Day 299

"No, wait!" Roxas yelled. He wasn't sure how it had happened, but Axel and Xion were in combat. She had pointed her keyblade at Roxas moments ago, and now Axel was fighting her and defending him. But he's not really doing it for you, Roxas reminded himself. He's just obeying Saix's orders. They had been sent here to destroy Xion, his only remaining friend. And now even she had turned on him.

Roxas stood helpless, and watched fire follow Axel's movements. Axel rarely looked more alive than when he was fighting. Usually it made him happy and self-satisfied, but he wasn't smiling as Xion deflected his weapon, leaving him completely vulnerable. Roxas didn't understand. Axel was a much better fighter than Xion. He was better than anyone. Roxas, in spite of everything, couldn't watch him get hurt.

"Stop!" he yelled at them, attempting to intervene. She gave him a very strange look. Was it even Xion he was seeing? Their eyes were locked for only a moment and then Axel hit her over the head, hard. She collapsed.

Roxas looked at Axel, completely confused, waiting for an explanation. Axel opened a portal, and their eyes met. Axel's were defiant, daring Roxas to stop him, but then he seemed to break down, his face momentarily betraying a glint of remorse. Then Axel looked away, dragging Xion along, and they disappeared into darkness.

~0~

Roxas returned to Organization headquarters, his mind racing. He couldn't comprehend what he'd just seen. For a second, he had been terrified that Axel was going to get hurt and in the next he feared for Xion. What was Axel doing? You shouldn't trust him, Roxas reminded himself. If he didn't keep telling himself this he knew he would forget, and he couldn't let Axel keep deceiving him.

As Axel arrived at headquarters, Roxas yelled his name, running towards him, angry. It was strange to say his name, frustrating to have to acknowledge him at all. He had a sudden desire to punch him in the face. Axel had rejected him last night again, and now he had taken his only remaining friend. Even though she had pointed a weapon at him, Xion could never hurt him the way Axel had.

"Hey Roxas," Axel attempted a friendly tone.

Roxas was livid. "Where is she?"

"Safe." Liar.

"How could you do that to her?"

"Do what?"

"You didn't have to use force!" Roxas could feel his face getting hot. The desire to physically attack Axel was getting stronger. Roxas had never felt like this before. He hated him. This wasn't about Xion. This was about Axel, and Roxas wasn't going to let him off the hook this time.

"Didn't I?"

"No... Of course not! We're supposed to be friends."

"This isn't about friendship, and if that's all you've got to say, I gotta go," Axel sneered as he stormed off.

Day 300

"Who is Sora?" Roxas asked.

"He's the connection."

"The what?"

"He is what makes you and Xion a part of each other's lives," Xemnas explained. "Just as he is the reason I placed Xion among our number. And if you want her to stay that way, I must insist you get your mind off these needless distractions. I will have Xion return to her duties tomorrow. Today, you must focus on yours."

They both had a connection with Sora. What could that mean? It didn't matter much. What was important was that Xion would be back tomorrow. He breathed in deeply. All would be well. And then he saw Axel.

Axel tried to speak to him, but he breezed past him and into his own room, slamming the door behind him.

Day 301

Xion was back today. Roxas had gone to the clock tower to look for her, and she had been there – with Axel. Roxas would've left, but Xion noticed him and waved him over. She acted as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Roxas just couldn't understand it. Roxas could feel Axel's eyes on him. He remained stubbornly silent until Xion left, and he departed at the same time she did.

Day 321

Roxas had been having more nightmares. Every day felt like a blur, and last night, he'd had a dream about Sora again. Roxas had seen his face – knew for sure what he looked like. And that boy with the grey hair, Riku, he was in the dreams too. Roxas didn't want anyone to notice, but he was failing at most of his missions lately. He was exhausted from the lack of sleep brought on by these visions of Sora, and he didn't know where to turn.

Now he was sitting at the clock tower with Xion. She finally spoke.

"I guess he's not coming today."

"You want him to?" Roxas scoffed.

"What, did you two have a fight?" she asked

Roxas just stared at her aghast. He was starting to get frustrated, but he didn't want to isolate Xion by lashing out. She was all he had left. "I can't believe that jerk would actually attack you," he seethed.

"Roxas, I wouldn't be sitting here with you if Axel hadn't done that." She looked at him intently. "He's your best friend."

"So are you," he replied, not bothering to explain the situation with he and Axel when she obviously wasn't going to take his side.

"It's just not the same without all three of us..." she mused. Roxas agreed with that.

Day 322

Maybe he was starting to miss Axel. He was so exhausted every day. He just needed to rest, needed a friend who knew what he was feeling, but no one would understand. The nightmares continued, and there was nowhere to turn.

Day 323

Saix was proposing a mission to him. Roxas could barely understand what he was saying, and he didn't care. He would go through the motions until he could get back to his bed and attempt to sleep again. "Leave it to me," he mumbled in response to Saix's exhausting rant.

Then he heard Axel's voice. "Hey, whoa whoa whoa... Roxas, you really wanna do that?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Roxas snapped, having no idea what they were talking about, but appreciating any reason to start a fight with Axel.

"It's just, lately you—" Axel had been paying attention to him? That was a surprise.

"Shouldn't you already be out on your mission, Axel?" Saix interrupted.

"Yeah, I need to get ready, too," Roxas said, shrugging the whole thing off, but Axel stayed, looking at him intently. Roxas managed to look back. Maybe they could be friends again? "Let's…. catch up later?" Roxas suggested. He immediately hated himself for it. Why was he so weak? It could have been anyone, he told himself. You just need a friend. But deep down he knew he wanted it to be Axel.

~0~

Axel and Xion were at the clock tower after his mission. "Been a while since we all hung out like this, huh?" he asked, trying to diffuse the silence, but recognizing the desperation in his own tone.

"Well, we have had our share of drama," Axel muttered. Roxas remembered what made Axel so terrible – he trivialized everything.

"Hey, I just remembered," Axel said, "Did you guys know you should be checking your ice cream sticks?"

"Really? For what?" Xion asked.

"Once you finish your ice cream bar, check the stick. It might say WINNER."

"Hey, wait a second..." Roxas had found a few of those during his days alone on the clock tower. The irony of the word always irked him. Winner.

"Oh yeah" what?" Axel said, looking at him.

"Uhh...n-nothing… So… what do you win?" Axel had given away the right to know anything about his life, hadn't he?

"Beats me," Axel shrugged.

"What if we all ran off together?" Xion said, suddenly animated. "The three of us. We could always be together."

"We don't have any place to run," Roxas reminded her glumly. He'd had the thought before a hundred times.

"I know," she sighed, "I was just thinking out loud." Roxas felt bad for shooting her down so harshly.

"Well, even if things change," Axel said, looking directly at him, "We'll never be apart."

"As long as we remember each other...right? Don't worry, Axel-we got your hokey speech memorized," Xion teased. Axel was still looking at Roxas. What did that look mean? Roxas couldn't bring himself to return it.

"I'll have these moments memorized for a long time. Forever, I hope," Xion smiled.

Roxas hardly recognized the people sitting beside him anymore, and he definitely didn't recognize himself. He wondered how he could get away from them, away from this place, away from the Organization. He wondered where he could start again. Away from Axel and Xion forever.