The Chords of Steel are back in action as the second protagonist of AA6.
Personality: Apollo's in his third year as a lawyer now, and as such he's gotten more comfortable with the courtroom and more confident in his own skills. Much like AA5 though, AA6 puts Apollo through the wringer, and we see him starting to struggle under the pressure of protecting those closest to him.
Misc Facts: It was decided early on to have Phoenix and Apollo be co-protagonists in AA6, but the developers had trouble finding a way for Phoenix to still be challenged in court. Thus the idea of two separate settings was born, with Apollo holding down the agency.
Despite being marketed as a "co-protagonist" and appearing second in most information about the game, the developers noted that Apollo carries the bulk of the story in AA6, as they had more room to flesh out his character compared to Phoenix.
Apollo's fear of heights makes an appearance in AA6-2.
Friends and Family: Looks up to Phoenix as something of a mentor, and is good friends with his coworkers Athena and Trucy. And while he's a little wary at first to see Ema again (too many Snackoos to the forehead) they quickly hit it off once more.
Spoiler: AA6-5
Biological son of Thalassa Gramarye and Jove Justice (and half-brother of Trucy through Thalassa). After Jove's death, he was taken in by Dhurke Sahdmadhi and raised alongside Dhurke's son Nahyuta, who he considers a close friend.
Name Origin:
English: In Greek mythology Apollo is a god of light and truth (and may also refer back to Phoenix being named after a mythological creature). Justice is just a very blatant reference to his profession.
Japanese: Odoroki literally means "a surprise." The kanji hou means "law", and suke is simply a common ending for boys' names. So, his first name basically means "law boy."
Spoiler: AA6-5
"Housuke" ('law boy') mirrors his father's name, "Sousuke" ('performer boy').
Background: After a tumultuous first two years, Apollo has settled in as a full-fledged attorney at the Wright Anything Agency. After Phoenix leaves for Khura'in, Apollo takes over the agency in his absence and continues handling whatever cases arrive.
Spoiler: AA6-5
Apollo was born to the traveling performer Jove Justice and the magician Thalassa Gramarye. The three travelled all over the world together, with Jove and Thalassa often taking turns watching over Apollo while the other was performing at a different venue.
When Apollo was a year old, the three came to the capital of Khura'in. One night Thalassa had a show to perform, so Jove took Apollo and played a casual show at a local bar. By chance, the king of Khura'in, Dhurke Sahdmadhi, was there and saw Jove's show. He bought Jove a drink afterwards and the two men instantly hit it off. Dhurke invited Jove back to the palace to perform for himself and his wife Amara. After the private show, Jove and Apollo took a spare room in the royal family's quarters to stay the night.
Later that night, Amara's sister Ga'ran lured Dhurke away and then set fire to the royal residence, aiming to fake Amara's death and blame Dhurke so she could claim the throne. Jove woke to find the place aflame, grabbed Apollo, and went looking for Amara and the exit. But Ga'ran, on her way to carry Amara away herself, saw him and smashed him over the head with something, killing him almost instantly. Jove's last moments were him reaching for Apollo, who had fallen from his arms.
Dhurke returned to find the place ablaze, Jove dead, and Amara gone. He rescued Apollo, but in the aftermath he was arrested and accused of killing Amara. Dhurke was a famed attorney but quickly realized the deck was stacked against him, and he took Apollo and his own son Nahyuta and fled to the countryside. (Thalassa was of course searching for Jove and Apollo, but Jove's body and belongings were burnt beyond recognition and the police were too busy to help her. She eventually returned to Troupe Gramarye and remarried.)
For years Dhurke raised Apollo and Nahyuta together, and the two boys became best of friends, agreeing that one day Apollo would become an attorney and Nahyuta a prosecutor to help reform the courts. Dhurke began to prepare a revolution against Ga'ran, but felt it was too dangerous to leave Apollo involved, and that he should seek out a life in his native America. He sent Apollo there with the promise he would come see him someday, but never did. Apollo spent his adolescence in an orphanage, and eventually to hide the pain of being abandoned he learned not to think of his childhood in Khura'in.
