Roxas wakes up as the first light of the day makes its way through the window. He slowly opens his eyes, adjusting to the light. Pulling back the blanket, he pushes himself up into a sitting position. His hand runs through his already messy hair. "Dexlin?" His sleepy voice fills the empty room. "Dexlin, where are you?" He gets out of the bed and stretches his back. He looks around to see if I might be hiding in one of the corners, but doesn't see me anywhere. "Dex?"

He knows something is wrong. He can feel it.

Running across the room, Roxas throws open the doors to the balcony. "Dexlin?" The balcony is empty. The only thing that he can see is the sun coming up over the Crystalline Gardens. There's no sign of me anywhere.

Roxas is getting scared now. His heart beats faster. The idea that I am just downstairs doesn't even cross his mind. He knows I'm not there. He knows something is wrong.

He runs to the railing and searches around. He doesn't know what he's looking for, but something is telling him to look on the ground. "No, please."

And then he sees me. I'm barely a dot to him from all the way up in the tower, but he knows it's me running towards the tall crystals.

"DEXLIN! NO!"

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'This is all my fault.'

I'm not paying attention to the pain in my legs. I just focus on the running, getting one foot in front of the other. Just on the other side of the large crystals in front of me is the Black Fortress and Xemnas.

'This is all my fault. I'm the only one who can stop it. It has to be me.'

"DEXLIN! NO!"

I hear Roxas's voice coming from the castle. I don't stop, or turn around. I don't even acknowledge that I heard him. He's going to follow me, but I have enough of a head start that he will never catch me in time. I have to do this without him.

'This is all my fault.'

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The front door to the Fortress is already open. Was Xemnas waiting for me? Did he know that I would be coming?

Walking inside, I find a sight that scares me to death. The walls are all black. They have what look like veins running along the halls. It's like the whole building is alive, like a giant beating heart. It doesn't help that there is hardly any light making its way in.

Slowly I make my way through the building, not really knowing where I'm going. I'm letting my instincts guide me through. I know somehow I am going to find Xemnas if I just keep walking. Or he'll find me. One way or another, this is going to end.

I can see a small light further down the hall. It's not very bright, but it's enough for me to see a little bit of the walls. They are even creepier when I can see them because I see slight movement in them. It's like the walls have a heartbeat.

I finally make my way down to the source of the small light and find myself in the largest room I have ever seen. Judging from the echo of my footsteps, the room might go all the way up to the top of the Black Fortress.

"I knew you would come to find me, Dexlin."

Without even having to call for it, the Keyblade is in my hand. I have never been more ready for a fight before. He just needs to stop hiding in shadows and echoes.

"Your Keyblade will not help you now."

"Hiding won't help you, Xemnas. I'm here to end this."

Now I can see him. He's floating down, slowly emerging from the darkness of the ceiling. He looks like he's recovered from the previous fight quickly. He also looks a lot more confident than I feel. But I know that I can do this. I have to. It's the only way to save Roxas and the others.

"Why do so desire to fight me, Dexlin? I knew from the very first time I sensed you in my castle that you were destined to join me. You are a Nobody after all. Your place is by my side. Now and forever."

I can feel a weight being dropped in my stomach. "You knew? You knew who I was when you pulled me in that dark world?"

"Foolish child, I've known about you since you were created. My idiot of a Heartless made you who you are; it was only natural that I knew what he had done."

"Then why didn't you tell me sooner? Why did you leave me in the dark if I was destined to join you?"

"Because you were weak. You would not have survived a minute in my Organization. So sad and lonely you were. But in the end, Roxas was the same, if not worse. He was weak, wanting to meet his other half."

"What's different now? Are you so desperate for members that you are willing to take me in now?"

"You have undergone a transformation that I did not expect. You have grown stronger. Your arrival here without your friends is proof of that. If I had known what it would do to you, I would have told you about your origins at the very beginning."

"You monster!" I leap into the air and throw myself towards Xemnas, my Keyblade ready for attack.

He only has a split second to prepare for my attack, but he uses it wisely. His red, glowing swords are ready to block me. That isn't going to be enough to stop me. The force of my swing breaks through his block, knocking him to the ground. He automatically rebounds by shooting fire vines, which miss me by just an inch. The fight is on.

We throw swing after swing at each other. Not many of them break through, but some of them do. I am fighting harder and better than I ever thought I would. All those days sitting in my room back in Twilight Town, I never thought I would be locked in a battle for my life with someone trying to take over the worlds. There are a lot of things about myself that I hadn't thought of.

Xemnas loops his arm through mine and, after a couple spins, he sends me flying across the room. Luckily, I right myself and land on my feet, sliding to a stop. In his hand, Xemnas makes Lexaeus's tomahawk appear and he throws it at me. I don't know how I manage it but, by some miracle I catch it by the handle. It's like it has a life of its own. I can barely hang on as it changes directions and heads back towards Xemnas. I lose track of how many times it hits him because I am being spun around in every different direction. I do see Xemnas being slammed into the ground again. As soon as I let go of the tomahawk it disappears into thin air.

He moves faster than my eyes can follow him. Before I can step out if his way, he grabs the front of my shirt. "I grow tired of you. Join me or I will no longer bother keeping you alive." He throws me in the air hard.

I fly higher and higher without showing any traces of slowing down. The floor is getting smaller and smaller as I fly. The light is getting dimmer as I move towards the ceiling. This is the highest I've ever been. I'm so high that I don't think I could survive the fall back down to the ground. Surely, that is Xemnas's plan.

As I slow down and start falling, I try to plan a way to survive. It has to be something that Xemnas is not expecting so that he can't stop me. But what? And it hits me. I'm a Nobody. I'm just like Xemnas. So that means that I should be able to control those portals just like him.

Trying to focus all of my attention on the spot in front of me, I imagine a portal opening in front of me. It is rather hard to not to think about the fact that I am hurtling towards the ground. But this has to work. Please let this work.

And then right before my eyes, I see it. A small spot of darkness against the dim light. It spreads, like a flower opening. Without being able to slow myself down, I fly into it before it is completely finished forming, plunging myself into darkness. I see the path I want to take immediately. It's not very long because I only want to go to the other side of this room. I try to build up speed because being in the dark corridor makes me uncomfortable.

Another portal opens right above Xemnas's head. I fly out of it feet first, kicking Xemnas right in the back. Now that would have come in handy on all those days I was late for school.

Xemnas groans as he tries to pick himself up of the ground.

"What's the matter, Xemnas? I'm not as easy to kill as you thought I would be?"

He pulls himself to his feet. "You are still no match for me. Your luck will run out very soon."

I get ready to slam my Keyblade into him again, but he strikes first. He kicks me in the stomach sending me flying back in the air. I can deal with this. I'll just open another portal and attack him again. But I think Xemnas is ready for that too. In a blur he is next to me, floating along as I fly backwards. Then just as quickly, his red swords are out.

Unbelievable pain shoots through my whole body as he slams one of the swords into my back with all of his strength. It immediately sends me flying in the other directions, towards the floor. I land on my back, causing myself even more pain. Tears start to form in my eyes from how bad it hurts.

I can't move. I can't even feel my legs through the pain. The taste of blood fills my mouth. It even hurts to breathe. I don't know if it's just the pain in my head or the room is actually getting darker.

I see Xemnas moving. He's walking in my direction until he is standing over me. "Looks like it won't be as hard to kill you as you thought. Goodbye, Dexlin." He jumps in the air, holding his sword downward. Its tip is pointing directly at my chest.

So this is what it feels like to die. I'm not scared. I refuse to be scared. Xemnas may win this fight but he will never win me over like that. As I watch Xemnas move lower and lower closer towards me, I wait for it to end.

'I'm so sorry. For everything. I love you, Roxas.'

I close my eyes and wait.