Omo~! How long has it taken me to complete this chapter? A while. I had most of it done months ago and only had to put in the final page (which took me 20 minutes). Ah~. You all hate me, I know.

BUT! I'm a college student, now! And that's mainly what I have time for. That and the fact that I've been working on this DBSK fan-fic called 'Fan-Fact or Fiction?' and that story has broken 100 pages! –is all happy- I enjoy working on that one. :3 Not that I don't enjoy this one!! It's just that I'm a REALLY big DBSK fan!!

Anywho. Enough about that.

Enjoy after the disclaimer!

Disclaimer: If I owned Balthier and Basch…could you imagine the torture our poor little Ffamran mid Bunansa would have to endure?!

Part five: Comeback

Larsa sighed and put down a letter that had just arrived from Judge Gabranth – or so the imperial stated it was from Judge Gabranth. Apparently, having Balthier released was taking longer than expected and Basch was unsure of when he would be able to return to Archadia. Basch informed him of everything that was happening and Larsa could not help but wonder if there was anything he would be able to do to help claim the sky pirate's innocence.

At this rate, it seemed that would be impossible.

He reached for a piece of parchment and pen, writing to Al-Cid, asking just that.

-----

Balthier sat in the corner of his cell, back against the rock-portioned wall, head pressed against it as well. He had his knees bent and his arms sitting on them with eyes shut, trying to rest. Any time now a guard would come to take him to the platform for further interrogation and, though it sounded bitter, he was looking forward to it. Anything to get him away from those eyes that stalked him whenever he moved. He lightly hit his head on the wall and groaned as he let his head fall forward. At this rate, he would age another year before he was even released and he definitely had no intentions of letting that happen.

He opened his eyes and stared blankly in front of him as those thoughts drifted through his head. Maybe it would not have been so bad had he at least known what the item was that he was accused of stealing. At least that would put some portion of his mind to rest – or so he hoped. Whatever it was, no one seemed bent on telling him and, if anything, that was causing him more aggravation.

He looked up when he heard rattling on the bars to the cell. It was the usual guard that unlocked his cell to take him to the platform. Only this time, the guard was accompanied by two others that stood behind him, waiting for a cue: for what? Balthier had not the slightest idea. The door was unlocked and the guard stepped back to let the two others inside the cell. Balthier stood, not feeling up to being jerked to his feet. He dusted his pants off and looked at the two guards.

"Pretty sure I know the way now."

The two said naught and, instead, one of them grabbed his forearm and pulled him out of the cell. Yet, instead of being taken towards the platform, he was headed in the opposite direction. Balthier only looked in confusion. This was oddly strange. Was he being taken to speak to the head of the prison? Maybe they would finally listen to his side of the story and his claims that he stole naught a thing.

He was taken up several flights of stairs that led to a door and a room that had no outside windows. Was this the office of the Head or something else? He was not sure, nor did he ask, fearing that, whatever it was, would be much worse than the platform. The guard that opened his cell took out his keys and unlocked the door. He opened it and allowed the two guards that were assisting Balthier into the room – he followed in behind, shutting the door behind him.

Balthier did no more than look around the room. It was bare for the most part – except for what lie in the corner of the room. Were his eyes deceiving him or did he see an iron trough with red coals? He was not able to look at it long enough, whereas he was forced to kneel down with his back to it. The two guards that assisted him inside the room held his arms to where he could not move. He pulled, trying to see if he could get out of the hold, but when he did, he felt his shoulder pop. The guards had him held to where if he moved, he would pop his shoulders out of place.

He heard clanging behind him and tried to turn to look, but failed. The guard that unlocked the door walked around to the front of the sky pirate with –

No. His eyes were deceiving him. They had to.

Was the guard holding a branding iron?

The guard just snickered. "Time to label you as the thief you are," was all he said.

The branding iron he held was red hot in the form of a 'T.' Balthier jerked his head off to the side as the guard brought the iron closer to the right side of his face.

-----

"In their eyes, he has already been convicted. Less we can discover but another way to claim what has been lost, things do not bode well."

"I'm becoming annoyed with that line."

"As am I."

Basch did nothing more than nod, eyes adverted towards the ground, though not focusing on anything in particular. Al-Cid just stood in front of him, leaning on his desk with his arms folded. No matter how they tried to think of a way, getting a claim on Balthier's innocence seemed almost impossible. With an added bonus, Al-Cid could not get in contact with the head of the prison to set up a meeting. Hope was falling through the drain to the ditch as it slowly became a realization. With all the knowledge they had it seemed just about impossible to have him freed. Unless they could find proof that he stole nothing, he would be damned. Basch was becoming more and more agitated with the situation – the feeling of being useless was not one he was currently fond of.

Nevertheless, he refused to give up. When he first met the sky pirate and the group in the Nalbina Dungeons, Balthier was unusually quick to trust him – unlike he was towards Balthier. It had taken time before he felt as though he was able to trust the sky pirate – the title itself giving reason to his doubt. Yet, as time had progressed, he realized that he could trust this man with his life. Now, Balthier's life was in his hands and there seemed to be nothing he could do.

Al-Cid seemed to sense his unease and he released a sigh, shaking his head.

"If I could discover what the item is that he has supposedly stolen," Al-Cid began, causing Basch to look back up at him, "it would be a much more likely possibility that we could claim his innocence. If we happen to stumble upon the 'stolen' item and return it to its predecessors, he would therefore become a free man."

Basch seemed to think for a moment before looking back to the Rozarrian Head. "Have you a way to find this information?"

Al-Cid shrugged. "The likelihood is quite slim, but I suppose it cannot cause harm to undertake. I will make contact with the imperials and try to discover the correct answer." When he finished, he stood straight, putting his hands to his sides. "As for the while, I would very much appreciate if you would find more information on our friend's current situation. In the meantime, I will see what I can find out about this prized treasure."

Basch bowed. "Many thanks."

When Al-Cid nodded, Basch turned on his heel to leave the room, the iron armor clanking with each step. When he exited the office, and the door shut behind him, he sighed, shaking his head with aggravation before placed his helm back over his head.

All of this jumping around made him feel like a winged bird in an iron cage. No matter how hard he tried to find the freedom of the bars, the cage kept them locked tight. He cursed under his breath as he began walking down the hall, wondering if it would be possible to get into see Balthier again, hoping that the man was all right.

----

"How's that for ya? Feel nice?"

"Nnng…!"

The inmate shoved the right side of Balthier's face into the sand as he thrust in again from the back. This was not what the sky pirate had been looking forward to after coming back – being attacked by his cellmate was not on his list. Water seeped from his tear ducts as he was slammed into again and he continually cursed at himself for appearing so pathetic. After everything that had gone on, he had little strength left. Day by day his physical strength was tested and weakened, as well as his mental strength, which had plummeted in just a few days.

He began to feel hopeless, realizing that his chances of being released were slim to none. To top it all off, some guard was getting his jollies watching the scene and this made Balthier hate himself even further.

The sun had already set, so the prison was drenched in darkness, other than a few lamps on the outsides of cells that gave off a bit of dim light. The only bit of optimism he had was a short period of rest he would be able to have once the inmate was through with him. There were no interrogations at night, which would give the sky pirate a bit of time to regain some of his strength, and it was a strong likelihood that his cellmate would rest as well. He would just have to bare it out until then.

Bit nails dug into his side as the inmate gripped to keep hold, shedding a slight amount of crimson liquid. The only relief to the situation was that at least this time the bulky inmate did use something as a lubricant to make the ride a little easier. He said that he would go easier on the sky pirate because Balthier obeyed when he told him what to do – the brunet not having the physical capability to even try warding off his foe. He feared that if he put up a fight, he would not live to see daylight the next day. The only drawback to the 'lubricant' the inmate was using was that it was Balthier's own blood.

He bit his teeth and cringed, releasing a broken yell as he tried to sustain from doing just that. When the inmate tensed, so did Balthier, preparing for what he knew was to come, but instead the man just pulled out before shoving Balthier's head one last time into the sands.

"Get up and finish the job," was his command.

It took a moment for Balthier's mind to register what he meant. He felt his heart sink when he came to the realization. His throat became dry and pursed his lips together, climbing to all fours and turning around to face the other inmate who had stood up. He suddenly felt nauseous, but he just shut his eyes, swallowed hard and opened his mouth. The man waited naught and grabbed the back of Balthier's head, forcing his entire length into the sky pirate's mouth. Balthier gagged and began coughing hysterically, the motions just reverberated the other's length. He did not even have to do anything, the other took care of that and made Balthier move his head front and back.

The inmate let his head fall backwards as he left Balthier to work on his own and instead ran his hands through Balthier's hair. "That's a good little thief," he practically moaned.

If it was not everything else, it was this that made Balthier completely disgusted with himself. He had gone from being a free sky pirate, able to roam the skies freely and never heed to anyone's will but his own to a fallen sky pirate who had to obey everyone and everything around him.

How the mighty fall was the phrase to suddenly flutter across his mind.

The man cursed as he grabbed both sides of Balthier's head and began thrusting in, the other coughing and gagging with each thrust. The after part was no better when he filled Balthier's mouth and throat. His first instinct was to pull back to spit out the foreign substance, but instead the man just held his head in place and leered down at him.

"Uh-uh, thief. Drink up."

At this one line, Balthier's chest began to shake up and down and the man removed himself, a bit of his seed flowing after, running down Balthier's chin. He watched with a stern look as he covered himself up and watched as the sky pirate's bottom lip shook. Balthier clamped his eyes shut as he swallowed, a bitter taste being left.

The man turned to walk past Balthier, leaving the brunet to just stare blankly in front of him. "We'll pick it back up in the morning," was all he said as he walked to the other end of the cell.

Balthier shut his eyes. He opened them back and turned his head to look outside the cell, the guard that had been standing there just snickered before turning on his heel and walking away. The brunet shifted to pull his pants up, his stare still blank as he felt as though he was in a daze. From a ways away, he heard the clanking of metal armor – he instantly recognized the steps.

He chuckled a strange laugh that did not sound sane.

At least he did not appear sooner, Balthier thought to himself with a clear twisted and warped sense of humour.

Right on cue.

Even in the dim lighting, Balthier could make out the armoured form of Basch, the Judge carrying his helm under his arm as always. He shook his head and walked, though more like stumbled, over, the guard that stood with him not bothering to make them known when he saw that Balthier noticed them. The guard looked to Basch and held up his thumb, signaling ten minutes. Basch nodded and turned his head back to Balthier who grabbed the iron bars and set his head on them, fatigue flushing over him.

The inmate was right. It was easier for him to not put up a fight.

For some reason, Balthier hated the fact that he thought that.

"I cannot do this anymore," Balthier said breathlessly before Basch said a word.

Basch knitted his eyebrows together and was about to ask, but Balthier just looked up at him, his eyes red and puffy, though the tears had stopped earlier. Balthier let out a strange laugh. "I have been…labeled."

"Balthier-?"

Basch stopped short when his eyes fell on the large 'T' that was branded onto the side of Balthier's face. His mouth fell open, eyes widening. They branded him as though he were mere cattle.

"By the gods…."

"What is the point of having freedom if I am labeled a thief?" Balthier asked, obviously meaning the question as he looked at Basch with his eyebrows furrowed upwards – the tears that had stopped came flooding back and he jerked his head down. He let out a strange laugh again. "It is pointless, after all."

Basch could handle it no longer. This was inhuman and no person should ever have to endure it – let alone endure it alone. He dropped his helm and reached his arms through the bars, embracing Balthier as best he could. As if they realized they no longer needed to support him, Balthier's knees gave out from under him. He never realized it before, but such a meaningful and welcoming embrace had his emotions falter. It had been merely a week since he was placed within the walls of the prison, but it seemed like years – as though all human affection was void. Even before, he could not recall the last time he was either giving or receiving any form of human affection – it caused his chest pain.

"I'm sorry, Balthier," Basch said in a gentle whisper, feeling the other's body start to shake. "I will have you released from here – by the gods, I swear it."

Sometime within the next few minutes, Balthier's legs could no longer handle any weight and he dropped to the sands on the cell floor. Basch supported him when his weight fell, and for the remaining time, they both sat on the ground on opposite sides of the cell wall. Basch had both of his hands through the bars; one was holding Balthier's hand and the other was lightly running his fingers through the Balthier's hair.

Words were not spoken, but the feeling of acceptance was all the sky pirate wanted – all he needed.

When the time was over, a guard walked up behind Basch.

"It's been ten."

Basch glanced over his shoulder at the guard and nodded before turning back to face Balthier's, who was still staring at the ground in front of him. Basch brought up his other hand and held Balthier's face, making it to where they were peering into each other's eyes.

"I will come back for you, Balthier. I swear that to you," he started, wiping away traces on Balthier's cheek with his thumb. "Please do not give up."

The only reply he received was a nod.

The guard impatiently coughed behind Basch and the Judge brought his arms back through the bars to set at his sides before standing up. He turned to leave with the guard, but not before looking back to Balthier. The younger male was still sitting on the ground, watching Basch walk away – his eyes almost dead. Basch could only give a forced, reassuring smile before he turned and left with the guard.

Oi! Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up in a little bit. You see, I already have the final chapter written and ready to go. I just...have to fill in the rest. X3

Anywho. If you're into DBSK (and YunJae), you should check out the 'Fan-Fact or Fiction?' story. :3 It's on LiveJournal's Jaeho_Detox...if ya want.

That's all for now! Reviews never get old. :3