"What you all have to understand," The blonde attorney concluded, looking at each one of the jury members individually. "Is that this boy went through hell for nearly four years, having to endure not only being torn from his family, but raped, beaten, and psychologically tortured. He had his life stolen away from him because this man here decided that he needed some money. Thank-you."

She nodded and walked back over to her seat, glancing reassuringly at Roxas before turning to face the judge as well as the jury. The defense attorney, a tall, grey haired man who looked like he was never built to wear a suit, stood up and walked over to the jury.

"ADA Vershvovski," The attorney began, putting extra emphasis on the blonde's last name. "Is trying to make you each believe that my client, Reno Russo, is guilty of kidnapping this young boy, raping him, beating him, and torturing his mind. However, what evidence does she have? No fingerprints, no DNA…hardly any witnesses. All she has is the testament of a young, traumatized boy who has shunned his family and broken off relations with all of his friends. She has no real proof."

He stood in front of the jury panel for a moment as if to make sure his words sunk in, leaving Roxas glaring and scoffing at his words. His attorney leaned over and put her lips next to his ear, smiling.

"Don't worry about him, kid." She whispered. "He's a court appointed attorney. Totally in it for the money. He could care less what happens to this jackass. Plus, they have such a weak argument. I have you."

"Larxene!" Roxas hissed. "That's not what I'm concerned about! Are you going to be able to put this guy in jail or not?"

"Of course I am." She said, smirking. "Really too bad your last lawyer chickened out, though. It would've been nice to have someone sitting second chair."

"Why? Because you're incapable?" Roxas practically sneered the words, but Larxene replied with a harsh, yet quiet, chuckle.

"Please. Man sex over there couldn't win a case if his life depended on it."

"Man sex?"

"His name is Xemnas, but everyone just calls him--"

"Miss Vershvovski!" The judge practically cried, looking rather appalled. "If I'm not interrupting your extensive conversation with your client, do you think I might be allowed to ask you if you're ready to proceed?"

Larxene looked at him quickly and smiled insincerely, nodding. "Of course, Your Honor. I'm so sorry for interrupting."

"Call you first witness." He grumbled, glancing around the courtroom for someone else to yell at. Roxas almost felt like smirking; Larxene was the perfect lawyer for him in this situation. All she did was come in, ask Roxas if he was sure in his implication in Reno, asked for a recount of the story, and began building her case. She didn't waste time, and she didn't take crap from anyone.

There were quite a few witnesses that she wanted to call in order to prove that Reno was guilty. Apparently, Xemnas had been wrong; she had quite the list of witnesses that had seen Roxas being abducted. They said that they had in fact seen a redhead with wild hair, that he had in fact lured Roxas into the car.

The blonde produced evidence that said that Reno was the owner of a one powder Chevy, early model. The witnesses said yes, they did see Roxas get abducted in that car. They couldn't be sure about any details like decals, license plate number, or anything like they, but they definitely remembered that the car was a powder blue Chevy, and that there was a redhead with wild hair driving it.

Larxene produced evidence that said Reno's current position could not be accounted for at the time of the kidnapping. He wasn't at work, because he didn't have a job. One of his friends named Pence came forward and said that they were together at the time, but given the fact that his testimony was taken while he was tripping on LSD, his credibility was shot. Everything was going…

"…according to plan." Larxene finished. "You, Mr. Russo, kidnapped Mr. DuPont. You set up the time when you were supposed to meet your partners at the motel. When they didn't arrive, you raped my client. You beat him. You--"

"Objection, Your Honor!" Xemnas said, glaring at Larxene. "She's clearly badgering the witness."

"I'll allow it." The judge said after a few moments of consideration, and Larxene glared daggers so sharp at Xemnas that Roxas was surprised cuts didn't magically appear on his face and body.

"Very well, then. Your Honor, I'd like to call a rebuttal witness." She stuck her nose in the air proudly, and the judge blinked once or twice.

"And who might your rebuttal witness be, Miss Vershvovski?"

"Roxas DuPont, Your Honor."

Roxas could've sworn that everyone in the courtroom gasped. The jurors looked taken aback, the witnesses gasped, the defense gave an ignorant snort…and he smiled. Here, he would have an opportunity to tell it as it was. Or at least…for the most part. So long as he could remember to replace all of the 'Axel's with 'Reno's, then he would be okay. Or if he could remember to use 'Mr. Russo' all the time.

"Miss Vershvovski, are you sure that you want to do that? With you're client's fragile emotional state…" He glanced at Roxas, unsure, before looking back at Larxene. She was still grinning proudly as she nodded.

"Yes, Your Honor. I'm quite confident that he will be able to give a valid and reliable testimony."

"Very well, then. Mr. DuPont…?"

Roxas let his smile disappear, trying to look as unsure as he could. Apparently there had been rumors circulating that he had a very fragile state of mind, given what had happened to him. He wasn't thinking straight. These rumors were, obviously, started by Sora, who was currently sitting in the courtroom beside Roxas's parents, trying to pretend that nothing had happened.

He stood up and walked over to the witness stand, all eyes on him. By the time that he was sitting down, the nervousness that he had tried to convince the court of was real. He hated being the center of attention, regardless of the fact that it was "for a good cause." Axel had known that…Axel had known that he hated it when everyone was paying attention to him.

The bailiff walked over with a Bible, and Roxas almost couldn't hear him go through the proceedings of swearing him in, his thoughts completely consumed by Axel. Regardless of what the blonde did, he couldn't get that dumb, back-stabbing redhead out of his mind. He couldn't forget Axel, nor could he forget how much he wanted to hate Axel for what he did…yet now he sat there protecting him.

"…so help you God?"

"I do." He didn't even need to listen to the entire oath. It was very simple, really. Roxas didn't believe in God, so he felt no guilt in the massive lie that was about to pass through his lips. He saw Larxene come toward him, saw her hands folded behind her back, and practiced the exercise that she taught him; the courtroom disappeared, and it was just her and him. No one else.

"Mr. DuPont," She began, and the words echoed through Roxas's head. It took him a moment to realize that she was actually talking to him, he was so deeply consumed with his massive wave of feeling. "I am going to ask you to do something very difficult. Can you tell me your story, from the beginning?"

Roxas paused for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I think I can do that."

"Very well. Please begin."

He paused again, thinking. Don't say it…He reminded himself. Axel has never existed. Reno took me, Reno hurt me. Reno, Reno, Reno. Not Axel. Reno. "I was walking home from school when he drove up next to me." He started.

"He asked me if I was interested in his car. It was a…powder blue, 1967 Chevy Chevelle; a beautiful car. I've always wanted one, event though I couldn't drive. He said he was selling it, and it was only 3k. Naturally, I jumped on the offer.

"He said that he would give me a ride come in my new car, because I couldn't drive. It was blazing hot, and the car was a convertible and it had air conditioning…I was inside it before I even really had a chance to think about what I was doing.

"I didn't realize what was going on, that he was kidnapping me, until he missed the road for my house and took me on an exit to the super mall. He got me new clothes…colored contacts…he wanted to be sure that no one would recognize me. My father is very rich and very powerful…the risk of someone noticing me was high."

Roxas sighed and shook his head, looked up. He looked at Reno, and could see immediately how easy it would be for someone to mix them up. They had that same, crazy red hair, the same tall and thin build, the same emerald green eyes. The only difference was that when Roxas locked eyes with Reno, he saw nothing.

He was reminded of how Axel looked at him, after the Stockholm Syndrome had set in, after Roxas decided that it would be best for them to fall in love. He could remember all too clearly the happy feeling he got when Axel would look into his eyes, his expression full of love and affection. The kind of expression that said, 'Your word is my command,' or 'I'll do anything for you. Anything.'

Reno's eyes were blank. His expression said that he had almost expected this to happen. He didn't look angry, he didn't look surprised, he didn't look upset. He just…looked. Blindly. His unblinking eyes didn't see Roxas, they saw the boy that was going to put him in jail. His numb body didn't feel the courtroom, it felt a group of people that hated him with every ounce of their being for what he was being accused of.

Roxas looked at Reno and tried to send the simplest message to the redhead he could: 'I'm in love with your twin.' There was no way for him to downplay it, there was no way for him to deny it. Axel was the person he loved, the person he would always love, the person who had loved him. And without Axel, Roxas was incomplete.

The blonde took this realization which had been harbored in his mind for days, weeks after Axel had left him, and put it in the forefront of his mind. It gave him courage. It gave him hope. Roxas took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and thought of Axel as he said, "What happened next is very simple to explain, really."

--

"Has the jury reached a verdict?"

"We have, Your Honor."

"And how do you find?"

"On the charge of one count of kidnap in the first degree, we find the defendant, Reno Russo, guilty. On the charge of one count unlawful imprisonment in the first degree, we find the defendant, Reno Russo, guiltily. On the charge of rape in the first degree, we find the defendant guilty."

Roxas let his head fall against his chest as he smiled, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. Larxene almost laughed, clapping the little blonde on the back and standing up to shake hands with Xemnas. Roxas was happy, yes. But the happiness was greatly overweighed by the numbness.

His mind had passed out of his body as he was picked up and led out of the courtroom, as he walked into the hallway. Larxene suggested to his parents and to Sora that they waited for a few moments, so that Roxas would have a few moments to adjust before he had to face the press.

However, Larxene, being a women of business, wanted to settle up her fines with Roxas's parents immediately. She wanted to be paid, and she wanted to be paid right now. She drew them aside, talking in a low voice, leaving Roxas alone with Sora.

"So, how do you feel?" Sora asked. The question wasn't sincere in the least, and Roxas wondered why the brunette had felt it even necessary to show up.

"Satisfied." Roxas replied shortly, breaking out of his daydreaming, giving Sora the most flat look he could manage.

"You feel satisfied? Even knowing that the man you love his behind bars for kidnapping, imprisoning, and raping you?" Sora was sneering, and the expression didn't suit his normally innocent face. Roxas hated it.

"The man I love isn't behind bars." The blonde whispered. He fixed his eyes on the window behind Sora's head where a multitude of reporters were waiting anxiously to talk to Roxas, headlines of 'guilty' already being written and published for tomorrow's news.

"Well where is he then?"

"I…" Roxas stopped, the uncomfortable lump in his throat making itself known immediately. "I don't know."

"What, doesn't he care about you enough to tell you where he is?" Sora kept on sneering, obviously not getting the hint as Roxas glared defensively at him. "Doesn't he love you?"

Roxas looked at his former boyfriend for a little while, thinking over his options. He glanced at the reporters, he glanced at his parents. He glanced back into the courtroom, glanced around the hallway. Finally, he pushed past Sora and headed to the door.

"Hey! Aren't you going to answer me, Roxy?"

Roxas stopped and sighed, turning around, his expression sad, tears so close to streaming down his cheeks. "If you really cared about me," He whispered. "You wouldn't do this."

With that he pushed the door open, a million voices coming at him at once. They were all asking him questions, calling him 'Roxas' and 'Mister DuPont' and all sorts of strange things, each trying to shove a microphone or a camera in his face all at the same time. But Roxas had already chosen to detach his mind from his body.

He was laying down with Axel in their motel, cuddling up against the redhead's warm side. He could almost feel the heat radiating off of his lover, feel his strong arm wrapped around Roxas's shoulder, smell his unique scent coming off of his chest. His eyes were tearing up and, after a moment, began spilling over his cheeks, blurring his vision.

It was because of this that he didn't see the black Mercedes pull up in front of the court room with the stolen plates. He didn't see the redhead who looked so out of place in the high-class vehicle. He didn't see that redhead staring at him with the most guilty, most longing expression on his face.

Even if he had, though, none of it would have mattered. Roxas's couldn't have possible gone running from the courtroom and flown into Axel's arms. He couldn't have hugged Axel's body close against his and known that everything was going to be okay, even when it wasn't. He couldn't have whispered gentle things in Axel's ear, and delighted in the dirty things that Axel whispered back.

He just stood there, looking at the reporters with a confused absentness in his expression, numb. In that moment, there was only one thing that mattered; the ordeal was over, and Axel was safe. It didn't matter that Roxas didn't know where he was, because wherever he was, he was safe.

A/N: Mkay. So. This the LAST CHAPTER. I can't believe it. ;D Don't fret, however. There's still the EPIClogue that I have to write. That's probably going to be up no later than Monday...I finally got the second book of the Vampire Chronicals out of the library (yay for team Lestat...) so I'm probably going to be pretty obsessed with that for the next day or so.

LARXENE IS RUSSIAN! BWAHAHAHA!!! Seriously though. Doesn't she just seem like she would make the perfect Russian? She's mean and scary. I mean, come ON people. xDDD And Mansex is a defense attorney. I would've made it all one word (mansex instead of man sex) but stupid Microsoft wouldn't let me, and I've already screwed up my dictionary with all of the KH names. ^^; Ohhhhhh weelllll~

So yeah. Be on the look out for the epiclogue. After that, the story will be officially over. Then you all will have to be on the look out for my next fics. xD I'm still debating which one I'm going to do...even though I'm pretty sure it's going to be the dance-rehab teacher thingy ma bob. I mean, I've put way much more thought into that...

Like you guise care about my reasoning. xDDD See you at the epilogue!

~Sara