Hey everyone this is my first published fanfiction. I wrote this one back in 2011 after I beat Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days for the first time. Much like any good fan of the game the ending made me more than a little upset. I mean I almost cried, actually cried! I mean seriously what is wrong with me?! 9 times out of 10 I write stories that make everyone else cry! Anyways, so I beat the game and was upset so I went home and hopped onto my fancy little slide phone and wrote this. Then I emailed it to myself, converted it to a word document and completely forgot about it. Now nearly 4 years later I found it again and I was so excited I just had to publish it. So I hope everyone enjoys this as much as I do and I'll be sure to write chapter 2 as soon as I can! Also I would like to thank my brother DarrianBlack, who spent well over an hour and a half editing this story after its last Publishing that for some odd reason was filled with coding. So again Thank you Darrian and everyone should keep a look out for his work!

With a metallic "Clank!" Roxas' Keyblade struck the breastplate of Xion's armor. The sound of it rang out in the plaza before the giant clock tower where they had spent so many days together after work. The sound, hollow as it was, brought a tear to his eye. If he had a heart... It would have broken. But even so, something inside him did break. Something special to him. The feelings he had for his friend. The memories it held, were so special to him that it pained him to fight her. To risk his own life to end her's. But even worse for her to do the same. He swung his Keyblade again but missed. Even in her new monster of a form, Xion was just as fast as she had been only days earlier. Roxas spun just in time to draw in a sharp gasp just before he was struck down. Roxas fell, his Keyblade falling from his hand and disappearing from sight in a warm glow of white light. He felt something snap inside his body as he hit the ground with the force of a Darksider's fist. He tried to cry out in pain but nothing came out. The wind had been knocked from his lungs. Rolling to his right side, Roxas pushed up from the ground. Staggering back into his combat stance, he summoned the Keyblade once more and finally caught his breath again. He couldn't do this. He couldn't fight her any longer. His body was battered and beaten, but more than that, his heart was broken. If the situation were any different he would have laughed at the thought. But not now. Not here. He looked up at Xion. The helmet she wore covered her face but he looked deep into her eyes anyway.

Xion's mind was made up. She was going to return to Sora at any cost. Even if it meant she had to destroy her best friend. As much as it killed her to even think of harming Roxas, she knew it had to be done. In her new form she felt unstoppable. And with every blow that struck Roxas, another tear formed in her eyes. She didn't want to hurt him, and she knew he didn't want to hurt her. He never did. If there was any other way to live happily, she would have taken that path rather than this one. By the time she had weakened him enough to be absorbed, her soul felt as if it were being ripped into pieces. The pain she had caused him as well as herself was catching up. Finally, as Roxas stood struggling just to breathe, she returned to her human form. Keyblade in hand, she slowly stepped closer to him until she was within arm's reach.

Still in his crouched attack stance, Roxas looked up at Xion with eyes on the verge of overflowing with tears. In a cracked voice he spoke, "Why, Xion? Why are we doing this?" His body shaking, as he did his best to stay strong.

"Because Sora needs his memories back. He needs US back." She replied. She too was shaking from the pain she had caused them both. She had to finish this before it was too late.

Lifting her Keyblade to the spot in his chest where his heart would have been, she pressed it to his jacket. Roxas, knowing this was his end stood tall, and tossed his own Keyblade aside.

"Do it, Xion. I won't stop you." He said. "How can I? I've never been able to sway you no matter what you wanted."Xion's eyes welled up with tears as she tried to push the blade into his chest. But it wouldn't budge. Better yet she didn't let it. And how could she? Her only friend that had been there for her from the very beginning. The boy who she had traveled across so many worlds with. The boy who had taught her to laugh and feel even without a heart to feel with The boy who now stood proud and ready to die for her, just to make her happy. But most of all, he was the boy whom she had fallen in love with. As little sense as it made, she knew it was true. She loved him, and not even killing Roxas could make the truth of that go away. She had found a new path to happiness. But what about Sora? Where would he be without them? So many questions raced through her head at the same time that she barely noticed when she dropped here Keyblade and fell into his arms. It wasn't until she felt his warm embrace that reality sunk in.

"Roxas, I'm so sorry. How could I be so selfish? How could I be so stupid? I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She repeated between sobs as Roxas cradled her in his arms on the ground. He held her close and cried with her. He soon felt a new feeling growing inside of him and he knew it was Xion's feelings. It was how she felt about him and also how he felt about her.

"I'm sorry, Roxas. I'm so sorry." She continued.

"I know, Xion. I know." And he held her in his lap until her sobs became hiccups, then into nothing more than quiet tears. They sat there until almost night fall. Never speaking and never moving. As the night began to settle in, Roxas brushed the raven hair from Xion's sleeping face. She was beautiful. And she was his, literally and emotionally. Sora would have to wait because Roxas was not about to let her go. Roxas stood and lifted Xion into his arms and carried her into the top of the clock tower where they slept together soundly.

The next morning, Roxas awoke in the bed that he and Xion had slept in that night. Only the bed was empty. He bolted upright and looked around. He didn't have to look far because at that moment Xion appeared in the doorway. She was dressed in a soft looking bathrobe and her hair was damp.

"Where did you go?" asked Roxas with a sigh. She smiled and crawled onto the bed to curl up in his arms. "Just a quick shower. Someone else must have lived up here. The water is hot and everything. We could stay here forever if we wanted to." she replied and kissed his cheek. Roxas smiled down at her.

"I'd like that." He said. Roxas pulled her close and kissed her soft warm lips. Xion pressed her hand on his bare chest and kissed him again. This made Roxas jump because he wasn't ready for her cold hands on his skin. Looking down he found he was undressed and sitting in his boxers. He didn't remember taking off his jacket.

"What happened to my coat?" He asked. Xion giggled and hid her blushing face in his chest. "You looked very uncomfortable sleeping in a trench coat, so I took it off of you and put it away for a while." She said tracing the scratches on his chest.

"Good idea." he replied. "It feels good to be out of it for once. Living in that thing for just under a year was as close to hell as I'd like to get."

Xion nodded in agreement, her eyes wide with enthusiasm. "Remember how hot it was in Agraba." she asked.

"Yeah. Just thinking about it is making me sweat." said Roxas with a chuckle. Memories of the past year came back to Roxas like a quiet river, slow and easy. But the flash backs were short lived because there was a noise that thundered above the room, shaking Roxas back to earth. The two looked up at the ceiling then at each other with questioning looks on their faces. Roxas was the first to move from the bed. He pulled on a pair of pants and headed for the door. Quietly summoning his Keyblade, he climbed the stairs that lead to the highest point of the clock tower. When he came to the last few steps, he crouched and peaked around the corner. There he saw a very upset looking Fiery haired man pulling a battered chakram from the clock face. Then driving it right back into it, screaming in anger and pain as he did so. Roxas stayed silent as he watched his old friend vent his frustrations. This continued for another few minutes until Axel finally broke down in tears.

"If I could just get my hands on that bastard Xemnas' throat. I'd make him pay for what he did to Xion and Roxas. The lies that he told them. The pain he put them through. Tearing them apart like that. How could he?" Axel sobbed.

Axel stood and then sat on the edge of the tower just as he had many times before. He unzipped part of his trench coat and retrieved a small wooden stick, with the word "WINNER" stamped on one side. After a moment of just holding it in his hands, Axel threw the stick as far as he could. Roxas recognized the stick as the Popsicle stick he had left back at the castle. It was meant to be a parting gift of sorts. Roxas followed Axel's gaze as the two of them watched the Popsicle stick fall from view.

"If I had known that's what you were going to do with it I'd have kept it for myself." said Roxas leaning against the wall casually. The sound of Roxas' voice startled Axel, who nearly fell off the wall. After a moment of disbelief, Axel pulled himself together enough to hurl himself at his friend whom he had thought to be dead.

Well everyone That was chapter one. Please write a review and tell me what you think. I haven't decided if I will continue this one or leave it alone. You decide! Thanks again.

-DB