When the time comes, Xion's glad Roxas is with her.

It doesn't hurt, really, at least not physically. What hurts the most is the way Roxas's eyes grow blank, the way his eyebrows draw closer in the middle, the unspoken "Who are you?" that hangs in the air between them. Xion thinks that she could have lived her whole life —ha, her whole life, this is it— without seeing that expression on Roxas, and she closes her eyes to avoid it.

"You'll be better off now," and she's trying to convince herself more than him, because she so desperately wants it to be true. It has to be true, because otherwise this would be for nothing, when it's meant to be the solution to everything. She hopes.

"Please don't be sad," she tells him, one hand rising to gently stroke a damp cheek. "I'll always be with you, don't worry. I'm always with you. Don't forget it, now." She watches the crystals fall from her fingertips.

Roxas's eyes widen in recognition, and he watches the ice float away from her body. "Xion… Xion!" His voice cracks, raw and hoarse. "No, you can't leave, who else will I have ice cream with, who else will be my friend?"

Xion smiles, soft and slow, and breathes the words out because it feels like her lungs are filling with water. "You have Axel, of course. I'm glad you…Remembered." It hurts now, her bones are chilled to the core, and Xion closes her eyes as tears slide down her face.

She doesn't remember the next few minutes, not really, but she remembers waking up on a beach. It's sunny and still, no hint of wind fluttering the leaves on the palm trees, and as she sits up Xion hears a voice.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Xion," she replies, wrapping her arms slowly around her knees. "I've been missing from you for a while, but I'm back now."

"Well, did you have fun while you were gone?" The voice is light, teasing, and Xion hides her smile against her knees. She doesn't feel like crying, anymore.

"I did," she tells Sora, "I had a lot of fun. But I'll miss my friends. It hurts, a little bit."

"Of course it does! But you'll see them again. I just know it, Xion. Don't be sad."

Xion lifts her head then, staring up at the endless blue sky, and laughs shortly. "Alright, Sora. You've got to wake up, first."

"Wake up?"

"Yep. You'll see."