~~~

“For me to smuggle you out of here, I need to do two things. I need to hide you so nobody will see you, which should be easy enough since you’re… well, you know. I could put you in my bag, but I’d rather have you closer, so I can tell if you fall out or need help. I don’t know how I could do that. That’s problem one,” Allison said to Brian, the tiny man seated at the opposite end of the metal table.

“Problem two is that the facility needs to think you’re dead. I’ve only ever stomped… what I usually do leaves visible evidence that it happened. I’ve been told they don’t really care about that, though, they just need the description and my signature. There aren’t any cameras in here… so…”

Brian narrowed his eyes as his gigantic would-be-executioner trailed off, wondering what was going on inside of that strange, ginormous brain of hers. After a moment, she continued.

“So, basically… I just need to think of a method of execution that… doesn’t… leave a body,” she said, each word fitting into her mind like pieces of a puzzle. Her eyes then widened in realization, as she remembered a certain scene from the previous day. Brian’s heart started to speed up a bit, although his neutral expression made it impossible to tell. 

Allison turned to him.

“I have an idea. You’re not going to like it.”

Brian simply raised an eyebrow, still committed to his earlier insistence that he would not speak unless she came up with a plan of action. Despite his hopeful heart, he was still far from actually believing that his Chevalier of all people would be the first one to realize his innocence, and not to mention risk her freedom to help him escape. As such, if this was all an elaborate ruse to torture him, he refused to make it any easier for her.

Seeing that he was waiting for more details, Allison decided to just show him. She sat back down at the table and opened a cabinet above her legs, before pulling out a document. Grabbing a nearby pen, she wrote down a few things and held it up for Brian to see. 

The document was simple- it listed three things, and contained a picture. The picture was of a downtrodden young man, with messy black hair and striking green eyes- eyes that were showing an eerily neutral expression. The three things were as follows:

NAME: Brian Bentley

CRIME: Murder of Timothy Osment

METHOD OF EXECUTION: Swallowed Alive

At the bottom was Allison’s signature. This was Brian’s Shrink Penalty document, which contained the details of his SPAR session, as well as who his Chevalier was. Seeing what was written next to “Method of Execution,” Brian’s heart fell off a cliff. He positively deflated, and all of the hope that he was carrying instantly vanished. Suddenly, he was just as depressed and suicidal as he had ever been, and he finally decided to speak up.

“Seriously?” he sadly whispered, turning his eyes to the cold, metal surface that he was seated on. Hearing his tone, Allison grew concerned.

“This was your plan?” he continued. “You wanted me to trust you, just so I would willingly let you eat me? That was seriously the point of all this?”

“Wha- no no no no no!” Allison hurriedly replied, understanding what he was getting at. Hearing her frantic tone, Brian looked back up at her, albeit still with dejected eyes.

“I don’t want to actually swallow you, that’s just what I want the facility to believe, since it would explain why there wasn’t a body! I swear, that’s not my plan for smuggling you out, it’s just to trick the facility!”

Brian’s eyes softened a bit, and the faintest glimmer of hope returned to his heart. He was still extremely wary, but her genuine tone did reassure him a bit.

“Okay… well, how are you going to smuggle me out, then?” he hesitantly asked. Allison closed her eyes and sighed in relief. Then, she grimaced as her cheeks turned extremely red. She looked more embarrassed than Brian would have thought was possible of a Chevalier, and she kept her eyes closed as she began to respond.

“I-I basically just have to… to put you somewhere… on my b-body…” she explained, completely mortified, as she started to fidget. Then, she let out a resigned sigh and began to unbutton her shirt. Brian was perplexed.

“I know I said that you weren’t going to like this, but I promise that it will be even worse for me.”

~~~

“What is this?!” Jennifer angrily asked, snatching the document up with her free hand. A primal anger flared up inside her as she inspected it, which only intensified once she read the “Method of Execution.” Shooting an intense glare at Allison, she waited for an explanation. However, seeing that Allison was much too confused and nervous to calmly reply, Cassandra decided to speak up on her behalf.

“That is Brian’s SP document, Jennifer, which contains the details of his ‘execution,’” she gently explained, before reaching out and taking it from Jennifer’s angry grasp. She then put it back in the folder, not wanting it to serve as a distraction. Undeterred, Jennifer kept her angry eyes on the woman whose signature was underneath the words “swallowed alive.”

“Did you swallow my brother?” she asked quietly. “Is that how you smuggled him out?!”

“N-No, Jen, she didn’t,” Brian replied reassuringly, pushing down one of her protectively-raised fingers so he could better see everybody. Jennifer had brought her free hand closer to him once Cassandra had taken the document, in an almost unconscious attempt to prevent anybody else from being able to take him from her. It seemed she was taking to her newly-permitted protective role a little too strongly, and he made a mental note to talk to her about it later on.

“Since the facility needed to think that I was dead, she had to think of a method of execution that doesn’t leave a body. That isn’t how she actually smuggled me out,” he continued. Jennifer’s eyes softened a bit, and she relaxed from her defensive posture. Allison flashed him a small smile, once again appreciating his ability to soothe his sister. 

“A pretty clever solution, I might add,” Cassandra said, having already heard the tale several days prior.  

“I can’t exactly take all the credit,” Allison muttered, before returning to the issue at hand.

“Um, Cassandra, where did you get that? And why did you say that it’s a problem?” she asked nervously.

“Well, let’s take a step back, and make sure we’re all on the same page first,” Cassandra replied, seeing that everybody seemed to be somewhat scattered.

“As you all know, my people have been in contact with the ‘Silver Strip’ Chevalier facility since Brian’s innocence was proven, making sure that they cooperate with our investigation. They’ve naturally agreed, seeing as how their reputation is in the gutter right now. However, they’ve continuously refused to provide any information regarding the details of his execution or his Chev. They weren’t legally obligated to do so, of course, but it did seem odd given their agreement to help. As of today, though, I understand why,” she continued.

“Why?” Elizabeth asked, who had been silently listening up to that point. Seeing the words “swallowed alive” next to Brian’s heartbreaking mugshot had unexpectedly rattled her, but the feeling quickly faded once she remembered the actual details of his escape. Turning her game face back on, she had resumed rubbing her former student’s shoulder reassuringly. 

“There are two reasons,” Cassandra answered. “The first is that this document serves as the only hard evidence of his execution, as well as who his Chevalier was.”

“Wait, really?” Brian asked. “That’s it? No digital records, no backup copies?”

“I’m afraid not. They say that it’s in the interest of confidentiality and protecting the identities of Chevaliers, but a part of me wonders if it isn’t plain incompetence…” she replied, lowering her tone at the end.

“Okay… why didn’t they hand it over, then? What’s the second reason?” he asked.

“Because they didn’t have it,” came the response, stunning everybody into silence.

“W-What?!” Allison eventually exclaimed, leaning forward in disbelief.

“They didn’t have it?” Brian repeated. “What does that mean?”

Cassandra reclined into the couch and let out a sigh, adopting a somewhat annoyed expression as she started to explain.

“A few hours ago, my office received a package. It contained this document, a letter, and a phone number. According to the letter, the author was somehow able to steal the document from the Silver Strip’s records before Brian’s innocence was proven, and has apparently been holding onto it for some time now. So, when my people started asking the facility for information, they realized that their only relevant document was missing. Hence their ‘refusal’ to provide it. Bunch of incompetent morons,” she said frustratedly.

“They lost it?” Allison whispered angrily. “That document could literally get me killed, and they lost it?!”

“Yeah, seriously!” Brian added. “People don’t know yet that Allie saved my life, so if they found out that she was my Chev…”

“Don’t worry, I’m equally as angry with their carelessness,” Cassandra assured. “To be fair, though, most people probably already know that your Chev is the one who rescued you, Brian.”

“Wait, what?” Brian and Allison said simultaneously. Cassandra cocked her head in response.

“Well, think about it. You said in your video that you were indeed sent to a Chevalier, but you obviously didn’t die. Who else could have possibly smuggled you out?” she explained.

“O-Oh, I see,” Brian replied, while Allison nodded thoughtfully.

“With that being said, we definitely want to be the ones who control the release of information,” Cassandra continued. “Which is why this… theft, is so concerning.”

“Did the author of the letter identify themselves? Do we know who they are?” Elizabeth asked concernedly, to which Cassandra nodded.

“Yes, they left their first name. Judging by the contents of the letter, and their supposed reason for sending me the document, it seems like it might be a familiar one to you all.”

“What is it?” Allison asked.

“The letter was signed, ‘Cathy.’”

~

“C-Cathy?” Allison repeated, completely shocked. “She… she did it?”

“Of course,” Elizabeth sighed, closing her eyes in anger. Brian sat back down in his sister’s palm as an unexpected wave of fear washed over him, the memories of her torture flashing through his mind. Jennifer, sensing his fear, curled her fingers around him protectively and lifted him closer to her face.

“Bean, what’s wrong?” she whispered, before turning to Allison once more.

“Who is Cathy?” she asked sharply, subtly moving Brian closer to her body, as if to shield him. Allison and Elizabeth shared an extremely nervous and uncomfortable glance, while Cassandra looked on with studious eyes. Brian got his fear under control and looked up at his sister, although everybody could still sense his discomfort.

“She’s, um… well, she’s…” he started, unsure how to word it. Despite his promise to be more open with Jennifer, he still was extremely hesitant to talk about what Cathy did to him - especially the parts regarding Allison’s involvement. However, Elizabeth quickly came to his rescue.

“It’s okay, sweetie, I’ll explain” she said, turning towards Cassandra and Jennifer. Brian closed his eyes and let out a small sigh of relief, as did Allison.

“Her name is Catherine Gates, and she’s also a Chevalier. When Allie was at the Silver Strip, they were coworkers. Cathy was the only other person present at the facility when she had her session with Brian, so she’s the only one who personally knows who Brian’s Chev was,” she explained. Cassandra nodded in response.

“I see. That certainly explains a few things,” she replied. “So, she knew that Allison was his Chevalier. Why would she go out of her way to steal the document, though? Remember, this apparently happened before his innocence was proven, so I don’t see any logical reason for her to do such a thing. Perhaps you know where I’m going with this, Lizzy.”

“Yeah,” Elizabeth sighed. “She knew that Brian was alive.”

“What?!” Jennifer exclaimed. “She knew that my brother was alive?! A Chev?! How?!”

“Jenny-bean, please don’t get angry,” Brian said softly, shooting her a pleading glance. At that, Jennifer remembered that she was in the presence of both her brother and a senator, and she hurriedly reigned in her outward anger.

“R-Right, I’m sorry. I’ll be quiet,” she replied sheepishly, causing Brian to give her palm a few comforting pats.

“It’s fine, darling, it only shows how much you love your brother,” Cassandra assured. “I would like to hear how she found out, though, if you don’t mind.”

“U-Um… before that, could you tell me why she sent you the document? You said that she gave a reason in the letter…” Allison said, to which Cassandra nodded.

“Yes, of course. She said… well, she said it was a peace offering,” she answered.

“A peace offering?” Elizabeth replied skeptically, reclining into the couch and crossing her arms. Once more, Cassandra nodded.

“I’ll be sure to get you a copy of the letter soon, once my people are done looking at it, but yes. To quote the letter, she said that she is ‘really really really really really sorry’ about ‘that one thing,’ and it seems like getting us this document is some sort of… reparation, in her mind,” she explained. Brian and Allison were staring at each other dumbfoundedly, not really sure what to do with that information. Elizabeth had adopted an annoyed expression, while Jennifer was trying extremely hard not to get angry again.

“What… what did she do to him?” she asked softly, the faintest quiver in her tone betraying her emotions.

“Jen… would it be easier if you left the room for a little while? Maybe we should talk about this later, in private,” Brian gently suggested, not wanting to upset her. Jennifer closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before looking down at him with a small, sympathetic smile.

“No, I’ll be okay, I promise. Thank you for thinking about my feelings, but… like we talked about - if something happened to you, then I need to know about it,” she replied.

“Okay. Just know that… we did the best we could, and everything turned out alright,” Brian responded, to which Jennifer nodded. With that, Brian turned back towards Cassandra, ready to start explaining. However, Allison spoke up first.

“Cathy was an extremely enthusiastic Chev,” she began. Brian shot her a questioning glance, and her following look conveyed her message clearly:

My fault, my responsibility.

“She loves being a Chev, and was always very… passionate about the torture element of the job,” she continued. “She’s even the one who gave me the inspiration for the ‘swallowed alive’ thing, since that was one of her favorite methods of execution. She wanted to be Brian’s Chevalier very badly, and was extremely disappointed when I was the one who got him instead. About a week after I rescued him, she ended up unexpectedly showing up at my apartment one evening. Due to a series of ill-timed events, but mostly my own carelessness, she ended up finding him.”

“I see,” Cassandra muttered, bringing one hand to her chin in contemplation. 

“When she did, I acted like Allie had only smuggled me out to keep torturing me, not rescue me,” Brian cut in, causing Cassandra to raise an eyebrow.

“And she believed that?” she asked, an odd spark in her voice. Brian shrugged.

“I was convincing. We both were,” he replied dryly.

“I see. So, she found you, but believed that Allison had only smuggled you out to keep torturing you. Got it. What happened next? Why did she feel the need to make a peace offering?” she asked. Brian sighed, and reached out to comfortingly grasp Jennifer’s nearby thumb.

“S-She tortured him,” Allison whispered, unable to look Jennifer in the eye. Jennifer’s anger spiked, but the faintest of sensations on her thumb allowed her to keep it in check. Still, she couldn’t help but develop a small scowl.

“She blackmailed me. She threatened to tell someone about what I did if I didn’t let her have a session with him,” Allison continued. Admitting this to one of Brian’s family members felt worse than she could have imagined. Both Brian and Elizabeth were gazing at her sympathetically, silently begging her to leave out a certain detail. However, Allison’s guilt-ridden mind had other plans.

“And… and… I-I had to-”

“Sabotage the session,” Brian interrupted, unwilling to let her do that to herself. Cassandra and Jennifer both looked to him with surprised eyes.

“She convinced Cathy to make it a ten-minute session, as opposed to the usual sixty. Then, she actually cut it off after only seven minutes, and even ordered a cab ahead of time to get her out of the apartment right away. She also made it so Cathy couldn’t kill or permanently injure me, which really limited what she could actually do to hurt me. I was completely fine afterwards, and everything turned out okay. We did what we had to do, and I never blamed Allie for it,” he continued earnestly, looking up at his sister. Jennifer’s angry eyes softened in the face of his candid defense, and her anger slightly dissipated. Letting out a small sigh, she looked back at Allison.

“Allison?” she called out, to which Allison nervously made eye contact.

“…thank you,” she muttered, deciding to give her a break. A collective weight was lifted from everybody’s shoulders, and Allison couldn’t help but smile in relief.

“However,” Jennifer continued, “I don’t care if this ‘Cathy’ feels bad about it - I’ll rip her face off if she comes near my brother again.”

This statement, delivered as casually as if she was stating that the sky was blue, couldn’t help but send a small shiver reverberating throughout the room.

“Jen…” Brian sighed, wondering when his sister became so violent.

“Well, I can’t say I blame you,” Cassandra replied with a shrug, before turning back to Allison. “It sounds like you did the best you could in an extremely difficult situation, and everything turned out alright. Still... I’m very sorry that you both had to go through that.”

“Thank you,” they both replied. 

“I’m sorry too…” Jennifer whispered, subtly clenching and unclenching her free fist in anger. Suddenly, her burning rage had finally been given a real target. Someone had enjoyed torturing her brother, and she knew exactly who it was. With this new knowledge, her brain began to tune out the conversation as she developed a small glaze in her eyes. All that flowed through her mind were images of a giant, smiling woman and a tiny, screaming Brian, and her hatred exponentially increased with each new image.

Then, the scenes began to change. Brian’s shrunken visage started to melt away, and was slowly replaced by a tiny, screaming form of the giant woman. Her enormous, smiling-self was then replaced by a girl with jet-black hair and striking green eyes - eyes that were showing a fierce expression. Just like that, Jennifer was imagining personally torturing Cathy. Although she didn’t yet know what Cathy looked like, the tiny figure in her imagination was too small for that to matter. All that mattered was that this bug of a woman made her beloved brother suffer, and now it was her turn.

Noting the physical sensation of holding her tiny brother in the palm of her hand, she incorporated it into her scenarios. She imagined what it would feel like to completely dominate such a helpless figure, to utterly obliterate them with her overwhelming strength. She could pull limbs off as easily as she would pluck a blade of grass; the most excruciating experiences imaginable for them would come as easily to her as blinking. 

I would give her exactly what she deserves for hurting my adorable brother… she thought.

And so it continued in her mind. While the others continued to discuss Cathy, what happened after the session, and what their next moves were, all Jennifer could do was silently imagine the cruelest scenes of shrunken torture she could muster, teaching Cathy the true meaning of reparation. Without even realizing it, she had developed the smallest hint of a smile. However, everybody else was too distracted to notice.