of an opening door drew her attention to the other side of room. The door to Mr. Wright's office opened and he stepped out, meeting her gaze with a friendly smile. She waved at him, returning his smile with one of her own. "Hey boss! How's it going?"

His smile widened as he approached her desk. "Just fine, thanks for asking." He glanced at the neat pile of papers on her desk before looking at her again. "Ah, conquered the paperwork again? How many days is that now?"

Athena flashed a wide grin. "Five! I didn't miss a single paper on a single day this week!"

He chuckled. "Good work. I guess that makes the score zero to five."

"Yep! Good luck catching up with that one."

"Nah, I wouldn't want to break your perfect record."

Athena laughed. She had no way of knowing how much paperwork he actually had since she hadn't been in his office since the last group call. But knowing her boss and his disdain for paperwork, she knew without even seeing it that the pile was probably bigger than it was the last time she saw it.

"Athena."

Something about the way he spoke made her smile fade. Though he was still giving her a warm, friendly smile, she had picked up something in his voice. Though the joy was there, it was at a much lower layer than she would have expected, and beneath it lay a small wave of anxiety. It was as if he was feeling happy, but was just a little worried at the same time. She couldn't help but feel concerned. 'Is something bothering him?'

"Uh… yeah boss?" She was sure he knew she picked up on his shift in emotion. Her sudden change in mood was enough evidence of that. But he seemed to be taking it in stride, continuing to speak without missing a beat. "I have something important I need to talk to you about. Would you please join me in my office?"

She heard the same patterns in his voice again, further raising her concern. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't have been very worried at all. It wasn't unusual for her to pick up a little bit of anxiety in his voice. She usually heard it whenever they were on a case that wasn't going well, or when Trucy was late coming home. But nothing like that was happening right now. What was he worried about?

"Sure, boss. Coming." She stood from her seat and followed him into the office. He waited for her to enter before closing the door behind them. He gestured toward the chair in front of his desk with a wave of his hand. "Have a seat." She took her seat without saying anything, watching him as he went around his desk and sat in his own chair.

'What's going on?' The wave of anxiety in her chest grew and her mind began swirling with possibilities of what he wanted to talk about. Normally when he wanted to tell her something, he told her in passing as he walked by her desk. She couldn't remember the last time he asked to speak with her in his office. He normally only did that when it was something important. 'Well, he did say it was important.'

She wasn't sure why, but something about sitting right across from him as he watched her from his high backed chair made her feel like a kid that was about to be scolded. Which brought her mind to the only idea that currently made sense. 'Am I in trouble?' She started thinking back through her recent activities at the office, trying to think of anything she might have done that could have landed her in hot water. She bit her lip when she quickly remembered the slip up she made a few days ago when she was in the office kitchen making coffee. 'Did he find the mug I broke the other day? But I threw it away and took out the trash. Maybe he found a piece I missed when I was sweeping it up? I didn't think it was an important mug, it looked pretty normal. Maybe it was special somehow?'

She came down from her panicked reverie when she heard him softly chuckle. "Relax, you look like you've seen a ghost. It's not like you're in trouble."

She sat up straight in her chair, her worry suddenly gone. "Oh, really?" She laughed, feeling relieved. "That's good."

He raised an eyebrow, her reaction seeming to raise his suspicions. She just sat up straight and flashed him a big grin, hoping it was enough to keep him from questioning any further. It seemed to work, as he only watched her for another moment before he seemed to relent, casting his suspicious stare away. 'Success!' she internally congratulated herself. She felt silly getting so worked up over something as insignificant as a broken mug, but the whole situation had her feeling so tense and on edge that she was overreacting without meaning to. She would tell him about the mug eventually, but right now she wanted to focus on whatever important thing he had to say.

Mr. Wright sat back in his chair and folded his hands in his lap, turning his gaze toward his desk and closing his eyes, like he normally did when he was deep in thought. The wave of unease returned to her chest as she watched him, unable to do anything but wait for him to speak. She tried her best to at least guess what the subject could be about, but with her only idea currently pushed off the list of possibilities, she was left with no option but to just wait and hear it from him for herself.

"I've been thinking…" he started. He raised his head to look her way, reassuring her with a soft smile. "It's been pretty slow here lately."

Athena's mind drew a blank. That wasn't how she expected him to start the conversation. She couldn't even begin to imagine how he could transition from that to telling her something supposedly important. "Uh… yeah. I guess."

"We've been catching up with paperwork, which is all well and good… but it just seems like there isn't enough for us to do right now."

Another possibility suddenly entered her mind, and it made a sudden wave of fear slash through her. She stood up quickly, staring at her boss with wide-eyed shock. "Am I fired!?" What other reason could he possibly have for opening his 'important' conversation with the fact that they didn't have a lot of work to do right now? There wasn't enough for her to do so he was going to let her go. It was the only thing that made sense. She was beside herself. How could this happen?

"Athena, please relax. It's nothing like that. Just sit back and listen to what I have to say." His expression remained calm and friendly, and his voice betrayed no negative emotions. There was no irritation or anger, just a low wave of joy and a smaller wave of worry. He wasn't being deceitful in any way. He was telling the truth.

Athena immediately became embarrassed when she realized how ridiculous her sudden outburst must have looked. Her face flushed and she slowly sat back down into her chair, looking down at her hands to hide her embarrassment. It had been a while since her emotions got away from her like this. She still had times where it was hard to keep control. Constantly hearing what other people were feeling while trying to keep her own emotions in check wasn't easy. But she'd become so accustomed to it that she thought she was past emotional outbursts like this. She could only imagine that the reason she'd managed to keep control for this long was because she'd worked through the worst of her past trauma, leaving not much left to fuel her outbursts.

But in the last few weeks without Apollo, she'd found herself using her old tactics again, the ones she always used to use when she felt overwhelmed and the bubble was about to burst. Seeing him leave, knowing that he would likely never return thanks to his responsibilities, knowing that she would have to forever keep her feelings for him bottled up inside… it was becoming too much for her to handle. It fueled her anxieties and increased the likelihood of an outburst. She was doing everything she could to keep it at bay, but suddenly being called into Mr. Wright's office for a mysterious 'important' reason was the last straw that burst the bubble inside her.

But even understanding the reason she was feeling this way, she was still ashamed to have behaved this way in front of Mr. Wright. "I'm sorry, boss." She raised her head to look at him. Part of dealing with the anxieties that came with her special hearing abilities was taking responsibility for her mistakes. Instead of hiding her embarrassment, she looked him in the eye and made herself face it. "I'll be quiet and just listen."

His eyes softened as he watched her. "I know things haven't been easy lately. I don't blame you for being a little on edge."

'A little?' She knew he was just trying to be nice and ease the tension, but she still wouldn't have called her reaction a 'little' on edge. But he was one of the few people that understood how hard it was to live with her ability. He played one of the biggest roles in helping her move on from her past trauma, and even now he continued to be understanding and supportive of her as she tried to live a normal life. It made her respect him even more, and she would be forever grateful to him. His reassurance let her know that he understood, and she started to relax.

"I think we've all been having a hard time adjusting. The slow work doesn't really help much. Gives us less to do to distract from it all."

Because she said she would be quiet and listen, she just nodded instead of saying anything. Though she wouldn't let her imagination get away from her again, she still couldn't imagine where he was going with this.

"So, I was thinking… what if there was another place that had plenty to do?" He put his hand on his chin. "Maybe somewhere abroad?" He gave her a knowing grin. "You have a lot of experience with that, right?"

She had to push back her fears again as she waited for him to get to the point. When he said this was important, he must have really meant it. Why else would he feel the need to use so much build up? "Uh… yeah?"

"Then that makes you perfect for the job. I hear a lawyer position just opened up in Khura'in."

The significance of what he said should have occurred to her immediately. But he was being so vague and dragging his feet along the subject so much that she felt strangely detached, like she had misheard him and was failing to understand what he was trying to say. "K… Khura'in?"

"Yeah. I hear they're swamped with work. They could really use another capable lawyer to help them out."

It was then that she realized what was wrong with what he was saying. The joy in his voice had risen significantly and it was slightly pitched, like whatever he was thinking was humorous to him. It was as if he found dragging out his explanation greatly amusing. 'Why is he getting such a kick out of this?' It was like he knew something she didn't and was just loving how confused she was by his vague description. And because he refused to just clearly state exactly what he was saying in black and white, the obvious meaning in his words that should have occurred to her immediately didn't even cross her mind. "Who's 'they'?"

"Why, Apollo of course. Who else would I be talking about?"

The meaning of what he was saying suddenly fell into place, clicking inside her head, and leaving her sitting there in stunned silence.

'...Apollo?' She hadn't realized her heart had skipped a beat until it suddenly started hammering in her chest. Mr. Wright was suggesting that she go work abroad in Khura'in... at the new law office with Apollo?

"W… what?" Being in such a state of shock, that was all she could manage to say.

Mr. Wright let out a hearty laugh. "Don't look so surprised! I was just trying to relax you and ease you into it. After all, it's a big decision."

Despite his reassurance, she couldn't feel anything but surprised. The idea of going to Khura'in to work with Apollo… the thought alone raised a joy inside her that she could barely contain. If she accepted this offer, they would be working together again. Every day, she would see him in the office in person, no longer having to pretend that an occasional speakerphone call was enough. All the sorrow she felt when he left, all the fear that she might not ever see him again… did it not have to be that way after all?

But then it occurred to her; putting her personal feelings aside, would she even be useful to him if she accepted the job? There was so much for him to do and so many responsibilities for him to bear, would he even consider her worthy enough to help him through it all? They were best friends, and they both already learned long ago that they could always count on each other. Despite that, did he really think of her as someone he could depend on to help him with the difficult path ahead of him?

"This is a big decision to make…" Mr. Wright started. Athena hadn't realized she'd been staring into space until his voice brought her back to reality. "But this wasn't meant to pressure you. You can think on it, and you can refuse if you want. As long as you decide what's best for you, I'll support you all the way."

She tried to push away the growing doubt as she started considering every possibility that would come from this. Knowing she had Mr. Wright's support was reassuring, but it made her ask; what about Apollo? Did he really want her to work with him? Now that she was thinking about it, how did this idea come up in the first place?

"So… where did this idea come from, anyway?"

"From me," Mr. Wright answered, running his fingers along his chin as he thought. "Apollo's been having a hard time finding help…" he lowered his hand and gave her a friendly smile. "So I told him I'd see if you were interested."

"So… Apollo is really okay with this?" She had a feeling that the answer to that would probably affect her more than it should.

"Yep," Mr. Wright nodded. "He said, and I quote… 'If Athena is okay with it, then I'm all for it.'"

Then, just like that, her doubts faded away. She didn't realize until that moment that her only reason for hesitating was her fear that Apollo didn't want her help. But now the answer was clear. It was so obvious that she didn't know why she hadn't seen it from the beginning. She had let her doubts and insecurities cloud her judgment and allow her to hesitate even though the correct path was right in front of her. Her heart had been trying to tell her the answer the whole time, but her mind hadn't caught up to it until just now.

All this time, she'd been wishing that she could be there for Apollo. There was so much he had to do, and she was sure that he hadn't prioritized his own trauma at all. He was putting everything aside to carry all of his responsibilities. Putting personal feelings aside to do what needed to be done was sometimes necessary, and she knew that. But someone who had been through as much as him needed to take a step back and come to terms with their past before they could truly put their all into their responsibilities. She knew this from experience. And she was certain that he wasn't doing that at all; he'd certainly put it all away, planning to take care of himself at a later time that would most likely never come. She was never so vain to assume that she alone could heal every one of his woes. But if she decided to be with him in Khura'in, not only could she ease his legal responsibilities by acting as another lawyer, but she could keep his spirits up the same way she always had. She would spend every day joking around and doing whatever she could to get a smile on his face. She wanted to be a friend he could count on, a shoulder he could cry on, anything that he needed to help him through this time. And none of that would ever happen if she was here.

Her decision, without a doubt in her heart or mind, was to be with him in Khura'in.


Chapter Song – 'What If I Fall' – Archetypes Collide