A/N: I haven't forgotten about this story, although I'm sure it seems like I have. I've had the worst luck with computers-losing both a laptop, and both my hard-drive and external hard-drive. I had forgotten where I wanted this to go, but I found this saved on a flashdrive-and I found my handwritten conclusion to the story. So, in an effort to end this right-I'm posting this and typing up the conclusion before I post the other stories I had been working on. Thanks to those who have continued to read. Xoxo

Chapter Eleven:: If I Die Young

If I die young bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses
Sink me in the river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song

The sunset was bright and colorful as Roxas, Axel and I sat on top of the clock tower in Twilight Town. After Roxas and I finished our mission in Agrabah, I began to think more and more about Roxas, and I realized I wouldn't be betraying him. I would be setting us free. We spend our days collecting hearts and destroying heartless, by us existing, we are keeping Sora from waking up-Sora, who does have a heart. I knew it would be hard, but I needed to get myself out of the equation, in order to help out with everything. As I bit down on my sea-salt ice-cream, I looked over at Roxas. His messy blonde hair was blowing in the cool afternoon breeze, his blue eyes were bright as he gazed down at the town below. Beside him, Axel's firey red hair was blowing in the breeze as well, as he talked to us about the mission he did earlier. As I listened to Axel talk about the Heartless he had to take on, I glanced over at them and smiled. "When we get our hearts back, what's the one emotion you're looking forward to feeling again?" I asked, as Roxas smiled, I knew he would already have an answer. "That's easy, happiness-pure happiness," he said, as I nodded, Axel laughed. "Of course you would be looking forward to happiness. I'm looking forward to excitement-the feeling of a fire burning inside over something," he said, as Roxas and I nodded. "What about you, Xion?" Roxas asked, as I smiled. "Love. I think that feeling of butterflies would be nice," I said, as the others nodded. We then sat in silence, thinking about the different emotions we would feel again, or that they would.

The days dragged on in a blur as I continued to do missions: day after day the Organization was taking on more and more Heartless. I hadn't been to Training in awhile, and when I stopped by the training room, no one was there-but there were a few dummies sat up, and I decided to use them for practice. There were two dummies side by side straight ahead of me, as well as a few scattered to the side. I took a deep breath, and pulled my Keyblade out. I then began to unleash my attacks on the dummies. Not having anyone around to yell at me about my progress, or where to hit, made the training feel personal. I was able to do what I wanted-which included Keyblade attacks, as well as a few Spells. Once I had exhausted myself with the dummies. I snuck out of the Castle and began to walk the streets of The World That Never Was.

The rain continued to pour as I walked around the deserted city. It was dark, and there was no one in sight. As I walked through the empty streets, I let my hood down-letting the rain drops hit my face. The chill of the cold water droplets cooled my skin as they slid down my face. Within a few minutes, I was soaked-but I didn't mind- after training as hard as I had, it was a nice cool down. It reminded me of the ocean on Destiny Islands. My choice was clear, even though the Organization was all that I knew, I couldn't help but notice over time that the Organization wasn't always this nice group-there were other motives happening, and Roxas and I are just 'puppets' to them. It was time to do the unthinkable, it was time to distance myself from the group-time to make things right again.

"I'm not a puppet!"

I sat quietly in my room, holding a folded piece of paper in my hand. The walk back to the Castle was quick, as I rushed through the empty streets-eager to make it back. Once I made it back inside the Castle, I snuck up to my room, where I grabbed a sheet of paper and jotted down a quick note-before drying off. 'Riku, i'll help you-just tell me everything I need to do.'. I folded the note, and sat on my bed holding it in my hand. I slowly stood up, opening a dark cloud as I took a deep breath. I then walked into it, heading to Destiny Islands.

Riku was nowhere to be seen, which is good, since I wasn't sure I wanted to see him after the kiss. I knew that if I could feel, i'd have feelings for him. Unlike me though, he could feel, and I didn't want him getting anymore attached to me than he needed to. As I walked around the island, I stopped at the small pond surrounded by rocks. I picked up a medium size rock, placed the letter on the ledge, and stuck the rock on top of it so it wouldn't blow away. Smiling as I took in the ocean breeze, I opened a dark cloud and left.

I stood outside the bright castle in the rain, debating on whether or not I wanted to even go inside. What would I do if I stayed there? I'd still be close to Roxas and Axel, i'd still be doing missions—would it be easier for me to just vanish? The more I thought about it, the more I realized I needed to keep my distance, I needed to stay out of their way. I slowly took a step backwards, realizing that I needed to find answers on my own, I needed to investigate the worlds and see what I could figure out. I knew Destiny Islands, although home to Riku and Sora, didn't have many of the answers I needed, but I still knew it was worth checking it out. Although I couldn't be certain of anything, I knew that Sora was asleep, and he needed all his memories back, memories that were scattered between Roxas and I. If I wanted to help him, I needed to help myself first. Opening a dark cloud for Destiny Island, I headed off to see what answers I could find.

The bright blue waters came crashing onto the sandy beach, as I took a deep breath-breathing in the salty air. The one thing I did like about Destiny Islands, was how open it felt. In comparison to The World That Never Was, Destiny Islands was literally a breath of fresh air. So bright and open, I could tell growing up here would have been nice. As I glanced around the shore, I looked for signs of Riku, and thankfully found none. I was glad he wasn't around, so I could glance around the island on my own. As I walked away from the shore towards the inner island, I couldn't help but think of Sora growing up here. As I approached what looked to be a area covered with trees, I saw what appeared to be the entrance to a small cave. Looking around me, I quietly pushed the limbs of the tree back and entered the cave.

The temperature dropped almost instantly as I entered the dark cave. As I glanced around, letting my eyes adjust to the dark, I started to notice drawings on the walls. As I walked farther into the cave, I walked over to a cave wall, and began to look closer. The drawings on the wall showed a boy and a girl exchanging some fruit, as well as pictures of two boys playing, and three kids sitting on a tree. "Sora," I said, as I placed my hand on his face, letting my hand slide down the rock wall of the cave. "I don't know much about you Sora, or about your friends. I know though that somehow, my story is a part of yours, and that without my part-you won't wake up. I don't know exactly what I have to do to fix things for you-but I know that you have an amazing friend who is trying his best to bring you back. I can't guarantee I won't mess things up, but I will try to bring you back," I said quietly, before I moved my hand away from the rock.

Leaving the dark cave, I headed to the giant ship that sat on the shore. The wood creaked loudly as I climbed up onto the side of it, and onto the deck. As I walked up to the front of the ship-i looked out over the vast blue ocean. Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I could see how this would be an amazing place to grow up. "I bet you played here a lot as a kid, huh Sora?" I said aloud, as I opened my eyes. "Climbing the trees, sword fighting on this ship, racing across the sand and swimming all the time," I said, before I opened a dark cloud beside me. "I'll give you back your life Sora," I whispered, before leaving the island.

The true me lies still asleep withing the sky and somewhere beyond the clouds.

Entering Twilight Town, I pulled my hood over my head, and began to walk along the shadows beside the buildings. The sky was gorgeous, as the sun hid behind clouds of white, pink and orange. The sound of kids playing in the streets echoed as the bells from the trains drifted from loud to soft. Twilight Town was peaceful, and I knew it'd be a safe place to hide. I couldn't go back to the castle. I couldn't do any more missions. I had to stay away from the Organization, I had to help Sora. As I wandered around Twilight Town, I eventually made it to Market Street. As I made my way around Market Street, I noticed a large crack in the wall and decided to investigate it. As I looked over the crack, I noticed that it was large enough to walk through, and lead somewhere.

Walking through the crack, I ended up in a small wooded area. The sun peaked through the leaves above me as I walked out into the area. As I continued to walk, I saw an opening and once I made it through the opening, I found myself standing in front of an iron gate, behind the gate was an abandoned mansion. "Looks like i've found my home away from home," I said, as I used my Keyblade to open the gate. As I walked up to the mansion, I continued to tell myself I was doing the right thing.