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The last thing both of them had expected was for the otherwise almost normal-looking tv remote to shrink Apollo. He'd ended up on Prosecutor Blackquill's desk, only a few inches, and the hawk wasn't the only one now eyeing him hungrily.
It had been evidence in a case, one which young Justice was the defense attorney. The young man had begrudgingly entered the office, hoping a look at some of evidence to clear up any confusion about the current case, which as usual, he was a pretty clueless.
Simon had only jokingly pulled out the remote and pressed the mute button to tell him to "Silence" himself.
And somehow, that had lead to a tiny red lawyer on the desk before him.
Simon called Taka away, worried the bird might mistake the tiny man for a tasty rodent, before giving Apollo all his attention. And it was hard not too, as despite his now very small stature, Apollo Justice's chords of steel were still quite effective.
The poor little red attorney was basically screaming, blabbering nonsense in his panicked state. Blackquill's expression changed to that of clear annoyance.
As the panic subsided, so did his shrieking, as he tried to think of a way to solve the problem.
"Hey, uh, Prosecutor Blackquill, can you hear me?"
Simon sighed. "Yes."
"Good. Uh, see any buttons for growing?"
"Unfortunately, it seems such an answer is as obvious to the reason it caused you to shrink."
"Oh."
Apollo tried his best to stay calm, knowing full well the twisted samurai could do anything he wanted to him, and he couldn't fight back.
"Maybe we should go ask Ema..."
He looked towards the door longingly, before turned back to Simon. A chill ran down his spine.
The look of hunger had returned to the man's cold glaring eyes, this time more intense than before. Apollo felt like prey under the gaze of a predator, his mind starting to kick into flight or flight.
"Not yet. There was still something I wanted to test out myself."
Already on edge, Apollo just narrowly dodged a swift hand, as Simon attempted to snatch him up. He bolted, knowing there was nowhere to run, but hoping he'd delay his capture long enough for someone to arrive.
He wasn't so lucky the second time. Much like a hawk swooping down on its prey, Apollo was snatched off the desk, and now the the "talons" of Blackquill. The prosecutor grinned menacingly as he brought his catch closer to his face, gazing down at the tiny trapped attorney.
"Blackquill what the hell are you doing?!" He shrieked, but to the much larger man, it more likely sounded like a squeak.
"Taking full opportunity of this gift bestowed upon me." Apollo swallowed, afraid of what the prosecutor had in mind. He didn't need any "superpower" to guess it wasn't in his best interest.
The grip around him tightened as an idea seemed to rouse in Simon's head, his gaze flickering to Taka before returning to his prize. His grin widened.
"You know, ever since you beat me, I've been quite curious." Simon was smug, whatever he had planned he was quite pleased with. With hesitance, Apollo replied.
"What's that?"
"What does victory taste like?"
Before Apollo had much of a chance to realize what the prosecutor was implying, Simon opened his mouth wide, and brought the tiny attorney closer to it.
"NO NO NO NO-!!"
But his pleas meant nothing to the prosecutor, as Apollo quickly found himself inside the former convict's mouth, popped in like a candy. Before he had a chance to get out, teeth closed behind him, trapping him inside.
It was hot, wet and cramped, his disheveled form splayed across the tongue, which began to move and curl itself around him. Apollo struggled against it, alot less vocal now that the other's spit could easily get in his mouth, but to no avail. He became exhausted quickly, the humid air thick and hard to breathe, panting after each attempt at freedom.
Meanwhile, Simon seemed to be enjoying himself, humming every now and then as he savored the little attorney, Apollo absolutely soaked in saliva, and now too tired to put up much a fight. He lay there, hoping the twisted samurai would soon bore of his treat and set him free.
When the mouth opened again, he felt a great relief. The light outside almost blinded him, such a strong contrast to the darkness he'd been plunged into. He let himself be plucked from the jaws, a slight smile finding it's way onto his face.
Blackquill dangled the dripping Justice infront of himself, a pleased grin on his face. Apollo looked away from the giant, just hoping that the prosecutor would stop teasing him and put him down. He was already trembling from being held up so high off the ground.
"Hmm, tasted quite salty, but had a good savoury tone to it. Thought victory would taste a little sweeter."
He didn't respond. He wasn't sure what to say, afraid the wrong words would put him back in there. He just wanted to be put down, please... "put me down."
He wasn't sure if he'd even said that out loud, if only just a whisper, all he knew is that he was too high.
After many seconds longer that he liked, Blackquill seemed to be done with his apparent fun, the smile fading.
"Alright Justice-dono, let's go find (the detective)."
Relief flooded into Apollo, momentarily overriding his fear of his current height. It was gonna be over, he'd be free-
His thoughts were quickly interrupted by a loud growl. Not that of any cat or dog, but one that immediately plunged Apollo into a cold sweat.
Blackquill was hungry.
And said hungry man seemed to be reading the poor little lawyer's mind, as the foreboding grin returned to his face.
"...After lunch that is."
Apollo barely had a moment to plead his case before his was tossed back into the fleshy cell, teeth clicking closed right after his entry.
Soon he was covered a new layer of spit, his hair beyond ruined, as he futility wrestled with the muscle once again. Only this time, after thoroughly soaking him, young Justice was being shoved towards the back.
He no longer cared how gross it was, as he immediately screamed in protest.
"Oh my gosh, are you eating me, wait, no no NO NO NO BLACKQUILL PLEASE WHAT ARE YOU DOING I'LL DIE DON'T SWALLOW ME PLEASE I-"
It didn't matter whether his cries were heard or not, as his legs slipped into the throat. With a loud surrounding gulp, he was pulled downward, the throat muscles smothering him. It was so hard to breathe, with right flesh pressing all around him, he did his best to keep his breaths relaxed and focused.
And he focused, not just in his breaths, but the ones surrounding him. The constant drum of the heart, momentarily getting louder, before starting to fade away. It was so loud, yet constant and calming. He focused on the sound, until without warning, he was dropped into a much larger space, sliding unceremoniously into a puddle of unknown liquid.
With his chest now free of constant pressure, Apollo greedily sucked in the stale humid air, which luckily, there seemed to be plenty. His breathing relaxed with his panic, but brought in new emotions.
Hopelessness, sorrow, dispear. Sitting in a puddle of god-knows-what, Apollo didn't know what to do, what could he do? At this point, it was solely Blackquill's decision to what would happen to the little attorney, and he sure hoped it was mercy.
He lay back, no longer caring what fluids he may get covered in, the walls pulsing and kneading him. It was... nicer in here than he'd expected. Alot less suffocating and burning, and alot more, well, soft. Just about as wet as he expected though.
The stomach groaned and growled, seemingly still hungry, and Apollo desperately hoped Blackquill wouldn't start eating some udon.
-----
When Athena entered Simon's office, she'd expected to see Apollo there, not just said prosecutor, laid back in his chair, smugly grinning and relaxed.
"Hey Simon, you seen Apollo around here?"
Oddly, he seemed quite too surprised by her entry, his face momentarily betraying the look of being caught, before quickly turning much more neutral.
"No, I haven't seen Justice-dono." The statement was followed by a rather loud burp. "Excuse me."
Something seemed off about Simon, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. But with no reason to stick around and a fellow attorney to find, Athena had no reason to stick around.
That was, until, her sensitive ears picked up on a voice. It sounded muffled, yet the tone was clearly desperate. She couldn't understand what was being said, said voice unclear and too quiet. And strangest of all, it seemed to be coming from Simon.
"Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?" There was guilt in his voice, he was likely lying.
"A small voice. Sounds like it's coming from you."
Simon seemed oddly uncomfortable about the claim, and persistent about dismissing it. "Ah, well maybe from the room behind me. I don't hear anything."
Too curious and suspicious to leave the manner alone, Athena walked up to Simon, and as she expected, it was much louder now. Only, now she could hear who it was.
Apollo.
It was still hard to hear what he was saying, so she leaned in close to Simon, who seemed rather nervous, eyeing something on his desk.
"Apollo?"
"A-Athena? Can you hear me?"
"I can hear you!"
"Thank goodness. You gotta help me!"
What had Blackquill done to him? She looked up at Simon, who kept a straight face, yet avoided eye contact. On that note...
"Where are you Apollo?"
"In his stomach!!"
Did... did she hear him right? Simon stayed quiet, reaching for something on his desk.
"What? Apollo what are yo-"
"HE SHRUNK AND SWALLOWED ME WHOLE!!!"
WHAT!?! Widgit spoke the immediate thought for her. Simon sighed, a tv remote now in his hand.
"But ho-"
She quickly found the answer, as Simon suddenly started growing, and... so did the desk. Wait no, they weren't growing!
-----
The last thing Apollo has wished for and expected was another person to join him in the belly of the prosecution. Athena tumbled atop him, leaving him both surprised and likely a little bruised.
"...Athena?"
Widgit lit up the fleshy chamber slightly, and he was able to actually see their cell for the first time, not that he wanted to. But he could see the shock on her face, clearly just as horrified of the situation as he was.
"He... he ate us!!" Athena growled before giving the stomach wall a strong punch, clearly not afraid of possibly hurting their captor. "How could he?!"
She broke down crying, slamming her fist into the gut again and again, each time a little weaker.
"...why would he do this?"
"I don't know." Apollo tried to remain calm and collected, but his voice was quivering. "All I do know is we're not dead yet. So that's good, right?"
Athena tried to laugh, but it was weak, his comment bringing minimal comfort, but still better than none. She grew tired of hitting the wall.
"...You're right Apollo. It hasn't stinged yet, has it?" She cautiously submerged her hand in the pool of fluid, thankfully receiving no signs of acid burns from doing so.
"Well, let's hope it stays that way."
The pair huddled together, trapped in their noisy wet prison with no signs of parole. A belch rumbled around them, followed by the sigh of their captor.
Hopefully Blackquill would bail them out soon.
-----
Apparently, Apollo's client hadn't heard from his attorney since taking the case, which was odd. Infact, no one seemed to know where he or Athena were.
So, Phoenix decided to check in with Prosecutor Blackquill, as he was the prosecutor for the case. He could have a lead on the pair's location.
He knocked on the door.
"Come in."
So he entered.
Blackquill seemed a bit off-put by Phoenix's arrival, as if he was hoping the attorney wouldn't be visiting.
"Hey Prosecutor Blackquill, have you seen Apollo or Athena?"
"No."
Immediately chains appeared infront of the prosecutor, five bright red locks clicking shut on the intertwining metal.
Oh.
"Ah, I see. Well let know if you spot them."
He left right away. He had a bad feeling pressing without evidence would be a bad idea.
At least, he'd feel alot safer with the chief prosecutor by his side.