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The surge of confidence that came from Mr. Wright’s phone call could only keep Apollo going for so long. At the end of the day, he and Athena still remained standing in the middle of an office space filled with “repossessed” stickers over everything they owned, a three-million-dollar debt, and Trucy’s impending trial hanging over their heads.
Athena sat halfway on the armrest of the couch to check some phone messages buzzing for her attention. “It’s okay,” she said, letting out a sigh of relief. “Just Junie checking up on us. She saw the footage from Trucy’s magic show.”
“Tell her we’re fine.” Apollo took out his own phone, unlocked the screen – and ended up putting it back in his pocket. Clay couldn’t talk him through his problems anymore and he’d just hung up with Mr. Wright. He had nobody else to call.
As Roger Retinz had so triumphantly reminded them a minute ago, the Wright Anything Agency had very few people who wanted to help them now.
“Everybody in the country is against you! No office… No allies…”
No sooner did Apollo resign himself to this reality when he heard the Guitar Serenade ringtone go off again. Mr. Wright must have forgotten to tell him something important. He picked it up without bothering to read the name of the caller. “Yes, Mr. Wright?”
“…Herr Forehead, what is going on at that agency of yours?”
Apollo felt his eye twitch. Why. Why.
He withdrew the phone from his ear just to confirm that yes, it was Prosecutor Gavin’s name on the screen. Athena looked up from her own phone and tilted her head. “Are you okay? Who’s calling?”
Nobody, he mouthed to her. Putting the phone back up to his ear, he said to Prosecutor Gavin, “We’re fine. Everything’s fine here.”
“I just watched someone throw a rock through your office window. That’s your idea of ‘fine,’ Herr Forehead?”
“Yeah, well, the crowd’s gone now.” Apollo half-glanced at the broken window, although he couldn’t see what was happening outside without actually walking over to it. At least the noise had died down. Prosecutor Gavin would have to take him at his word.
“I doubt they’ll be gone for long. You’d better leave right away. Is Fraulein Cykes with you? I saw both your faces in the windows during the news report.”
“Yes, she’s here with me, and we are leaving,” Apollo huffed. Yeesh, I’m not a complete idiot.
“And where do you plan to go? I imagine that Ratings Rajah will have your addresses plastered everywhere on the Internet, if he hasn’t done so already.”
Apollo’s face paled. That did sound exactly like something that Retinz would do. The creep probably drove over to one of their apartments right after he left the agency. His camera crew would be waiting to ambush them as soon as they got home. But where else could they go?
“Herr Forehead?”
Maybe Mr. Wright knows somebody that we can trust. Like Mr. Edgeworth. But do we even want to bother the Chief Prosecutor over something like this?
“…Herr Forehead…?”
Maybe we should hunker down here and hope nobody comes back…?
“Herr Forehead!”
Apollo almost dropped the phone due to Klavier shouting into his ear. “Sorry, what was that you were saying?”
Prosecutor Gavin sighed. “You have no idea what to do, do you?”
“Look,” Apollo began, “It’s not that I’m some fledging attorney who doesn’t have a clue…”
Klavier cut him off mid-rant. “I never said you were.” (Yes, you have. Multiple times, thought Apollo.) “But you’ve never had to deal with this level of controversy from the paparazzi. I only know because I have dealt with it- many, many times. At Fraulein Wright’s age, no less. Speaking of which, how is she holding up?”
Apollo massaged his forehead. “She’s fine,” he answered on instinct. “…Okay, no. She’s not fine. But she will be. Athena and I have been gathering evidence all day to prove her innocence. No matter what, we’re going to get her acquitted tomorrow.”
“I have no doubt that you two will think of something to turn the trial around at the last minute. But in the meantime, you still need to figure out where you’re staying tonight.”
Apollo sighed. “We’ll just…we’ll figure something out…”
There was a pause on the other end of the line. “Listen: why don’t you and Fraulein Cykes spend the night at my place? No one will think to look for you there.”
Perhaps the stress of the day’s events had gotten to him more than he’d realized, because Apollo’s initial reaction to this suggestion was pure relief. The idea made sense; nobody would think to look for them at Prosecutor Gavin’s house. And he’d have so much extra security, being a famous rock star as well as a prosecutor. He’d know exactly how to handle any paparazzi that came to investigate.
And then the rest of Apollo’s brain caught up to him as he remembered the one, insurmountable problem with this solution: it would mean spending an entire night at Prosecutor Gavin’s house.
“Thanks, but we’ve got this covered.”
Another pause followed. “Ah, yes. You do seem to have everything covered. Everything except that window.”
Athena stepped into Apollo’s line of vision. “Seriously, who’s calling?” she whispered.
Apollo shook his hand and turned his back to her. “I appreciate the offer,” he continued. “But it’s too far away from here, and we don’t know where you live, so…” Athena peered over his shoulder in an attempt to see his phone screen. “It’s fine!” he hissed to her. “It’s nobody! Can you check to see if the coast is clear?”
“Are you talking to Fraulein Cykes?” asked Klavier. “Can you put her on the phone? I’d like to speak to someone with common sense.”
Athena’s face lit up. “Is that Prosecutor Gavin? It sounds like him. Why would we need to know where he lives?” It only took a second for her to put two and two together, and her eyes widened. “Is he inviting us over to his house?!”
“No,” Apollo lied. “He just wanted to hear about the case, and I told him, so…” Athena yanked the phone out of his hand. “Hey! Athena!” He tried to grab it back, but she skipped out of his reach.
“Hey, Prosecutor Gavin! Long time, no see! Hmmm?” Athena listened to his response and slumped against the couch with her hand placed over her heart. “It’s been awful. Just awful. That creepy Roger Retinz just tried to drive us out of our office! He says we have to be out by tomorrow! And I almost got hit by a rock! Mmm-hmm. Yeah. That’s right. I could have died.” Apollo rolled his eyes. Of course, she’d conveniently left out the part where she ran to the window and scared off the person who threw the rock. Someone was clearly campaigning for the “Most Melodramatic Actress” award.
Suddenly, Athena sat up straight. “YES! Of course we’d love to crash at your place! That’s the best idea ever!”
“No, it isn’t!” Apollo protested.
She ignored him. “Uh-huh. That makes sense. Okay, we’ll meet you there!” With the call finished, she tossed the phone back to Apollo and pumped her fists. “Alright, slumber party! We’re meeting him over at People Park.”
“Athena, no!” Apollo groaned. “I’m not staying at Prosecutor Gavin’s house.”
“Yes, you are. He invited us. Besides, where else are we supposed to go?”
“Literally anywhere else.”
Athena rolled her eyes. “That’s not an answer and you know it. Drop the prickly attitude, pack some things, and let’s go. He thinks we only have a few minutes before people start coming back to check out the Agency.”
“No, Athena, come on!” She paid no attention to his cries; going over to the closet to get a spare suit for the next day’s trial. They always kept an emergency stash on hand, just in case something weird happened. (And when it came to working for the Wright Anything Agency, something usually did.) Apollo racked his brains for an alternate location and remembered a bouquet of flowers that they’d found on Trucy’s dressing table. “We could call Damian and Jinxie?”
Athena threw a spare toothbrush into her bag. “We are not driving all the way out to Tenma Town, Apollo. Now pack your stuff.”
“But most of my stuff’s at my apartment!”
“He’ll let us borrow whatever we don’t have.”
“I’m not borrowing Prosecutor Gavin’s stuff.”
“Apollo, stop whining. It’s one night. Besides, I want to see what a rock star’s mansion looks like. You think he has one of those grand staircases with a banister? I’m sliding down it if he does.” Athena grinned as she finished dropping her hairbrush and Trucy’s case files into her bag. “Okay, let’s just check outside…” She stuck her head out the window and gave Apollo a thumbs-up. “Coast is still clear. Let’s go!”
In the future, Apollo would maintain that Athena had not literally dragged him kicking and screaming to People Park. Athena would maintain that his behavior came pretty close to literal.
As Klavier drove through the security gate, Apollo leaned against the window next to his seat – definitely due to exhaustion from a full day of investigating, and definitely not because he felt any curiosity to see what a rock star’s mansion looked like. Somehow, it did not surprise him that they had to drive past hedges sculpted in the shape of musical notes. However, it was hard to get a good look at the house itself. Its white exterior had been built with sharp corners that disappeared into the trees surrounding it, making it look smaller than Apollo suspected it actually was.
Athena pressed her face right up against her own window. “So, the is Casa de Gavin, huh? Hey, Prosecutor Gavin, is it true that your house is shaped like that ‘G’ necklace you’re always wearing?”
“Ja. I wanted it to have it’s own unique flair, you know?”
Now that they brought it up, Apollo remembered Trucy telling him something of the sort after their first trial against Klavier. She’d picked it up from one of the many Gavinners’ fan sites that she’d started following. And she’d told him all about the sculpted hedges too. The notes that they formed made up the refrain for “Thirteen Years’ Hard Time for Love.” According to Trucy (and the fan site), Klavier liked having the reminder of where he’d gotten his start, though the house hadn’t been built until after his fourth album went platinum.
“You know, Polly, if the Wright Anything Agency ever gets a bigger office, we should get plants like that too! We can have them shaped like some of my best tricks and your best cases! Mr. Hat taking me hostage in the courtroom, you holding up my magic panties…”
“No. No. Absolutely not.”
Trucy ought to be the one sitting in the back of Klavier’s car. She would’ve been thrilled to explore a fellow performer’s house.
Apollo reached for his phone, just as he felt it buzzing against his pocket. He expected to see a text from Mr. Wright. Once again, he was wrong; it came from Ema. Are you guys okay? I just saw you on the news! A couple of dots appeared across the screen, and then: Did you save the rock? I can dust it for fingerprints!
That would be her way of helping. Apollo wrote back: We’re fine. Sort of. Prosecutor Gavin’s letting us stay at his house.
Oh no. Need me to come rescue you?
Apollo chuckled. Maybe. We just got here. I’ll tell you if I need a getaway car.
Okay. Just let me know if I can help at all.
He thought it over for a moment. If it’s not out of your way, could you pick up an extra-large cup of Eldoon’s Noodles and take it to Trucy? I want to make sure she’s eating something she likes tonight.
Ema wrote back right away. On it! I’ll throw in a bag of Snackoos for dessert.
Thanks, Ema.
As he put his phone away, he felt a sharp poke in the shoulder. “Apollo, we’re here. You’re not planning to spend the night in the backseat, are you?” asked Athena.
Tempting as that sounded, he followed her out of the car and up the steps to Klavier’s house. Athena rubbed her hands together. “Finally! I get to see the inside of a famous person’s house! Let’s take a looksee…”
When Klavier finished unlocking the door and beckoned them inside, Athena’s shoulders drooped. They’d entered a perfectly normal foyer. Luxurious, compared to what they were used to. Apollo’s apartment didn’t come with a chandelier that had that many tiers (or any kind of chandelier, for that matter). Or tiled flooring with a G-shaped pattern in the center. Or windows that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. Nonetheless, it lacked the dazzle one would expect from renowned prosecutor and musical sensation Klavier Gavin.
“C’mon,” Athena griped. “Don’t you have any giant sculptures of yourself? Secret passages that lead to a hidden swimming pool? A ball pit? Musical floors?”
“…Athena, what kind of homes do you expect famous people to have?” asked Apollo.
“I wanted to slide down a banister,” Widget groaned.
Klavier just laughed. “I’m afraid I’m lacking in secret passages, but I do have a swimming pool. Shall I show you both around, or would you like to pick out a guest room and get settled first?”
“Get set…”
“GRAND TOUR!” Athena shouted over Apollo.
Okay, why do I even bother anymore? he thought to himself.
Klavier took them to the rec room first, which had a section of the floor slightly raised as a stage area. Much like his office, dozens of guitars stayed safely locked behind a bulletproof glass case. Another side of the room had a flatscreen TV mounted against the wall, with a few lounge chairs arranged around it for easy viewing. And while Apollo wouldn’t have suspected Klavier of being a gamer, he noticed an abandoned Switch controller lying on the carpet.
And in another corner… “Apollo, look!” Athena gasped. “He’s got his own bar!”
“Hey, Athena,” Apollo reminded her, “You’re not twenty-one yet.”
“Hey, Apollo. You’re a stick-in-the-mud.”
Klavier shook his head. “Sorry, Fraulein. I’d have to prosecute myself.” He glanced inside the minifridge behind the counter. “Let’s see…I have some grape juice?”
“Ugh, fine.” Athena took the can with her as she continued exploring the rec room. “Where does this door go, Prosecutor Gavin?”
“That? It’s just one of my storage closets. You’re welcome to look around if you like.” He took a sip of grape juice and added, “And you two don’t need to keep calling me ‘Prosecutor Gavin,’ you know. It’s not like we’re in court.”
“Got it, Prosec… Klavier!” Athena happily skipped off to examine the closet. Apollo meandered over to it, decided he didn’t care enough, and leaned against one of the chairs by the TV instead.
He knew he should say something himself; maybe thank Klavier for letting them crash at his place or make some kind of small talk. But Trucy and Athena had a better grasp on small talk than he did. It ended up not mattering; Klavier came over to sit across from him and said, “So, tell me about the case. I heard some details over at the Prosecutor’s Office, but it doesn’t all add up. Why did it lead to you getting kicked out of your own office?”
Apollo grimaced. “Oh, that. It’s Roger Retinz’ fault. He tricked Trucy into signing a contract where she owes him three million dollars in liability if her show gets canceled for any reason.”
Klavier choked on his grape juice. “What?! What three million liability? That wasn’t on the contract when I looked at it!”
“You looked over Trucy’s contract?” asked Apollo, straightening up off his chair. “When?”
“Trucy came by my office at the end of last week to ask for a second opinion. She thought I’d be the best person to help, given all of my experience with the law and entertainment. I was impressed by how well she’d handled things on her own and didn’t find anything strange in the contract.” He struck the armrest with his can of juice. “I should have been with her when she signed it.”
Apollo sighed. “It wouldn’t have made any difference. Athena and I were there and it took a lot of investigating before we found the trick to the clipboard. Unfortunately, there’s nothing to definitively prove that Retinz planned to swindle her.”
“Oh? And what about the murder? Because it certainly sounds like Retinz knew there wouldn’t be any show.”
“We checked with the studio and he’s got an airtight alibi. There’s no way he could have done it.”
Klavier nodded thoughtfully. “Ah…but have you forgotten, Herr Forehead? We thought Daryan had an airtight alibi as well.”
“Huh. You’ve got a point.” Apollo rested his fingers against his forehead. “But at least Daryan was in the same building. Roger Retinz was twenty minutes away…” Then again, Kristoph had been in jail when the murder of Drew Misham happened. And everyone who’d verified Retinz’ alibi worked for him. “…Maybe his whole studio’s in on it?”
“Or maybe he orchestrated the murder without having to be at the theater. Sometimes there’s an accomplice involved.”
Athena interrupted their discussion, calling out from the closet, “Hey, Klavier, what’s this?”
“What’s what, Fraulein?” Klavier stuck his head into the closet. The easygoing smile dropped right off his face. “Ah. That. It’s not worth your time. Just one of the many little things that our band had merchandised.”
“Wait, what is it?” Apollo made a beeline for the closet. He couldn’t ever remember a time when Klavier tried to deflect their attention away from Gavinners’ merchandise.
Athena came out, holding up a plastic case with the silhouettes of each of the Gavinners on its cover. “Check it out, Apollo! It’s some kind of video game for Klavier’s band!”
Apollo took a closer look and immediately recognized the title. It came from a long-running series of games, Dance Master, more specifically, Dance Master: Gavinners’ Edition. He’d seen it plastered all over the mall with ridiculous slogans about proving that you were not guilty of bad dance moves. Clay threatened to buy it for him as a joke present, but thankfully never went through with it.
Oddly enough, Klavier looked at it with the same distaste. “Yes, it’s a video game. Not our finest product. Just put it away.”
“C’mon, can’t I try playing it? Please? It looks really fun!” Athena flipped the case over and read aloud, “Order in the court! You’ve been charged with multiple counts of dancing to the Gavinners’ greatest hits from their seven-year career! Will you achieve a high score and get acquitted, or wind up with ‘13 Years Hard Time for Love?’ Play along with your friends and you just might avoid a guilty (love) verdict!”
Apollo cringed. It’s so much worse than I thought. What level of Khurainese hell is this?
Athena gave Klavier her biggest puppy dog eyes. “Please, Prosecutor Gav- I mean, Klavier? Please can you show me the console I need to play this? Please? Please?”
She now had him backed into a corner- figuratively and literally. Klavier sighed. “Ah, alright then. I’ll…er…boot it up for you.”
After a minute or so of warmup time, the Gavinners’ silhouettes appeared across the screen against a violet backdrop, accompanied by cheers from an invisible crowd. Klavier had his controller in such a tight grip that Apollo could see veins bulging in his hands as he hit Select Your Song! “I’ll just pick out a suitable track for you…”
“Can I pick?” Athena chirped at his shoulder. “What kind of songs are on here? I want to try all of them!”
“Nein, we’ll be here all night if we do that. Start with one.”
Apollo folded his arms over his chest. Something was not right about Klavier. He hadn’t seen the prosecutor so on edge since the jurist trial. Were those sweat drops on the back of his neck…? “What’s got you so worked up?” he asked. “It’s just a stupid game.”
“I’m not worked up, Herr Forehead.”
Apollo didn’t need his bracelet to see through that lie. Klavier scrolled through the songs so fast that they could barely see the titles come up and only caught the first few notes before he moved on to the next. “Klavier, slow down,” Athena scolded. “Where’s ‘Guilty Love?’ I’ll start with that one.”
“Nein, nein, everyone does ‘Guilty Love.’ Why not something a little more obscure, like…like…”
All the while, the songs went past the screen in an indecipherable blur.
Finally, Athena got fed up and grabbed Klavier’s arm, forcing him to stop in front of “13 Years Hard Time for Love.” “C’mon, I’m your guest, so let me…wait…”
As a thirty-second clip of the song played on loop, the screen displayed a “Previous High Score” next to the cover art for the album.
A bright letter “F” shimmered before their eyes.
“F…?” Apollo frowned. “Someone didn’t do too well at one of your parties…?” Except that did not explain why Klavier was now arm-wrestling Athena for the controller and positioning himself so that partially blocked the screen. “Prosecutor Gavin…?” Apollo tried, but he couldn’t hold back his grin. “…Are you bad at rhythm games?”
“Nein!” Klavier protested, as Athena elbowed him in the ribs and went back to scrolling through the song selections.
“An ‘F’ for ‘Guilty Love,’ an ‘F’ for ‘Love Without Parole,’ an F for ‘My Boyfriend Is the Prosecution’s Witness,’ F…F…F…Klavier! How many of these songs have you failed?”
Klavier had his hands clasped against either side of his head, shaking it over and over, the way he only did when a case had gone horribly wrong, like his entire world had fallen out of tune. “Nein!” he exploded, suddenly throwing his hands up in the air. “I have perfect rhythm! My dance moves are flawless! It’s this abysmal excuse for a game that makes the mistakes! I have been rocking out for eight years. Eight years, you two! I know how to dance to my own songs, and that is not how you dance to my songs!”
Apollo smirked. “Aww, there, there.”
“Shut up, Forehead.”
“Did you embarrass yourself in front of all your rich and famous friends? Please tell me you did.”
“Of course not.” Klavier threw his hands to his side. “I had enough sense to test the game out first before I showed it off at one of my parties. And once it was clear that Dance Master was flawed beyond salvaging, I left it to the fate it deserved.”
Athena put her hands on her hips. “Now, Klavier, these games are supposed to be fun,” she scolded. “It doesn’t deserve to collect dust in your closet. C’mon, let’s see if we can’t improve the score a little.” She tapped on “13 Years Hard Time for Love” and selected the multiplayer option. “You have more than one controller, right?”
“Ach. Yes. But I am not dancing to this abomination.” Klavier whipped his head around to face Apollo. “Especially not when Herr Forehead has his phone out.”
“Oh, come on. How often am I going to witness Prosecutor Gavin get booed off a stage? I need to preserve this!” Apollo protested.
Athena marched back into the storage closet for more Joy Cons. “Apollo, put the phone down. You’re playing too.”
“What?” Apollo cried. “No, I’m just watching!”
“OBJECTION! This is a slumber party and we’re all playing. Get ready to rock, Herr Forehead,” said Athena, forcing the Joy Con into his hand.
Klavier smiled once more. “Well, if Herr Forehead’s going to make a fool out of himself too, I might as well join this catastrophe.”
“YEAH!” Athena cheered. “Mr. Rock Star Prosecutor, prepare to redeem yourself!”
The words Are You Ready to ROCK? flashed across the screen. Apollo had never felt less ready to rock in his life. But with Athena so insistent, he resigned himself to play along for the time being. Klavier was right about one thing- at least they’d all be making complete fools out of themselves. As for Athena, she bounced on the heels of her feet, all ready to start, except… “Quick question! How do you play this game?”
“Wait, wait, stop.” Apollo hit the pause button just before the first notes appeared. “Athena, you have no idea how to play?”
“Nope. Not a clue. I didn’t pick this game up in Europe. So what? You can explain it to me right now.”
Apollo sighed. “It’s a rhythm game. So, the goal is to listen to the song and match your movements up with what’s on the screen.” He started the game up again and the Gavinners’ silhouettes walked out onto the stage to enthusiastic applause. Court Is Now in Session! the screen declared. With that introduction finished, the opening notes of “13 Years Hard Time for Love” started up. Apollo paused the screen for a second time. “Okay, see the arrows, Athena? That’s showing you the move you need to do. Wait ‘til the arrow hits the bar on the bottom center of the screen to get a perfect score.”
Athena nodded. “Okay, I get it, I get it! So, we start by clapping our hands over our heads? Is that how you guys usually get the crowd warmed up, Klavier?”
“The Gavinners don’t need to do anything to get a crowd warmed up. They’re already warmed up.”
“Well, tough. This audience isn’t.” Apollo resumed play. “They usually start off easy and then the notes pick up as the song progresses…” He managed to hit the first few claps with an encouraging, Not Bad! His friends didn’t fare as well. Athena started too early and Klavier too slow – mostly because he was still pouting.
“Okay, keeping watching the screen. It’s getting faster.”
“How do you even know this game so well, Herr Forehead?” asked Klavier. “Are you a secret fan?”
Apollo stretched out his Joy Con to land a perfect Objection pose, eliciting cheers from the fake audience. “No. Clay and I picked up the first couple of games in the series as they came out. He was trying to get into GYAXA and I was studying for the bar exam. It was a good stress reliever.”
He slid to the left and knocked into Athena, who’d gotten her directions mixed up. “Ahhh! Sorry, Apollo!”
The audience booed. “HEY!” Athena thrust her Joy Con at the TV. “That’s not going to help me improve, you jerks! What about positive reinforcement?”
“It’s a video game, Athena. The video game audience doesn’t care about positive reinforcement,” Apollo reminded her.
“Neither does a real one,” added Klavier. He’d been no help at all with keeping their score afloat. When his attempts to match the movements on the screen didn’t work, his swings with the Joy Con got more and more erratic.
The arrows continued to flash across the screen, commanding them to move left to right, right to left, the occasional spin, a dramatic finger point, until the stage turned red and the boos got louder. Halfway through the second verse, the song came to a halt and GUILTY! appeared, complete with the sound of a gavel strike.
“Ach! The one time I don’t want a guilty verdict!” Klavier groaned.
Athena tossed her hair back. “No worries, Herr Prosecutor. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”
They tried and tried again, each time with the same result: guilty. “You see? This game is a complete rip-off!” Klavier threw his controller to the floor. “I don’t even move like that! Why oh why did I ever sign off on this?”
“Actually…” Apollo tapped his forehead. He’d had to muster up all of his willpower not to watch Klavier flounder around too much, or he wouldn’t have been able to stop laughing. But he’d seen enough to develop a theory of his own. “…I think I know what the problem is. It’s not your fault, but it’s not really the game’s fault either. Do you have any other controllers? Or a grip for the Joy Cons?”
Klavier nodded. “Okay, good. Go get one.” Apollo went back to the game’s settings. “See, there’s two different styles of play. We’ve been trying out the most popular setting with the motion controls. But with the other style, you’re not moving around. You just have to hit the buttons at the right time. Here, give it a try.”
Though Klavier did not look convinced, he selected “13 Years Hard Time for Love” again. As the buttons scrolled across the screen, he tapped away on his controller – and this time, the screen did not flash red as often as before. He got a few cheers from the audience and smiled slightly. But only slightly. His entire focus stayed locked on the song, until NOT GUILTY! YOU ROCK! appeared. Then he exhaled and dropped the controller.
“A B+! Way to go, Klavier,” Athena cheered, slapping him high-five.
Apollo nodded. “It’s not your timing that’s the problem. Who’d know your own songs better than you? It’s because you’re not used to doing the moves that the game’s asking you to do. That’s why you keep messing up.”
“Well, the game’s moves are completely ridiculous,” Klavier scoffed.
“I think they have to be a little exaggerated. That’s how the controller captures your movement,” explained Athena.
“Right,” said Apollo. “But you’re a professional, so you don’t need to overdo it when you’re on the stage. Plus, you probably have your own ideas of how you’d perform these numbers, and I bet you throw in some improv too. And now all of that muscle memory is throwing you off.”
“Wow, Apollo. You’re a Dance Master…master!” said Athena.
Apollo laughed. “Not really. It’s been years since I played this kind of game with Clay and I’d completely forgotten about it until now. Want to try another one, Klavier?”
“Oh no. I’ve had my fill for now.” Klavier smiled and clapped his hand on Apollo’s shoulder. “But thank you for helping me sort that out, Herr Forehead. Shall we get you two settled into your rooms now?”
“Sure, but I’m coming back to this before the night’s over. Now I have a score to settle with this game too,” said Athena.
As they were leaving the room, she hung back and whispered to Apollo, “That was fun, but wow – I’ve never seen Klavier so uptight like that before.”
Apollo shook his head. “Oh, you should’ve seen him that one time when he lost his keys at a concert…”
Once they’d finished unpacking what little they’d brought in their overnight bags, Apollo and Athena followed Klavier to the kitchen for a late dinner. Now that he had nothing but food to distract him, Apollo’s fingers itched toward his phone. They’d finished up their investigation several hours ago, but that was more than enough time for Roger Retinz to invent any number of conspiracy theories to set the world against Trucy.
“This baked salmon is amazing, Klavier!” Athena was saying.
“Thank you, Athe…” Klavier paused. “Herr Forehead. Drop that phone.”
Apollo looked up. “Listen, I’m not trying to ignore you guys, but there’s people calling for Trucy to get the death penalty and she’s only seventeen…”
Klavier sighed. “I know, Apollo. But they’re going to say those things regardless of whether you see them or not, and nothing you post will change their minds. The best you can do is keep yourself mentally well so that you can successfully defend Trucy tomorrow.” His eyes slid to their other companion. “That goes for you as well, Fraulein.”
Athena fumbled with her phone and managed to catch it before it hit the floor. “I swear I’m not looking up anything about Trucy!” she promised. “I just thought I’d look into the new prosecutor while we’re here. Have you met Nahyuta Sahdmadhi yet, Klavier?”
“Only once, when Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth gave him a tour of the Prosecutor’s Office. He seemed polite, if a little reserved. That doesn’t mean he’ll be polite to you in court.”
“Yeah, Detective Skye told us that he thinks of trials as a way to put a victim’s soul at peace. But I figured you must’ve heard of him if Apollo did.”
“Wow, thanks, Athena,” grumbled Apollo.
Klavier raised an eyebrow. “You’ve heard of Prosecutor Sahdmadhi too, Herr Forehead?”
“I’m not that out of touch with the legal world.” Apollo scooped up some more baked salmon in case either of them tried to ask him more questions.
Fortunately, Athena had gone back to her phone. Suddenly, she let out a sharp gasp. “You guys will not believe what I just found!”
Apollo choked down his salmon. “What?! Is it something with Trucy?”
“Huh? Oh no, nothing like that. It’s this.” She held up her phone so that they could see better and read aloud, “Which of These L.A. Prosecutors Is Your Soulmate? You guys, there are personality quizzes about us!”
Klavier chuckled. “I’ve seen more than enough Gavinners’ fan quizzes floating around online, but I never knew there were any for the prosecuting side of my career.”
“Well, get your phones out, boys. I want to hear who your soulmate is!”
“Fraulein, these are my coworkers!” Klavier protested, though he was still laughing.
“And which one of your lucky coworkers is it going to be?” she asked with a mischievous grin. “You too, Apollo.”
Apollo knew Athena well enough to understand that if he didn’t play along, she wouldn’t stop hounding him about it. And so he reluctantly pulled up the quiz, all the while praying fervently to the Holy Mother that he didn’t end up with Prosecutor Gavin. The two idiots on either side of him would never let him live it down.
Or Simon Blackquill. Athena would tell him the first chance she got.
Or his own brother, assuming the quiz had gotten updated to include Nahyuta.
Or one of the Paynes.
Or…there were really no good options.
Silence fell as the three of them tapped away. The questions were all too predictable and full of ridiculous legal puns: What testimony can you provide on your idea of the perfect date? A) A candlelit dinner at the fanciest restaurant, B) Front-row seats at your favorite band’s concert, C) Going on a nature walk, D) Snuggling on the couch at home with your special someone, or E) Duking it out with your significant other in a court of law?
Apollo blinked. Who in the world would have THAT for an ideal date? He selected D) and moved on.
Your beloved prosecutor has been accused of MURDER! Do you… A) Defend them! There’s no way they did it! B) Defend them, but not before you’ve had the chance to ascertain all of the facts, C) Eat the decisive evidence against them, D) Show up at the detention center just to point and laugh at them, or E) Innocent? Ha! You helped them bury the body!
Apollo wasn’t sure he wanted to know which prosecutor resulted from selecting “E” for that question…or “C,” for that matter. He kept moving down the list, each question getting stupider than the previous one. At least he could hear his friends laughing in the background, so someone was having a good time.
“Last one!” Athena declared. “Are you guys ready for your results?”
“Nearly,” answered Klavier. “Herr Forehead?”
“I’ve just got two more to go.”
“Okay. So, when everyone’s ready, we get our results at the same time. Agreed?” asked Athena. She and Klavier waited for Apollo to catch up, and then she counted: “Three…two…one…submit!”
The spinning circle on Apollo’s phone rolled and rolled for eternity, his romantic destiny in its hands. At last, it stopped, and the screen loaded. On either side of him, Athena shrieked, “What?” while Klavier slammed his phone face-down on the table.
Apollo blinked. He hadn’t gotten Klavier, or Simon Blackquill, or his brother. In that sense, and that sense alone, it could have been a lot worse, and he found himself saying, “Okay, that’s not terrible…”
Two heads shot up at once. “Ooooo, who did you geeeeet?” asked Athena.
“No, no, I didn’t mean it like that!” Apollo protested, as they both snickered. “What about you? Who’d you get?”
“Don’t change the subject, Herr Forehead. Who is it?”
They both inched closer to him, hands grasping for the phone. Resigned to his fate, Apollo flipped it over for them to see. They would never let him live this down either. “Not. One. Word.”
Athena leaned forward across the table. “You got the Chief Prosecutor?!”
“My, my. Herr Forehead’s not one to settle, is he?” Klavier snickered. He swiped the phone from Apollo and said, “Let’s see here…ha, they agree with me! You got Chief Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth! When it comes to soulmates, you won’t settle for just any old lawyer. No, you’re going straight to the top! And can we blame you? That man knows how to pull off a cravat, which shouldn’t even be possible, let alone legal!”
“That…what is that even supposed to mean?” demanded Apollo.
“Wait – there is more. With such a straightlaced personality, you need someone with a firm sense of morals, so a stick-in-the-mud like Miles Edgeworth is perfect for you.” Klavier snorted. “I mean, they’re not wrong…”
“Oh, shut up.”
Athena clasped her hands together. “The two stiffs in the legal world finding love in each other! How romantic!”
“Har har. Who’d you get, Athena?” She stopped grinning and glared at her phone. “Okay, this is a good one, I can tell. Who is it?”
“It’s…he’s not even…I don’t…just look at it!” Athena held up the screen so that they could see…a big picture of the judge. Underneath, the result read: No prosecutor is good enough for you! You prefer someone older and wiser, someone who will always help you make the correct verdicts in your life. Sure, he may be a little slow at times, but you love a project! Enjoy a romantic evening reading transcripts together after court is adjourned!
“But he’s not even a prosecutor!” Apollo protested.
“I know!” Athena yelled, throwing her hands up. “You could’ve warned me, you stupid quiz! How am I supposed to face that man in the courtroom now?”
Klavier snickered. “Just think, you’ll get to see your one true love tomorrow. Herr Judge is one lucky man.”
“Shut up, Mr. Rock Star. Who’d you get?” Athena demanded. Klavier flinched. “Aha! Whooooo’s the lucky coworker?”
She snatched his phone out of his hand and stared at it for a second. Then she collapsed laughing over the table. “You got YOURSELF?”
Klavier buried his face in his hands and groaned.
“Let me see that!” Apollo grabbed the phone from Athena and read out loud: “Congratulations! You get to date an internationally famous prosecutor AND internationally famous rock star! You two are…” He struggled to get the words out without laughing. “You two are…so much alike…you’re definitely soulmates!” He couldn’t keep going by that point.
Athena took it back and finished the rest: “At first glance, some might think your taste in men is glitzy and shallow, but you know there’s more to Klavier Gavin than meets the eye. Underneath the flashy showman is a deep, sensitive soul. Awww!”
“And to think, all this time, he was serenading himself,” said Apollo.
“This deep, sensitive soul is wondering why he ever let you into his house,” Klavier groaned.
“Because where are you going to find a better source of entertainment?” Athena replied, turning back to her phone. “Let’s see what other quizzes they have about…huh…?” She furrowed her brow, then slapped the table. “He what?”
“What is it? What’s wrong? Something about Trucy?” asked Apollo.
“Junie says she’s been keeping an eye on Roger Retinz’ account in case he posted anything else about us or Trucy, and he did show up at both our places! He’s throwing out rumors that we skipped town to get away from Trucy! Like we’d ever do something like that!”
“Fraulein. Give me your phone,” said Klavier.
“…Wait, hold on. She says he’s been to Nine Tails Vale…” Klavier got up and tried to pull Athena’s phone out of her hand, but she swatted him away. “…Oh boy. There’s a video.” She pressed play as Apollo came around to look too.
Roger Retinz and his crew stood outside the Tenma house, but their attempts to question Apollo’s former clients didn’t get far. “Back, demons! Back! Back!” Jinxie shouted, pelting them with her wards. Her father flexed his arms behind her, seconds away from going into full “Nine Tails Fox” mode. Retinz took the point and fled the scene.
Apollo laughed. “How dumb do you have to be to provoke a professional wrestler?”
“That case must’ve left a bigger impression than we thought,” noted Athena. “How else would Retinz have known to check their house?”
“Well, Jinxie did send flowers to Trucy for her magic show,” Apollo reminded her. “They were right there on her dressing room table, so he would’ve known they were close friends. We should see if we can give Lamiroir a heads-up, and…” His eyes widened. “Oh. No.”
“What?” asked Klavier.
“You, that’s what. You sent Trucy that big bouquet of roses.” Apollo leaned over Athena’s phone to get a look at the timestamp. “That video was uploaded about an hour ago. How long would it take someone to get from Tenma Town to…?” His question was answered by the sound of someone hammering against Klavier’s front door. They all looked at the window panes stretched across the room – giving a nice, full view of the kitchen to anyone who’d found a way to get past the security gate.
“How did they…?”
Klavier grabbed Apollo and Athena by the arms. “Never mind. Get in the laundry room. There’s no windows in there.”
“C’mon, let me at ‘em!” growled Athena, struggling to pull away from him.
“I’ve dealt with plenty of people like Retinz. Engaging with them is not the answer. Now, keep your heads down.” Klavier ushered them both out of the kitchen, through one of the winding hallways, and into the laundry room. After shutting the door, the three of them huddled together with their backs against the dryer. “I’m calling for backup now. Give them ten minutes tops.”
Athena repositioned herself to give her feet more room. “Look, you’re not going to like this, Klavier, but we’ll have to watch the live footage. That’s how we’ll know for sure when he decides to leave.”
Klavier sighed. “You make a good point, Fraulein. But do yourselves a favor and keep it muted at least.”
The video feed showed Retinz waiting right outside the front door. He turned to say something to the camera, while one of his assistants resumed knocking. Apollo itched to turn up the volume. What was Retinz actually saying? He had better not be badmouthing Klavier for letting them stay at his house. Or maybe he was just spewing more lies about Trucy. And if they didn’t know what kind of accusations he was inventing, how could they mount a successful defense at the trial?
Apollo reached for Athena’s phone - and Klavier swatted his hand away. “No, Forehead. You’ll thank me later.”
“Arrrrrrrghhh!” Apollo threw his hands up. “I have to know!”
“I can tell you what he’s saying,” said Athena.
“You can? Are you reading his lips or something?”
Athena cleared her throat and gave her best impression of Retinz’ smarmy voice. “We’re live outside Prosecutor Gavin’s house with tonight’s breaking story: after butchering his lover’s songs in Dance Master, rumors are flying that Klavier might be breaking up with himself! Is this the end of the music world’s biggest power couple?”
Klavier snorted. “No comment, Fraulein.”
“Athena, can’t you take this seriously?” Apollo groaned.
Athena elbowed him in the ribs. “C’mon, it doesn’t get more serious than this.” She switched back to her Retinz voice just as the stupid poll about Trucy popped up on the screen: Guilty or Not Guilty? The “Guilty” bar was set at 99.99%. Retinz wasn’t even trying to come off as a legitimate news source anymore. “And here’s a look at the decisive evidence,” Athena narrated, “A graph showing just how many times Prosecutor Gavin has gotten the Guilty verdict on ‘13 Years Hard Time for Love.’ Mein Gott!”
Klavier leaned over to get a look at the screen himself. “Correction,” he said, as Retinz suddenly held up his hand. “That’s how many times I, Herr Retinz, have gotten a Guilty verdict. I have two left feet and can’t dance to save my life.”
“In other news, local defense attorney Athena Cykes and Prosecutor Klavier Gavin are revealed to have a lame sense of humor,” added Apollo.
“Prosecutor Gavin stated for the record that he prefers that to being Herr Forehead, who has no sense of humor at all.”
“Hey, they’re showing footage from the student festival at Themis Academy last year! There’s Junie on the stage with you, Klavier! You guys look awesome!” Athena cried.
“Somehow, I doubt they’re calling us awesome,” said Klavier, chuckling.
“Probably trying to establish a connection between us to explain why we might be hiding out here,” noted Apollo.
Athena returned to her smarmy voice. “Our latest poll shows that 99.99% of our viewers cried when they heard Juniper Woods sing. They cry when I sing too, but for a whole other reason.”
Apollo couldn’t help chuckling over that one. When Trucy’s profile appeared next to Retinz, he found himself chiming in, “Okay, now back to the real story. I must continue my professional and unbiased reporting to put a stop to one of the biggest problems threatening humanity: innocent teenagers.”
Klavier pretended to wipe away a tear. “Ah, what a brave soul. Truly a hero of our time.”
“Yeah, who needs a judge or a court system with this guy around?” Athena snorted. Suddenly, she sat up straight. “Look! Something’s happening!”
Retinz’ eyes had popped out of his face. He shoved his loyal camera operator aside and sprinted across Klavier’s lawn. The camera jostled up and down as the rest of the crew followed him. Streaks of blue and red light came in and out of its line of vision. Apollo spotted the hem of a lab coat cutting off the crew from the left. “Ema?! Did you call Ema? I thought she hated you.”
Klavier grinned. “Right now, I think she hates the person framing Trucy more than me.”
“Get ‘em, Ema!” Athena whooped. They could see her legs running back and forth across the screen; Retinz barely keeping one step ahead of her. Apollo and Klavier leaned in on either side of Athena to watch. At last, Retinz made a dive for the backseat of his car and the crew scrambled after him. The camera sat perched against the rear window, so Apollo and his friends had full view of Ema getting into her own car and chasing the paparazzi off the property.
“YEAH, EMA! Go, go, go!” The three of them hollered and yelled like a couple of fans at a Gavinners’ concert. It was the first time that Apollo felt good since Trucy’s arrest…
Trucy…
“That was awesome.” Athena laughed as she leaned back against the dryer. “Now I know who to call the next time I’m in a bind.”
“She’s quite the feisty one, isn’t she?” Klavier agreed. “Ah well, I can’t ask her for that kind of help too much. She’s happier behind a microscope.”
“Good point.” Athena glanced at Apollo. “...Apollo? You okay?”
“I’m fine.” The words came out automatically, as they always did. His friends did not look convinced. Maybe he needed a new motto. “No, really, I’m fine. I just wish Trucy could’ve seen that.” He sighed. “I wish she was having fun with us here instead of, y’know…”
Athena put her arm around him. “Once we get her off the hook, she will be able to have fun with us again.”
“Ja, you should come back over after her acquittal so we can celebrate,” added Klavier.
Apollo smiled. “That’s not a bad idea. She needs to see your grades on Dance Master for herself, because she’ll never believe me otherwise.”
Athena jumped to her feet. “You hear that, Klavier? We need to get back to that game and up your scores on all of those songs! Let’s go!”
Apollo sat back against one of the couches while his friends competed against each other in “Guilty Love.” Klavier had taken his advice and stuck with the controller, but Athena insisted on using Joy Cons.
He felt the buzz of an incoming text from Ema: Hey. I just chased Retinz off the fop’s property. Are you guys okay?
Yeah, he typed back. We watched the whole thing live. Nice work!
My pleasure. And Trucy said thanks for the noodles! A series of dots appeared across the screen. Want me to come and rescue you now?
Apollo looked up. Athena and Klavier had gotten locked into a light shoving match to sabotage each other’s scores. “Herr Forehead! Are you watching this? Your own co-counsel is cheating!”
“It’s the Dark Age of the Law! I’ll do what I want, Mr. Deep, Sensitive Soul!”
Apollo laughed with them. Nah, he told Ema. We’re all good here.