Is it selfish that I wanted Axel to actually be there when Roxas became uncaged? Not exactly being there to protect him but to be there to rejoice that all the fuckups of life is already finished.

It was a nice story. Only it was confusing when some parts were skipped. I became a bit lost because of that. Nevertheless, I commend you for the great story.

What a powerful story! i loved every moment of that. Thank you for that ride. xoxo

aww that so sad T-T

Me during the beginning: OH MY FUCKING JESUS CHRIST NO NONONO NO NO NOOOO NONONOONONONONO HES DEAD ISNT HE. OH GODDAMN NO. NO! NOOOO! NONONONONO I REFUSE TO FUCKING BELIEVE THIS. NOPE. ITS NOT REAL. NO. NO. ROXAS. YOU ARENT DEAD. YOU ARE NOT A FUCKING GHOST ARE YOU?! PLEASE NO! NO. ITS. NO. I CANT.

Me during the ending: ...WAIT JUST A GODDAMN MINUTE. WHAT THE FUCK. I DONT EVEN. WAHT?! I'M SO LOOOOOOOST! TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

WILL YOU EXPLAIN THIS.

Wow, very sad yet touching. So he's free on his own terms, through isolation. It's painful for me, it's hard to imagine people unable to recognize him and ignore him like that. But... in a way... this ending is really beautiful too. I think you've done a good job setting a tone and establishing what Roxas wanted all along, even if he's sacrificing human companionship to get it.

Great work. Loved the emotion and strength Roxas gets from speaking to his brother this way. It's like he's finally getting closure, and that's a big part of being free.

Justice T.

OMG THE FIRST TIME A HAPPY ENDING WAS MADE IN YOUR STORIES! *throws party poppers* NEW RECOOOOOOOORD.

So... that's it? Well, effing good on ya, Roxy! Will there be a sequel or something? Maybe just a one-shot about Roxas actually getting back, seeing Mom, Dad and Axel? I mean, Cloud's had time to get better, right? If you don't want to/ didn't plan to, that's okay, but I think that'd be a great wrap up to a great story.
Anyway, good chapter, though it could have used a little more detail. You know? Glad to see it up!

Write on!

YAJJ

Do an epilogue

. . . . Sigh . . . .

Okay, I'm going to be completely honest here. This . . . really . . . didn't make much sense. No, I'm not confused by the ending of the story. Everything that happened was clear to me. But with the plot progression and with the way you've set up the ending . . . it's just very odd is all I can say.

Okay, first off, actions and motivations. I understand that Vexen is insane, that basically puts a wrench in rational behavior and standards when it comes to the guy. But really, dropping the key? After ONE WHOLE YEAR of not letting anything slip, not leaving any opening, he does so? Really? If he's crazy enough to somehow keep Roxas restrained like this and that obsessed with him I don't think he would let any opening slip at all, especially if he's been keeping a lid on Roxas for ONE WHOLE YEAR.

Now, on with Roxas and the gun. Okay, first of all, if he hasn't eaten in three days he's going to be extremely weak. I guess he has the energy to move, but that's pretty unlikely given the fact that Vexen just abused him a few minutes ago. But he can still have energy to move I guess. So, he gets the gun. If he's really trying to escape then the moment Vexen comes back in he should FREAKIN SHOOT. Don't take the time to hide the gun in your pants. Just shoot! The door was open, him aiming the gun probably would have made Vexen freeze in place for a second at least, and THEN he can shoot him. The whole abuse that happened after Roxas retrieved the gun didn't really have to happen. It didn't, which makes that scene sort of unnecessary. If you had had them struggle first or something, maybe I would have bought it. But that kind of made the violence a little less bearable to read through. I mean, with stories like this it can be hard to read through the violence, but violence is necessary in certain situations. To show the drastic aspects of a situation or to build character. But when the violence feels unnecessary, too planned, or shoehorned, it can be a little harder to read through because then, as a reader, you sort of feel like rolling your eyes instead. I didn't feel that annoyed, but I didn't think the scene was necessary when Roxas had the gun and could have just started shooting him.

Though, to be honest, I'm surprised Vexen didn't look through the backpack. Crazy or not, most captors look through a person's stuff. I mean, I don't have a lot of knowledge on this, and maybe you did extra research or something, but I would think that captors would get rid of the person's stuff, which includes cell phones, other means of communication, credit cards, money, oh and um . . . weapons. Yeah, they wouldn't leave that there lying around to be used against them. They really wouldn't.

Now, this is all made worse by the time skip. I . . . kind of don't see the point in it. It really threw me off. Of course, I decided to accept it anyway and stuff but it just . . . it was hard to sink in fully into my brain. Now, if Roxas is devoid of hope for so long, I would find it hard for him to have the will to escape even if he witnesses an opportunity. I mean, this can vary, but he was really bent on dying. Kind of makes me wonder why he didn't shoot himself.

Now, that sounds harsh, but think about it. He didn't really have a stable life to turn to. Sure, there was Axel, but Axel still wasn't able to fully understand or help him through his problems. His dad just wouldn't let him go, his mother was somewhat unknown and unreliable given that she didn't show up for years. Whose to say he would have been truly happy with her. And no one was able to find him for a year. It's just pretty bleak when you think about it. I think, in that mindset, Roxas might have tried to kill himself instead of escape. Of course, there are many ways a situation like this can end, but . . . it just crossed my mind.

Honestly, I didn't see this ending coming. Really, the whole year time skip could have been avoided if Roxas had bluffed and threatened to use the gun last chapter. But really, there wasn't a lot of set-up for this to happen. I mean, unless you count Vexen getting angry for having to pay more to use Roxas, but . . . eh, it's a loose tie. Really though, the secondary characters in this series that were given the most screen time or foreshadowed importance (Namine and Axel) didn't contribute as much to the story as you made them out to be. I'm mainly talking about Namine here. Axel was there for Roxas to form love and eventually share his burden, but Namine didn't really have that much of a role. Or maybe I'm looking too deeply into it. She probably wasn't meant to have too much of a role to begin with.

Anyway, this was definitely a jarring entry. I think if you had shown more detail with the violent scene in the beginning it would have allowed us to empathize with Roxas a little more. I know you don't like being super detailed with those scenes (most wouldn't), but it just makes sense if this is the last chapter and you're really trying to emphasize how much Roxas' life sucks. Of course, this method will backfire sometimes when the violence is thrown in at an odd time when it could have been avoided (during the part where Roxas had the gun, for example).

Anyway, I know I probably seemed harsher in this review. I enjoyed the story for the most part, but for some reason I just don't think this ending fits. I'm not sure what it is, maybe I misjudged this story from the get go or assumed the wrong things. In either case . . . the progression just isn't as natural or flowing as say "Put Salt in My Wounds." Again, this is solely my opinion, but . . . when I think of the whole story put together the ending just seems a little off.

It's not my favorite ending from you, but it's still a decent ending. Roxas' emotions were written well and were accurately portrayed. It's his circumstance and some of his (and the captor's) actions that mainly throw me off here. But, as always, congratulations on finishing another piece.

Justice T.

Hmmm, this was interesting. I don't know why Roxas didn't just pull out the gun and let the person know that he was armed. That's just what kept going through my head as that last scene played out. Better yet, Axel should have noticed the gun was gone at some point during the day too. I'm skeptical that he didn't have any chance to confront Roxas about it (even if he did have detention). Better yet, I'm also curious as to why Roxas would randomly grab the gun and put it in his own bag ; like . . . why? Heh, the motivations for some of the actions in this chapter confused me. Still good. I'm kind of worried though. At this point, Roxas' dad could very well kill Roxas' mom or something. Urgh, I'd hate it if the person who kidnapped Roxas at the end ended up being one of the people who raped him. Just . . . ugh. And better yet if Roxas doesn't normally doesn't walk home how would this person know to follow him?

Hahaha, I'm asking a lot of questions. Anyway, good chapter. Good luck with the next update.

Justice T.

*starts freaking out* *hyperventilates and passes out*

IT IS MORE OF MY THING AND THAT MAKES ME HAPPY. BUT IF THATS CLOUD AND HE JUST DOESNT WANT ROXAS TO LEAVE-grrbsjdksndj Cloud seriously you didn't even want him. Seriously. Leave him be.
Good chapter, and good on Nami! But why the hell does Axel have a gun?
Update soon!

Write on!
YAJJ

Awww, it's nice that Roxas got more of his feelings off his chest. The fact that he's being more open and talking about it shows a form of healing, even if it's miniscule. Confessions don't always end up this way in life, so he got pretty lucky in that regard. Than again, if something bad had happened in the mist of this it probably would have pushed Roxas over the edge.

I have no idea how this is going to end, really. I wish you the best of luck. Hopefully Namine will get help as well since she's mentioned more than most of the other side characters in this story. It would be a shame for her arc to not fully be realized.

Until next time!

Justice T.

Interesting chapter. I like the diverse set of characters here. It's interesting that it's making Roxas realize how introspective he was (with good reason).

I like his determination to help Namine. Maybe that will push him towards a path that will help himself more too.

Anyway, good chapter! Continue the great work!

Justice T.

Can I just...*beats Seifer with giant sledgehammer* there.