End to Beginning

"The ocean...it's beautiful." Xion stared at the shifting waves, the water in perpetual motion. She rolled her head back. 'I hope Isa is okay, I let a normal human go through the darkness like it was nothing.'

As her eyes were focused on the waves, studying each curvature and form, suddenly, the waves stopped rolling and the ocean went completely still. Ostensibly, undisturbed by the outside elements. Xion stood up, her keyblade in hand, 'Something's coming.'

"This world is just too small."

Xion spun herself around and saw Xehanort walking towards her, calm as usual. "I suppose you want to take me back now and turn me into one of your puppets," She said.

"Precisely."

"I won't let that happen! My friends are counting on me to get back home!"

"Not to worry, I'll make sure your stay is permanent."

'He's arrogant because he knows he can win. That's okay, I'm not interested in fighting him. I do have to incapacitate him, somehow, at least long enough for me to escape.' Reeling her keyblade back, Xion bolted towards Xehanort and their keyblades clashed together. 'He has a keyblade?!' She backed away from him.

'Not even Xemnas has a keyblade, so who is this guy?' Xion wasn't given much time to dwell on his identity when several dark spheres spiraled at her. She dodged the first several, then used her keyblade to reflect the rest of the onslaught.

When the last of the dark spheres dissipated into nothingness, Xehanort teleported behind Xion and grabbed her by the hair. Xion swiftly kicked him in the stomach, which seemed to do the trick since he released hold of her.

'I guess his old age is showing. Maybe this will work!' "Firaga!" She lit his body in a blazing fire that swallowed him whole.

While the fire was still going, Xion ran the hell away from him only to be stopped dead in her tracks. Though her body movements paused, her mind was racing a million miles an hour for answers. 'This isn't good, but maybe I can use this stop spell to my advantage.' Once the stop spell ran its course, she decided to remain still and wait for Xehanort to come to her. The moment she felt his presence slither up her spine, Xion spun around, hoping to catch Xehanort off guard and wasted no time in casting 'Thundaga', followed by a 'Blizzaga' spell on him.

He was rendered a mere block of ice frozen to the sand, which Xion went as far as to cast 'Stopga' on him as well for safe measure. 'There goes all of my magic, but that should be enough.'

"Are you done, girl?" Xehanort asked, strolling up behind her. He smirked. "Ah, those eyes filled with hopelessness. That boy looked at me the same way when I sent him to his grave."

"What're you talking about?! You did something to Roxas, didn't you?! I knew I couldn't trust you!"

"Don't humor me. Now submit or I'll have to leave you just barely alive so I can drag you into the darkness. There's no one left to save you."

Xion couldn't fight back the tears welled up in her eyes and streaming down her face as much as she hated to cry in front of him. "This pain I feel, it's proof, isn't it? That there's something beating inside of me! So how could you have a heart and still...and still be so heartless?!" She cried.

"You lack an understanding of what a heart is. Even worse, you lack an understanding of yourself. A heart means nothing if you don't who you are."

She sunk to her knees, her tears absorbed into the white sand. "...If having a heart means you're no better than a nobody, then what am I even fighting for?!" Xion grasped a handful of sand, then watched it slip between the crevices of her fingers. "I mean, what am I fighting for?"

"So you understand now? Good. On your feet." Xehanort snapped his fingers and a dark portal appeared. When Xion gazed into the endless abyss waiting for her, she remembered exactly why she was fighting.

"No...I have to live," Xion said, standing to her feet. "At least long enough to know exactly who I am. And I can't do that if you take me away. My place is with my friends and I'd die before you tell me otherwise."

"I see, then why don't we test that theory." Xehanort summoned his keyblade, gripping it tightly in one hand, but before he could take a forward, he suddenly cast a protect barrier around himself.

'I know that's not for me, what is he doing?' Her answer came when a blonde haired boy slammed his keyblade on the barrier, then was forced to jump back.

"Roxas?" The boy ran towards Xion, then grabbed her arm. "No...it's you Ven."

"We gotta get away from here!" He pointed at the giant, flaming meteor falling down towards Xehanort. Ventus and Xion retreated back to the shoreline so they wouldn't get caught in the blast. The resulting explosion from the impact swallowed a big chunk of the beach and created glass shards that stuck out of the charred ground.

"Cool, huh," Ventus remarked.

"Sure, that wasn't terrifying at all."

"Aqua learned it from Terra, big explosions aren't really her style, but she thought it was necessary for Xehanort."

"So Aqua's here too?"

"Uh huh, no way I could pull off something like that."

While the dust settled, a metallic keyblade sliced through the black clouds and Aqua emerged from the debris. She pointed her keyblade at the dust. "Aero!" The dust was blown away by a powerful gust of wind, yet Xehanort was nowhere to be seen. Not even any traces of his remains.

"You think he's still on the island?" Xion asked.

"Don't know, last time he took Roxas away. He's probably in the shadows somewhere, waiting," Ventus said.

"At least he's gone."

"Xion! Are you okay?" Aqua asked, rushing to her. Xion nodded in reply, bringing a small smile to her face. "Xion...Roxas told us to tell you he's sorry. And I'm sorry we couldn't save him ourselves, he disappeared in my arms."

"Oh? Maybe he's okay after all. How did you guys find me anyway?"

"Isa told us you were at a beach and that's all we needed. He looked really upset," Ventus explained.

"Well I did have to fore him to leave. At least he's safe now, but I don't know if I'll be for long. Xehanort is waiting for me. If I go back to Radiant Garden, him or one of his goons will find me again. I don't what to do."

"If you need somewhere to hide, I know the perfect place. It'll keep you safe for a few days," Aqua said.

"That's all I need." She started tearing up again. "Thank you guys so much for everything, I don't know what would've happened to me if you hadn't shown up."

Aqua and Ventus smiled at her.

"'Course! That's what friends are for!" Ventus boasted.

Aqua nodded. "That's right. We'll always have each other to count on."

"...thank you, thank you so much, Aqua, Ven."

—

"So how long are you gonna lay around on the street?"

"I don't know, until..." Roxas trailed off when he saw Axel looking down on him, worried. He caught himself before he said 'Lea' and mumbled out, "Axel," as if he didn't believe he was real, standing right there.

"Been a while, huh?" Axel continued. "But, it's not like I missed you or anything-"

Roxas hugged Axel, squeezing him as hard as he could just to make sure he was real. "I missed you Axel... I'm glad you're here."

"..."

"Axel?" He glanced up and saw Axel wiping his face with his arm.

"Stupid kid, you think I actually cared? You should know better."

"Yeah, I should, I got that memorized."

"Uh...Hey, wait a minute, where's Xion?"

"...It's a long story. I'll tell you at the clock tower."

Axel used the darkness while Roxas was stuck getting there on foot, still lacking his Organization cloak. By the time Roxas reached the clock tower, Axel already made himself comfortable and was leaning back on the clock face. "You sure took your time," He commented when Roxas arrived.

Roxas made a low grumble in response, then plopped down on the ledge. He looked over at Axel who returned it with a what're-you-waiting-for look. 'It's not like I can tell Axel exactly what happened, he won't believe me and it'll probably make things awkward.' "...Me and Xion were trapped in another world, and then..." He clenched his knees so he could mask how furious he was at himself. "You won't believe it, I actually lost her."

"Don't beat yourself up, kid. Which world were you at, we can find her together."

He shook his head. "I don't really know where it is or even where to begin. So I'll just wait for her right here."

"You're not going back to the castle?"

"So Saïx can murder me? No thanks. I'll wait for Xion, no matter how long it takes."

"I get it, you guys are gonna die together."

"Yep, wouldn't have it any other way. How's the Organization anyway?"

Axel rubbed the back of his head. "It's pretty bad. Without the keyblade to collect hearts, no one feels responsible for anything so the work ethic is practically nonexistent. The boss has been pretty quiet, but Saïx told me he'd kill you if you weren't already dead."

"Seriously?! I have to go back to that?"

"Well it has been two weeks."

"Two weeks?!" He yelled. "But we've only been gone for a few days!"

"Don't look at me, time flows differently in each world, that's why our assignments can only last so long."

"Damn it, and all the hearts I'll have to collect! Maybe it's better if he did kill me!"

"Heh heh, don't worry, you won't have to go through it alone. Xion'll be there with you."

"But you're gonna keep your distance, huh?"

"Hey, I'll support you from the sidelines. Listen, between you and me, I bet you can definitely beat Saïx in a fight any day!"

"Oh gee, thanks, and if he beats me to a bloody pulp in the process?"

"Got tons of cures and potions for ya." Axel stood up. "Well, I'm gonna let the Organization know you're still missing. But I'll be back tomorrow, let me know if Xion turns up, alright?"

"I will, also, can you get me an Organization cloak? This school uniform is so uncomfortable."

"Yeah, sure. I'll get that memorized. Bye now!"

"See ya!" Roxas gazed out at the sunset. 'Wonder how long it'll be 'till Xion can see the sunset with me?'

Seconds turned into minutes, turned into hours, turned into a day of staring at the sunset. Roxas drifted back and forth between sleep and awake, he eventually shut his eyes, and when he opened them back up, Axel was smirking at him.

"Morning sleeping beauty, looks like you're serious about the whole not going back to the castle thing."

"I told you I'll wait for her."

"I got something for you, here," Axel threw Roxas an Organization cloak.

"Ah, thanks." He slipped the cloak over his body, feeling a sense of nostalgia with the heavy black leather on his back again. "Not being able to use the darkness really sucks."

"I bet it does, you know, it's almost been two days since you've decided to stay here."

"It can be two weeks for all I care. I got everything I need here."

"Don't lie to yourself, bet your back is killing you."

Roxas gave Axel an exhausted expression. "Eh, how'd you know?"

"Just a wild guess. And I don't think laying on the concrete is that comfortable."

"—I don't know, sounds just like a dumb thing Roxas would do," Xion said, casually joining them at the clock tower.

Her voice, it had to be her voice that he hadn't heard in what felt like years that got him first. Or maybe it was her face, full of life and vibrancy. Whichever it was, it took Roxas by surprise and it made him fall off the clock tower ledge. Xion rushed over to the ledge, ready to jump after him if Axel didn't hold her back.

"Geez Xion, didn't think you had a death wish," Axel said.

"Huh, but, Roxas he's..."

Right then, a dark portal manifested beside them and Roxas walked out from the darkness, grinning. "Ha ha, you should've seen the dopey look on your face, Xion!"

"Very funny Roxas." Xion stomped on his foot first, then embraced him. She wished she wouldn't have to let go so this feeling of being in his arms and her head resting on his chest would last forever. "Did you miss me?"

"Nope."

She smiled. "Me neither. I just want it to stay like this."

"I know. I don't ever want to let you go."

"Ugh. When'd you guys get so corny?" Axel interrupted.

"Axel!" Xion let go of Roxas to hug Axel, which Roxas joined and the three shared a long-awaited group hug. "It's so good to see everyone again. I missed you so much Axel!"

"Yeah, m...me too."

"Are you crying, Axel?" Xion asked.

"N-No! Of course not, shut up!"

They let go of each other. "So you two ready to go back, and finally put the Organization at rest," Axel said.

Xion sighed. "Back to that place again, huh."

"It won't be so bad." Roxas wrapped his fingers around Xion's hand, then gave it a reassuring squeeze. "As long as you're here with me, I can do anything for you."

"Heh heh, that sounded so hokey. Being away for so long made us go soft." She leaned on his shoulder. "I'm ready to go home."

Diary Entry #68

It's been a month since me and Xion returned to the Organization and I think things are beginning to go back to normal. Somehow, I'm still playing catch up for all the hearts we didn't collect...

Saïx was pretty pissed when he first saw us, think he yelled at us for an hour straight before calming himself down. And then he yelled some more. I don't care as much now, Xion told me about how cool Isa was and how much he changed when they were stuck on Destiny Islands together, I don't buy it—the cool part, but he kept Xion safe so I can't be that mad.

Besides, I think Saïx warmed up to us a little bit, which isn't saying much, but he did start calling Xion by 'she' and 'her'. He didn't use to do that, and I don't think he realizes it either. Oh well, it made Xion happy. But I'm pretty sure the murderous intent Saïx had went to Xigbar 'cause he always looks like he wants to kill me. Xaldin isn't ever happy to see me either, not that he ever was.

Axel's been a lot more open with us too, he even talks about his past as a human sometimes, but it's not so much a mystery anymore. I slipped up and called him Lea on accident, but he didn't mind, he even said it was okay. Wonder how Saïx would feel if I called him Isa? Probably wouldn't like it.

Well, I'm just avoiding it now at this point. Me and Xion went out a lot together, I didn't ever wanna leave her side and she didn't ever wanna leave mine. I think I even loved her, is that even real for nobodies? I need a heart first to know for sure, but I still wanted to tell her. I wish I did.

Oh right, she's gone now.

I guess It all started since we got back, I knew she was hiding something, but she wouldn't tell me and kept insisting she was fine. She'd ask from time to time why we were fighting and why we even needed hearts, I didn't know. I saw her less and less, then one day she gave me a kiss and told me she didn't know if she would see me again. That was three days ago. I wonder where she is now.

I remember it now...all of it

It all started on that day

The day I first met you

A/N: This is the last chapter so I thought it was appropriate to leave it on an ambiguous note in typical kh style. In any case, it's been a wild ride, thanks for staying on board and enjoying RE:wind :)

Oh and to clear up any confusion, Aqua and Ven took Xion to the land of departure to stay where she waited 37 hours until her time was up. Xehanort cast dispel on Roxas in chapter 6 to rid him of the spell the heartless cast on him. Also, Aqua can't actually learn the spell 'meteor' in KHBBS which is why added that conspicuous line about Terra teaching Aqua the spell. Xehanort's properly done with all their shit so he basically gave up on Xion lmao.