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sunset-peril · 2 years

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Ashes Remain - Chapter Eleven - Apollo Falls Silent

~~~~

He didn't realize there might be a problem until the alarm went off on his phone. It was eight-thirty now, time to help Athena with her medicine.

He wandered around the apartment. No Athena.

Where was she? She was always back before dark. She told him she'd be making a visit after her appointment, and he assumed it was a visit to her incarcerated uncle. It was long after the prison's visiting hours, but no Athena.

He'd called her, twice. Two voicemails.

Panic was rising. His throat closed over. He needed to find her, or find a good reason to submit a missing persons report.

Juniper. Nope, nothing. The future judge seemed just as concerned. She agreed to try and find her, leaving Apollo free to continue his contacts.

Prosecutor Blackquill was going to have his head if dawn came and Athena was still unaccounted for.

He called Pavilion next. They confirmed Athena left around 2:30 that afternoon and was in a stable mental state. The receptionist took his information: that he was Apollo Justice, Athena Cykes' guardian, and that she seemed to be missing. Because of Athena's conditions, if she couldn't be found in an hour, Pavilion would report her as such.

He called Wright. Initially, his boss was a little annoyed at the late night call. The tune instantly changed once Apollo started talking.

"I can't find her, Mr. Wright."

"Athena? What do you mean you can't find her?"

"She never came home, she won't answer her phone. I called the asylum and they said she left this afternoon. They'll file a missing person report in an hour if I haven't called back."

"I'm coming, Apollo." Mr. Wright was at his door ten minutes later, a sleeping Trucy tossed over his shoulder.

He called her once more while Mr. Wright settled Trucy on the couch. A third voicemail. He scoured his texts, Athena's journals, anything that might explain where she went.

His heart hit the floor when his, Wright's and Trucy's phones all blared in unison.

Missing Endangered Person :

Athena Cykes, 18, Female

Orange-red hair in ponytail down to waist

Last seen near Pavilion Crisis Care wearing black tank top and grey leggings. Contact law enforcement with information on her location. More details on your local news station.

The above person has a documented disability and is believed to be in grave or immediate danger.

~~~~

Clay called not even five minutes later. He apologized for not being able to visit Athena in the hospital, and gushed sympathy after sympathy towards Apollo for her sudden disappearance. "Dude! I got the alert! Anything yet?"

"No, nothing… Oh, Clay… tomorrow's your big day, you should be getting some sleep."

"Sleep?! My best bud's girl just flashed on everyone's emergency portal! Isn't that right, Mister Starbuck?"

"Course, Clay! She's our princess!"

"Princess? Clay, are we talking about the same Athena?"

"Aye, Polly-wog! Your girl's Miss Aura's daughter! Everyone who's close to Miss Aura calls Athena that!"

“Yes. I… know I don’t look it but… I’m a Blackquill. His niece.”

Ah, this Miss Aura must be Prosecutor Blackquill's sister.

"Yeah, she told me she was related to Simon Blackquill."

"Yeah, Aura really isn't taking it well." Starbuck was heard on the other end. "I heard her scream something through the walls of the robotic lab."

"Well, looks like I'm off to keep Miss Aura from destroying the entire lab in despair. If I see Athena around, I'll call you back. Keep me posted bro!"

That was the most enjoyable of his calls. He answered call after call as people who knew him checked to see if there was anything they could do. The Kitakis were the most surprising. The former mafia had seen Athena on the court proceedings channel and wanted to know if the same lady who was missing was Apollo's co-council from the academy case. He also suspected they'd dabbled in some rumors that certainly had to have emerged outside the legal realm, and wanted to know if they needed to pull a favor.

He thanked them for their concern, then told them he'd let them know if he needed their help.

The night ran long and sleepless. Mr. Wright tried to get him to sleep sometime long after midnight, saying that he’d shake him awake if any news came, but to no avail.

The sun rose, but Athena was missing and Apollo, sleepless. Worn beyond emotion, it took the rest of him to deal with a horrified and grieving Trucy. Although it stung to do so, he found himself incredibly frustrated with her reaction to Athena’s disappearance. How could she even think to grieve in his presence when she had slept peacefully the whole night, completely unaware of the situation until a few moments ago? How could she think to compete with his worry, when he was the only legal method keeping his beloved from a life in mental prison? Tear ducts run dry hours before continued their attempts to weep in tune with the pacing still digging its way into the rented carpet. He’d vowed before the eyes of the law and his beloved to protect her, to keep her from harm’s way, and he’d failed.

Dealing with Trucy took so much from his already exhausted body that, despite racing anxiety, rest came to claim him after she left. In fact, it held onto him so strongly that Mr. Wright’s shaking him barely rose his head.

“A Detective Briella Dunn called you. She said they’ve got some leads on Athena’s location. They got a call saying someone had seen her heading in the direction of GYAXA, and they’ll scour the whole area once the rocket launches.”

“Wha-” He pulled himself from the couch. “What would she be doing there?”

“You know she’s got those terrible intrusive thoughts… Maybe one of them had something to do with the Space Center and she wandered.”

“Yeah… Yeah, and she didn’t take her medicine last night… Ugh, if her head got control of her, who knows what condition she’ll be in once we find her?”

“Why don’t you go clean yourself up, Apollo? We’ll start heading that way. The area owned by GYAXA is off limits until after the launch, but there’s still some places we can check. I’ll call Detective Dunn back and see if she’ll meet us somewhere.”

~~~~

December 15th, 2027

9:45am

Breakthrough in Bread Pastry Shoppe

~~~~

“Mr. Wright, Mr. Justice. I appreciate your urgency on these matters, but I’m not sure there’s much we can do at this juncture.”

“Are there any areas around GYAXA that aren’t shut down for the launch?”

“Mostly a whole bunch of nowhere. All of the clearings and areas between the main building and the launch are government property and off-limits until the Center reopens to the public. There’s really no reason she should be out in that area, if not for the Space Center specifically.”

Apollo continued mutilating the small bagel he’d purchased. “Have any of your leads suggested she was specifically headed for GYAXA?”

“Only a few civilian reports say she headed in this direction, but the timing was a little sketchy, so we took it more seriously than most leads.”

“Sketchy? How so?”

“Coincidentally, the missing Doctor Cykes was reported missing as a child, and the alert was only cleared this past winter when she was found in Europe. The HAT-1 launch occurred shortly before she went missing, and now she’s gone again for the HAT-2. Should there be any future HAT missions, you better keep a tight hand on her. You say she may have wandered due to intrusive thoughts? Odd, considering the very definition of such thoughts.”

“Well, the only family she’s told me about works there, and she’s been diagnosed with PTSD. It’s a stretch, but it's really the only theory we’ve come up with.”

“What such family?”

“A… mother, I think.”

An eyebrow raised from the detective before she stood from the table. “Excuse me, I’ll be right back.” The detective took a step just outside and talked over her earpiece intercom.

“Well, that was strange… as soon as you mentioned Athena’s mother, that detective got all out of it.”

“I know…”

“I’m sorry for that, but I had to inform my partner. As the missing party’s closest companion, your words make up a lot of our initial suspicions.”

“I-Is there anything odd about Athena going to see her mother?”

“Normally? No. However, if what you say is true, she’s gone in search of a dead woman, and she’s out of our reality.”

“Her mother is dead? She said her mother disowned her!”

“When did she say this, Mister Justice? Yesterday morning?”

“B-Back in October. Just before Halloween I think.”

“Oh, goodness.” Dunn buried her brow in her hand.

“She acknowledged her aunt works at GYAXA back in April. Could she have mom and aunt confused?” Wright tapped his glass’ rim.

“I’m sorry, did you say aunt? ”

“One Aura Blackquill.”

“A-Aura Blackquill, you said, Mr. Wright? I was under the impression Aura was her mother!”

“Aura Blackquill, the robotics engineer at GYAXA, is of no relation to the Cykes family. She was her mother’s coworker just before HAT-1. It seems Doctor Cykes has been dissociating for quite a long time.”

“Wait, no relation? Hang on, I heard this from the astronauts!” Apollo fumbled out his phone and replayed the recording of his conversation with Clay.

“-Isn't that right, Mister Starbuck?"

"Course, Clay! She's our princess!"

"Princess? Clay, are we talking about the same Athena?"

"Aye, Polly-wog! Your girl's Miss Aura's daughter! Everyone who's close to Miss Aura calls Athena that!"

"Yeah, she told me she was related to Simon Blackquill."

“How odd… I can verify those are both the HAT-2 astronauts. But I can also verify no blood relation exists between those two families.”

“The Chief Prosecutor himself told me Simon Blackquill was a relative of Athena’s. However, she told me Aura was her aunt , but obviously Apollo and the astronauts were told she’s her mother. Yet, no blood relationship exists?”

“I… personally ran the blood reports on the Blackquill trial. It was the first thing the prosecution wanted on record. I found no blood or legal bindings between the families. Perhaps there are some unconventional, friends-of-the-family ties that could grant aunt and uncle titles, but Doctor Cykes can’t be trusted on the matter. The likelihood she’s dissociating is just too high.”

“So what do we do?”

“Still nothing we can do until the launch. We need Aura Blackquill now to discover if Doctor Cykes really was on a search for her departed mother, or if she just wanted to visit Ms. Blackquill and got confused. But all this talk wasn’t for nothing. We’ve all learned a little more about what might have gone on inside her mind when she went missing. I’ll call my partner and tell her we’ve extreme suspicion Doctor Cykes is somewhere on Space-" The green light on her headpiece began flashing. "Oh! Who’s calling me at such a time? Hello?” Once again she stood from the table. “What? There’s been an explosion? Two? You’re evacuating to the shelter? No, I’m not on site, Amy, I’m with the Cykes party. I was just about to tell you to search the grounds. Yes, I can see that won’t be happening. Let me know what Arme reports when she returns. Yes, I’ll be on site in about an hour, we still need to search the grounds for the woman. Amy, the sky could be falling for all I care, I have reason to believe she’s dissociated. Yes, I’ll send you a picture of what she looks like so you can search the shelter. I’ll touch base with you in five minutes, I need to inform my party here. I’ll call you back.”

“Where are there explosions?” Dread consumed Apollo. ‘It’s not at the Space Center is it?”

“I can’t disclose that information right now, I’m sorry. I’ll search for your loved one, but the Center will not be reopening. I’ll call you if I have any new information.” With that, the detective was gone.

“Mr. Wright! Did you hear that?!”

“I did. But unfortunately, she’s correct. Until we’re assigned a crime scene, or have some valid reason to go charge that way, we technically can’t go check it out. The whole place must be swarmed with cops right now. I think the best thing we can do is go back to your place and wait it out. ”

“We’re fine, right, Mr. Wright? Everything’s just fine!”

“We’re fine, Apollo. Finish up at your own pace, then we’ll go home.”

Unfortunately, he didn’t get the chance to make that decision for himself; his phone went off moments later. “Yes, this is Apollo Justice…”

Moments froze as his eyes widened and lip quivered. “Yes… thank you… I’ll… be there…”

One beep from his phone as the call ended, and Apollo was in shambles all over again.

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sunset-peril · 2 years

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Lullay, Space Princess (A Man Named Terran #1) - Chapter Three - Mama Aura

Author's Note: If you were reading this story for nice and loving Aunt Aura, you may stop reading now.

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October 21st, 2021

~~~~

"Simon, I know you didn't kill her! Why do you keep living this lie!"

"I should ask of you, dear sister, why do you still come for me? I took the one you cared for most and sent her flying across the River Styx. Should you not be focusing your energy on celebrating my death sentence?"

"You are my nerdy little brother! You like katanas, calling people by Japanese titles and those stupid animes you'd always watch in the middle of the night with no headphones! You didn't kill her, I know that! Why do you keep claiming you did? Work with me and I can give you your true verdict! We can stop GYAXA's death count from climbing any higher!"

"This is my true verdict, Aura. Calm yourself."

"If that's true, then how did you dissolve from my kind, goofy brother who was the gentlest man alive to a death row inmate?!"

"As Metis was your greatest treasure, Athena is mine."

Athena is mine... Athena is mine... Athena is mine.

That's when it hit her. Simon was innocent as she always knew.

But he was taking the fall for someone else. Someone who had taken truth with them to the other side.

Metis' little princess.

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October 13th, 2022

~~~~

The Cykes family had been gone for just over a year when Aura finally pieced it together.

Athena did it. She murdered her mother.

The princess had taken her mother's unwavering love and repaid it with murder.

Her own death was payback.

Simon confessed before Athena died.

He wasn't at the hospital the last few days of her life. He would have known Athena was going to die if he had.

That psychologist mind was the one thing Aura lacked that the rest of her family had. Simon would have heard Athena's brain shutting down if he'd been there before his trial.

A trial cannot be held if the defendant is dead. He would not have confessed if he heard the signs Athena's days were turning to hours, then minutes.

Everything would have been better. Not good, Metis was still gone.

But she'd still have Simon.

A year ago, she would say that it would be better even though Metis and Athena were gone.

But the little princess took her mother's life. She in no way deserved to be missed.

Aura had been in denial a long time, until the evidence against Athena began to pile up.

All the child remembered on her last day was that she was covered in blood, there was her mother's katana through her mother's chest and Simon had entered some time after her.

Aura knew the child was in pain for some time while she and Metis worked to create a device that would at least subside her agony.

Perhaps she just couldn't take one more day of it.

The pain was getting worse, she remembered Simon mentioning in August 2020. The launch was getting closer as well, so there wasn't much time to work on helping Thena. Resources were not easily spared as well. Athena's headaches weren't a government-funded space project, and had to wait.

That was the conclusion Aura reached. Athena killed her mother because the board of directors had all resources devoted to the space launch, leaving none for further robotic development or Athena's condition.

How cruel the world was, that pain could drive an innocent little girl that had never even seen mild violence to murder someone who never had a say.

Weapons were no longer allowed in the center, even for decorative reasons.

A decorative sword had been the murder weapon two years ago.

Aura was allowed a ray gun for emergency charging of robots or emergency shut-off of machinery. The gun was to be holstered at all times unless there was cause for alarm.

She suspected it only spent a max of three hours a day on her hip. She used it on Clonco multiple times every day. The hunk of junk was always needing something.

"Mama Aura!" Clonco wheeled happily into the lab, spinning around and waving a letter in his hands.

Aura let the ray gun loose.

Electricity shot from the robot's joints before his head spun around and he cowered. "Ah, Miss Aura sorry, sorry!"

"What is it, hunk of junk? I'm quite busy!"

"Your petition for Simon's trial has returned!"

It was snatched from his metal claw and torn open. Every time she found anything that could prove what she already knew, she submitted a retrial petition. They had been rejected for two years straight: the first year because there wasn't conclusive proof that Simon lied in his confession, the second year because her new suspect was already deceased. This time, she'd tried a new tactic. She knew how that intolerable, fox-slippery court system was. The likelihood they'd host a retrial only for the overturn of a previous verdict was next to nothing. But she was desperate. Her brother was a dying man. If they wouldn't rehost a trial only because the real killer was dead, then she'd have to stop playing by their rules.

Miss Aura Blackquill,

We have reviewed your case for the retrial of Homicide Incident UR-1.

However, we find your case lacking in enough evidence to suggest an overrule of the current verdict. While some evidence may suggest an accomplice to the current convict, the case cannot be retried on the suspicion of their guilt due to the suspect's being deceased. If evidence were to point to the deceased suspect's guilt as acting without the aid of the current convict, the case could be considered. Otherwise, the case is considered closed without further argument.

The Japanifornia Prosecution Office hereby rejects your case for the retrial of UR-1.

Condolences,

Miles Edgeworth, Chief Prosecution Officer

Condemn them! They admit facts of the case have changed, but still refuse a retrial? Prosecutors and their desire only for a guilty verdict! If he were still around, he could help her present the evidence in a way that would force the case to reopen.

But he's been banned from the courtroom for three years now. Seemingly gone off grid as well. A quick search through the court library states he appeared in Family Court just a few months after his conviction, but that is the last record anywhere.

She tried the next best attorney. Gavin wouldn't even meet.

No other attorney had the win record near these two men, especially when it came to difficult cases. She was left as her own advocate.

Simon's connections to the Prosecution Office didn't help. The prosecutors were afraid for their jobs, and wouldn't answer if they heard her on the line. The attorneys didn't want another prosecutor added back to the office roster. Legal experts and journalists wouldn't touch either of the Dark Law cases. Judges started yelling and, well, judging. The only individual within the legal realm who had even sat through a lunch with her was no longer practicing law, but performing in Europe.

A few knocks were heard on her door. "Miss Aura? May I come in."

"Come in, Terran."

A young man with a newly-printed staff badge, a GYAXA visor and a mop of shiny, black hair stepped in carefully with a stack of papers; technical jargon and documentation all over them. "The techs are requesting some stabilizers for the engine, special coolant tanks and an entirely new AI system for the rocket launch in 2027. You know, anti-HAT-1 gear. They need to know whether the Spaceship Engineer Committee needs to reconvene."

"Of course. Put them on the little black shelf by the Ponco Series Interface. The big computer with the three screens." Waving dismissively in the general direction of the interface, she did not look away from the rejected petition and her brows furrowed deeper.

"Another rejected petition, Miss Aura? You seem out of it."

"Yes, Terran. They acknowledge that there is evidence proving someone else was involved in the murder, but refuse to retry."

Terran waited until the reams were settled before responding. "Can you put a name on the new suspect?"

"Yes." She hissed a little on the 's'.

Clay figured she didn't want to talk about it. The person she believed destroyed the lives of everyone in her family wasn't going to stand in court any time soon. "I'll leave you to your robots then. I'll see you soon, Clonco. Tell Ponco I said I."

He was halfway out the door before she looked up. "Terran, wait. How much do you know about what happened?"

"I know Doctor Cykes and her daughter died, stabbing and a hemorrhage respectively, and Mister Simon was convicted of it. Apparently now I also know there was another person involved."

"Let me tell you. You are on staff now, you deserve to know of Cosmos Space Center's darkest secret."

~~~~

"You believe that it was Doctor Cykes' daughter who committed the crime?"

"Like I said, Athena was in terrible pain the last few months of her life. Inhuman suffering often brings out the worst in even the gentlest of souls."

"Wouldn't Doctor Cykes have done something to soothe her daughter?"

"She could not. Supplies were completely restricted until the launch of HAT-1. She tried to get painkillers for her daughter, but doctors of medicine wouldn't understand how Athena was hurting and wouldn't give a prescription. Pediatric over-the-counters weren't strong enough to even dull the edge. What the child probably needed was morphine, but without a prescription she couldn't have it."

"Morphine?! She wasn't just in pain, she was in agony!"

"That's why she never left the fourth floor the last few months of her life. It was a good day if she left her room. Robotics lab, psyche lab, her family's apartment there on the floor; they were the only places she went." Aura snorted a sigh. "Just before the supplies were restricted, Metis got me to develop a pair of radio headphones that would interfere with signals coming into Athena's ears. Her pain worsened severely around the time I finished, and she refused to wear them, which progressed whatever was wrong severely. She died, as you know, on October 13th from brain hemorrhaging, just about three months later."

"But her death wasn't caused by whatever was hurting her, it was the skull puncture wound she got on the 7th, correct?"

"That's what her paperwork says. But it's also likely that whatever was wrong before was killing her and the wound finished off any chance she had at fighting. If that's so, she held on for a long time. I believe she was overcome with pain, and with the belief that the headphones Metis ordered were the cause, killed her mother. She may have even known she was dying. Maybe she wanted to take Metis with her because she was scared of death. I don't know, Athena is dead. All I know is Athena killed her, not Simon."

Clay's body ran colder and colder as it processed a little girl, driven mad by chronic head pain, stabbing her mother to death. It disgusted him to the core, but he retained his stomach for the time being. It almost disturbed him more that Aura discussed it so casually. This was matricide! Caused partially by some degree of medical malpractice! "D-Does anyone else know your theory of events?"

"All of the higher staff. Everyone who knew Metis well when she died. Yuri, Solomon, the technicians. You are the last one."

"Your brother doesn't know? It could save him!"

"Simon won't hear of it!" She tilted her head away as if he had suddenly turned into fermenting roadkill right in front of him. "Athena is his angel, he won't hear of any bad words about Athena. He believes Athena's head problems and Metis' death were separate. The only events he believes are related are the deaths of the two. He won't even let me breathe a sound of the possibility that Athena killed Metis because of a misunderstanding of her chronic head condition. He just pounds the Detention Center window and snarls 'Athena is gone. Don't you dare deface her name. She didn't take her mother's life, but had hers taken as well.' If he knew I was sharing what the evidence was suggesting he probably would be guilty of a murder, mine!"

'I never knew your brother and little Athena were so close."

"She may have called me Mama Aura, why I don't know when she loved my nerdy brother so much more, but Simon was the only person she ever wanted to be around aside from her mother. If she wasn't obeying the staff, all it took was a word from Simon and she'd be rolling over for him." She leaned closer to Clay. "Now I've heard your little friend with the horns... he's studying law?"

"Planning to. Apollo wants to be a defense attorney, but he hasn't started yet. He has to be eighteen since he's orphaned. Why?"

"No attorney will take this case from me because the obvious suspect is dead, even though Simon is very alive. But if you could convince your friend... this system of ours can't be trusted, but we need someone on the inside to take it down."

"I don't know if Apollo would accept. He didn't know Athena, he just came to her funeral to comfort me. There's also a chance he won't get his badge in time, and even then he'll just be a rookie lawyer. Definitely not someone like Wright or Gavin."

"Believe me, Wright was my preferred choice. But he's disbarred, so not much he can do. Gavin refused instantly."

"I don't think Apollo would want to discuss a real case until he's actually in college and has a chance at getting his badge. But I'd be willing to help you with your side."

"Oh, I'd love that Terran! You and me working together to expose the truth behind the princess' last days. Together we'll take down the sun and moon of the legal world, as Metis would have described."

After Clay bid his true farewell and returned to wherever he came from, Aura returned to the interface and picked up her photo of Metis, tracing the lines gently. "I'm sorry it all went so wrong, Metis... but the princess can't hold her grasp from the other side for much longer. The honor of GYAXA will be restored, Simon will be set free. I and the robots, along with Mr. Terran will fight for the truth of your final days; by whatever means necessary. The time is soon, Metis, I must be ready, for my brother, and for you."

She turned to both her robots: Clonco, who had heard the whole story, and Ponco, who he had transferred all the data to over the interface; smirking finally with a victory she'd been fighting for since October 7th, 2020. "You both know?"

Yes, Miss Aura! Our data sharing server is without fail! Ponco clapped her robotic pincers together. For Mommy Metis!

"Good. We will prove without a doubt that, not only is Simon innocent beyond a doubt, but that Metis' princess was the one who spilled her blood. This, is what Mama has decreed."

~~~~

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This chapter is totally not based/inspired by the above song, no absolutely not.

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