AUTHOR'S NOTES:

WOW OKAY UM. I'M SORRY? My muse for this just tooootally crashed and idk why. But I was reading fanfics at like 5am a few mornings ago and suddenly got inspired so here you go, a new chapter. I'm serious about messaging me if this happens. It's basically why none of my stories finish.

Also, I have another story I wanna start. It wouldn't be exactly a sequel, but it might take place in a ver that could be post-this by a few months? I still don't know if I wanna finish writing it. Either way, we're gonna finish up the story next chapter.

This ended up being the chapter of ships.

UPDATE:

lol okay, let's stop pretending. Realistically, I'm not going to finish this. In a simple way, I'm too embarrassed to finish it. If you care to know how it ends, I have a few notes. TLDR, the trial commences, it seems bad for Athena (also I was considering Trucy being the paralegal partner), she does a ~magic turnabout~ obviously, Franziska asks her who the phantom is and Simon's like "we really can't determine that" and then Athena is just kind of. "wait oh my god how did i not notice" and Franziska is like "what" and then Athena flips lid and announces that she can't hear emotion in Blackquill's voice. A small argument commences before Franziska rips the mask off to reveal Simon to be the phantom and gets arrested and they find Simon and yay story ends with something gay, probably. I was thinking like Simon and Bobby talking while watching TV or something.

Advancing in progress for Fulbright's case was proving difficult for the past 3 weeks. Things weren't proving to wanting to be easy for him to advance, as he noticed himself caught up in trying to advance in his life. Going out was rather hellish for him- the stares and whispers he got just shut him out from doing much socially, and he always greeted those people with a glare that murdered. Managing work was hard enough, really. When he wasn't there, he found himself too… anxious (was that even the right word?) to go outside, frankly. The idea repulsed him more and more, and he stopped. He rarely even saw Taka when the bird came, and began to feign being gone whenever anyone came to visit. He mustered up courage to buy groceries and that was it.

He wasn't sleeping well, either. He was starting to end up using his promised-to-be-ditched makeup just for covering up his dark circles some. And the antisocial behavior would've gotten worse, had Athena not busted in his house before he could lock the door one day after work. He tried to shoo her away, but she wouldn't leave. She instead just snatched him up and dragged him to her home. Apollo came over a few minutes later, and they ended up just playing a few games together and eating before the group disbanded, Athena taking Simon home. And the routine seemed to keep repeating itself, her sometimes having other people over, just the two of them, or maybe going to the Wright Anything Agency. Trucy was usually happy to see him, though Wright could have forced more of a smile.

There were some days she wouldn't come and he could just crawl in his house and be alone. Sometimes he'd muse with Taka, sometimes he'd try to sleep (and fail, usually. His nightmares didn't exactly recognise everything being solved.), or sometimes he'd just lounge idly about. And slowly, he began to realise that Athena was forging him some kind of social life. It wasn't a lot, and sometimes he made him just go see his sister or something, but she picked up on his behavior. And he confronted her about it one day, and she didn't even bother denying. Instead, she'd just brought him out again eventually (despite his protests), saying she was getting worried for him. And he began to make himself enjoy the outings rather than dealing with them. It helped. He would've much preferred to be alone, but it helped. And Athena noticed that, too.

And he thanked her one day, to which she just smiled and insisted any friend would have. That made him feel better. He had a friend to his name.

He didn't quite know why these thoughts were coming back to him. Simon was currently sitting in a chair in Franziska's office, looking over some older data while passing some time with recounts of the past. But that memory of Athena saying that to him made him feel happy, so he wouldn't shove it away. He was going to arrange himself to a phone later in the day ("Finally," Athena had said after he gave in to endless times of nagging), even, advancing on with his life. Transitioning back to society took a lot more than he'd expected, not that he really thought it'd be a breeze for him.

"You could claim this is almost a fallacy," he though aloud, reading over it.

Franziska looked up from the book in her hands. "What is?"

"The blood data comparing the phantom's to the moon rock's." He turned the papers over to her. "The test was rather rushed when it was done. It took a while, but it was done under pressure and was a very… first-glance summary, if you will."

She eyed over it before handing it back. "So what are you supposing we do?"

He went back to looking it over. "Have another done? I can imagine whatever sorry defense attorney is shoved onto the phantom's case will poke at it, and while I'd love to watch them squirm in struggle for the most ridiculous errors, I would prefer the trial be swift."

"I love nothing more than such pathetic attempts," she countered, setting the book on her desk and tucking hands under her chin. A smirk was coming to her. "It only contributes to how horrible their downfall will be as they continue to realise how fruitless their efforts are."

"The sadistic type, are we, Franziska-dono?" The words came out of him before he'd really realised it. But he held a taunting grin as he met her look, a hand coming up to clasp his chin. The more informal nickname was something he'd picked up recently. He'd expected instantaneous backlash, but she hadn't seem to really notice much of it and it stuck ever since.

That, however, had taken her aback, and she slightly recoiled. Her face twitched from it's expression and the smile dropped. Simon just let out a sharp laugh and slammed a hand on the desk in his merriment. But she wasn't about to be so easily insulted by this man.

"Perhaps you'd care to see how much of that is true, Mr. Simon Blackquill?"

"That threat is as real as my sword," he countered. Which was true. He owned no sword, despite using it so heavily for metaphors. He'd also come to learn that Franziska had calmed from her apparently whip-happy younger years, using the intimidating weapon massively less.

Her hands dropped and she slid back a bit from the desk. "Then I shall make it real."

"Is that an invitation or a challenge?" he countered, leaning on the desk with that same smarmy grin.

She held up the whip and snapped it. It let out a sharp sound. "A promise."

He waved a hand. "Then I shall end this little spat here."

"Afraid, Mr. Simon Blackquill?"

"Unwanting of a burning for the next few days," he answered, sitting normally now. "Call off your attack and I shall call off mine. A fair trade?"

She reluctantly sat down, setting the whip away and grabbed the book again. "I still say you are simply afraid."

"Perhaps so. After my accusation, I'd say I have reason," he pointed out.

"Then maybe you aren't as much of a fool as you make yourself to be."

He got a small grin again. "I wish the same could be said for you."

Her eyes twitched up in a single warning glance, but he didn't notice through trying to swallow down laughter. She looked the other way and said, "Back to your mindless insults? Or is your mind too incompetent to be clever for a change?"

"Or is yours too incompetent to process my words?" he countered.

"At least mine is able to hold myself during a trial," she answered, raising an eyebrow. Simon recoiled. Right, she'd come to see one of his trials that took place last week, and more than once he voice his voice wavering and it hard to focus.

His eyes slanted. "Rather literally, that was of your doing."

"But we're both aware I wouldn't repeat your behavior." She was smug.

Simon rose up to his feet, grabbing the papers of the blood analysis off the desk. "Right. I am going to have a new test done of this. It can only help, in the least." He turned away and began heading to the door, looking back. "I will return later to drop off the results, but I have a few other things to do as well. Will you be able to look over it?"

"I believe we just established the only one capable of that," she answered, pulling a few things to her.

He couldn't hold back a snort of amusement. "A yes is just as well, Franziska-dono."

The next day had started rather unusually for Simon. He woke up in an irregular place, and while walking hurriedly down the street while avoiding everyone he could, he had noticed a soreness spreading through him. He shook his head while mumbling a complaint to himself. He'd have to take painkiller later. For now, he had business, and very little was going to stop him from completing it. Time was closing in rather quickly. If he couldn't arrange things to finish soon…

He pushed out that thought by opening the door to the Wright Anything Agency. Apollo noticed him first, giving a bit of a greeting before Athena busted in. Her eyes lit up as she dashed over, calling out, "Simon!" No doubt she was pleased by the visit, considering his former behavior. To have him actually go somewhere without the confrontation to do so was rare.

"Hello, Athena," he greeted, looking down at her in a massively more mild look compared to her unending joy. "How are you?" He always felt a sense of comfort around the woman. She was one of the few people he could let his guards down around. They were growing close, and he saw her as nearly another sibling (Though he didn't plan to tell Aura- She'd pitch a fit if she knew, although he liked to theorise she might like the idea of her crush's daughter being accepted by the family.). Tabloids disagreed and tried to suggest something else, but they settled to be mutually repulsed by the reports and carry about their way anyways. The eager news people were often wrong in their assumptions, anyways, though Athena once explained that they weren't far off the ball considering a certain blue and a certain maroon pair of lawyers.

"I'm great!" She put her hands on her hips and looked up at him. "I was just packing up for the day. Mr. Wright and I have a new case, but he wanted me to close up with Apollo while he's out." She looked back to the brown-haired lawyer. He seemed to be a bit entranced, staring at them with some files in his hands.

Simon gave a small wave, shifting a bit under his gaze. That seemed to snap him out of whatever had come over him, for he shouted a loud greeting before hurrying away to deal with what he was holding. Simon looked down to Athena, asking quieter, "Is he all right?"

"Uh, I'm pretty sure," she answered, looking back.

He gave a nod and didn't press on it. Instead, he just said, "You mentioned you were busy. Is now a bad time to talk?"

"Not at all!" She began to walk in, saying, "We're almost done, anyways. Take a seat!" She followed that up by walking to the room and plopping down on one of the two couches. She cleared away a couple books off the desk and beckoned for him to join her on the one opposite.

He sat down a bit stiffly. He wasn't the best at "making himself at home," even if he was in a rather familiar place. But Athena didn't seem to mind, and just asked him what was up. He wasted little time in getting to the point, saying, "I want you to perform another psychological analysis on our apparent phantom."

"I was wondering when that was gonna happen," she said, folding her arms. "All right. Did you have a day in mind?"

He shook his head, saying, "Not particularly. Whatever day would best suit you is when it shall happen, if you wish to do so at all."

She laughed. "Of course I do." She then thought, giving a mild hum as she did. "Today isn't that good, as I have to go meet with Mr. Wright and then Trucy has a show today. Tomorrow's going to be the trial, and I don't know how long that will take."

"I would not wish to burden you with so many things in one day," he added on.

"It might go onto another day, and Junie and I are supposed to go out that day as well," she mumbled, continuing to think aloud.

"Junie..?" he echoed.

"Oh, yeah." Athena looked at him, brushing hair from her face. "Don't you remember? She was my friend when we were kids, and she was the defendant on the case that took place at the Themis Legal Academy. I've even mentioned her to you a few times!"

"I believe I am able to recall such a person." He then mused, "I believe someone also had said you now titled each other with the word "girlfriend"?"

Athena froze up, staring at Simon for a long minute before she turned around, shouting, "Apollo!" Her eyes had narrowed.

The man dropped what was in his hands as he replied, "I didn't even know! I thought you two were still just friends!"

She looked back, folding her arms. Widget was a distinct red.

Simon let out a small laugh. "Don't fret, Athena. It isn't as though it's bad."

"Yeah, well…" She let her arms drop and smiled sheepishly. "Anyways, I should be free the day after that. I doubt the trial will go into three days. Apparently, Mr. Payne is supposed to be the prosecutor. It can't be that tough."

Payne… The name was familiar. He'd been in charge of the courtroom bombing trial, and was a stand-in once when his transportation to the trial had malfunctioned. That trial had been quite the odd one compared to his normal cases. It was about a stolen cat rather a murder, first of-

"Or maybe it's his brother?"

"He has a brother?" Simon thought about that.

"Yeah, I remember Mr. Wright mentioning a brother," Athena recalled. "He was talking about his first case, except this Payne was called Winston."

A few vague memories of someone with that name came into Simon's mind. "I believe I have seen him once or twice."

Apollo came up at that point, chiming in, "He was the prosecutor for my first case as well. I guess you broke the chain, Athena."

Athena thought for a minute, before she said, "Oh, right! Simon, you were the prosecutor!"

"I suppose so." He seemed a bit distant.

"Everything all right?"

He gave a slow nod. "Yes… I just seem to recall that he was fired… or some sort. The rumors going around are that it involved his son being put in the clink in the past couple of years."

"His son?" Apollo spoke once more. "Do you know who that is?"

"If I did meet him, he did not make his heritage known," he answered blandly.

Athena nodded. "I guess. Payne- the older one, he didn't sound very… good at his job. Mr. Wright described him as pretty bad at getting points across."

"That's true." Apollo leaned on the couch. "He didn't do well under pressure either. I guess I'm kinda lucky he was my first prosecutor."

"And I guess I'm lucky you were there for mine." She threw a glance at Simon, teasingly taunting. He hadn't made his first case easy.

"I'll be sure to start giving my win to the defense," he shot back, an eyebrow raised.

Athena grinned. "Great! I'm glad we reached the same conclusion."

"... In an alternate dimension, perhaps."

She stuck out her tongue. "Well, you can't blame me for trying. Anyways, is three days good, or no?"

"I'm afraid I have a doctor's appointment scheduled for that day after work,"

"So the day after. I won't be busy then, either." She held a grin.

He considered it for a minute, and then nodded. "In four days time sounds fair."

"Four days for what, exactly?" Apollo asked. "Is the carnival coming or something?"

They both turned to Simon, expecting an answer but for different reasons. Simon considered how to word everything, but before he could answer, the door opened harshly and Trucy came in, calling out, "I'm home!"

"Hey Trucy!" Athena gave a smile as she walked in. "Oh, and Pearly, too!"

The door was closed gently by Pearl, much in contrast to Trucy's bold entrance. She gave a small bow, saying, "Hello, everyone." Her eyes skimmed the crowd, and she tensed a bit, reaching and holding Trucy's hand lightly.

Trucy looked over, asking, "What's wrong?" before following her eyes. She then smiled big, saying, "Oh, don't worry, Pearl!" She let go and bounded across, coming to Simon and putting her arms around his neck in a hug. He let out a startled cry and tried to slide away, but Trucy just looked back as she hugged his head and said, "He looks scary, but he's nice. He's not even threatening me for hugging him anymore!"

Simon pried her off, a glare to boot, but it didn't cut down her joy as he would've liked. He then just looked away, saying, "Perhaps I have grown to realise my words are ineffective on you."

Athena gave a laugh, and said, "Simon, I don't think anyone needs my hearing to know that you like them."

The glare was redirected at her.

Pearl walked up now, holding a straight face that couldn't quite hold back her fear. It wasn't the first time they'd met, but their exposure was intensely low. But she nodded, saying, "Hello, Mr…" She paused to recall his name, and then said with uncertainty, "Blackwell."

"It is Blackquill," he corrected, "but hello as well."

Trucy butted in before it got awkward, saying, "I gotta get ready for my show tonight. Pearl's going to be helping me with one of my tricks, too!" She grabbed the woman's wrist and held it up to her chest with enthusiasm. Pearl gave a nervous smile.

"You should come with us when we go see, Simon," Athena said, slapping his knee a bit. "It'll be fun! She does the coolest stuff." She then paused, and added, "Only if you're comfortable with that, of course."

"I… will tell you when I reach a decision," he answered simply.

"Well, it starts at 8," Trucy answered, smiling with her arms folded behind her. "The Wonder Bar isn't that far from here. Maybe like, 10 minutes at most. That gives you like, an hour or something to decide." She grinned. "Anyways, I'm gonna go get ready." And with that, she dashed off, bringing Pearl with her. The three watched them go.

"That reminds me." Athena stood up, stretching. "I should go meet with Mr. Wright now. So four days, then?"

Simon nodded.

She put her hands on her hips. "Great! I'll see you then!"

Simon sat down in the chair of the visitor's room with a hard land. Fulbright was already on the other side, somehow smiling despite everything. A part of Simon wondered why he was forced to meet in this place. It likely had to do with this not being an official interrogation, but he at least always was able to bargain staying past visitor's hours. That, or perhaps now that he was free, the guards finally succumbed to an obvious fear of him. Whatever the reason, he didn't protest. It was to his advantage.

"Good evening, sir!" Fulbright said, bright as ever.

A small nod was given to him along with a bit of a grumble of a greeting.

"Is… something wrong?" Bobby couldn't stop a sad look from coming to his face.

"I am fine, Fool Bright," Simon answered quickly. "Have you been able to stand your ground well?"

He gave a salute. "You bet! So long as I believe that justice will ultimately prevail, I can endure anything to come!"

"Optimistic jester," he muttered, watching the man struggle for a moment as he found himself unable to move his arms as wide as he would due to his shackles. Most prisoners didn't really need them when simply in the visitor's room, but since he was the apparent phantom, he was an exception to that.

Fulbright settled his hands, putting them in his lap with that doofish grin still on him. "So, Prosecutor Blackquill, have you been able to find anything new?"

"Indeed we have. A lot of my work today was revolving around your latest blood test in comparison to the data of the moon rock." It hadn't matched, of course. It baffled and aggravated Franziska- She even had the test redone ("Even more thoroughly," he recalled her saying), but with the same results. She almost even considered just not using it during the trial, but he'd managed to convince her to not bring it up unless absolutely necessary.

"I may want this bloody phantom finally dealt with," he'd said, "but we cannot ignore the truth of the matter, even if it hurts our case. Clearly, we will just have to fix the error."

It had sated her, but he didn't know for how long or how much.

Fulbright's eyes had lit up. "Are things looking promising for me, then?"

"It would be shameful if I could not say that, Fool Bright," Simon assured. "I have been looking into this matter since the day after my release."

The man rolled over his thoughts for a minute, tapping his chin lightly while he thought. Fulbright then nodded, saying, "That's… a couple months or something, right? I'm kinda surprised no trial has come yet. Are they really wanting more information?"

Simon gave him a funny look. "You are unaware of your trial date?"

He shook his head.

"It is in two days," he reported.

Fulbright couldn't mask his surprise. "Two days?"

"Yes, Fool Bright." Simon almost looked grave- his eyes had taken an invisible shadow, head tilted down the slightest. "We have nearly finished putting together our case. You are only to be prosecuted for the murders of space boy and my mentor, it seems, as Interpol has put claim to everything else." His head turned the other way. "It has taken a while due to the nature of the phantom, but your trial shall be in two days." A smirk grew on his lips. "In a courtroom with a roof, of course." His eyes moved to the side, looking at Fulbright. "It was lucky that hit missed you. A little higher, and you would not even have the chance for freedom." His head turned back to Fulbright, and a hand raised to his chin. "It seems the River Styx's ferry runner was too annoyed at your oafish self to keep you on board. Lucky you!" He then broke out into a laugh.

"Please stop that." Fulbright's voice was a bit of a whine. His fingers were pressed, and a frown crossed his face while a puppy-dog look was given.

Simon waved a hand, dismissing his words. "I jest, Fool Bright!" he assured, settling to let himself grin. "I almost missed your ridiculous reactions."

"Do you mean that?" He perked up.

"It isn't as though Franziska-dono would provide such," he pointed out.

"Franziska…?" Bobby looked confused.

Simon hesitated, and then nodded. "Have I not told you of my cohort?"

"Not from what I can remember." A sheepish grin came to him.

"I said this was a high-profile case," he recounted. "As such, two prosecutors were assigned to this case. It is I or Interpol agents who have mostly spoken to you, but the other prosecutor is a woman named Franziska von Karma. She is quite well at her work, might I add."

Fulbright glanced to the side. "Is that… laughter?"

Simon looked over to the door of the visitor's room. "Perhaps you are hearing an inmate. One of my first few nights, my cellmate happened to break out into a hysterical form of it."

"Was he a former clown or something?" he guessed.

"He had been a prosecutor, much like I," Simon corrected. "He explained that it would happen upon rare occasion, that despite being binded by bars so, he felt so immensely liberated that the urge to laugh of joy could not be contained."

Fulbright blinked. "Um, haven't seen anyone like that."

"No, the man served his sentence already," Simon answered.

"What sentence was that?"

Eye contact was averted as Simon passed a glance to the side. "Death… carried out by an aggravated inmate. He was to serve life, but being a prosecutor isn't the best background for joining the members of the clink."

Fulbright gave a nod, quickly picking up that it wasn't something Simon wanted to talk about. Instead, he just asked, "So, how close are you to finding out the truth of this whole mess?"

In a way, the question startled Simon. He stared at Fulbright for a moment before finally providing an answer. "I have not an inkling of an idea to where the phantom may currently be or who has the unfortunate fate of being their next mask, but I have confidence that at the very least, you will be able to be proven as not our wanted catch."

"Sir, I see just one issue." Bobby almost looked guilty.

"That being?"

"You're a prosecutor, and the one on this case to boot." He folded his arms as best as the shackles would let him before he gave up, deciding it too painful.

"Indeed!" Simon agreed. "And I intend to act on that side, even if I am aware of this all. Your issue being, Fool Bright? Surely you do not mean to suggest I act out of my place?"

A quick head shake was implemented. "No, it's just... What am I supposed to do about my defense? It's not like they know what you've looked into, and I know anyone who would defend the supposed phantom."

"Talk of defense reminds me," Simon said abruptly. "I have brought Athena with me today so another psychological analysis may be done. Surely you recall the profile done of you?"

He nodded. It had been a simple process and everything checked out, well, normal. He'd been described as having an abundance of emotion, really. Simon said he was going to hold on to it. But that raised the question of, "Why is another analysis being done?"

"Evidence," was the provided answer before Simon got up and left the room for a minute.

Athena came in the room, hovering a bit close to Simon. He eventually had to sit her down, though, choosing to the side of her with arms folded. She looked to him, and he nodded, waving a hand and saying, "Do what you need to."

She then turned back to Bobby. Her eyes had narrowed, and she began with, "So, phantom," the name was spat with venom and he perked up, "I don't know what you've been playing, but don't think you can trick Widget again."

The device had grown red, and spoke, "You can't hack into me now!"

He recoiled, flinching and giving a sorry look. He then started to say a bit pitifully, "But I'm not the pha-"

"Shut up." The interjection was quick and quieted him immediately. "You may have Simon running around in your little game, but I'm not going to be fooled." She slammed her hands down on the desk, causing him to jump. "Now stop acting like Detective Fulbright, you… disgrace!"

"Athena," Simon spoke up, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Have you forgotten this pitiful creature does not have a name or face of their town? Indeed, they are a disgrace and an insult to Fool Bright, but it isn't as though they have a choice."

"Prosecutor Blackquill," Fulbright spoke up, his voice starting to shake along with his body, "what's going on? You know I'm not the phantom, so why is she-"

"Silence." Simon's voice had come to a snarl.

He stiffened, fear flashing in his eyes as he wisely took up the order.

"So, phantom, are you ready to waste time?" Athena kept her glare.

Fulbright gave a final glance to Simon, begging for help, but the other man just looked away. So he nodded to Athena, attempting to stop his shaking.

She thought for a moment before saying, "Why don't you tell us about your latest crime, the HAT-2 sabotage? Maybe Apollo will finally have some answers."

"All right." Fulbright thought for a moment before explaining with an averted gaze and index fingers pressed together, "The phantom's-" He cut off as Athena slammed a hand on the table. He then rushed to fix it, saying, "Err, my mission was to sabotage the HAT-2 Launch. I don't know why I was assigned to, um…" He pondered for a moment before coming to an answer. "It's not my place to question."

"And why did you murder Clay?" Athena prompted.

He shifted uneasily. "I had to kill Mr. Terran to keep him from talking about the bombing." He then quickly added, "So Mr. Starbuck could be blamed." Fulbright thought for a bit longer before muttering, "I guess to get the moon rock back as well? But then Mr. Cosmos appeared…" He then cleared his throat, finishing, "In the end, though, the mission was a success?"

"You really are disgusting, aren't you?" Athena asked, unpleasant as ever.

Bobby stared down. "Did I do something wrong?"

Athena reached up, tapping Widget on. "I can hear your dischord. The least you could do is not lie for once in your life." She drew a circle on the screen, and the Mood Matrix turned on. She then said, "Fine. I'll just force the truth."

Simon leaned over a bit, looking at the screen. Athena met his glance, keeping a straight face. He turned his head the other way.

The screen projected the first bit of Fulbright's testimony, the words "The phantom's- Err, my mission was to sabotage the HAT-2 Launch" in white text laced over an image. The image was a shadowy man looking from behind a wall, eyeing the HAT-2 rocket from afar. In the bottom left corner, a blue marker flashed, letting out a soft noise. Athena prodded a bit, tapping on a couple things before flipping to the next piece.

"I don't know why I was assigned to, um… It's not my place to question" showed now, the crying, blue man now weakening how heavily it was flashing. Behind the words, a picture showing the shadowed figure holding a fairly blank document with a few descriptors about the HAT-2 mission was shown. Athena zoomed in on the document, but determined it fairly useless, as she moved on.

The next part was "I had to kill Mr. Terran to keep him from talking about the bombing so Mr. Starbuck could be blamed" with the marker staying much of the same. Now, however, anger spiked up, a red indicator bright in the top right corner. Starbuck was shown in cuffs, being pulled away by an officer with Clay dead on the ground. Athena tapped on her chin before she switched over.

The anger vanished and the upset marker decreased, but surprise began to flash. The words "I guess to get the moon rock back as well? But then Mr. Cosmos appeared…" bubbled up while Widget put together the shadowy figure standing by the fallen Clay and the moon rock's capsule. They were looking at a door where Cosmos could be seen through the window. Athena reached a hand up, about to tap the surprise marker, but she drew her hand away and just let out a small mutter. The screen was flipped over.

The last bit of the testimony came up, saying, "In the end, though, the mission was a success?" in large letters. All emotion besides the upset marker had vanished, with his distress rising. The rocket laid in the background, destroyed with Cosmos looking at it. Athena gave an absent-minded comment of the oddity of it, but didn't mess around with the image. She just tapped back twice, bringing up the middle of the testimony. She then clicked on the red marker, eyeing over the information put on it.

"Now you're faking being mad about killing Clay?" she accused, looking beyond the machine to give Fulbright a nasty look. "Just how desperate are you?"

Fulbright thought rapidly before explaining, "It… was an inconvenience to my mission. I was told to kill if I needed to, but it would've done more harm than good."

"Anyone can see that's a lie," Athena answered. "That contradicts your own testimony. You said you killed him to get the moon rock and to blame Mr. Starbuck." Slamming a fist down as she spoke, she proceeded to shout, "Will you stop faking this already?!"

To her surprise, Fulbright lashed back. He put his hands on the desk, saying to her in a voice louder than his usual, "I'm not faking anything!"

"Then why are you mad at having to kill Mr. Terran?" she shot back.

"Because he shouldn't have died!"

Before Athena could give a reply, the Mood Matrix lit up to a bright red. The emotions on the screen had vanished, replaced now by only the marker to show anger flaring violently. Strong, red waves spread out across the screen, and it let out a harsh noise with each one sent off. She looked down at the screen.

"What is it doing?" Simon asked, unable to keep himself from looking at it.

She switched the screen. The flood remained. "He's overloaded with anger," she answered quite simply. "I don't know why he's playing this game, but I'll have to find the root of the anger."

"The root?" he repeated.

She looked to him and nodded. "You've seen me do this before."

"You seem to think I understood."

"... Fair enough." Athena moved the testimony around. "There's something in his testimony that's causing a very strong emotion, or so Mood Matrix says. I have to find what it is if I want to get back to calm him down."

Whatever Simon said in reply was ignored. Athena simply had gone back to the first bit of testimony, looking it over carefully. She reached a hand up, hovering for a minute before tapping on the shadowy man. A panel of information came up before she tapped a button at the bottom simply saying "Probe".

Athena looked up. "So, phantom. You seem awfully mad at yourself. Are you upset because you got caught?"

Fulbright's hands fisted. "No! I'm not even the phantom! Isn't that why you're even here? To help with that?"

Simon stepped in now, saying, "You have been telling us information like you are."

"Because you won't listen to me," he said in an aggravated tone. "She's staring me down every time I say I'm not. You aren't accepting anything else- I don't have a choice in this!"

"Fine." Athena seemed strangely calm. "I'll bite. Say you aren't the phantom. If so, then where even were you on the day of the HAT-2 sabotage?"

There was a pause before Fulbright relaxed and hung his head. "I was at home," he confessed. "I was supposed to stay there until the next day, and not supposed to leave."

"Who ordered that? And why?"

His index fingers pressed together. "The phantom told me to. Likely to stop anything weird from happening, like me being in two places at once or getting in the way…"

As though cued, the anger the Mood Matrix showed fell away. A screen then showed up, reading his dischord. That too dropped, going from a full 100% to nothing. The program then gave the words "Bye-bye!" before it closed. Athena then smiled. Her arms folded and she said proudly, "Hey, maybe I'm not too bad at this stuff!"

An amused snort came from Simon. "Yes," he said, "you're certainly a master."

She gave him a face. "Well I'm not as good as you, obviously..."

"Calm yourself, Athena," he dismissed. "It is not of importance. Regardless of your skill in art of manipulation, I believe my point has been proven well enough?"

"You bet!" She looked rather happy, smiling and with Widget glowing green.

"What's going on?"

The two looked over at Fulbright's voice, and Athena answered, saying, "I'm sorry Detective Fulbright. I had to act like your were the phantom so we could make dischord. Widget doesn't work without it, and I doubt any would be made with you just saying it all." She smiled. "On a good note though, everything went well! Widget is working fine and everything went normally."

He didn't look entirely sated, but nodded regardless.

"By the way," she continued, "when's your trial? If you know?"

"In two days." He answered with slight caution, wary of any more tricks.

Her hands came on her hips. "That should be enough time, then, seeing how I don't have anything to do anymore." She then gave a peace sign, declaring, "Athena Cykes is on your case, then! I'll show the world you're not the phantom!"

"What?!" Fulbright pulled away, hands raising as though a gun was being pointed at him.

Athena folded her arms, smiling. "Well, Simon said you don't have a defense attorney, anyways." Her arms snapped to her sides now, hands fisting. "And I want the real phantom caught for everything they did! If you're convicted of being him, then we're never gonna get the right guy! And wouldn't be, um, unjust for that to happen?"

"I- Yes, but-"

Athena didn't let him finish. Instead, her fists pressed and came to the side of her face as she said, "Great! You can leave it to me, then!"

"Athena…"

Her head snapped over to Simon. "Something wrong?"

He looked mildly entertained. "Perhaps it is not of my place to say this, as I am a prosecutor, but would it not be wise to listen to your client if they wish to say something?"

"Hm?" She looked to Fulbright. He was sulking. She blinked, and asked, "What's up?"

"I just wish you all would tell me when you're going to do this stuff…" he mumbled.

Her hands came to her face, fingers lightly touching her face. Widget turned yellow, and she asked, "Do you not want me to defend you?"

"No!" Fulbright gave his signature salute. "I have full confidence in you, Ms. Cykes!"

Her hands went on her hips once more. "I was already given everything to be able to defend you. I'm going to be doing some extra investigations of my own, but I'll be back tomorrow as well to talk with you."

"What are we going to do about the phantom themself, though?" Fulbright's hand had dropped, and he looked a little distressed. "We don't know where they even are."

Simon stepped in now, saying with his eyes closed, "Then I suppose my seven year hunt will have to continue. Not every "Not Guilty" verdict comes because the criminal was captured."

"Right now, the priority is your innocence," Athena said. "I'd like the real phantom behind bars, but as long as you aren't, I can settle with that. For a while. Everything will end up great. You'll see!" Her hands came to her sides. "If you ever get worried, just… do what Apollo told me to do. Say, "I'm Bobby Fulbright and I'm fine" as loud as you can!"

"Don't leave him to say it as loud as his voice will allow," Simon interjected. "The fool will end up hurting everyone's ears worse than he currently does."

Athena gave him an empty glare. "You're ruining the good mood."

"It's all right," Fulbright spoke up. "Everything will be fine, like you said. All we need to do is fight for justice!"