Another Way, Another Story

Hey everyone. So for those of you that have played 358/2 days, you all know how it ends. I understand it set up the start of KH2, but I wish it could have ended differently. Like, what if Xion had defeated Axel instead? That's where the story starts off. I hope you all enjoy and give me lots of feedback. Thanks XD

Chapter 1: A Place to Belong

Xion was holding her keyblade limply in her hands, breathing heavily. Axel was standing with his shoulders slumped, but his chakrams still spinning in his hands. He raised his arm as if ready to attack again, but Xion couldn't even raise the keyblade to defend herself. Suddenly, he fell to his knees.

"You're… better then I thought you'd be." he said as he fell to the ground.

Xion slumped to the ground completely exhausted, but she knew she couldn't stay there long. The organization would be coming for her soon. She slowly stood up and created a dark portal. "You held back, didn't you Axel?" she asked him.

He laughed a little. "Maybe." he said as he passed out.

As Xion stepped through the portal, she saw Namine running outside.

"Xion, wait!" she yelled.

"I'll come back, promise." she said as the portal closed.

DiZ came walking out behind her. He looked at the unconscious Axel and shook his head. "He couldn't even defeat a puppet. The organization is making fools out of themselves. And why did you let her go?" he asked looking at Namine.

"She'll come back, I know she will. She knows that she needs to be with Sora so he can get his memories back." she explained.

"Humph, you're no better then they are. Nobodies cannot be trusted."

"She's not a true nobody." Namine countered.

"For you're sake, I hope she keeps her promise." he said as he went back to the mansion.

"She will…" Namine said to herself as she followed him.

A few moments later, Axel sat up. He looked around and didn't see anyone. He stood up and created a portal.

"Man, the boss isn't gonna be happy about this." he said as he stepped through.

Roxas was sitting up on the clock tower in Twilight Town, dangling his feet over the end of the ledge. He put his black hood down and sighed. "Where did I think I could go?". He laughed a little. "What a joke." He put his head down and sighed again. A few moments later, he heard footsteps next to him. He looked over and saw a hooded figure. "Xion!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, its me." she said, handing him an ice cream pop.

They sat in silence for a few minutes as they ate their ice cream. Finally, Roxas spoke. "What happened to you, Xion?

"I went to see Namine."

"Who's Namine?" Roxas asked, confused.

"Someone who has control over Sora's memories. We were going to try to wake Sora, but then Axel showed up."

"What, Axel? What did he want with you?"

"He was trying to take me back to the organization. I guess Xemnas still needs one of us to keep collecting hearts. Axel said he was sick of me running and that he would keep coming after me. We wound up fighting…"

Roxas was shocked. "Why would Axel do that?"

"He was ordered to, but I think he wasn't really trying to win."

"What happened to him?" Roxas asked.

"I don't know. After I fought him, I came here."

Roxas thought for a moment. Then he jumped up excitedly "Xion, run away with me! We'll leave the organization together!"

She shook her head. "I can't. I belong with Sora, that's where I need to go." She looked at Roxas. "You need to be with him too. It's the only way he can truly wake up."

"No!" Roxas yelled. "It doesn't have to be like that! I'm my own person. Not Sora, not anyone else. And so are you, Xion.

"I'm just a puppet." she replied.

"I don't see you that way. I never did. You're my friend, Xion."

"I still have to do this, its for the good of everyone."

"How is it good for me? I already lost one friend today, I'm not losing another one. There has to be another way…" he said as tears started forming.

"Roxas, you're crying." Xion said, amazed. "DiZ said nobodies don't have feelings…"

He stopped crying. "Axel said we were special nobodies. Maybe that means we do have feelings.

They looked at each other for a minute, and suddenly they started laughing. After a moment, Roxas said, "Namine can fix Sora's memories and she needs you to do it, right?"

"Yes, I need to give Sora all of the memories of his that I've stored. But that means that I'll disappear. And that means you won't remember me."

Roxas thought about that. Finally, he snapped his fingers and said "What if we made you new memories as you gave Sora back his?

"How are we gonna do that?"

Roxas smiled. "By living our own lives, outside of the organization. We'll make so many new memories that you can give Sora back his and you won't disappear."

"But what about the organization? They'll come after us" she said.

"You can still use you're keyblade, right?"

She held out her right hand and a moment later a keyblade appeared.

"Alright then, we'll be fine." Roxas said confidently.

He held out his hand to Xion. She made her keyblade disappear and grabbed his hand.

"Come on, there's some people I want you to meet." he said as they walked down the tower stairs.

Roxas walked Xion down to the sandlot. When they got there, they saw Hayner and Pence practicing for the upcoming struggle tournament. They stood and watched for a little bit. Pence way trying really hard but he was no match for Hayner. Every time he tried to attack, hayner was faster. It was the same for trying to grab loose balls. After a minute Olette yelled "Time." and they stopped. "What's the final score guys?" she asked.

"47 for me and a whopping 3 for Pence." Hayner said triumphantly.

"Hey, you don't have to rub it in." Pence said dejectedly.

Roxas and Xion started walking over. "Hey guys, that looked fun. What do you call that?" Roxas asked.

"Well, lookie here." Hayner said smiling, "Haven't seen you in a while."

"Yeah, I've been busy. Hey, this is my friend Xion. Xion, this is Hayner, Pence, and Olette.

"Hi guys." Xion said quietly.

"Nice to meet you." they all said in unison.

"So, this is you're "friend"?" Pence asked suggestively.

"Yeah…my friend." Roxas asked, a little confused.

"Anyway," Hayner interrupted. "this is called a struggle. There's a big tournament coming up and I'm gonna win." he said confidently.

Um, we could win too…" Pence and Olette said.

"Can we enter too, guys? Roxas asked.

"I don't know Roxas, I'm not really that good at fighting." Xion whispered.

"Come on Xion, this is a great chance to make some new memories."

"That's right. The Struggle tournament is an unforgettable experience." Olette added.

"What are the rules?" Roxas asked.

"Each person fights one on one to try to grab as many colored balls as the can in 90 seconds. Each person had a foam bat and tries to knock the opponent's balls off while defending themselves at the same time. The winner is the one who has the most when time runs out." Olette explained.

"Alright, sounds easy enough. Ready to practice?" he asked Xion.

"I guess so…" she said hesitantly.

Back at the organization, Xemnas was sitting with Sai'x and Xigbar awaiting Axel's return. A few moments later, he appeared empty-handed and near exhaustion.

"Where is the puppet?" Xemnas asked.

"She was a tougher fight then I anticipated."

"Man, that poppet is one tough customer." Xigbar laughed.

"I do not tolerate failure Axel. You know that better then anyone."

"I know boss, I won't underestimate her again."

No, you need to rest. You'll get you're chance soon enough." Xemnas thought for a second. "Demyx!" he called. A moment later a portal appeared and he stepped out of it.

"You rang, boss?"

"I need you to take care of something for me."

"Oh man, work?" he asked in a disappointed tone.

"Man, you two are really good." Hayner exclaimed when they were finished.

"You think so?" Roxas and Xion asked.

"Yeah, you guys will clean up at the tournament." Pence said.

"See, wasn't this fun?" Roxas asked Xion, smiling.

"Yeah, much better then I thought it'd be."

Suddenly, a portal opened up in front of them and Demyx appeared. "Man, I told them I am so not the person for this." he sighed

"A friend of yours?" Hayner asked.

"No, you guys better get out of here." Roxas warned as they ran off.

"I don't suppose you'll come quietly?" Demyx asked.

Roxas and Xion summoned their Keyblades. "I was afraid of this…" Demyx said as he summoned his sitar and jets of water appeared around him.

Hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Feel free to review if you liked it XD