Don't go, Roxas! Why are you leaving! Roxas!

I have to… I don't belong here anymore… I can't stay a member of this Organization anymore… I'm sorry.

I was happy then. I can't remember the details; it's like looking at a dusty, faded, old photograph. But I remember the happiness. Like it was from a distant time, a past life, or an alternate dimension…

I had someone then. I can almost remember him, but my thoughts are so blurred. He was distant, and didn't answer my questions directly. I wanted desperately for him to say he loved me, but that just wasn't his style. Still, we were close, I had close friends, and I was happy.

That's when things started to change, during that summer. That's when the dreams started. I saw the details of someone else's past; who I didn't think I knew, but the thoughts were there, in my unconscious mind. It was like looking into a broken mirror and seeing someone else's face staring back at you. But I couldn't place the pieces together until it was too late. I learned of Sora and his friends, but I didn't know why I was seeing it.

I told my friends about it, but they said not to worry. Weird dreams come to everyone once in awhile, right? But I did worry, because they came every night. I feared that things would change, and I'm afraid of change.

So I asked him what I had been meaning to for awhile. Maybe the dreams were just making me paranoid, I don't know. But I needed some reassurance.

"We will be together forever, right? You and I… Promise?" I asked him, looking at my feet. I remember how it felt to face him, even though I loved him. I could feel him looking at me, so I looked up.

"Roxas…" He said, and pulled me toward him in a soft embrace. Warmth, comfort, reassurance. "Why would you ask something like that? You're so weird."

But I could see the true answer in his eyes. I knew what he wanted to say and why he couldn't say it. You can't make a promise like that, because it's just too easy to break. And I know now that there's no such thing as forever.

The dreams continued. Strange creatures, which I know now were Nobodies, started attacking me, but I couldn't fight them without the Keyblade. But strangely, the Keyblade appeared just when I needed it. It confused me at the time, but that's also something I understand now. So I was able to fight them off to save my town, but I never realized that I was just like them, in a way…

I also began to have visions of this young, blonde-haired girl, whose name was apparently Naminé. She kept calling to me, but I didn't know what she wanted. I think it had something to do with Sora, but I wasn't sure. Just thinking about all of it gave me headaches so huge that I swore my skull was cracking in two.

That's when you showed up. Just like that, and time froze. You, with your wild red hair and piercing green eyes that seemed to see right through me. The black uniform that you were wearing seemed vaguely familiar, like I had worn one once. And you seemed familiar too, but I couldn't remember. I wanted to remember, and I gave myself a headache trying, but still, nothing happened.

"Roxas…" Was all you said. Well, at least, it was all I really heard. You warned me about having to come back to some organization (which I now know is Organization XIII) or I could be hurt. I was scared, but I didn't understand. And you, saying my name, echoed endlessly in my head. I wanted to remember you… And then, something clicked inside.

"We were… Best friends, right?" I asked you. You looked taken aback at first, surprised that I remembered. But I could tell you were happy, just by the way you looked into my eyes.

"Roxas… You remember…?" You asked, and I listened. I wanted to say yes, to make you happy. Because I knew that whenever it was that we knew each other, I had loved you. And I still did.

But I couldn't lie to you; I just couldn't bring myself to do that. I'd always believed in telling the truth, especially to the people I care about.

"No… I want to, but I can't. I don't know why the Keyblade chose me, or why these monsters are following me around…" My voice trailed off, and I looked at the ground, suddenly afraid to face you. And my brain still wouldn't allow me to remember any more.

"You really don't remember any of it, do you, Roxas?" You whispered softly to me. You sounded disappointed, and I didn't want to hear that in your voice.

"But… I'll try…" I managed to choke out. And I was trying, why couldn't you see that? My head was spinning, but I just couldn't remember…

Your voice grew cold then. "None of this would have happened if you had just stayed in the Organization… You were welcome there, Roxas. But you left them. …And you left me."

I could feel your eyes on me, but I wasn't able to force my gaze back up from the ground. I wanted to look into your eyes, but I also wanted to avoid the coldness I would find there. "I'm… Sorry…" I said, even though I barely understood what I was apologizing for. "Could you please… Tell me your name… Sir?" I asked, shaking. It took all my courage to ask, but I had to know. It was on the tip of my tongue. I knew it, but it was like there was a wall inside my brain, blocking it out.

"…Axel." You said. And then, with a bit more warmth in your voice, "Got it memorized?" And then you were gone, just as suddenly as you had appeared.

That name, and that phrase you used, both sounded so familiar, like I had dreamed them before. But I knew they weren't from a dream. They were real, everything about this was real.

I started shaking again, and went back to the usual spot where my friends were sitting together, eating ice cream as usual. Seeing this made my heart ache, since I knew times like this would soon come to an end. As I said before, I was afraid of change. But at the same time, I wanted to see you again… Even as I told him I wanted us to stay together forever for the second time that day, I couldn't get you out of my mind…

And that was my last day in Twilight Town. In fact, that was my last day existing as human. Because I'm not a human, and I never was. I'm a Nobody, just like you.

Thanks to the Nobody witch girl Naminé, I gave what was left of my heart and soul so that Sora, Donald, and Goofy could awaken. I no longer exist in this world. But I'm still here… I exist inside of him, and I'm not sure if he even knows it.

I watched you introduce yourself to him after you captured that friend of his, Kairi. Did you see me? Because I saw you. I'm a part of him now, but I'm still me. I'm still Roxas. Half of his heart is still mine.

And you still have half of your own heart, right? Two halves of one heart combine to make a whole one. You know that, and so do I. But do you know that I still love you? Do you have that memorized?