Roxas is sitting at the end of my bed. The sunlight pouring through the window surrounds him, making his blonde hair look brighter. He has a wide smile on his face. It's the one that he only has when he's extremely happy, the one where he shows off all his teeth. It's nice to see that smile again.

"I've missed you, Roxas."

"I've missed you too." I'm sorry that I went away." He moves up the bed to where I'm sitting. Lightly, his lips touch my cheek. "I love you, Dexlin…Dexlin…Dexlin…"

"Dexlin, wake up."

I open my eyes to find Kairi standing beside my bed. Of course it was only a dream. I should really know better by now. My head is still pressed against the window from when I fell asleep last night. I have a pain in my neck from the weird angle it was bent in.

"Did you sleep all night in that position?"

"Yeah." I rub my neck, trying to work out my screaming muscles.

"You have got to start sleeping normally, Dexlin. You are going to seriously hurt yourself if you keep this up."

While I am really not in the mood for a lecture from Kairi, it's nice that she cares enough to mention it. That's what I always wanted back in Twilight Town, someone to care about me. Roxas was the only one who ever did that. The others were too wrapped up in their lives to notice me. So maybe Kairi nagging me is exactly what I need. "I will."

"Now, come on, get up. We're going to meet Sora and Riku at the beach." She didn't even give me a chance to respond, just throwing a stack of clothes on the bed and running out the door. Why not? It might be good for me to get out of the house every once in a while.

Sora's clothes are a little big on me, but not by a whole lot. I'm wearing a black shirt and black pants with a white jacket. It reminds me a lot of an outfit that Roxas really like to wear. I feel a tear start to form in my eye. I wipe it away before any more start to fall.

Maybe I shouldn't think abut him so much. "Try not to be sad for too long about me." That's what he told me. What if he's right? If I let my mind stay focused on Roxas, how am I ever going to get on with my life? I can't stay in this pain forever. It just isn't healthy. Roxas wouldn't want that for me.

Kairi and I row one of the boats out to the island. We take out time, trying to enjoy the day. Even though the sun is shining brightly, it isn't too hot. The wind is blowing kind of hard which is giving the whole day a pleasant feeling. There are definitely worse places that I could have landed.

When we dock on the island, I get a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. I don't know what's causing it or what it means, but I've changed my mind. I don't want to be on the island. I want to go back home. "Kairi, I think I'm going to go back. I don't feel like being here. I just want to go back to bed."

"No, Dexlin. You have spent enough time in bed these past couple of weeks. I know you have been through a lot, but you are never going to get through this from your bed. Please. Do it for me."

Again, she didn't give me a chance to respond, just grabbing me by my wrist and dragging me across the beach. I put a small fight, but not much of one because I knew I wouldn't win. Kairi was going to make me whether I wanted to or not. She seems to have made it her personal mission to make me feel better.

Walking around a group of trees, I see the guys standing on the beach with a fire built in the middle. Sora and Riku wave at us as we walk closer. But something stopped me. My arm fell out of Kairi's hand and over to my side. There's a third person standing by the fire. And I know him.

Roxas turns around and sees me. His big, toothy smile is stretched across his face. I can't move. Surely, I'm still dreaming. I have to be. Roxas is not standing on this beach. It's all in my imagination. Wake up, Dexlin. Wake up!

"Dexlin!" It's Roxas's voice. It's real. I am not making this all up.

"Go on. He's been waiting for you." Kairi steps off to the side.

I don't need to be told twice. Sand flies behind me as I take off down the beach. Roxas runs towards me too. We're so close that I don't care that I've almost tripped and fallen on my face or that I probably look totally ridiculous. All that matters is that I get to Roxas.

We're so close now. I all but jump off the sand into his arms. He catches me, holding his ground so that my force doesn't knock us to the ground. "Roxas. Roxas. Roxas." I can't think of anything else to say. His name is the only thing that will come out of my mouth. I can't believe it. He's real. I'm actually touching him.

"Oh, I've missed you so much, Dexlin."

"How is this possible?" I pull back to look into his blue eyes. They are filling up with tears.

"Sora and I decided to be separate. Two bodies. Two hearts."

"But for how long?"

He hasn't stopped smiling since I first saw him, even with the tears. "For good. I don't have to rejoin with Sora unless we both want to. I'm free, Dexlin."

Finally. This is what I've been waiting for since I first stepped into that creepy mansion. I had resigned myself to believe that it would never happen. The only comfort I got was that he was part of something bigger. But I don't have to worry anymore. He's here and nothing will ever take him away again.

Sora, Kairi, and Riku stand near the fire, watching us like we're the most interesting sight ever. Maybe, to them, we are. It's not everyday that you get to see two people who have been apart for so long, finally end up together.

Our reunion can't last forever. It's Riku who finally breaks us up. "I hate to stop this, but there are a couple things that we have to take care of."

Roxas takes my hand and walks me towards the fire. Sora is standing there holding a bunch of clothes in his hands. It takes me a second to realize what it is. The black overcoat I was wearing when I arrived on Destiny Island. "We figured we would let you decide what to do with this."

I take the coat. I didn't realize how heavy it was before. Just holding it fills my mind with images of Xemnas and the anger that I felt when I attacked Sora. How could I have been that person? Without hesitating, I throw the coat onto the fire. The flames quickly start to eat away at the material until the whole thing is on fire, taking that angry person with it.

"And what about this?"

Riku is holding the sword. That's what caused all of this. It fed off my anger, making it grow until it was uncontrollable. Would a simple fire be enough to destroy such an evil weapon? Could I be the one who throws it in?

I reach out, scared to take the sword. What if it controls me again, making me attack my friends? I don't know if I'm more powerful then the sword. I wrap my fingers around the handle and hold the sword in front of me.

Nothing. No anger washing over me. No hatred for my friends. I'm safe. The sword can't control my anger if I don't have any. I have people who care about me and Roxas is back. There is nothing for me to be angry about. I'm happy.

The sword starts glowing in my hand. The light is too bright to look at. We all turn away until the light fades away. Instead of the evil sword, I'm now holding a Keyblade. It's black with a silver stripe spiraling around the handle and up the blade. Sunlight reflects off it. I turn the new Keyblade over to get a view of the whole thing. It's beautiful.

"What does this mean?"

Roxas, Riku, and Kairi stare at each other, just as confused as I am. Sora steps forward. "I think it means welcome to the family."

Family. Is there any better word to hear?

End Volume One