Axel laid in bed, it was still a bit early in the morning. Most of the town was still asleep but not Axel. Today was the day shit would hit the fan, the annual Struggle would begin in a few hours. And he had a lot of work to do.

First step make breakfast for Roxas and his friends. Usually it'd just be him and Roxas but it became a tradition to invite the other kids over for a hearty breakfast before the big event. Pancakes, waffles, some omelets, bacon. Coffee for himself and Pence, tea for Olette, and OJ for Hayner and Roxas. It may seem like a big breakfast, but for four teenagers, Axel figured it was about right. It also helped that the kid's parents would drop off supplies the day before. It didn't long before Roxas peeked his head from around the corner.

"Is that breakfast?"

"Yep. your friends should get here soon, why don't you get dressed so you can help me set up the table."

Roxas nodded and ran back upstairs, Axel couldn't help but to smile at kid. 'He certainly has come a long way, at least he's not a zombie anymore. Oh well, they can't stay little forever.' Axel sighed a bit before getting back to cooking.

Roxas appeared again not too long afterwards and before he knew it there four kiddos chowing down. Hayner and Roxas chatted about their upcoming fight, Axel enjoyed a nice conversation with Olette when he noticed Pence was unusually quiet.

"Yo Pence, is something wrong? You barely touched your food."

At the sound of his voice the other kids quieted down and stared at Pence. Indeed, the boy's plate was still mostly untouched, something rare and worrying coming from Pence.

Pence frowned at he stared intensely at a piece of paper in his hands. "Something's not right."

Olette scooted closer to him, "What's not right?"

Pence passed her the paper, "The Struggle bracket, normally Roxas or Hayner start off by facing off against Rai but this time..." Axel peered over Olette's shoulder. Even Hayner and Roxas huddled over them. Pence continued "...This time he's facing off someone name Xi?"

"WHAT?! Lemme see that!" Hayner grabbed the from Olette, much to her protest. And scanned it faster than anyone thought was possible. His face pale a bit, he could feel his lips dry up. "I'm facing off against Fuu?" His prompted a soft gasp from the rest of the group, especially from Roxas.

"But I always fight Fuu! Who am I fighting?" Roxas all but whined.

Pence didn't even hesitate to answer, "Seifer is starting off by Setzer in the first honorary round so he automatically passes to the next round. Then it is Rai vs the mysterious X, Hayner vs Fuu, and Roxas vs Vivi."

The small was silent for a moment before Roxas just spoke up again. "Well that's just stupid."

Axel laughed it off. "Whatever the case you kids finish up eating. Think off this little shake up as a way to test yourselves. Now eat, I have to open up the restaurant soon. And hey, why we're here, why don't you kids stop by after the tournament. I'll add a little something extra for the winner."

Roxas and Hayner grinned at each other then at the redhead, "You're on."

There was a warm feeling in Axel's chest began to grow, something about these kids just made him feel like himself. There was just one thing missing, or better yet, there was someone missing. Whether or not anyone realized there was an extra space on the table for one more person. He could feel the corners of his lips twitch downwards.

'No, she'll be here soon. Just gotta wait a little longer, you already have Roxas, she'll be here. And then we'll be together,' He watched fondly as the kids interacted before cleaning up and getting ready to go. Roxas waved at him with a smile, 'Whatever time they give us here, I'll make sure we make the most of it.'

The restaurant that day was at its peak. It was the day of the annual Struggle tournament, one of the busiest days of the year for Axel. Even though his restaurant wasn't near the Sandlot, he could still see the crowd of people making their way towards the festivities. Not the mention the occasional cheerful roar of the crowd that marked the start or end of a match. Occasionally he would send an employee to check in on the matches. Hayner and Roxas have won their first matches against Fuu and Vivi, "Xi" won their fight against Rai as well. He could feel the pride growing within him.

He kept eyeing the clock, as per Struggle tradition, the stores along the Market Commons would close just before the semi-finale. With any luck he would close shop just before the final round. This year, Twilight Town would have the biggest Struggle match it had in years he was sure of it. There was another round of faint cheering, minutes later one of his delivery guys burst into the restaurant. The poor kid was red and out of breath, but his face was pure joy.

"Boss! You won't believe it!"

Axel feigned ignorance, "Won't believe what, come on spill it."

The kid grinned even wider, "The newcomer! They were amazing! I never seen someone move so fast, they did these backflips and cartwheels! Seifer couldn't even land a single hit! You should have seen it boss. And the whole time they were in the air they didn't drop a single ball. And then Seifer actually admitted he lost! He shook their hand! No threats or nothing!"

"An honest defeat, something rare from our self-proclaimed sheriff. Get the rest of workers, we're closing up shop a bit earlier than usual. Something tells me we're not going to want to miss the upcoming matches."

The kid nodded eagerly, "You got it boss. HEY GUYS-!"

Axel laughed as his employees scrambled to close the store. By the time they closed the shop and made their way to the Sandlot, the second match of the second round was had just ended. It was Roxas vs Hayner, Hayner was already making his way towards them as Roxas was being interviewed by the announcer. He huffed but took his loss in good spirit, he instead focused on the next match. The match for the third-place winner, Seifer vs Hayner. It gave Roxas a chance to meet up with the group.

"Axel you made it"

"And miss my little brother get his butt kicked, wouldn't miss it for the world."

Roxas frowned a bit, "Well that's not very encouraging."

Axel reached over and ruffled his hair, "You know I'm just messing with you. So, it's you and the newcomer in the final round, you nervous?"

Roxas nodded slightly, "A little bit, I saw part of their fight with Seifer. They were fast, Axel. I could hardly keep up with them! But there was something else."

"Hmm?"

"It's weird, watching them, it was almost like I knew them from somewhere. Weird huh, they felt so familiar. And that's saying something, considering they somehow kept their hood up the whole time!"

Axel chuckled, "You mean you don't even know what they look like, yet?"

Roxas huffed a bit, "Oh what, and you do?"

Axel placed his finger over his lips, "Mayyybbbeee." Roxas gasped and was about to retaliate when Hayner poked his head into the conversation.

"Hey Roxas, your match is about to start up. The announcer needs you in the arena."

Roxas nodded and blew a raspberry at Axel as he left.

Hayner leaned towards Axel, "So wait you actually know the guy Roxas is fighting against?"

"I know the girl, yeah."

Hayner's face scrunched up in confusion, "Girl?"

Axel smiled, "Yeah her name is..."

The point of Struggle is simple, you win by earning more points than your opponent. Each person is given a velcro vest and helmet which contain 50 balls per person. The goal of the sport is to either collect all 100 balls or to have the most amount of balls before time runs out. You do this by hitting your opponent with soft bats especially designed for Struggle. There are usually three types of players. The offense type, those like Hayner, Roxas and Seifer, who prefer to use their strength. The defensive type, like Fuu, Rai and Vivi. And finally, the evasive type, who were a balance of the two previous players. Their speed and agility made them hard to hit, but it also made them hard hitters.

Just like Roxas's opponent, which frustrated him to no end. He would swing his bat only for them they would be only a few inches out of reach. He'd swing again and suddenly they were behind him. Roxas could feel the impact on his back, he was losing point fast. At this rate he had lost too many points to be able to make up for it with whatever little time was left.

'Damn it, come on it's not over yet, I still have a chance.' Roxas blocked a frontal attack and the opportunity to counterattack, gaining some extra points on the process. He had his chance, he raised his bat and swung it hard against their side. Knocking more ball off the process. They gasp as the bat struck them, something about their voice.

Roxas hesitated, and that was all it took. They gripped their bat harder and landed a triple combo hit. One on the left side, another on the right and the final over the head that caused him to nearly fall out of the arena.

'Crap, if I don't finish them now. Come on Roxas, three, two, one, GO!' Roxas dodge rolled into several pf the balls that have fallen off him, regaining some points he lost. He crouched in front of them, launching his bat at their chest as he jumped up. The other person was pushed back...

... just hard enough for their hood to fall back with them.

Black hair peaked from under the hood.

Roxas frozen as their face was revealed. No, not they but her, her face.

Xion…

Time stopped for Roxas. 'Xi…on… Xion's here…"

He was so focused in his thoughts, he forgot until about the Struggle until Xion smacked the side of his helmet causing him to fall to the ground.

There was a loud crowd roared a powerful cheer. The match was over but all he could focus on was the person in front of him with her hand extended out towards him. Their cheers slowed until the world around him came to a stop. Time itself paused for them.

"Roxas! I'm so sorry, you were supposed to block I didn't mean to hit you so hard! Here," she said.

He reached out to her as she helped him up. It was her, Xion. "Xion," he said breathlessly, "you're here, you're actually back. How?"

She grinned at him but before she could respond he felt a hand on his shoulder. Xion smiled even wider. "Axel!"

Axel waved at her, "Yo, glad to see you finally met Roxas. Roxas this is Xion, Xion this is my kid brother Roxas. I'm sure you two have met before." He winked at her, she giggled and winked back. Once again Roxas felt out of the loop. "Come on Roxas, don't be shy."

Roxas just stuttered, he was so confused. "A-Axel? What's going on?"

Axel mused and looked around him, the townsfolk were suspended in animation. "Maybe now's not the best to talk, too many people you know. Not sure how much longer Namine can keep them like this."

"Na..mine?" Another familiar thing that was just out Roxas's grasp.

Xion perked up, "She is helping us, I knew it!" She was smiling, nothing like the sad smile Roxas had last seen on her that fateful day at the Clock Tower.

"Yep, now why don't we let this seen play out. Xion, you know where to find me." With that Axel disappeared back into the crowd. The people slowly came back to live, they cheered for Xion, the new Struggle champion. Roxas's friends ran up to them with a swarm of questions. Xion was quickly introduced to the group. They even took a picture of all five of them with her trophy and even had a nice dinner at the restaurant. It was a grand time for the two young nobodies. But eventually the festivities winded down, Xion and Roxas made their way to place very familiar to them.

"The clock tower," he mumbled out.

Xion pointed at the top, "Axel's already waiting for us, you ready."

Roxas stared at her, he still couldn't believe it. She was back and this time he wouldn't let her go. He let her lead them to where his "brother" was waiting for them. He didn't know exactly what was going on, but he had a strange feeling that everything would be alright. Especially now that the three of them finally found each other.

RESTORATION: 85% COMPLETE...

Riku watched over the multiple pods in the room. There was no sign of the Organization yet, he suspected once Sora woke up that would change. DiZ hasn't shown up either, which was a huge relief. He seemed very annoyed that Riku "Altered" the data to include Axel and Xion, but to everyone's surprise Sora's memories were being restored at a much faster rate than expected. So DiZ let it slide.

There was another presence behind him. He felt at ease if she was here then something good must have happened.

Namine walked up to him and stood at his side for a moment before speaking up. "They finally found each other."

Riku smiled a bit, "Is that so, that was faster than expected. Although that would explain why Sora looks so happy." They turned to the sleeping boy in the pod. He looked so peaceful, there was a small smile decorating his face. "How much time do they have?"

"At least two or three days, it won't be long before they awaken."

Riku nodded, "Then let's give them the best two days of their lives."

Namine pouted in confusion, "How so?"

Riku felt like being rebellious, DiZ would not be happy about this but screw him. After Sora awakened, Riku wasn't planning on sticking around. Not to mention how horribly the man treated Namine, Riku was not letting her stay behind either. "How about, we give them a beach?"

A/N: Boom, slight rewrite. Very slight. There wont be much of a difference from the first couple of chapters, but it'll be more noticeable in later chapters.

~Ink