Apollo and Klaire sat across one another, seperated by the pane of glass that distinguished the visitor's room from the rest of the Detention Center. They remained still, unblinking, until Klaire finally relaxed and gave him one of her precious smiles.
"Hey there, Apollo."
He could not help it. His eyes and brow were set into a frown, but the young defense attorney's lips turned into a grin.
"Hi."
Klaire fidgeted in her seat. "I guess I shouldn't have to ask why you're here."
Apollo folded his arms. "I've...been looking over the news. They say that you haven't explained why you did what you did to anyone. I was hoping I might be an exception." He looked at her hopefully, and she eventually conceded.
"If you looked over my brother's biography, the one with the editions his fans are fighting over, it'll tell you that he grew up in a bakery. That much is true. We got through our lives okay, but then my parents began borrowing a bit too much. Worse, they borrowed it from the organization. And one day we found them dead. Oh sure, those at the Prosecutor's Office tried their best. But it didn't make a difference in the end. They let the killer go."
Apollo felt cold. "Did you...go after him?"
Klaire shook her head. "Believe me, I wanted to. But someone else got to him first. I don't know what happened...maybe he was killed by an enemy, maybe Coachen thought he knew too much about something or other. But at any rate, he wasn't my main target. It was Kristoph."
Apollo blinked.
"The defendant could not have planned the murders without his help. He needed someone who knew the place inside and out."
Apollo was aghast.
"The court wasn't enough to stop Kristoph or Coachen. So I took things into my own hands. As a bailiff, I was in a good position to carry out whatever job the Red Carnation needed me to do. I went to Kristoph first, and he recommended me. He didn't suspect that I suspected that he was responsible for what happened when we were kids. So I played along for some years, until I finally got high enough on the ladder to see Kristoph in jail and to leak names. As I thought, Coachen panicked and went into hiding. I planned on framing him and letting Prosecutor Edgeworth do the rest."
Her gaze turned regretful. "I hadn't planned on him figuring things out early and attacking you." Her shoulders sagged. "I also hadn't planned on getting caught, but...oh, well."
Apollo shuffled in his seat. If it were not for the glass, he would have tried to hug Klaire.
"But more than anything..." Klaire smiled, but her dull eyes had not changed. "I'm sorry I couldn't be the person you wanted me to be."
The air was still and dead.
Apollo sat up from his seat. He lowered his head. "I'll...do my best. I'll bring about a world that won't need your actions, or I'll try. I'll try my best for you."
Apollo did not do anything the next day. Or at least, nothing productive.
The news was not done with its cycle yet. Franziska von Karma had tried to stay out of the limelight, but she had to spend a few minutes explaining her capture of Manny Coachen. She had smiled slightly and said she would do such a thing again for her husband and his student.
Miles Edgeworth had disappeared into the recesses of the Prosecutor's Office, but Detective Kay Faraday was happy to report that her superior was hard at work planning the case against Manny Coachen.
Apollo had lain on the sofa, watching the reports with vague interest. He fell asleep early.
When he woke up early in the morning, with the sky still dark, he put on his suit jacket. It did not matter to him that he had not ironed it. He stepped on to the bus, and then the train. He knew which stop to get off in order to reach the Wright Anything Agency.
But he stayed on.
Before he knew it, he found himself standing in front of the Ivory Motel.
When his vision finally cleared, he cursed himself. What was done was done, no using digging up the past...
"Hey!"
He turned. It was Reina. The young woman was sprinting down the road.
"We're not open yet! And you'd better believe we keep against loitering and..."
She gradually slowed down as she recognized Apollo. Her feet took her closer to him.
"Er, hello. How are you?"
Apollo forced a smile. "I'm fine."
Reina tilted. "You don't look like it."
Apollo shrugged. "I...have work soon."
"Me too."
"I'll try to get a coffee around here and get another ride."
Reina's face twisted. This was not like her, but...
"What do you usually get?"
"Huh?"
Reina looked at him ruefully. "What kind do you usually get, and where? I can treat you. After everything in that court case, I guess you ought to have something to show for it."
-A multi-chapter story; Chapter 36; story idea by CRed1988 and writing by Jerviss.