53 (One Final) Hurrah

 “(One Final) Hurrah”
Sung to the tune
of the video game theme
“(One More Last) Fist Bump”
from Sonic Forces video game

Like Datz said – they’re all counting on me. Yup, no pressure there, at all!

The red attorney felt himself breaking into a cold sweat. Oh, Holy Mother, just what had he gotten himself into?! There was more than just Dhurke’s honor on the line here – his whole life was on the line! And even worse, he’d allowed his boss to risk his neck to the scaffold as well! Assuming they didn’t execute Apollo first, Maya would send him on a one-way ticket to hell herself for being responsible for the death of her not-so-secret boyfriend!

“The fate of the Revolution and every Khura’inese rests on this trial!”

Apollo felt his horns droop as the Defiant Dragon’s closing words floated back to his ears. To make matters worse, if that were even possible, was the anxious way Athena was now staring at him, her heart in her beautiful tear-filled blue eyes, belying the need for any spoken words.

What if he never got the chance to tell her how much she meant to him? That he felt the exact, same way, too, and always had – however depending on the fate of this case, their relationship could be drastically cut short – and over before it even began?!

“The trial will begin shortly, Apollo,” Phoenix smiled reassuringly, as though reading his mind. “Let’s make our way into the courtroom.”

“Right!”

Apollo tried to inject as much bravado in his voice as possible, then did his best to smile bravely as he returned the sniffling redhead’s suffocating hug goodbye.

Meanwhile, the whimpering Maya threw all discretion to the wind and fervently kissed Phoenix right on the lips. The couple remained in a lingering embrace for several drawn-out moments before the yellow attorney gently took her arm and ushered them to towards the packed gallery area.

After their love interests were out of sight, the rattled spiky-fringed lad remained cemented on the spot.

“Apollo, you need to take a final, deep breath and pull yourself together. We can’t delay this any longer.” The spiky-haired man’s large, strong hand fell onto the boy’s rigid shoulder, trying to urge the unmoving lawyer into moving. “No time for cold feet now. It’s show time.”

Waves of panic washed over him despite the serene aura radiating from the older man.

Mr. Wright looks so calm – so trusting. He really believes I can get us out of this mess! But how can he seem so unruffled?! Apollo thought wildly. He has so much to lose – even more than I do if we lose this case. He has a daughter he’s raising, a woman who loves him – heck he’s even essentially a foster father to Pearl, too. He has a family. Yet he’s willing to risk all that just to help his employee at the bench?! It isn’t right! This isn’t his fight!

Yet he also knew offering his mentor last chance to bow out at this eleventh hour would be for naught. The dogged, ever-determined Phoenix Wright never backed away from precarious/life-or-death scenarios.

Or a friend in need.

“I know it’s time, Mr. Wright!” Apollo swallowed hard. “Ultimately, I’m not as brave as you – I just can’t stop my insides from quaking! All I know is there’s no way out of this, just as surely as I know that there’s…”

[Apollo]
No time to piss or moan
High chance it’ll all go wrong
Need you to stand by me
Cuz I’m so scared and jittery
So – last shot for me and you
Let’s prove what we can do
Won’t know until we try
I’ll strive not to cry

[Phoenix]

Courts here are whack
You and I may never come back
Could end up dead
It’s a high-risk bet
Fighting and appealing
We can’t stop believing
We will make things better

[Apollo and Phoenix]

Forever it’ll be known it was me and you
Right beside me as I’ve been for you
Tearing right through the webs that spider’s spun
No one else here that we can trust
Suicide mission but it’s a must
Standing united, Justice and Wright
Keep the faith, such is our decree
When truth is found, we’ll taste victory
Defeat that fiend, The Thing That Should Not Be
We may meet the Twilight Realm but one final hurrah!

[Phoenix]

I know you have felt alone before
Not this time, I’ll help settle the score
You fought for me when my hands were tied
Returning the favor for you
It is my great pride

[Apollo]

Courts here are whack
You and I may never come back
Could end up dead
It’s a high-risk bet
Fighting and appealing
We can’t stop believing
We will make things better

[Apollo and Phoenix]

Forever it’ll be known it was me and you
Right beside me as I’ve been for you
Tearing right through the webs that spider’s spun
No one else here that we can trust
Suicide mission but it’s a must
Standing united, Justice and Wright
Fight’s begun!

[Instrumental]

[Apollo and Phoenix]

It will be known it was me and you
Right beside me as I’ve been for you
Tearing right through the webs that spider’s spun
No one else here that we can trust
Suicide mission but it’s a must
Standing united, Justice and Wright

[Apollo]
Our friends will watch and pray
We have set the stage
And refuse to be impeded
From being triumphant today

[Apollo and Phoenix]

Keep the faith, such is our decree
When truth is found, we’ll taste victory
Defeat that fiend, The Thing That Should Not Be
We may meet the Twilight Realm but one final hurrah!

“You don’t always win your battles, Apollo, but it’s good to know you fought them because missed chances break your heart the most.”

Phoenix was already extending his clenched fingers towards his protégé’s for one last fist bump.

“Nevertheless, no matter how the chips fall today Apollo, I’ll always stand by you, even when things are at their most dark. To encourage you, to help you when you get scared. To come right to the edge and see what’s there. I’m with you, right up till the end.”

“You are where you are because of who you were, but where you go depends entirely on you choose to be. I learned that because of you, Mr. Wright, and it’s helped make me who I am today. You’ve helped make me the man I am today.”

Apollo collided his own extended knuckles against those of his childhood idol.

“Together we are stronger, together we are unbroken, and together we can do anything! Look out Khura’in Courtroom – here comes Justice… and Wright!”