Tanned fingers worked the tie slowly around Dirk's neck when he stood in front of the other. It was three weeks after the funeral by the time a new judge had been appointed and the prosecutor, with Vincent, had decided who to have on the jury. Daniel was going to be on trial today and charges were being brought against Dirk as well. The blond stared straight ahead as Jake continued to work on his tie, brows furrowed in thought on Jake's part. Apparently there had been evidence that Dirk had faked this entire thing to have Nathanial Morris either killed or wrongfully imprisoned. Roxy even had a charge brought against her for prostitution when they had caught Daniel. They were both lucky not to be in handcuffs. Jake had a deep frown set into his face, the orange fabric moving through his fingers until they lay perfectly flat against the blonde's chest. "You should let me tell them." He said softly to the other man, orange eyes moved from the wall to stare into green. "Tell them what." Dirk said softly and Jake held his gaze, frown deep set on his features, "That you and I both did it. I shot Nathanial just as much as you did." There was a snort before Dirk looked away, "Right. And they are so accurate with their justice system these days that they would clearly see you were rescuing someone after long hours of torture and captivity. No, Jake, you aren't going to tell them." He shook his head as Jake's hands dropped to his sides. "Besides," Dirk added a moment later, turning partly away from him to reach for his cane, "-I need you here with the girls." The taller stopped, "Why do you say that, Dirk?"

The blond looked up at him from behind his sunglasses. "You seem to worry about the girls more than you worry about us. You always tell me to look after them." Dirk blinked before looking back at him, "Jake, I just need you here with them. In case something goes wrong- I need to know that you can look out for them." Another pause, "-And Dave." Jake sighed running a hand through his hair, "I wish you wouldn't talk like that… but I can't help but agree with the way the justice system is handling this. I just… I want us to be the way it was before all this bloody hell happened." Dirk laughed a bit bitterly then and Jake stopped short, mouth half open to say something but it never came. The paler shook his head, "Found it ironic. That you're the one wishing this all never happened."

Jake worked his mouth before stopping, "Dirk, I… I can't say I'm sorry enough for-" Dirk rounded on him, stepping closer until they were inches apart. Jake nearly took a step back, something in the other's eyes looked so very unlike Dirk it was like he wasn't looking at them at all. The sounds of the hospital were right outside the room, moving beds and beeping monitors alike. "I want you here. I've got everything here. My sister, my best friend, and my ex-lover. It's better to leave that behind in good hands than any other option." Jake blinked rapidly, leaning away from him for a moment like he had physically hit him across the face. In some higher level, Jake knew that after what he said Dirk would probably never want anything to do with him, but it still didn't make him hurt any less. There was pull inside his chest that made it feel as if someone was putting pressure on him until he couldn't breathe. "Oh." Jake said and nodded, finally taking a step back as Dirk's face returned impassive. "Wait outside; I'll be out in a moment." Jake could only move his head in what could be related to acknowledgement before letting himself out.

"Harsh." Hal was off to the side, sitting on his hospital bed examining his fingertips where nails would be if not covered by the electronical red 'Tron' suit he was wearing. He had simply appeared without a sound, just like before. Dirk glanced at him in the mirror he was limping toward and straightening the tie around his neck. "He needed to hear it. It's better to not have your hopes up with me- I end up destroying them. Anyway, why am I seeing you? I'm on my meds." Hal snorted, looking at his own reflection in the mirror as he stood behind Dirk. "Besides the pun you just made about hope and destroying that I'm choosing to ignore… I wasn't created from the lack of medication. Sure, that's what helped me manifest as a responding hallucination… but I formed as companionship in a situation that required- or at least that's what you mentally told yourself- you to have a second input. Thus, I was formed as almost a split personality hallucination." Dirk scoffed, "I don't have a split personality." Hal nodded, "No, you don't. I'm a hallucination brought on by the same mental fear you're facing then as you are now. You may be on your meds but I was already mentally created by that point… Do you understand what I'm saying?" Dirk didn't even pause like he had done with Jake, "Of course, you're me as much as I am you. It makes perfect sense." He did the buttons on his suit better to not show off his scars on his hands from the flames or the- Dirk didn't complete the thought as Hal spoke up again. "Regardless… I'm more concerned about what's going to happen after the trial this afternoon." Someone called over the intercom for a doctor before Dirk answered him, "What do you think is going to happen?" Hal came up in front of him, straightening his tie before brushing off a bit of lint on Dirk's suit. "There is a 79% chance that you will be let free and Daniel will face his crimes, along with his brother who is now hopefully suffering hell. There is only a 3% chance that Hell exists, just so you know. But there is a still a significant chance that you will be put into prison for false crimes, out of that outcome, an 80% chance of a privately owned prison which are much worse than state owned. And…" Hal went silent before looking up at him with his red eyes, they flickered between Dirk's. "There is a 98% chance, regardless of outcome, that you will commit suicide out of massive amounts of guilt over Jenna Summer's death and all those before her. Not to mention the depression that your medication is unable to handle and your self-ensured break-up with the love of your life… Dirk… You have options; you don't have to do this..."

Dirk stared him down, looking so very tired by that point. Dark circles under his eyes, very little weight gained back, sunken features and even hair and eyes being a duller shade. Hal blinked up at him for a moment before stepping out of Dirk's way. "Is this some sort of last ditch effort to save yourself?" Dirk asked Hal before the hallucination started to rapidly turn to smoke behind him, Dirk's hand being on the cane now. "No… it's me trying to save something that's worth the attempt." Dirk shut his eyes to breathe in before limping toward the door with his cane, opening it to the group he had once called friends. Hal had disappeared once more. Jane glanced at Jake who didn't meet Dirk's gaze, before offering a small smile to the blond. "Let's get going."

"I have been beaten... electrocuted, burnt, drown, raped, starved, experimented on... tortured." He whispered, "For months, I was held hostage by Nathanial Morris. My... My cellmate, Jenna Summers, kept me alive while I was there. When she was... murdered and her child died with her…" His throat got thick, "She was replaced by Rachel Gates... who had her eye removed because she looked at him too long and he thought her lilac colored eyes were 'pretty'." His voice lowered even more. "Ask me again, whether I think this bastard deserved to die for what he did to us... all 104 of us. And his so called brother, who tried to kidnap my sister, that he should spend the rest of his life in prison for what he helped Morris do." Dirk had been called as a witness in the trial by this point. Daniel was sitting across from him, a smug look on his face until Dirk had opened his mouth to spill his story. Like he had believed Dirk would shrivel and whimper at the story. Vincent sat in silence while Jake and Roxy looked utterly horrified. Jane, who had heard his story, kept her gaze locked on Dirk, mentally willing strength to him as he recounted his story to a courtroom full of people. There were cameras on him, a jury of people looking stricken, and a judge who sat on her pedestal with a similar look of a vulture. The judge's glasses reflected down at him and he couldn't… help but find her familiar.

The prosecutor, George Church, was frozen in his tracks, paper of questions in his hands that had been answered by the story. Jake looked as if he might just puke and Dirk was fairing no better. Daniel had already swore up and down that he had simply been taking Roxy home, that what was said hadn't happened and they were all lying. Nathanial wasn't there to defend himself and Rachel, when she took the stand, spoke her story as well. It painted Dirk to be the hero he didn't feel like he was. Jenna Summer's family was beside Jane, who sat on the right of Jake and Roxy. The courtroom was silent except for the cameras rolling behind the seats that were filled to the breaking point- having many people standing around them. Everyone had a stake in this case, far too many people for anyone's liking.

"Mr. Strider, you say all of this happened to you under Nathanial Morris' care-." There were soft mutterings about the word through the audience- especially from Roxy, who found the word 'care' a harsh misusage. "Did you ever try to escape?" Dirk raised an eyebrow, "As I've already said, I tried that twice. The first time I was hit with a mallet in the head that you can see by the hospital records actually cracked my skill and the second time I killed Nathanial Morris to make sure Rachel got away safely." Church frowned before walking back and forth around the room, being a heavy set man with small eyes and greasy dark hair, his breathing was a bit labored through his nose. "So you admit to killing him?" Dirk stared him down, "Yes. It was him or me." There was angry muttering in the room and the judge hit her wooden mallet a few times. "Quiet." She called and Church had a lopsided smile on his face, "And what had you been doing prior to Mr. Morris supposedly kidnapping you?"

Dirk sighed, "I was at a bar with a few friends." Church still smiled, but it grew bigger, like he had caught some dastardly deed in the act, "Drinking and with Roxy LaLonde who currently has a charge against her for prostitution with my client?" Dirk frowned hard, "I'd refrain from calling my sister a-!" Vincent stood, "Objection, that's assuming in far more places than I would like. Not only that, brow beating the witness who has already gone through enough emotional turmoil isn't going to get us anywhere." The judge nodded before Church simply shrugged, "And I am to understand, Mr. Strider, that you have no proof of any of this besides evidence that the hospital collected? And if you were drinking… how do we know that you just didn't get high- that seems like what the kids are doing these days- and got so drunk that you've been at a crack house fighting for these last few months? How do we know that you didn't do this to yourself?" Dirk stared him down, anger in his features that would make grown men quiver in their boots, "You think I would do this to myself?"

Church shrugged, "People in Russia throw themselves in front of semi-trucks to claim insurance… You might have a vendetta against Nathanial Morris like the other people who claimed to have their sons or daughters taken within the last week- they simply wanted a man to go to jail and were creating false reports. So tell me, what's your excuse, Mr. Strider?" Dirk suddenly wanted to rip Church's eyes of his head, "If you think I did all of this- and I suppose that you think I killed Jenna too- to myself and Rachel, you're one sick bastard."

The prosecutor frowned, "Are you threatening me, Mr. Strider?" Dirk nearly rose out his seat, "I might be! You can tarnish my name but I'll be damned if you say something about any of them!" The judge banged her mallet and Dirk immediately looked at her, having a brief flashback of Nathanial hitting the mallet against the wall where his head was a few seconds before. He swallowed, immediately clutching the side of the booth he was in to keep from running or ducking from the imaginary mallet. "Sit down, Mr. Strider." She ordered him and he immediately sat, breath coming fast. The lawyer huffed, watching the brief attack Dirk seemed to be having. He turned on his heel toward the jury, "As you can see, my fair people. There is little to no evidence against my client. This may be true about Nathanial Morris, but he isn't here to speak for himself. But Mr. Strider is and as he has already stated, clearly killed him. Nathanial Morris was going to be let free from his house arrest very soon- could this be the act of Dirk Strider himself? Who saw that Morris was going to be let free and turned to his own actions? We may never know. But I urge you to listen to the facts about this case and not the word of a barely legal young man who was drunk, more than likely drugged, and rash."

Jake knew Jane was about to jump to her feet to sock the lawyer in his face and had a firm hand on her but didn't manage to hold Roxy down. She jumped to her feet, "You son of a bitch! You didn't see him when he got back! You didn't see him when they pulled him from the fire!" Roxy was screaming at the lawyer as Jake stood to wrap his arms around her waist, "You sick bastard you didn't see him! You didn't see him!" She had tears of black running down her face as Vincent called over the mutterings in the court room and the screaming for a short recess. The prosecuting lawyer held up a finger, "Oh thank you, Mrs. LaLonde! I forgot to ask why arson wasn't on the list of charges against Mr. Strider." The mallet was banged, "Mr. Church! In my chambers, now!" The judge pointed to her chambers before dismissing the jury for a decision. There was a recess for the court when she stood and Church followed her inside the room. Vincent took Dirk outside with the other's for fresh air, hand supporting him as he helped him from the booth where he had nearly collapsed by this point. They walked him outside, cameras following them where Jake and Jane blocked them with Jenna's fiancé and Rachel's older brother. Dirk had a mild attack in the bench outside the courthouse; Roxy had held him as he shook wildly. Vincent stood not too far away as Roxy rocked him gentle, the cameras being held back for now by their friends.

And just like that, they were back in the courtroom. Dirk was breathing somewhat normally again, though his vision still blurred from time to time. He sat next to his lawyer as the verdict was written on a sheet of paper. The entire room looked truly grim. The jury handed their sheet of paper over to the bailiff and who then took it to the judge. She only took a few seconds before shaking her head. "No." Everyone was dead quiet as she set down the paper, looking back up at the people waiting for their fate. "I'm overruling this. I thank the jury for their time, but this is far too lenient for this sort of predicament. Will the accused please rise." Dirk, Roxy, Rachel, Daniel and their lawyers rose up. "In the case of Daniel Clemons, I sentence you to life in prison without parole. The lack of evidence was not so lacking, as I understand. There was video footage that has been verified of you not only exchanging dealings with Morris but also kidnapping several girls including Ms. LaLonde. Of course, there will be additional repercussions once your case is reviewed in one year's time since I have just heard they have found ten more bodies underneath the Morris residence. Your lawyer has been informed." Daniel snarled at her and a bailiff walked forward to put him in handcuffs, leading him away toward a double door where a group of Marshals were waiting for him.

"In the case of Rachel Gates and Roxy LaLonde, I clear you of all charges. There is not enough evidence for me to charge you with a thing. I am deeply sorry for what you both have faced."

There was silence for a moment as Dirk looked up at the woman he found so strangely familar, "And in the case of Dirk Strider." The judge looked up at him, over her mid shoulder black hair was put into a bun and her red rimmed glasses slid a bit off of her nose as she looked down at him. "Though I would have shot that man several more times if all of that was done to me- I applaud you for your bravery… and apologize for the suffering you have had to endure... But I cannot clear you of your charges. You still killed Nathanial Morris, who needed to be brought to justice as Clemons was. Without him, there is no evidence to support your end of the case and thus, I cannot claim with sound mind that this was solely self-defense. I sentence you to ten years in prison for first degree murder, with a review in six months. At that time, it will be considered if you are allowed parole and a significant lessening in your sentence for good behavior. I do not believe that you killed Jenna Summers and release you of that charge entirely."

Vincent was spluttering, calling for another trial. The judge held up her hand, "I highly recommend that you appeal to a higher court." Vincent was still snarling as even camera men were yelling profanities and the judge told the blond she'd give him a moment to say his goodbyes as she went into her chambers. Dirk swallowed as Jake made a sound from his throat as the entire courtroom yelled their rage, it almost sounded like a whimper. Jake was shaking his head when Dirk turned, "No- No- I just got you back- I don't care about what you said- no!" Jake shook his head near violently as Dirk reached over and hugged him goodbye. He pressed a kiss to his forehead and Jake clutched onto him tightly for a moment, breathing in his scent, then let go. Roxy was crying too hard to let go of Dirk when she received a hug and Jane nodded to him when he gave her a softened expression. When Jake failed, Jane would take care of the rest. He took her hand, squeezing it while one arm remained around Roxy. The bailiff came forward and cuffed Dirk. Vincent turned to Dirk, "I will fight this, Dirk. Don't give up hope, we'll fight this." Dirk nodded, but the sound in the room had gone into a hum. The colors had gone gray almost. They lead him after Daniel, who was screaming at the top of his lungs for justice and into the back of a black police van.

Dirk took a deep breath before breathing it out.
He was going to jail.
For defending his name, Jenna's, Rachel's, and all 114 people that were victims of Nathanial Morris and his family.
And he was happy about it.

Congratulations, you've reached the end of Spectrum.

You've discovered what happened. You watched Dirk be taken, tortured, and rescued.

You watched the group be strong, fall and rise again.

Parting is such sweet sorrow...

If only you were at the end of the story.

Stay tuned for the new upcoming series following the continued dark adventure of Dirk Strider and his friends.