Hello, KH fans! It has been far, far too long since I've written KH fanfic, and though I do want to complete them someday, I've lost track of most of my projects. So, what I've decided to do for now is start a brand-new story in a brand-new universe for a fresh start. I'm especially excited for this, and I hope for it to succeed. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: Kingdom Hearts belongs to Disney and Square Enix. I do not stand to profit from this work in any way. Man, it's been far too long since I've written that. :)

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Reflections of Reflections

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Day 96

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Xion kept her eyes closed for a long time, clasping and unclasping her hand, hoping desperately that it would work this time. It had to work this time. Roxas can't have risked his life using an improvised weapon for nothing. There was simply no other option—it had to work.

And yet, Xion's Keyblade didn't come.

She stood motionless in the ballroom, frozen in place, not even bringing her arm down. Various thoughts ran through her mind, most of them anticipating her imminent Dusking. She would never be able to talk to Roxas or Axel again. Ever. That hit her like a truck. She could barely breathe, too caught up in the realization of her upcoming total loneliness to pay much attention to the state of her body.

She couldn't talk to them ever again…

After a second, she realized that her outstretched arm was being pushed down and turned. Roxas was looking into her eyes. "I'm sorry, Xion. I really thought that would work."

Xion looked down at the floor, taking in short breaths. "It's not…not your fault…"

Roxas squeezed her arm. "Come on, there still has to be something we can—"

Xion suddenly whipped around and stared straight at Roxas, tears flying off her face. "Roxas, we tried everything! Nothing worked! My life is gone!"

Roxas stepped back a couple paces, not used to Xion yelling at him. After a moment of thought, he approached her again, reaching a hand out to wipe the tears away. "I know there's at least one more thing we haven't tried yet."

Xion closed her eyes. "What's that…?"

"Remember what I said about running away earlier?"

Xion shook her head. "Where would we even go?"

"Anywhere. We can find a new home, I know it."

"But the Organization…they feed us, they give us shelter, they provide everything we need to live…"

Roxas sighed. "You're not going to live if they find out. I wish I didn't have to say it that way, but I can't let them turn you into a Dusk. I just can't."

"But then you would be safe…"

Roxas tilted his head. "Do you really think I would let you be turned into a Dusk just so I could be safe?"

Xion thought about this. "…What will we tell Axel?"

"We'll tell him the truth. Maybe he can come with us."

She scratched her neck. "Think he'll really want to do that?"

Roxas nodded. "Yeah! He's our friend, isn't he? I don't think he would just abandon us."

Xion looked down again. "This is going to be hard…you would really do this for me?"

Roxas grinned. "Of course I would! You're my best friend, Xion. I would do anything for you. You know that."

Xion looked out the window to the world outside of Beast's Castle. The sun was starting to rise now, and it gave the impression of a reverse sunset. Of a beginning rather than an end. Despite everything, that was enough to make her smile.

"…Thank you, Roxas."

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Axel sat on the clocktower, munching his ice cream as usual. He didn't normally like eating alone, but Roxas and Xion were taking a while, and he figured he could get more when they came. But he was fidgety today—tapping his foot, looking around a lot, drawing a breath at every little thing. Considering that he didn't have emotions, he decided he must have put too much sugar in his coffee again. But ignored thoughts tugged at the back of his mind, never leaving, never changing.

He sighed and scratched his neck. "Where are those kids…"

As if on cue, he heard a boy behind him. "Axel."

Axel grinned and turned. "Roxas, Xion! If I had a heart, I think I would have been worried about you."

Roxas sighed. "We were gone a while for…a reason."

Axel's smile faded. "What happened?"

Xion looked away. "I didn't get my Keyblade back."

"….Oh." Axel turned away and scratched his neck again. "Well…I'm sorry, but…I don't know how to help you now. You can't hide it anymore."

Roxas nodded. "That's why we're going to run away."

Axel stood up, whipping around. "You what?"

"If we stay with the Organization, they're going to make Xion a Dusk. I can't let that happen."

Axel shook his head. "You can't just run from the Organization! This is like trying to run away from, I don't know, oxygen!"

"What else can we do, Axel?"

"Stay!"

Xion looked at him sadly. "Axel…if we stay here, they'll turn me into a Dusk. I'm worthless to them without my Keyblade."

Axel looked her in the eyes. "I'll make sure they don't. I promise you."

"How will you do that? Saix won't want me. He's never wanted me, as far as I can tell."

"Then I'll talk to Xemnas! I would do anything for you two, you know that."

Roxas' face twisted into a scorn. "You would do anything except the thing we actually need to do?"

Axel facepalmed. "How many times do I have to say that you don't need to run away?"

Roxas shook his head. "Axel, I don't think you understand. At all."

Axel gritted his teeth. "I'll tell you what I understand, all right? I understand that if you run away and the Organization catches you, they'll skip right over Dusking and just kill you on the spot. And they will do everything in their power to catch you, which you can bet is quite a lot. If you run, they'll destroy you!"

Xion's own expression hardened. "If they're willing to kill us that easily…it's not like they would miss us."

"Guys—"

The two turned and started to walk away. Only Roxas looked back. "We're going. If you'll really do anything for us, then come."

Axel tried to grab their arms, but before he could grab them, they had already slipped through the dark corridor Roxas had opened in front of him. He cursed under his breath and opened a portal to Roxas' room, hoping he could catch them packing their things, but the room was empty. This went for Xion's room as well.

Axel searched the whole castle and most of Twilight Town that night. But they were already gone.

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Okay, since I'm just getting back into the groove of things, this first chapter was short, but I had a lot of fun writing it. I think this is a good sign. :) If you're new to my work, rest assured that my chapters are usually longer.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for chapter two of Reflections of Reflections!