Trigger warning: Attempted rape in this chapter!

Get ready. This is a heavy chapter. It's also the longest one yet.

Chapter 14 – That Boy is a Monster

Engarde was instantly on top of Kristoph, throwing his own shirt off, as they both fell to the floor. Before Kristoph could protest or even figure out what was going on, Matt had his mouth covering his, kissing him hard. He ground his hips into Kristoph's and he gasped with disturbed surprise with how hard the other one was.

Matt worked his own pants and underwear off and now he was on top of Kristoph completely naked. The ex-attorney shuddered and pushed Matt away from him, but he didn't get off. But now he could see how lust-filled Engarde's eyes were.

"HELP!" Kristoph shouted, trying to wake up anyone or draw the guards' attention, "Guards! Anyone! Please, help me!"

"Aw, there's no need for that, handsome," Matt cooed, "I'm about to make you feel real good."

He reached down to start taking off Kristoph's shirt, but Kristoph grabbed his arms, desperately trying to stop him. Meanwhile, across the hall, Kristoph's shout had awoken Godot and White.

"Ugh, what's with the racket?" Godot muttered. He sat up and looked around, wondering who yelled. Then he spotted Kristoph and Matt and startled slightly. What were they doing? He got up and went to the bars to get a better look. His stomach dropped.

"H-Hey! Engarde! What the hell do you think you're doing?" he scolded.

"What? What's he doing?" Redd White grumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"See for yourself!" Godot told him, then turned back, "Guards! We need a guard here! Anyone!"

As Godot shouted, more of the inmates started waking up to see what was going on. Even though it was dark, there was still enough light to see what was happening. And what was happening was that Engarde was trying to pin Kristoph's wrists down while trying to remove his shirt at the same time while Kristoph fought against him and tried to throw him off. It was a constant back-and-forth struggle. Matt tried to use one hand to keep both of Kristoph's wrists down so he could use the other one to unbutton his shirt, but he wasn't strong enough. As soon as he moved one hand off, Kristoph would try to shove him off. Not helping was Matt's constant grinding of his hips into the man below him.

"What the FUCK Engarde!?" Tigre snarled from his cell, "Stop that! Dos yous have any idea what they'll do ta ya if they catch ya tryin' ta rape another prisoner?"

"Where are the guards?" Gant wondered, "Why aren't they stopping this? Are we not shouting loud enough? Come on, Touché! Get off of Gavvy already!"

"Can it with the nicknames, Gant!" Von Karma growled, "This is serious! Gavin is in great die schwierigkeiten!"

"I concur," Luke Atmey agreed, "We need to the guards' attention somehow."

"What's going on?" Richard called down from his cell, "Why do we need to get the guards' attention?"

"Matt Engarde has gone crazy!" White exclaimed, "He's completely naked and has mounted Kristoph Gavin and is attempting to get his clothes off!"

"Oh my God!" Frank swore, "What's wrong with him?"

"We don't know!" Gant admitted, "We just know that we have to get the guards in here to stop him!"

At that, the group of inmates all started shouting for the guards, calling for help, desperately trying to get any of them in there. While that was happening, Kristoph was starting to grow tired from trying to keep Matt's hands off him. Matt, however, seemed full of energy and wasn't slowing down at all. He pinned Kristoph's wrists down again and leaned down to kiss him hard on the lips. He was wearing him down.

"What da hell is going on here?" Tigre growled as he watched the scene in desperation, "Where the fuck are those guards and why aren't dey responding to our calls?"

Gant stared in despair at the scene before him then looked at his cellmate. "This isn't working," he decided, "Clearly the guards don't care about our pleas for help. We have to take a more direct approach."

"Waddya have in mind?" Tigre asked.

"Do you think you can bend those bars?"

Tigre gave him a look then inspected the bars that held them. They looked sturdy, of course, but he was a very strong man. He used to bend iron bars to intimidate people who didn't pay back their loans. He could probably do it.

"Yeah, I think I can. Why?" he wondered.

"I want you to bend them enough so you can squeeze out of here," Gant explained, "Then one of two things will happen. The alarm will sound signaling that you tried to break out, and you will either have enough time to go over to their cell and do the same to stop Engarde, or the guards will all come to stop you, but hopefully we'll be able to show them what's going on."

Furio hesitated. It sounded like a good plan, but he was nervous. What if when they caught him they sent him back to… that room again? He didn't think he could handle it. But then again… he looked back to where Engarde had pinned Kristoph's wrists down yet again. He wasn't prepared to sit here and watch Gavin get raped while there was something he could do about it.

With a low primal growl, Tigre grabbed the bars of the cell and started slowly bending them out of shape. He managed to snap some of them out and squeezed through before rushing over to the other cell. He was vaguely aware of an alarm going off and a red light swirling around, but he ignored it as he ripped open the cell door.

Engarde didn't even seem to notice Tigre was there until the tiger man was pulling him off his victim. He clawed at the air, desperately reaching for Kristoph as he lay on the floor, gasping for air. As Tigre restrained Engarde, keeping him well away from Kristoph, a whole rush of guards came charging into the hall all at once.

"It's about time!" Von Karma growled at them as they headed to Engarde and Gavin's cell.

A couple of guards took over restraining Matt and two more took Tigre by the arms, not bothering to ask what had happened. As they were escorted away, none of the guards bothered looking down at Kristoph, who still laid in a heap on the floor. The guards left and all was quiet except for Kristoph's harsh breathing.

"…Gavin? Counselor? Are you all right?" Atmey asked him when he didn't get up.

"Did they take Engarde away?" Wellington wondered, "It's kind of hard to see from up here."

"They did," Misty answered, "They also took Tigre, even though he was only helping. They didn't even ask what was going on. They just left poor Gavin lying there."

"Also, I could just walk out of my cell right now if I wanted to," Gant pointed out, "Guess they didn't notice that little detail."

"Maybe you should go and make sure Gavin is okay," Godot pointed out, "Since you can and their door is kind of busted."

Before Gant could move, however, the hallway door opened and they all fell silent. They were all rather surprised when Dr. Shuu Iwamine appeared. Hadn't he gone home for the night? They watched as he went into Kristoph's cell and crouched down next to him.

"Are you all right, Kristoph?" Shuu asked him quietly.

"…No."

"Would you like to come back to my office to recover?"

"…Please."

Carefully, Shuu bent down and pulled Kristoph to his feet. He put an arm around him to keep him up and guided him out of the cell. The others silently watched them leave.

"Thank goodness someone cares about him," Luke muttered after they had left, "But it's odd. What is the doctor still doing here at this hour? He doesn't live here, does he?"

"Don't be a dummkopf," von Karma scoffed, "Of course he doesn't!"

"Here," Shuu said as Kristoph laid on one of the beds, shaking slightly, "I made you some tea. It should help relax you."

Kristoph slowly sat up and took the cup from him. "Thank you," he murmured, taking a sip. His shivering started to go down and he sighed. Tea always made him feel better. When he was still an attorney he often drank it when he had a particularly difficult case.

"Are you doing any better?" Shuu asked, "What happened, if you don't mind me asking?"

Shuddering, Kristoph was silent for a moment. "Engarde… attacked me," he muttered, "It was like he was drugged or something. He was completely naked and he was trying to…" He stopped, unable to say it.

"Hmm… that is unusual," Shuu mused, "From what you say it does seem like he was drugged. I can't think of why he would suddenly decide to do something like that out of nowhere in the middle of the night. Hold on a second."

He walked over to his medicine cabinet and unlocked it. He did a quick scan of its contents before locking it back up. "Not that I would have anything like that, but I don't think they obtained it from me," he concluded, "Whoever it was must've brought the drug from home."

Kristoph nodded but didn't say anything. If someone drugged Engarde to make him so lustful, why? Why would they want him to suffer like that? It didn't make sense.

…Unless someone was seeking revenge on him. But why? He was in jail. Wasn't that punishment enough? He also couldn't think of anyone who would want to take justice against him. Vera, maybe, but she didn't seem the type. Then who?

"Are you comfortable?" Shuu suddenly asked, breaking Kristoph from his thoughts. He blinked at the doctor.

"Oh, uh, yes I am," he replied, "Why is this bed so much nicer than the others?"

"That's my personal bed," Shuu explained, "I got it put in here in case there was an inmate that needed overnight treatment, like your friend Luke Atmey."

"He's not my friend," Kristoph grumbled under his breath.

"Sure, ok," Shuu said in a slightly mocking voice, "By the way, if you like I can set you up with a trauma counselor. When something like this happens it's best to make sure you don't spiral further into despair."

"That… would be nice," Kristoph replied, "I'll think about it. I don't really like talking about my personal life with strangers."

"I understand," Shuu said, with a nod, "But think about it."

Kristoph fell silent. He wanted to talk about something to get his mind off his traumatic experience. He looked over at Shuu.

"May I ask you a question?" he said, "Why do you have a Japanese name when you're not Japanese?"

"How do you know I'm not Japanese?" Shuu wondered with a smirk, "Anyway, I was an orphan raised by Japanese-Americans. I didn't have a name when they found me, so they gave me one. My first name, my given name is Shuu and my last name, my family name is Iwamine. I'm sort of used to introducing myself as both Shuu Iwamine and Iwamine Shuu."

He reached over and picked up his own cup of tea. "Now that you know the origin of my name, may I ask about yours? It's German, but I don't like to make assumptions."

"My family originated from Germany, though no one is actually German anymore," Kristoph explained, "We've spent several generations in America. The only one who speaks any German is my brother Klavier, and that's only because he studied abroad for several years."

"Hmm, I met your brother. He seemed nice," Shuu commented, "Easy on the eyes, but maybe not as handsome as- Anyway, you should probably get some rest. You've had a traumatic experience and were awoken in the middle of the night. You must be tired."

Kristoph gave him a slightly confused look but didn't argue with him. He gave back the teacup before laying down and falling into an uneasy sleep.

He probably should've expected to be plagued by nightmares, but that didn't stop Kristoph from dreading it. He was chained to a wall, completely helpless as Engarde stood in front of him, grinning with lust. Kristoph tried to struggle out of his chains while Engarde calmly undressed himself. Then he walked over to Kristoph and started undoing his shirt. Kristoph tried to shout for help or to tell him to stop, but that's when he realized that he had no voice.

"Don't worry, handsome," Engarde said in a strangely warped voice, "No need to fear. I'll take good care of you. Just relax."

He finished taking off Kristoph's clothes so that he was completely exposed and he trembled. Engarde smiled a lustful smile. He stepped even closer so that their naked bodies were touching. Matt leaned forward and whispered in Kristoph's ear.

"You're about to enter a world of pleasure, my love," he breathed.

Engarde thrusted forward and Kristoph woke up, gasping and shivering. He grabbed his chest over his heart where it was beating faster than it ever had before. He stared around the darkened room, eyes wide. He knew it had just been a dream, but it just felt so real.

"Kristoph, are you all right?" a quiet voice asked next to him. He looked over and saw Shuu sitting next to the bed. He looked concerned and slightly annoyed at the same time.

"I… I had a nightmare," Kristoph confessed lowly.

"Oh dear," Shuu murmured, "Nightmares are never fun. Will you be all right?"

Kristoph hesitated and put his hand over his heart again. It was slowly returning to its proper rhythm. "Yes. I think I'll be ok," he answered, "It was just a nightmare. I've had them before. It's no big deal."

"If you say so," Shuu said, still looking concerned. Kristoph gave him a side look.

"Something wrong, doctor?" he asked. Shuu sighed.

"While you were asleep I went to try to find where they took Engarde," he told him, "I wanted to do a blood test on him to see if he was indeed drugged and what kind of drug it was. Then maybe we would be closer to finding out what happened. But that fat excuse for a warden and his lover denied me! Can you believe that!?"

"Why would they do that?" Kristoph wondered, "You're the doctor!"

"I don't know!" Shuu grumbled, "There shouldn't be anything in this prison I don't know about medically! Why would they do this to me?"

Why would they do something like that? What were Dewey Watchum and Andy Howe hiding?

Klavier didn't know if he should be worried or not. The last time Kristoph had called him to prison it had been a non-emergency. And while he was perfectly happy to visit his brother more often, he couldn't afford to visit him every day if that's what he was going to ask. He had work to do! Edgeworth would get annoyed if he left work every day to visit his convicted brother.

But then maybe Kristoph actually had an emergency this time. What if he was actually in trouble? And that's why Klavier didn't know whether or not he should be worried.

When Klavier arrived at the prison, instead of being escorted to the visiting room he was brought to the doctor's office. A cold stone of fear dropped into his gut. Oh God! Something was deathly wrong with his brother!

As soon as Klavier entered the room he gasped with horror. In front of him was a hospital bed with a white sheet covering an unmoving body. His brother's unmoving body!

"NO! Mein armer bruder!" he cried, throwing himself at the bed, "How could this happen to you? If only I had made it in time! You would still be alive!"

Shuu stood the side, watching Klavier's meltdown with curiosity. He pulled out a notepad and pencil and started writing. "Interesting…" he muttered to himself.

Kristoph, meanwhile, was sitting on Shuu's bed, sipping tea, and giving his brother a confused look. "Um, Klavier?" he said slowly. Klavier started slightly.

"B-Bruder?" he breathed, looking up to the ceiling, "Are you speaking to me from… above?" Kristoph gave a massive sigh.

"First of all, Klavier, if I were dead, I doubt I would end up there," he pointed out, "Second, and most importantly, I'm not dead! Look to your left!"

Blinking, Klavier looked and jumped a bit; whether from joy or horror it was hard to tell. "Kristoph! You're alive!" he exclaimed.

"Yes. I told you this," Kristoph replied calmly.

Klavier went over to him and looked conflicted about whether to kneel in front of him or to sit next to him on the bed. He eventually decided to grab a chair and drag it over. "So, what did you call me for?" he asked, "And why are you in the doctor's office?"

Kristoph was silent for a few moments before turning to Shuu. "Would you mind giving us some privacy for a few minutes?" he requested.

"Nah, it's all right," Shuu replied, "I'm just going to stand here and listen." Kristoph shot him an annoyed look, causing the doctor to sigh. "Oh, all right," he muttered, "Tell your brother not to touch anything." Then he left.

Turning to his brother, Klavier saw a haunted look in his eyes. The cold stone returned to his stomach. "Brother? Kristoph? What's wrong?" he gently asked.

A few more seconds of silence before Kristoph shuddered and breathed a small breath of air. "You remember my cellmate, Matt Engarde?" he started.

"Yes. What about him?" Klavier wondered.

Kristoph cast his eyes to the floor, speaking slowly. "Last night, something happened," he said in a near whisper, "I think he was drugged. When I woke up he was… staring at me in an unnatural way. Before I could say anything… he jumped on me."

Klavier hissed sharply in surprise but refrained from saying anything until Kristoph had finished.

"He-He tore off all of his clothes… and mounted me," Kristoph continued, "He said… he was going to 'make me feel good.' A-And he tried to take off my clothes. Klavier…" He looked his brother in the eye. "He tried to rape me."

Klavier felt his jaw drop and tears threaten his eyes. What could he possibly say to that? How could he even begin to comfort his brother? He felt like his heart was about to burst like a balloon and breathing was growing short.

"Wh-Wh-What were the guards doing?" he decided to ask, "They came to stop it, right?"

"Eventually," Kristoph muttered, "After Furio Tigre broke out of his cell and came over to pull Engarde off of me. Before that they were ignoring the calls for help."

"Mein Gott!" Klavier cursed, "That's horrible! How could they do that? That's neglect! They can't ignore you like that!"

"That's actually why I called you here," Kristoph said, "Last time I threatened them when Engarde assaulted me, they said I didn't have a case because I had no proof. But now I have evidence and several witnesses who will back me up. I want you to build a case of the prison's negligence for me."

Klavier gave his brother a small smile. "Of course, Kris," he answered, "I'll make sure this prison gets what it deserves! They can't treat you or any of its prisoners like that!" He leaned over and wrapped Kristoph in a tight hug. "I swear I'll make things better. You'll see."

"Thank you, Klavier," Kristoph murmured, "I love you."

"I love you, too, bro," Klavier replied.

Perhaps he was going a bit fast on his bike, but Klavier was mad and he needed to let off some steam. Kristoph's near rape made him so angry and depressed at the same time. Why would Engarde do something like that to his brother? Was he really drugged? And why hadn't the guards responded when there was a cry for help? Klavier was determined to hold them all accountable for making his brother suffer.

He didn't realize it in his rage, but he found himself automatically heading towards the Wright Anything Agency instead of back to the prosecutor's office. Eh, it was all right. Perhaps Apollo would be willing to listen to him and Kristoph's plight.

Klavier parked his hog outside the building and headed up to the office. Before he even got up there he could hear a lot of noise coming from inside. It could best be described as a mashup of random sounds, shouting, and a little bit of music. With quite a bit of hesitation, he knocked on the door and opened it just a crack and was immediately blasted by a horrible rendition of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'."

"Don't stop believin'

Hold on to that feelin'

Streetlight people

Don't stop believin'

Hold on

Streetlight people

Don't stop believin'

Hold on to that feelin'

Streetlight people!"

Phoenix and Trucy were shouting the lyrics at the top of their lungs while Athena watched joyfully. Apollo sat on the couch, grumpy and frowning at them.

"Guys!" he yelled, trying to be heard over the chaos, "Three things! I'm trying to work! There are other tenants in this building! And this has nothing to do with law!"

"What are you talking about, Apollo?" Athena questioned, "I'm trying to read the emotions in people's singing! You're up next and you're singing 'My Heart Will Go On!'"

Apollo gave her a horrified look. "Uh! I beg to differ!" he exclaimed.

"Um, am I interrupting something?" Klavier asked, struggling to be heard.

It apparently worked, because Trucy glanced over and gasped with excitement, turning off the karaoke machine. "Prosecutor Gavin! What brings you here?" she wondered.

Klavier sighed heavily. "Nothing good, I'm afraid," he replied, "Something bad happened last night to my brother."

Over on the couch, Apollo froze up. "Mr. Gavin?" he clarified, "What happened? He didn't die, did he?" Klavier shook his head.

"No, nothing like that," he answered, "It's something probably just as bad, though." Shakily, he explained to them all what Kristoph had told him. They listened in silence until he finished.

"Oh my God!" Phoenix blurted out as soon as Klavier was done speaking, "I knew Matt Engarde was a bastard but I didn't know he would go that far! Poor Kristoph!"

"The worst thing is that the guards didn't even come to help him!" Klavier complained, "One of the other inmates had to break out of his cell to do it and that's when the guards came! I'll never forgive those arschlochs for hurting my brother!"

Apollo and Trucy were quiet, but for entirely different reasons. Trucy didn't want to say anything that was going to upset Klavier, and Apollo was merely shocked into silence. He couldn't believe his strong, proud former mentor had almost been raped. He could still imagine Kristoph's friendly smile whenever Apollo had done something right when he had still worked for him. To think that something had taken it away almost brought tears to Apollo's eyes.

"Um, Klavier?" Apollo suddenly spoke, "Next time you go to visit your brother, would you mind terribly if I went with you?"

Klavier blinked at him for a moment before smiling. "Of course I don't, schatzi," he answered, "I think Kristoph would appreciate it as well."

Though he would have preferred to stay in Shuu's office forever, eventually Kristoph was forced to go back to his cell. When he got there, he was horrified to see Matt Engarde waiting for him. He dug his heels into the ground and halted his movements.

"Are you kidding me?" he snarled at the guard, "You're still forcing me to share a cell with him!?" The guard shrugged.

"Why not?" he asked nonchalantly, then shoved Kristoph into the cell.

Immediately, Kristoph retreated to his bed and curled up on it in fear. But then he noticed something about Engarde. He was just… sitting there on the opposite bed. His eyes were wide and staring at nothing while he seemed to be muttering something under his breath.

"S-So cold," Engarde whispered, "H-Horrible. So m-much pain. Hate it. D-Don't want t-to go back to th-that room. The Silence Room. Don't make me go back!"

Kristoph stared at him in fear. The Silence Room? Wasn't that the same thing Tigre mentioned? Speaking of which, where was Tigre? They didn't take him back to that room, did they?

"Hey Gavin!" Godot suddenly called, startling him, "You all right over there?" Kristoph blinked at him then looked at Matt.

"He's not going to attack me again, is he?" he wondered. Godot shook his head.

"I don't think so," he replied, "Whatever they did to the tiger they did to him. He's been like that ever since they brought him back."

"Don't worry about Tigey, though," Gant told Kristoph, and it was then that he noticed that both their cells had been repaired, "We heard that he's only in solitary confinement, so he should be released soon."

Somehow that made Kristoph feel better. Even though he tried not to care about his fellow inmates, especially not enough to call them friends, he was grateful to them for trying to help him and actually worrying about him. He wanted to remind himself to thank Tigre for saving him from Engarde next time he saw him and he was glad that he wasn't sent back to this "Silence Room" whatever it was.

As Kristoph was lost in thought, Matt suddenly stood up and walked to the middle of the cell. Kristoph flinched away from him and was about to ask him what he was doing when the roof above Matt's cot suddenly and spontaneously collapsed, crushing it in a pile of bricks and concrete. There was a cry of joy and then Frank stuck his head through the hole.

"What the-?" he exclaimed, "I thought I could finally get free!"

"Sahwit, you idiot!" came Richard's scowl, "We're on the second floor! As in there's a cell beneath us! You know this! You could've seriously injured someone!"

"Nah, it's all right," Frank dismissed, "They moved in time."

"That's not the point!" Wellington sighed, annoyed, "Gavin has already been through one traumatic experience, I doubt he wants to make it worse because you crushed him in your stupid escape plan!"

"Hey! It was a good escape plan!" Frank insisted.

There was another sigh, then the sound of someone going over to the newly formed hole. "Gavin, I'm really sorry about him," Richard called down, "I'll make sure he gets an extra beating for this."

Ignoring Sahwit's cry of "What did I do?" Kristoph attempted a small smile. "It's all right," he said, a bit shaken, "Neither of us were hurt. It's just a bit dusty now." And we're down a bed, which means Engarde is probably going to share mine, which is the last thing I want.

"Hey Sahwsy!" Gant hollered, "Maybe you should borrow Beefy's glasses! Then you could see what's right in front of your face! How could you possibly forget that you're on the second floor?"

"Yes, thank you, Gant!" Richard hissed, "Sahwit's an idiot! We've established this now!"

While Richard was yelling at Frank, Matt had gone over to the rubble and sat down, continuing to stare and mumble. Kristoph couldn't help but watch him out of fear that maybe it was a ruse or he would suddenly snap out of it and go back to his annoying flirty self. He wondered if the ex-star even remembered or felt regretful for what happened.

"Hey Gavin," Richard's voice along with him poking his head out of the hole in the ceiling startled Kristoph out of his thoughts, "Do you want Sahwit and I to take Engarde for the night? I know he's kind of out of it right now, but we could still keep an eye on him for you."

Kristoph stared at him for a moment. Even if knew he was being a bit paranoid, some extra security would be nice. He didn't see how he was going to get to sleep otherwise.

"That would be very helpful," Kristoph muttered, "Thank you."

Richard nodded then adjusted himself and dropped down the hole. The debris from the ceiling made a large enough pile so they could easily reach up to his cell. He pushed his glasses up his nose then carefully made his way down the rubble to Matt.

"All right, Engarde, get up. You're staying with us tonight," he ordered, gently pulling the mumbling man to his feet. He guided Matt up the rubble and with Frank's help pulled him up to their cell.

Kristoph couldn't help but sigh in relief. It was only for one night, but it was better than nothing. He laid down on his cot, removing his glasses, and tried to get comfortable. Above him, he could hear Frank and Richard talking.

"So, this means we get to share a bed, eh?" Frank asked suggestively.

"Uh, no. You're sleeping on the floor," Richard growled at him.

Guess we both have to deal with love-struck cellmates, eh, Wellington? Kristoph thought with a small smirk. He wondered if Richard was even aware of Frank's totally obvious crush on him.

With that thought, Kristoph closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep. There was silence throughout the prison.

Then Gant let out a deep sigh. "I'm lonely," he announced, "I miss Tigey."

On occasion, Phoenix didn't mind walking to his destination if it was nice out and the place was close to wherever he was. And being in the end of August meant the weather was pleasant and begging for people to be outside. He had already texted Miles and told him he would probably be home late as he had something important to take care of. Miles had texted back telling him that was fine, but he would have to make up for it with extra cuddles in bed tonight, followed by a heart. Phoenix smiled and sent him a heart back.

Eventually, he reached the prison and headed inside without hesitation. After going through the screening process, he went to the visitor's desk.

"I'm here to see Kristoph Gavin, please," he told the receptionist, "If it's not too much trouble I would like to request the special visitor's room."

"Of course, sir," the receptionist replied, "Please have a seat and we'll call you when everything's ready."

Phoenix knew it wouldn't be long. He knew Klavier often visited his brother and he himself had visited Kristoph not long ago. He also came to visit Godot on occasion to give him news about the world and see how he was doing.

After a few minutes Phoenix was escorted to the visitor's room, the one with the table and chairs. It was only a few moments before the other door opened and a guard brought Kristoph in and unshackled him.

Phoenix had to stop himself from gasping when he saw the other man. He looked so tired and defeated. He had circles under his eyes from lack of sleep and his eyes themselves were dull instead of ice-filled like they usually were. His hair, normally kept so neat and tidy, was starting to come undone from its tight spiral and gave off the impression that he hadn't brushed it recently. His clothes, while still the same formal wear he normally preferred, were slightly wrinkled and unkept. It was all Phoenix could do from bursting into tears at the sight of his old friend and how far he had fallen.

Slowly, Kristoph raised his gaze and as soon he spotted Phoenix, he narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing here, Wright?" he hissed, "I thought I told you to stay away from me."

Phoenix stood up and walked over to stand in front of him. "Your brother came by my office the other day," he told him, "He told us what happened to you. I just wanted to say… I'm so sorry."

Kristoph stared at him for a long silent moment. Then, without any warning, he stepped forward and flung his arms around Phoenix in a tight hug. Without hesitating for even a moment, Phoenix wrapped his arms around his former friend, pressing him close against his body.

Tears started silently falling from Kristoph's eyes down his cheeks. He squeezed Phoenix slightly and took a shuddering breath.

"Phoenix," he whispered, "I was so scared. I've never been more frightened before in my life. I-I tried to struggle against him, but he was just too strong. I honestly thought he was going to…"

"Shhh…" Phoenix gently shushed him and reached up to start running a hand through his platinum locks, "It's ok. You don't have to think about it anymore. I'm here for you now. I'm not going anywhere. Just focus on me, all right?"

Kristoph closed his eyes and rested his chin on Phoenix's shoulder, focusing on the hand that was stroking his hair. It was comforting to him, just as it always had been whenever he had a breakdown when he and Phoenix had still been friends. Whenever he had a breakdown of any sort, Phoenix would hold him and run his fingers through his hair, calming and comforting him. Kristoph didn't realize until now just how much he had missed this.

"Klavier said that you two intend to sue the prison for neglect, am I right?" Phoenix asked after a minute of silence.

"Mm-hmm," Kristoph mumbled, not opening his eyes.

"I wanted you to know that I want to help you in anyway I can," Phoenix told him, gently working his fingers through his hair to get out a knot that had formed, "I've kind of suspected for a while that this prison hasn't been treating it's prisoners well. And I know a lot of the inmates personally, even if they don't all like me."

"That's good," Kristoph murmured, "We could use the help."

Phoenix gave him a soft squeeze. "I know you don't think so, but I really do still consider you my friend," he told him, "I love you and it pains me to see you so hurt like this."

Kristoph didn't reply but opened his eyes. He didn't understand how Phoenix could still easily say he loved him. After everything that happened between them, he couldn't forget the past so easily.

"Phoenix, what's going to happen to me?" he wondered, "I can't live every day in fear, praying that man won't suddenly attack me again. It's only been two days and look at how disheveled I've become! What if whatever happened then happens again, only this time he succeeds? What if-?" Phoenix quietly shushed him again.

"It's ok, Kris," he assured him, "I won't let that happen. I'm not going to let that bastard Matt Engarde hurt you anymore. Klavier and I are going to go to the warden himself and get him transferred to a different cell if we have to. I promise you, everything will be ok."

With a soft sigh, Kristoph closed his eyes again and gently nuzzled Phoenix's neck. "I want to believe you," he whispered, "Please, Phoenix, I don't want to be scared anymore. I've been uneasy around him since they first forced him into my cell."

Phoenix remembered when Klavier first told them all about Kristoph's situation and how he had laughed about it. Now he just felt really guilty.

"This isn't the first time he tried to assault me," Kristoph murmured, "He tried before, when I was asleep. The night you last visited me, actually. I woke up with him on top of me and he was stripped down to his boxers. He wasn't as… how do I put this? Fanatical as he was two nights ago." Phoenix tensed slightly and clutched Kristoph harder.

"Kris, I am so sorry," Phoenix mumbled, "I had no idea how hard your life was getting here."

"It's not your fault," Kristoph replied lowly. But Phoenix knew that it sort of was, since he was the one who helped send him to jail in the first place.

They continued to stand there, holding each other, until the guard came in. "Gavin, time's up. Back to your cell."

Kristoph let out a tiny whine that only Phoenix could hear and clutched him harder. Clearly, he wasn't ready to go back yet. Phoenix carefully removed one arm and dug into his pocket to remove his wallet and handed the guard some money.

"Can we have a little more time, please?" he requested.

The guard counted the bills before pocketing them. "All right, a bit more time." He left them alone.

Kristoph sighed with relief and rested his chin back on Phoenix's shoulder while Phoenix went back to running his fingers through his hair. They were silent during this time and simply focused on each other. For a few more minutes, they were friends again.

Whew! This is easily the longest chapter I have ever written for any story at over 6,000 words long! I would have divided it into two chapters, but I feel like it would have lost its impact if I had done that. Anyway, pretty heavy, huh? Sorry if it disturbed or depressed any of you, but it had to be done for the story to progress. Next chapter will hopefully be shorter and almost as intense. In the meantime, please leave a comment!