A/N: Continued horribleness. I hope people are still reading, so so sorry this took so long to get written. I'm planning for the next chapter to not take nearly so long.

Chapter Twenty.

Following Reno's determined attempt to murder his own son the Hakunetsu house was on complete lockdown and had become a temporary boarding house for Yuffie and Leon. Forced to face reality head on in the crisis, unable to find the time to sort through or analyse the thoughts roaring in his head, Ventus locked all of his own emotions away from the light in order to have the strength to deal with what was happening around him. As a psychologist Ventus was well aware that what he was doing was far from healthy but he could see no other option.

On the first night when the police arrived, Ventus had been woken out of a dead sleep by Leon and he had shoved the disconcerted officers outside onto the porch, proceeding to tear into the hapless men with all the vicious fury and bitter recrimination that had been boiling inside him. Ventus' terrifying explosion had served to increase the token guard the family had been given from two to a rotating roster of eight each day and each officer that presented for duty treated everyone in the house with painstaking courtesy and care. Once the new order had been established Ventus had stumbled back into the house and crashed back into sleep for a blank fifteen hours.

When Ventus awoke to see that sunlight was pouring through the curtains, a lot of things happened in a very short space of time. Ventus' brain shrieked that he was not next to Roxas, his body attempted to leap out of bed, his bad leg refused to bend or move an inch and in the commotion Aqua woke up and lunged forward, just in time to catch Ventus before he plunged off the edge of the bed. Panting as if he had just run a mile and holding tightly to Aqua, Ventus did his best to put his world back together in a way that made even a little bit of sense.

Ventus was still trying to force his brain into line when Aqua said softly, 'Ven, you need to stop panicking. You needed that sleep… Otherwise I think you would have passed out or lost it completely. Please calm down… Leon and Yuffie have been coming in every half an hour to make sure that I know that Roxas and Axel are alright… You're human Ven, you can't just keep going indefinitely.'

As much as he wanted to ignore Aqua's soft voice and run from the room to his brother's side, Ventus simply couldn't deny the love and wisdom in the woman's words. Letting Aqua pull him back so that he wasn't half hanging off the bed Ventus mumbled, 'I don't know what to do Blue. I've worked with this sort of shit all my life but I don't… I have no idea where to go from here. How do I protect them Aqua? How the fuck do I do this?'

Not really expecting an answer Ventus blinked and looked up at Aqua as she said thoughtfully, 'You do what you can Ven. You let us help you and you try and think your way through this instead of reacting and rebounding after each new shitstorm. I know you think you don't know what to do, but Axel and Rox and all of us couldn't have anyone better on our side… Talk to me Ven, don't try and do this on your own.'

Ventus stared at Aqua, unable to speak around the lump in his throat. He had known that he was extraordinarily lucky to be able to call the vibrant woman his other half, but he was coming to realize that he truly hadn't appreciated just how blessed he was. Beyond words Ventus clung to Aqua and tried to communicate his gratitude and overwhelming love, burying his face in her neck and shivering as the woman ran her hands through his hair calmingly. Wrapped in Aqua's arms Ventus felt a small measure of his self-possession seep back into his heart, something that had been noticeably absent since the moment Leon had brought Axel home.

In a rare instance of self-care Ventus pulled Aqua onto the bed with him and together they simply lay in each other's arms and tried to build their strength for the coming days. The peaceful interlude in the midst of so much pain and chaos did wonders for Ventus, allowing him to bring himself firmly back to centre, and when a light knock on the door sounded around 1pm Ventus felt able to drag himself to his feet and answer it.

Still not entirely comfortable with the police guard after the almost unforgivable treatment he had been subjected to by the police department during the whole rolling catastrophe, Ventus stared impassively at the fidgeting officer and waited silently. After a painfully awkward moment of silence the officer blurted, 'I have a message from the Chief before I finish my shift. He said to let you know that he will get in touch tomorrow as soon as he is back in the office because he needs to sign off on taking the victim's report.'

Ventus' eye twitched and his eyebrow raised in an eloquently incredulous arch. Taking a moment to let the man sweat Ventus eventually replied, 'I'm flattered that the, uh, Chief even knows we exist. Any particular reason we're only just being granted the honour of his attention? I would have thought that the report from a kid who was abducted by an escaped maniac would be slightly higher priority than getting a Gaia-damned cat out of a bloody tree.'

To his credit the officer took Ventus' acerbic words stoically and even glanced away in embarrassment as he replied, 'Like you were told earlier we are in the middle of a complex series of operations that have tied up most of our forces… Look, I agree this is completely ridiculous and as I've just finished for the day I don't have to feel guilty about advising you to lay a complaint the moment you feel you can face it. For what it's worth Mr Hakunetsu, I'm sorry for what you've had to go through with the department on top of everything else you've been dealing with.'

With his sincere words hanging in the air, the officer inclined his head in a gesture of respect and apology before walking away and leaving Ventus standing at the door with his mouth hanging open. Ventus might have stood there in the doorway until the house fell down around him had Aqua not finally gotten sick of watching him from the bed and gotten up to slide her arms around his chest. Once he was over the minor heart attack that Aqua's unexpected touch caused, Ventus allowed himself to be led back to bed and peace fell on the room once again.

Ventus had been worried about sleeping for so long and not being awake to guard his brother, but Roxas was dead to the world for almost twenty-two long hours along with Axel. When Roxas did eventually partially rejoin the world of the waking, his first impression was that of being surrounded by warmth. Roxas' sluggish thoughts worked on the problem for a few minutes and finally concluded with a sense of triumph that the warmth was warm and for a while that was all Roxas' fatigued brain could cope with. Drifting in the silence and warmth of the shadowy room Roxas hung in a state of half-asleep peace.

The sound of a car puttering past the house finally pulled Roxas completely out of the arms of sleep and he lifted his head carefully, doing his best not to disturb Axel. Roxas smiled a soft, sad smile when he saw that Axel was actually sleeping peacefully and he gazed at Axel's face, marvelling at how sleep smoothed away most of the pain and suffering from the teen's features. Drinking in the beauty of Axel's face Roxas resisted the urge to stroke his cheek, unwilling to risk waking the teen and content just to memorize every single detail of his boyfriend's face.

Outside the birds were starting to sing down the sun and Roxas was still staring at Axel with the same bitter-sweet smile when the redhead's eyelids fluttered and he slowly started claw his way out of sleep. Roxas was so caught up in watching Axel wake up that he was too slow to react when the teen mumbled and went to roll over, not aware enough to remember his numerous injuries. As Axel's body moved Roxas was reaching to stop him from rolling over, but although he was quick he wasn't fast enough to prevent the rough groan of pain that marked Axel's return to full consciousness.

Even as Axel opened his eyes that were already glazed over with pain Roxas was up on his knees about to jump off the bed and run to find some painkillers. The blonde teen stopped in mid movement however when he saw that some blessed angel of Gaia had put a glass of water and a blister pack of pills on the nightstand. Crouching next to Axel, not quite daring to touch him in case he hurt him or sparked a flashback, Roxas said hesitantly in his ear, 'Ax, I know you're hurting but can you prop yourself up enough to drink some water? I've got some painkillers and they should be strong enough take the edge off…'

Roxas watched anxiously as Axel painfully struggled up until he was slightly above horizontal with his head and shoulders supported by the pillows. At Axel's small nod Roxas placed two of the pills on the redhead's tongue and tilted the glass up to his lips so he could swallow the drugs and hopefully get the relieving effect as soon as possible. Axel took a few long sips of water before he nodded that he was done and Roxas put the glass back on the bedside table, letting out a small sigh when he saw the lines of pain on Axel's face begin to ease a little.

Axel's awakening had been less than enjoyable, but hearing Roxas' voice right next to him had helped keep him from freaking out and the pills were quick to take the sharpness out of the pain that washed over him. Lying against the pillows Axel waited for the pain to recede and when his heartbeat slowed a little he looked over at Roxas, managing a tiny smile for the worried blonde. With a ghost of his once vibrant playfulness Axel murmured, 'What a way to wake up. Drugs and a gorgeous blonde… Good morning to you too Rox.'

The wan but beautiful smile that his words brought to Roxas' face took Axel's breath away for an instant and he found he had to swallow a few times before he could speak again. In a slightly hoarse voice Axel said slowly, 'Hang on… It's not morning is it Roxas? Oh wow… Okay… I don't even know what day it is. Fuck, care to orient me Rox? I haven't been this screwed about the time and day since… Well since a while. What year is it now?'

Roxas gave Axel a look that said 'I know where your mind just went', but he let Axel's oblique reference to the past slide saying instead, 'I think we've been out for a night and most of a day Ax. Hopefully it's still the same year though, or I've lost it just as much as you. Did you… Do you feel… Blurgh, any way I put it sounds stupid, but do you feel okay? Or even a little more rested?'

Sighing inwardly with relief that his random mental sideslip to stranger days hadn't spoiled the comfortable feeling that filled the room Axel nodded with a small smile and went to respond only to be interrupted before he could speak by a quiet tapping on the door. The unexpected sound jolted Axel into reflexive action and he shoved himself up in an attempt to move away from the door before his brain kicked in and he fell back to the bed with a moan of pain. In the time it took for Axel's head to clear Roxas had scrambled again to his knees by his side and Leon was standing just inside the room looking like he wanted to kick himself.

To his own surprise along with everyone else's Axel managed a sardonic wink at Leon who blinked and then returned the wink wryly. The tall brunette man cleared his throat and said quietly, 'Sorry for the interruption boys, hope you didn't strain yourself Axel. I thought that you should be informed that it's just struck takeaway o'clock and you have the option of attempting to eat something in here or attempting to eat something out in the lounge. My point being that you will both be eating something and I won't be shot by Ven for not delivering the message.'

Even through the ache that was throbbing rhythmically deep in the wounded area of his chest Axel couldn't help coughing out a laugh at the dryly humorous order that Leon delivered with a perfectly straight face. Torn between the need to be in the presence of the people he had come to care deeply about and the irrational terror of setting foot outside of the safety of Roxas' room Axel bit his tongue and tried to think of something to say that wouldn't expose him as the trembling puddle of fear that he actually was. The silence stretched out and Axel could feel his breath coming in shorter and shorter gasps.

Axel was just about to implode in a puff of 'oh fuck' when Roxas did an impressive bit of mind-reading and said smoothly, 'I don't know about Ax but right now I don't think I'm up to getting out of bed. Um, Leon, do you think everyone might be okay to maybe come in here to eat? Honestly, I'm really not at the point that I can let Ax out of the damn room, but I can tell from the look on his face it'd do him good to have everyone around him even for a little bit.'

In his customary fashion Leon didn't waste words and simply nodded his understanding before leaving and shutting the door softly behind himself. Ignoring the man's departure Axel stared wide eyed at Roxas for a long moment before saying faintly, 'Gaia Rox, that was kind of scary. Good scary, but scary you know? I don't know what went wrong with my head but you completely pulled the words out of my brain and said them when I couldn't even open my mouth. How the hell did you do that?'

Axel was surprised once again into a laugh when Roxas twirled his hands and performed a courtly kneeling bow. The blonde teen smiled a satisfied smile and said contentedly, 'I'm in your head Ax, sorry, just the way it is. Now, we need to get you presentable because shortly this room will be full of Yuffie… Come on, help me get you sat up.'

Thankful for Roxas' humorous but no-nonsense attitude Axel struggled up painfully until he was sitting up properly and he was only just upright and trying to catch his breath when the door inched open again and Yuffie stuck her head into the room. The instant she saw that Axel wasn't dead to the world the tiny brunette slipped through the door and said with a smile, 'Hey Ax, I hope you like pizza. Aqua went slightly nuts and ordered almost the whole menu. You okay with everyone traipsing in now?'

Axel was more than a little apprehensive about how everyone was going to act now that the chaos of the first night was over because the voice in his head had continuously been whispering poisonously in the background, 'Now they know first-hand how badly your own dad wants to off you… Do you really think they won't start questioning if maybe he's right? Oh, and you can't honestly believe they don't all know exactly what he did… They'll never look at you the same now that they know how broken and tainted you are. They'll be able to see exactly what a ruined and filthy piece of scum you are.'

The short interaction with Leon had surprised Axel with its lack of anything out of the ordinary and had actually managed to dull his internal voice to a low growl, but it was Yuffie's aggressive normalness that calmed him enough to be able to say, 'If they want to come in… Please…'

Axel let out a shuddering breath when Roxas enfolded him in a loose hug and gripped the teen's hand in his own as Yuffie opened the door and let everyone in. The self-proclaimed 'ninja girl' sashayed across the room and perched on the desk in the corner, followed by Leon who strode in carrying a steaming pizza in each hand. Right behind Leon came Ventus leaning on Aqua's arm and meeting Axel's eyes Ventus offered a strained half-smile saying quietly, 'I hope you slept well you two. Axel, do you mind if I come sit over there with you guys? I would sit in the chair but I hit my knee and it isn't bending as well as it should.'

At Axel's hesitant nod Ventus limped heavily over to the bed, lowering himself gingerly onto the mattress and straightening his leg with a sigh. The second everyone was seated Yuffie whipped the pizza out of Leon's hands and flitted around the room like the Pizza Fairy, bestowing her bounty on the waiting diners. Though he was unsure what, if anything, he would be able to eat Axel took a slice of Daisy's best and was startled to find that his mouth was already watering at the delicious aroma.

Silence reigned for the most part, broken only by muffled sounds of appreciation and quiet bursts of conversation. Axel took tiny bites of his pizza, aware that he hadn't eaten in two days and as he savored the delicious meal he marveled at the lack of awkwardness or unease amongst the group. Later he was utterly unable to recall anything that was said, but Axel would forever remember the comforting feel of closeness that filled the room in an almost tangible cloud. Roxas' constant hand on his shoulder steadied and grounded him and Axel even managed to exchange a few words when spoken to.

When everyone eventually filed back out of the bedroom with murmured good nights and smiles for the teens who remained sitting on Roxas' bed, Axel could only sit with his arms around Roxas, holding tightly to the peacefulness and calm feeling that filled him. No words were needed between Axel and Roxas as quiet descended in the wake of their friends' departure and at Axel's subtle movement they both lay back on the pillows. Axel found himself wrapped softly in Roxas' arms and the redhead slowly relaxed against his boyfriend's body, lulled gently into sleep by the steady beat of Roxas' heart.

From the moment he and Reno had returned from the frantic and fruitless search of Siréné Park Seifer had lived in a horrible, confused state of arousal and terror. Walking up the steps to the back door of the house Seifer tried to nerve himself for the inevitable explosion of Reno's wrath that was building up to an eruption, but the man's jumbled thoughts kept straying back to the moment earlier that his mind had been blown through the back of his skull. Even faced with the probability of serious injury in his immediate future Seifer still couldn't drag his thoughts away from the mental image and remembered sensations of the all too brief time that Axel had been writhing beneath him.

Caught in his own mind and the depraved thoughts that tantalized him Seifer was at first oblivious to the eerie quiet that filled the room when he walked in through the door, but it only took a couple of seconds for the normally impassive man to look up with fear-filled eyes. Seifer stared apprehensively at Reno who was facing away from him, standing in the middle of the lounge, dead still but for a rhythmic, jerky twitch of his bony fingers.

Seifer forced himself to step towards Reno, but he stopped in his tracks when Reno said in a low voice that echoed the unnerving calm of the room, 'He's going to die Sei. Get ya shit together yo, 'coz yer going to talk to yer people. Now.'

Momentarily thrown off balance Seifer blurted out without thinking, 'They'll have the cops Ren, we need to go before they figure where we are. You don't… You aren't thinking of going after him again? You need to get the fuck out of here!'

There was a beat of perfect silence and stillness in the wake of Seifer's ill-considered words and then Reno whipped around with the suddenness of a striking snake to snarl, 'Unless ya fancy lying in a pool of yer own blood right where ya stand Sei, I would get yer ass to whoever ya talk to in Dusk. I know those shady fuckers have pull with the cops and all I need is a little edge to end this yo. No more games, no more fun Sei, just me licking his blood off my fingers as Red chokes on his last breath.'

The pure, animal savagery in Reno's words made Seifer's heart stutter for a second and in that moment he fully understood just how precarious his hold on the tiger's tail truly was. Although he had been on the receiving end of Reno's brutal temper and intense violence more than once Seifer hadn't been able to bring himself to believe that his old friend would actually kill him. That was, he hadn't believed it until he saw the look in Reno's eyes as the man contemplated opening his throat right then and there. Stumbling on suddenly clumsy feet Seifer staggered towards the door, nodding frantic acquiescence to Reno's order as he went.

Though he was not normally an early riser, it was lucky that Ventus was awake when the phone rung stridently at 8am. Moving as fast as possible to get the phone before it woke Aqua and unleashed her ire on an unsuspecting world Ventus managed to grab the receiver and halt the loud rings before the noise did more than make his girlfriend stir slightly. Keeping his voice as quiet as possible Ventus muttered, 'Hakunetsu house, Ventus here.'

The call was short and when he hung up Ventus was left with both a feeling of forward movement and a small seed of nervous apprehension growing in his gut. The Chief of the Destiny Police Department had called to organize the very necessary incident report interview with Axel and even though Ventus knew that it needed to happen and happen as quickly as possible he still felt his breath catch in his throat at the thought of Axel having to relive the ordeal. Next to him Aqua rolled over and Ventus pulled himself together, kissing his girlfriend into wakefulness so he could let her know about the new developments.

It was 11am and Axel sat on the bed wrapped in a blanket, staring at the police officer named Raijin who was sitting in the chair by the door. When Ventus had come to him a couple of hours earlier and asked how he would feel about giving a report to the police about what had happened Axel had locked down his violent internal reaction and calmly replied that he would do it. Now on his own with a complete stranger, not even permitted to have Roxas with him for support, Axel felt close to a nervous breakdown. Part of Axel's brain mused detachedly that without the tranquilizer that Yuffie had given him he would have been a complete screaming wreck.

The silence drew out into awkwardness and Axel nearly shot through the roof when Officer Raijin barked in irritation, 'So are we going to do this or am I wasting my time? I've been taken off guard duty for this and I'd like to be done before dark if possible.'

Shivering at the undisguised exasperation in Officer Raijin's tone Axel forced his voice to work and whispered, 'What do you need to know? I don't, I haven't, I don't even know where to start.'

With a long suffering sigh the officer rolled his eyes and said, 'Obviously we need to know everything you can tell us in as much detail as possible, any little thing could help. You need to start right from the beginning Raffica, I need to write down everything that happened from the moment you got taken.'

It shook Axel when Officer Raijin referred to him by the last name he shared with his father, but what rattled him more was the barely concealed contempt in the man's voice. Wanting more than anything to be anywhere but where he was at that moment Axel forced himself to start by saying, 'It, uh, must've been mid-afternoon, I'm not sure what time, I took out the rubbish. I don't know what the hell I was thinking. I guess I just, um, I was going crazy being stuck inside. I guess I thought that a moment outdoors couldn't hurt…'

Axel had to stop and take a second to get a hold of himself, as thinking back to the decision that made the abduction possible caused his brain to be blanked out by a wordless howl of hate and derision from Bad Red. Axel found himself momentarily unable to speak as his inner demon shrieked out four damning words, 'IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!'

Aware that the officer was regarding him with a visible sneer of scorn Axel forced the words from numb lips, 'I'd just put down the rubbish when they got me and I can't really tell you much about that part. They hit me from behind with something heavy, I didn't even see them I was down so fast, and then I woke up in my old house… The house we used to live in, me, my mum and Him, Reno.'

Officer Raijin was scribbling intermittently in his notebook and nodding every time that Axel paused, but the teen had a distinct feeling that something was off, something that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Trying to shake away the feeling that things were somehow very wrong Axel focused his thoughts on the nauseating task of putting the memories raging through his mind into something resembling a coherent timeline. Clenching his fists and taking one deep, shuddering breath after another Axel forced his mind back to the nightmare he had only just returned from.

Axel was hardly able to breathe but he managed to whisper, 'I don't know how long I was out but when I woke up I was on the ground tied to something and he, my dad, was beating me with a belt. He just kept hitting me and hitting me until I couldn't scream anymore… He wasn't just using the leather, h-he was hitting me with the buckle…'

As Axel paused for a hitching breath Officer Raijin broke in rudely, 'Oh yeah, I almost forgot, we need to get photographic evidence of your injuries for the report. I have the camera here so we might as well get this over with and then you can finish your story. Take your top off Mr Raffica and we can make sure that your wounds are documented to back up your allegations.'

For once the numbness of dissociation came in useful for Axel and as he fell away inside he used the mental detachment to his advantage. It was only thanks to the distance that his mind had flown from his inner self that Axel could make himself shrug off the blanket and move to the edge of the bed, staring fixedly at the floor as he peeled his shirt slowly over his head. With Bad Red whispering in the back of his mind that he was exposing every inch of his shameful weakness to the world Axel sat like a lifeless doll on the bed, flinching minutely every time the camera flash illuminated his battered body.

The photographing of his wounds seemed to take forever and by the time Officer Raijin grunted and went to put his camera away Axel felt like he was looking at the world from behind a wall of thick, distorted ice. When the officer was seated again Axel immediately began speaking again in a dull voice, 'When he was beating me I was trying to get away but my wrists were tied too tight. I ripped open my wrists trying to get loose and he didn't even notice. I think he only stopped when he got bored because then he… Uh, he… He made his friend come over.'

Officer Raijin was leaning back in his chair watching Axel with a bored look on his face and made an impatient noise when Axel once again stuttered to a stop. For the second time Axel shivered at the sense that something was incredibly wrong, but his head was far too fucked up to give the feeling more than a passing thought. Caught up as he was in the humiliation of what he was about to tell a complete stranger Axel completely missed the fact that none of what he had said so far had elicited any sort of reaction from his interrogator.

Staring blankly at the floor Axel continued in a wobbly voice, 'He told his friend, he called him Sei, that he could do what he wanted to me. He, uh, he didn't get far though because d-dad shoved him off again… You saw on my chest, the biggest bandage, that's H-his, Reno's name. He carved His name into my chest and then handed me back to his sick fuck of a friend.'

Axel knew that if he stopped he would never be able to force the next bit out of his mouth and finish the story so he closed his eyes and blurted in a rush, 'He, Sei, held me down and made me suck h-his cock. Then d-dad c-came back and he… He raped me. I tried, I tried to fight but he smashed my head into the wall and just kept going. I don't know how but I was still conscious when he f-finished so I heard them talking… I guess I knew it way before then but they were talking about killing me. Oh Gaia… My dad was going to kill me…'

Abruptly running out of breath and strength Axel felt burning tears break through the numbness and begin to fall down his face. However the teen's eyes flew open and he jumped, letting out a choked sob when Officer Raijin snapped out suddenly, 'If you keep stopping we'll never get this done Mr Raffica. If you get it together enough to finish then you're welcome to take all the time you need to break down once we're done here.'

Stunned at the callousness of the man's unprofessional outburst Axel was too discomposed and distraught to do anything other than try and rein in his shuddering breathing. With his eyes fixed nervously on the officer Axel whispered, 'They thought I was totally unconscious but I wasn't. When they picked me up to t-take me upstairs I took them by surprise and jumped through the window. I ran. I just ran and ran until I realized I was in Siréné Park and I hid. I can only thank Gaia that they didn't see any blood on the ground in the dark because they didn't find me. T-that's pretty much all I remember before waking up here… Apparently Leon found me…'

Almost before Axel had finished speaking Officer Raijin was nodding brusquely and snapping his notebook closed. As Axel sat, shock warring inside him with nausea and barely repressed hysteria, the policeman got to his feet and left with a final cold parting statement, 'Thank you for your time Mr Raffica. I don't know how much use such an incomplete account will be, but I will file this back at the station and you can probably expect to hear from the Chief. For some reason Chief Cid has taken a personal interest in your case. Now if you'll excuse me, there's probably some actual crime I need to attend to.'

Roxas had been beside himself when Ventus told him he wouldn't be allowed to stay with Axel for his interview but the rage within him collapsed into wretched misery as he watched the redhead walk reluctantly away into the room. Roxas' tear-filled blue eyes met Axel's green gaze for a brief moment before the door swung shut and he couldn't hold back a small sound of pain at the fear and mute plea he saw in Axel's eyes. The click of the door closing sounded harsh and final and Roxas would have stood in the hall staring at the dark wood until the door reopened had Ventus not wrapped his arm around him and led him gently away.

For the interminable time that Axel was shut away with the police officer Roxas sat with Ventus and Aqua on his brother's bed, simultaneously appreciating the effort the pair were putting into keeping him occupied and wishing they would fuck off and leave him to stew alone. Even though he participated outwardly in the conversation that Ventus and Aqua were shouldering along, Roxas' mind was almost entirely occupied with counting the seconds until he would be able to hold Axel close and the blonde teen felt anxiety rising higher and higher within him with every passing moment. Each time the house creaked or someone moved in another room Roxas twitched in his seat, trying his best to ignore the sympathetic looks from both Aqua and his brother.

Because of his state of hyper-alertness Roxas was the first to hear his bedroom door creak open and the murmured voice of Officer Raijin as he took his leave. Almost levitating off the bed Roxas was out the door before Ventus or Aqua could draw breath and he blew past the departing policeman without a second glance. Roxas managed to restrain himself enough to not burst into his bedroom and possibly scare the shit out of Axel and he skidded to a halt at the door, knocking gently before letting himself in.

Roxas hadn't been sure what to expect when he walked into his room, but he sure as hell hadn't expected to be almost knocked over by a redheaded streak that headed for the bathroom at a flat out run. The glimpse he managed to catch of Axel's face as he crashed past dragged a curse from Roxas' lips and he spun around to chase after the other teen. A step behind the redhead, Roxas could only watch helplessly as Axel stumbled and fell to his knees by the toilet, shuddering all over as he retched violently.

Without a second's pause Roxas was at Axel's side, stepping deliberately into the other teen's field of view and crouching down next to him. Carefully so as not to distress Axel further Roxas gathered the boy's wild, red hair back behind his neck and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, aching to do more but only able to wait until Axel could speak. Each spasm that wracked Axel's thin frame made Roxas' heart lurch painfully and he gritted his teeth with the effort of holding in his own groan of distress.

It took a while, but eventually Roxas became aware that Axel's miserable choking noises had tapered off into silence and he looked up to see Axel's blood-shot green eyes staring back at him. The fragile note in Axel's voice sent a shiver down Roxas' spine as the redhead said, 'I think I've thrown all my guts up Rox, I just want to go back to bed. I don't think I can get up though… Can you…'

Roxas was on his feet before Axel had finished talking and he helped the trembling teen to his feet, placing his hands carefully to avoid bumping any injuries. Awkwardly the pair hobbled back down the hall into Roxas' room and Roxas bit back a sigh of relief when Axel was finally settled back on the bed, half-sitting up against the pile of pillows. Once he was totally sure that Axel was comfortable Roxas slowly climbed onto the bed and sank down against the pillows too, looking over at Axel with concern in his eyes.

To Roxas' surprise Axel glanced back at him briefly before his eyes slid closed and he seemed to pre-empt the question that never made it past Roxas' lips as he whispered quietly, 'I'm not okay Rox, oh Gaia, I'm really not okay. I was having flashbacks as I talked to him which was bad enough, but now they're happening every few minutes… I can't handle this, I just can't… I can see it, feel it Rox… Fuck Rox, please… Help me…'

Any thoughts Roxas had had of talking to Axel about the interview flew right out of his head at the sight of the agonized expression on the teen's face and once again he thanked Gaia for giving him the brother he had been gifted with. In the years since his parents had been killed Roxas had suffered from flashbacks on and off, more often in times of stress but sometimes randomly out of the blue. Ventus had taught Roxas right from a young age ways to deal with the overwhelming memories that assailed him and now he felt hope rise in him that he could help Axel with the same thing.

Reaching out slowly, careful not to spook the other teen, Roxas gently slid his hand into Axel's and wove their fingers together loosely. In a low, calm voice Roxas said, 'I'm right here Axel, listen to my voice. The fact that you know that you're having a flashback, that's good, it means you know you survived it and it isn't real now… Ax, I need you to breathe, deep and slow as you can…'

With a stroke of inspiration Roxas lightly pulled Axel's hand over towards himself and flattened the redhead's palm over his chest. Forcing himself to breathe deep and regular Roxas continued, 'That's it, slow and deep breaths. Breathe in time with me, we can do this as long as you need. I can feel your heartbeat slowing and that's good Ax… Focus on me, focus on my voice.'

Axel's breathing was getting steadier, his heartrate slowing and Roxas could tell that the flashback was fading. Continuing to speak in a soothing, gentle voice Roxas murmured, 'Can you open your eyes Ax? It might help your head realize that you're here and it's now and you're okay.'

All his life Axel had felt like he was pretty much at the mercy of his flashbacks, dragged from the real world into the hell in his head without a second's warning. Some of Axel's very first memories of childhood were horrific scenes of abuse that revisited him time and time again and from the moment he discovered his father's alcohol stash, drink and drugs had been the only way he had found to keep the flashbacks at bay. When Roxas had picked him up off the bathroom floor and Axel felt the terrifying sideslip from reality begin he could do nothing but watch the horror show start to cavort and gibber inside his head.

Axel had barely been able to force his plea for help through numb lips as he sat next to Roxas on the bed and part of his mind jeered at him for even daring to hope that the other teen could do anything. As if from a great distance Axel felt the pressure of Roxas' hand on his own and he found a spark of strength inside himself to push the screams aside enough to hear Roxas' steady voice. For a long, panicky moment Axel simply couldn't get a hold of his rapid, shallow breathing and he felt a tide of despair rising and intertwining with the mind-fuck of the flashback.

Then Axel's hand came to rest on Roxas' chest and through the delicate nerves on the tips of his fingers he felt the strong throbbing beat of the other teen's heart. The steady thump of Roxas' pulse reverberated through Axel's body and acted as an anchor to the real world, combining with Roxas' calming words to drag Axel away from the nightmare that clutched him. Counting the beats of Roxas' heart and matching his own breathing to the blonde's steady breaths Axel marvelled at the sensation of the cruel claws of the flashback falling away from his mind.

With the echo of Roxas' heartbeat seeming to beat through his own veins Axel felt the last of the flashback drain from his thoughts. Tentatively, almost unable to believe that he had ridden out the vicious memory in so short a time, Axel opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was Roxas looking back at him with concern and love written all over his face. His left hand still pressed against Roxas' chest, Axel couldn't help raising his other hand, brushing Roxas' unruly hair away from his eyes and running the tip of one finger across the boy's brow.

Staring wonderingly into Roxas' vivid blue eyes Axel cleared his sore throat and said quietly, 'You don't… Well, you probably do know what you just did Rox. Thank you… For being here, for being you. I love you Rox…I do…'

Axel had been desperate to let Roxas know how full his heart was but he trailed off into a coughing fit, his throat letting him know just how much it didn't appreciate being used to throw up with. Doubled over with the force of his choking fit Axel gratefully accepted the glass of water that Roxas shoved into his hands and when he was able to breathe again he collapsed back onto the pillows. Opening his mouth to say something Axel blinked when Roxas laid a finger gently over his lips and he felt his muscles begin to relax when the blonde teen pulled him into an embrace.

When Seifer had finally returned from his mission to contact Dusk, Reno wasted no time in vacating the mansion. The sun had been well on its way to setting by the time Reno and Seifer had made it back from Siréné Park and they made their way through the woods in the gloom of growing darkness. Seifer stumbled and staggered over the uneven forest floor, tripping on roots and slipping on leaves, but Reno stalked through the shadows as if he were a feral creature right at home in the darkness.

Leading the way but not bothering to look back to see if Seifer was keeping up, Reno wove a convoluted path through the tangled bush and eventually arrived at a decrepit shack deep in the thick woods. Shouldering his way through the warped front door Reno folded his arms and leant back against the wall, staring at the panting Seifer with hooded eyes. The silence drew out and Reno watched Seifer grow more and more nervous, the blonde man starting to twitch and scratch unconsciously at the crook of his elbow.

Finally Reno broke the silence in the hut so abruptly that Seifer let out a yelp, saying brusquely, 'So Sei, tell me what yer Dusk people have sorted for me yo. I'd hoped to have this finished by now, but looks like I'll have to fucking wait.'

Seifer nervously cleared his throat a couple of times and replied, 'Ahem, uh, Dusk has a cop in their pay and they're using their pull to send Officer Raijin in to do the victim report. They'll contact me to let me know how to get whatever information he can gather… I'm sorry Ren, that's the best I can do. We have to wait for Raijin… I'm willing to bet they'll already have guards all around the house.'

With his sickly, glowing eyes trained on Seifer throughout the man's short statement Reno nodded thoughtfully and said in an eerily calm voice, 'Then we wait yo. But while we wait yer going to tell me everything ya know about this happy little family Red seems to have found himself. My boy's found himself a little blondie faggot friend and I got a look at the kid's brother… I'm pretty fucking sure Sei that blondie's brother worked at the university when ya were fucking around with yer study yo.'

Although he was many miles beyond a stone's throw of sane Reno was both cunning and sharply perceptive, the watchful man noting the hitch in Seifer's breath and the flinch that he tried to hide. A slight narrowing of his poisonous green eyes was the only outward sign that Reno showed at his observation, but he scored a mental note deep into his mind to revisit the things he was now sure Seifer was hiding from him. Reno's deranged thoughts made no distinction between concealing information and full out betrayal and already he was beginning to plan the disposal of the man who used to be his friend.

Folding his arms in an attempt to seem confident Seifer said slowly, 'Blonde haired brothers can only be the Hakunetsus. Ventus is the one at the university and… Roxas must be who you saw with Axel. Those two are fucked Ren, before you or Axel even turned up. I don't know them personally but I know they moved to the Islands when their parents died suddenly over in Twilight Town.'

His suspicions completely confirmed Reno smiled grimly on the inside and on the outside nodded shortly saying silkily, 'Interesting Sei. While we wait for this bent cop of yours to get his ass back here we can have a nice discussion about these brothers yo. Tell me Sei, what do ya know about this Roxas Hakunetsu?'

Seifer received a call from Officer Raijin two days after he and Reno took up residence in the hovel in the woods and he had never been so relieved to hear his phone go off. Taking his leave from the man he was quite sure was locked in the unbreakable grip of madness, Seifer stealthily made his way through the small forest to the meeting point at the edge of town. A nerve-wracking hour after he arrived at the run-down bar Seifer was hurrying back into the woods clutching a thick brown envelope.

Standing in front of Reno and watching him open the envelope, Seifer couldn't help but send a prayer to Gaia that the information would be to the man's liking. Relief mixed with fear flooded through Seifer when Reno quickly scanned the page of notes and nodded curtly before beginning to flip through the small pack of photos that Raijin had included with his message. The horrifying smile that spread across Reno's face as he studied the photos that Raijin had taken of Axel's injuries chilled Seifer to the bone and he couldn't help but cringe when the red haired man finally looked up at him again.

Reno's sickly grin took on an air of malicious amusement and Seifer flushed angrily at the scornful tone of the man's voice as he said, 'Pull yer panties up Sei, I can't have ya fucking out on me now can I? This crooked cop did a good job yo, I've got all I need to end this once and for all. Come have a look at this… Get that twisted little mind of yours working on the best way to take out Red and anyone else who gets in my way.'

Roxas had held Axel in a gentle but protective embrace after talking him down from his flashback and he had watched him fall almost immediately into an exhausted sleep. Watching Axel's expression once again smooth away into peaceful rest did more for Roxas' peace of mind than any amount of police guards and for over an hour he simply lay next to his boyfriend and watched his chest rise and fall. The anxiety of the time spent separated from Axel bled away painfully gradually, but even when he felt that he was approaching a lower level of tension if not actual serenity Roxas couldn't relax completely.

Despite the fact that Roxas was also brain-numbingly shattered himself and would have gratefully fallen into the embrace of sleep, he found the peace of unconsciousness tantalizingly out of reach. Roxas had heard the phrase 'nothing is a slower torture than not knowing' before, but he had never appreciated its complete and utter accuracy until this point. Try though he might Roxas couldn't stop his thoughts turning again and again to the torture Axel had managed to live through, his brain supplying him with endless and horrendous possibilities of just what could have happened.

With Axel lying in his arms breathing peacefully Roxas' gaze slid inexorably down to land on the purplish-black bruises that stood out starkly on the pale skin of the redhead's throat. Smoothly and obligingly Roxas' mind supplied him with a brief but incredibly vivid movie of Axel lying on the floor, having the life strangled from him by a blurry, shadowed figure with a shock of red hair. The blood drained from Roxas' face as the mental movie played again and again, the heart-breaking sequence only breaking up when Axel murmured in his sleep and rolled over slightly to face towards him.

For a moment Roxas was distracted from his thoughts by the beautiful serenity of Axel's sleeping face, but then his gaze wandered again and his heart skipped a beat as he found himself staring at the large bandage on Axel's chest. When Axel had just been brought home all Roxas had been able to see was a mess of dirt and crusted blood covering his chest, but now with the clean white dressing the horrified teen could see the shape of the blood staining through from the cuts beneath. Faintly, as Leon had bandaged the injury heavily, but unmistakably Roxas could see the scarlet stains spelling out RENO.

Roxas felt as if he had been stabbed in the stomach and gutted with a blunt knife, stuffing his fist in his mouth and biting down hard to stop himself from crying out. The taste of his own blood was the perfect accompaniment to the rage and sorrow that threatened to tear Roxas' mind apart and his thoughts were pulled roughly between the fury that someone would do this to his Axel and the sickening grief that Axel had been subjected to such inhuman cruelty. His strength draining away completely Roxas let his head fall back and he stared at the ceiling blindly.

The day crept onward but Roxas didn't notice the passing minutes or hours, not even registering it when the light dimmed and night began to fall. His arms clasped protectively around the sleeping Axel Roxas was at the mercy of his chaotic thoughts, being forced over and over again to watch the scenarios his mind supplied for him of Reno torturing Axel. A particularly gruesome vision tore a low moan from Roxas' lips and at the same time he suddenly became aware that Axel was shuddering in his arms.

At the same moment that Roxas snapped his head around to look at Axel the redhead gave a convulsive gasp and jerked awake, terror and desperate panic swirling in his green eyes. Before Roxas could get it together enough to say a word Axel blurted out in a trembling voice, 'Fuck Rox, I can't, I can't sleep again… Not if I'm going to see him every time I close my eyes. It's all there in my head, just waiting for me to be weak, to not be able to block it out… Rox, oh fuck… Rox…'

Using every last scrap of willpower to refrain from tightening his embrace around Axel into a stranglehold, Roxas held Axel's wild stare and whispered miserably, 'I'd stay awake with you for the rest of our lives Axel if I could… Gaia Ax, I wish I could make it so you'd never have to sleep but I can't, I can't do shit…'

As Axel drew in a gasping, shuddering breath and tried to control the shivers that wracked his body Roxas couldn't stop the next words that bypassed his brain-filter and tumbled out of his mouth, 'Ax I… What do you see behind your eyes that makes you never want to go back to sleep? What happened?'

Roxas felt Axel's breathing stop completely and at the point he would have given anything to be able to take his question back. Looking away from Axel's shocked gaze Roxas heard the teen whisper quietly, 'No Rox, I can't. I won't do that to you. It's bad enough for me to see it in my mind, but I fucking refuse put it into your head too…'

His control splintering completely Roxas broke in abruptly, 'Fuck Axel! You might not like the idea of me having to have this shit in my head too, but it's fucking killing me to see you carrying this alone! I don't… You… Please Ax…'

Stuttering to a stop and running out words, Roxas felt the tension wind tighter as the silence drew out. Forcing himself to look up Roxas found himself caught by Axel's intense stare and he swallowed hard at the pain that was blatantly obvious in the teen's green eyes. Hating himself for causing some of the pain but desperate to somehow shoulder some of the burden Roxas simply gazed into Axel's eyes and tried to communicate his sincerity and support.

After what seemed like forever Roxas saw something shift deep in Axel's eyes and the redhead let out his breath in a hitching sigh. Shrugging free of Roxas' grip Axel gingerly struggled up so he was sitting up against the pillows and as Roxas watched anxiously he closed his eyes in resignation. Tentatively Roxas slid his hand forward to grasp Axel's white fingers and he jumped when Axel clutched his hand in a death grip. Trying to brace himself for the story that he knew could break him completely Roxas steadied his breathing and waited for Axel to begin.

Axel's voice was rough as he spat the words out like they burned his lips and it was only the long years of work Roxas had put into containing his temper that allowed him to listen without interrupting to the tale of horrific torture and cruelty. Even before Axel finished his first sentence Roxas was so tense his muscles creaked and as the story progressed he found it harder and harder to breathe. Then the shit hit the proverbial when Axel unthinkingly uttered the shattering words, 'He got off and told his friend Sei to come over and get some.'

Roxas froze and stared at Axel fixedly, almost unaware that the other teen was staring back at him with a look of fearful apprehension. A roaring in Roxas' ears blanked out all sound and for a second his vision greyed and he was sure that he was going to pass out. Even in his most disturbed imaginings Roxas had never even considered that Reno would enlist help in his sick vendetta and it was almost beyond his ability to comprehend that the insane man had actually given his own son to someone else to abuse and that someone was a man Roxas knew. As if from a long way Roxas heard Axel call his name and he slowly forced away the shock that was threatening his sanity.

As he was forcing himself to tell his story to the one person he had wanted to protect from his hell Axel was too focused on getting the words out to think ahead to the more shocking things he was about to reveal. Axel was struggling not to lose himself in the memories that his retelling was stirring up but the look on Roxas' face when he blurted out Seifer's name jerked him back to reality so hard that he rocked where he sat. Roxas' expression made Axel's heart quail in his chest and he flinched when the other teen's eyes focused on him, his sapphire stare nailing him to the spot.

For a period of five full heartbeats the two teens sat frozen to the spot and then Axel nearly swallowed his tongue as Roxas snarled in a tone of pure, unadulterated hate, 'I'll kill him. I swear I will break his bones and castrate the drugged out fucking shitstain while he screams for it to stop. I don't care how long it takes to find him, them… Fuck! Axel, did you tell the cops? I… Oh Gaia Ax, I swear on everything I will kill the fuckers for what they've done to you!'