Roxas sat on the edge of the Twilight Town clock tower, curled up in a ball with his head on his knees. He stared out at the disappearing sun, feeling like a fool. He let out a sad laugh, "Where did I think I could go? What a joke…" Where could he go? Roxas had no other friends, no family outside of the Organization. There's no place to go. There's nothing for him outside of The World That Never Was.

Out of the corner of his eye, a girl in a black cloak much like his sat down next to him. Her black hair blew in the slight breeze while his blonde spikes only twitched in the wind. He noticed her and exclaimed, "Xion!" and his legs flew out. Roxas, unknowing in his surprise, began to slip. The girl made no move to catch him as he slipped and fell hundreds of yards to the transit station below them. He screamed the whole way down, piercing her ears and making her chest ache. When Roxas hit the ground, he cried out in agony. She could hear the sickening crack of the arm he landed on. It hurt her to do this, but she knew that it had to be done. Xion had to die, for the good of everyone. It could have been done any other way, inhumane or not, but she chose this way. She wanted to die in the arms of someone she knew. With her new dark power, she floated down to the ground and landed some distance before Roxas, enough so that he could still hear her but she wouldn't have to see the pain in his eyes.

"Draw your weapon, Roxas," her voice cracked.

He managed to bring his eyes to hers, propping his torso up with one arm, "X-Xion…"

"Draw your weapon." She repeated.

"N-No…" he tried to push himself up, but failed and slumped against the red bricks, "I won't… I won't… hurt you…"

Xion saw that he wouldn't, not without some help. She walked over to him, grabbing his unimpaired arm—a small mercy—and making him stand up. He cried out when it forced him to move his damaged arm. Roxas looked at her, silently pleading for an answer. She gave him none, turning her back and returning to her original position. Instantly a bright light shined in her hand, and then she had her Keyblade at the ready.

"I didn't want to hurt you, Roxas," she said, "But you leave me with no other choice."

The shocked look on his face was almost enough to stop her, but her resolve was strong. She drew back her weapon and went to strike him. Before she could, he summoned his own Keyblade and blocked it. It went on like that, her attempting to get him to hit back, but he never did. Roxas stood there, clutching his right arm closely to his side as it bled through his coat sleeve, taking her attacks. Xion shouted her rage, taking his Keyblade away and slicing through him with both. His cry jarred her. Watching him being tossed away, smacking the ground with an audible thud, was almost enough to put her into tears. Blood pooled out around him.

"X-Xion… Why… Why are you doing this…?" Roxas whimpered.

She could have told him. In fact, that might have made things easier. But she didn't think Roxas would understand the magnitude of the situation. All he would see is that she had to die, and would try to save her. That would only get them both killed in the end.

Xion sheathed the Keyblades in a cover of light, and then knelt beside him. She was silent for a minute, but eventually spoke, leaving Roxas at her feet to listen, "Roxas… I need you to do me a favor…"

He didn't respond, though she knew he was listening.

"I need you to kill me, Roxas… Can you do that?"

"N-No!" he grunted, using all of his strength to push himself onto his knees, "I won't! I'd never… ever hurt you!"

They locked eyes. Xion was sad to see that he was being serious. She'd kill him before he'd raise a hand on her. Tears welled in her eyes. Roxas flinched when she leaned forward and rested her head on his chest. Her shoulders shook as she cried. It only made her cry harder when he brought up his good arm and wrapped it around her. He held her tight. Suddenly, something tugged her away. Roxas looked up to see a young man at least five years older than them with red spiky hair in a matching coat throwing her away by her hair, readying a pair of spiked red wheels.

"Axel! WH-what are you doing?!" he shouted, forcing himself to his feet.

Axel didn't say a word, rather got into a defensive stance in front of Roxas. His chakrams couldn't match the blaze of fury in his radiant green eyes.

Xion quickly regained her posture and summoned her Keyblade. She saw her chance. Rushing toward him, she slashed at Axel's body, feeling the resistance on the handle when she landed a hit. Axel didn't hold back, retaliating with his own weapons, signing her coat with their fire. Blood dripped from cuts on her shoulder, but Xion was otherwise unharmed. It only fed Axel's rage to see that she wasn't getting the message. She hurt someone precious to him, and she was going to pay hard.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Axel shouted at her, his muscles tense, "He doesn't even know what's going on! How could you do this to him?! Did you actually think he'd kill you?!"

Xion retorted defiantly, "As if you've been so upfront with him!"

"Axel… what is she talking about…?" Roxas's voice was barely a whisper, "You'd never… lie to me… right? Don't we tell each other everything…?"

Xion's face grew sad.

Axel let out a roar and surged forward. Xion lay down her weapon, baring her neck for an open attack. The attack never came. Axel stopped halfway, and lowered his own weapons. Behind him Roxas gasped. Xion looked in the direction they were, and she saw a girl standing there, watching them. Her white sun dress and pale blonde hair made her stand out from the three, but in reality she was just like them. She was never supposed to exist either.

"Naminé!" Xion cried, "Leave us! I'm doing what you wanted me to do—Axel will do it for me. Soon I'll be gone, and Sora can have his memories back!"

Naminé ignored her and looked at Roxas. Her deep blue eyes mirrored his and Xion's, and they bore into his with immense emotions. Roxas watched her with curiosity, despite the circumstances.

"I'm sorry, Xion, but I have to take you away," she said with relative melancholy, "You're taking too long. Sora is becoming unstable."

"No!" Roxas limped over to Xion, shielding her with his broken body, "I won't let you—"

"Roxas, stop—!" Xion started.

The two were interrupted as Axel shot forward and pressed his chakrams to their throats. His eyes glowered menacingly at Naminé, "Find another way. Find another way, or I kill them both."

Naminé remained where she was, "Would you, Axel? Would you kill them both? You can't. That would ruin everything. If Roxas and Xion were to die, there would be no way to wake Sora."

"I don't care about Sora!" he yelled, his voice breaking, "I don't care about him! I don't care—I can save the worlds! Even if I couldn't, Roxas could!" his voice began to tremble, "Please, don't take him away… He makes me feel… like I have a heart…"

"And what about Xion? Is she important to you?"

He lowered his eyes to the ground, "Any friend of Roxas is a friend of mine."

Naminé went on, "Sora is the chosen one. He is the Keyblade Master—"

"Roxas IS Sora!" Axel's anger renewed, "It doesn't matter! It doesn't…"

Naminé was silent. She looked from Roxas, to Xion, and back to Axel, "You would do anything for them, wouldn't you?"

All he could do was nod.

"… Come with me."

She walked away, expecting them to follow. Xion turned and traced her steps, matching her gait as they came from the same person. Axel stopped to grab Roxas and support his side, and then resumed to trail them.

The trio followed the "witch" through Twilight Town. They passed the Sandlot where Struggle Battles were held every summer. They passed the Ice Cream Shoppe, from which the three had always bought Sea Salt Ice Cream, and then went to the clock tower to eat it as the sun went down. Roxas sighed on the inside, happy from the great memories they shared here, yet sad that those memories were most likely over.

Naminé led them through the plaza to the back wall, where a giant crack opened into woods. Her sandals crunched in the leaves while their black boots were silent against the foliage. The mansion came into view. Roxas stared in awe at the giant structure—on all the missions he'd gone on for the Organization here, he'd never been past the gates. Axel grunted as he pulled Roxas closer to get him through the doors. It was strange, Xion noticed, that no Heartless or Nobodies appeared as they made their way upstairs into the library. Naminé paused to draw on a table with a yellow crayon. She made an intricate design that somehow unlocked a floor beneath the library. The wooden floorboards turned into a field of light, then faded away to reveal blue stairs that gave way to walls with electrical circuits embedded into them. Dots of light traveled along the veins in the walls, all leading to a door that automatically slid open when they walked near.

Inside the door was a room full of computers hanging on the walls all connected to a master computer station, all of them showing the stats of the same boy. In the corner was a beam that crackled with blue volts. Naminé checked the monitors. She didn't look too happy with what she saw, but it seemed like the boy was doing fine to Roxas. All the bars were high, and there were no alerts or anything alarming.

The group ventured into an adjoining room. Even Xion had never seen this room: a hallway with pods lined up on the side. They were all on a track on the floor that went into the wall. Axel didn't know what they were either, regarding them with suspicious glances. Naminé didn't acknowledge them, continuing on her path to the farthest room.

In the last room stood a pod in the center, five times larger than the others. Before it was a desk with a chair that blended into the completely white atmosphere. Naminé sat in the desk and began drawing in a pink notepad. The world ceased to exist for her as she drew a new future. Axel scoffed at her, setting down Roxas and proceeding to heal his arm. He drew out the only Hi-potion that he bought and poured it onto the wound. Instantly the bone set and the cuts closed. Roxas bent his arm only to discover it still hurt to move. He nodded to Axel, who helped him up anyway.

"Sora…"

Roxas looked up to see Xion standing by the pod, her hand on the white surface. He felt guilty, but at the same time sad for Xion, for reasons unknown, though at the same time confused. Who is Sora, and why is he so important?

He left Axel to his thoughts. He approached Naminé and politely waited for her to finish the drawing. What he saw of the picture was him and Xion in pods, and the beginnings of Naminé in another. Beside them stood a man in their same Organization attire, in a black coat. He had long silver hair. At first Roxas thought he to be Xemnas, but the leader of Organization XIII would never wear a black ribbon over his eyes. It didn't make any sense to him. Why would this stranger be here with them? Did they really have to get into one of those strange pods? The idea scared him.

"Roxas," Naminé asked, still scribbling, "Do you know why Xion attacked you?"

"No… No one tells me anything…"

She smiled apologetically, "Xion has to die, Roxas. For the sake of everyone, in all the worlds, Xion has to go. She holds a part of Sora in her, a part that he needs to wake up."

The horror on his face didn't stun her, though it made her feel bad that these innocent "people" had to die for this.

"Xion can't die!" his voice lowered to a whisper, "She can't… she's my best friend and I won't let any harm come to her! But wait…" he looked at her directly for the first time, "If I have a part of him, then do I have to die too?"

She nodded slowly.

Axel came up from behind, "Not if I can help it."

Roxas looked at him with a silent "thank you" but he looked uncertain. Axel looked at Naminé, "You have another idea, right?"

She held up her drawing to him. He took it from her, not unkindly, and looked at the drawing.

"What, you're going to put them into those creepy-ass pod things?"

She nodded, "I have to."

"What are you going to do?"

"… I'm going to transfer Sora's memories from Xion into myself, then I'm going to take Sora's embodiment from Roxas into me."

"Won't that hurt?"

"Maybe… but that's not my real concern…"

Axel's hackles rose, "What should we be concerned about?"

She went on sadly without shyness, "Taking away Sora's memories from Xion will take away her appearance, her personality, everything. She'll become the silent puppet that Vexen created in his lab. And with Roxas…"

Axel leaned forward, "What about with Roxas?"

Her face fell as she looked right into Axel's demanding glare, "Sora's part is what makes Roxas Roxas. If we were to take that away, he could become a Dusk, or even vanish completely."

His eyes widened. He quickly looked at Roxas. He had frozen in place, staring at nothing.

"A… Dusk?" Roxas could barely be heard.

Another slow nod.

Xion spoke up, "No, Roxas, you don't have to do this. Let me go. I'll stabilize Sora—"

"Oh yeah, then what?" Axel said, "What, so he can die later? No, Xion. Just like I'm always doing, I'm saving both your sorry butts."

"Did Saïx tell you to do this?" Xion snapped, "I know that's what he would want. With both me and Roxas back in the Organization, they'd be able to use our Keyblades to collect hearts again."

Axel looked at her coldly, "Screw the Organization. I'm doing this because I'm your friend."

Xion was surprised for a moment, though all the same smiled at his unusually kind words.

"Well then, let's get this done." Naminé got up and looked to Roxas for confirmation.

He nodded, "Let's go."