Jello In A Fan

by Skell131

"It spread faster then jello in a fan and wasn't half as tasty" Axel, Riku and Roxas start out their morning with a trip to Patient First, but soon their day spirals into a nightmare; one that they might not make it out of alive.

Author's note

I hope you enjoy this lovely piece of writing. I did this after a fan fiction panel at Otakon and I got inspired to write something other then fluff. As for the genres, humor and horror are the main ones but it also includes friendship, romance, and action. My computer keeps deleting my work so I've retyped about half of this (Damn blue screen). I have also put some of my other stories on hold for this one, but they should be restarting soon. I thoroughly enjoyed writing this and I hope you have as much fun reading it. Enjoy!

*** ALSO! We will be making a trailer and (hopefully) a movie for this with the world's smallest budget. Here is the trailer - /watch?v=ovgFVVU6Qak

enter this into your URL because fanfiction hates youtube... Or go to our channel Sides Of Darkness

A huge thank you to Axel who gave me story ideas, edited, and sat with me as I tried to bang my head on the table in frustration. I am sorry for enter-tabbing you so much!

Explanation Point!

When Leon says his punctuation (You'll know what I'm talking about later) he says it in the same tone of voice as the rest of the sentence. Also this is how I imagine Leon in about ten years so his personality is a bit off.

Enjoy

JELLO IN A FAN

It started out like a normal day... well maybe... not really... okay, that was a total lie. It started out as a not-so-strange day for Axel and Riku. The pair had been sharing an apartment for eight months, enough time to learn everything and anything about the other, from morning breath to childhoods to aftershave preference, though neither of them really wished to know any of this. They attended a college a few blocks up; Axel, a pyrotechnics major, had never gone a week without blowing something up. His lean, tan frame drew in both women and men, not to mention struck fear into the local fire brigade. He could be found at the local bars mostly, no one was sure how he had gotten into college, or how he remained there; but one had to hand it to him, he had a way with fire.

Riku had met him in class one day and was forced to bail him out of jail the next. For some reason after that (Riku had never known why) the red-head had stayed with him. In truth, Riku had Axel's personality, he was just better at hiding it. And so their banter-ridden friendship began.

Their not-so-strange morning climaxed. Riku glared down at the burnt egg, his eyes seeming to singe it even more. A mountain of dirty dishes towered around him, most of them cracked and broken thanks to a certain someone. The silverette sighed and slid the charred egg into an already full trash can. He took some bacon out of the refrigerator and tried again, switching the burner back on.

"Hey Riku, what do you think about-"

A gush of flame shot up from the stove, the silverette lept backwards and yelled, sprinting to run water over his seared arms. The other doubled over laughing.

"Axel I thought I told you to stop messing with the frigging chemicals?" Riku shouted through gritted teeth. "Ah... FUUUUUUCK!" The cold water only burned more. His skin was already covered in blisters, the normally ivory tone replaced by an angry, throbbing red.

A groggy blond came down the steps, rubbing an eye wearily. "Jesus Riku, can't you be quiet? I'm still tired from last night," Roxas groaned.

Riku couldn't bear to shoot a death glare into those sapphire blue eyes, they were too much like his much more innocent brother's. Instead he stared down into the sink. "Just come take a look at this. Kick your boyfriend on the way over, he might just laugh himself to death, not that that would be such a bad thing."

The shorter boy strode over to him, ignoring his second request, his eyes skated over the mess and the frying pan. Roxas was in his first year of medical training and although didn't quite care enough about the human race to be a doctor, he liked innards enough to make up for it.

"Yeah, I'd say you need to go to Patient First."

At this Riku groaned in exasperation. "You really think so?"

Roxas looked straight into the aquamarine eyes, completely serious."If you don't they are going to get infected and you could get gangrene and have your arms amputated. Then how would you get into Sora's pants?" The last comment made Riku growl. "Oh, but that's right you don't want to ruin your friendship and you refuse to ask him out." Roxas smirked and backed off, knowing he had hit the normally apathetic silverette's nerve. "It's a second to third degree burn and it covers a large area of skin. Go to Patient First." the blond stated firmly.

Ten minutes later they were all piled into Roxas's 2011 Mitsubishi Lancer.

"Roxas... are you even old enough to drive?" Riku asked skeptically as they pulled out onto the road. He had his arms slightly elevated so as not to touch anything. The aforementioned boy scowled.

"I am 18! I'm just vertically challenged!"

"Pffft, vertically challenged? I think you mean midget."

"I'm not that short, you and Axel are just too tall!"

Riku smiled, knowing he had won the argument. Axel made a strangled gurgling noise from the backseat.

"How come I have to sit in the back?" he whined.

"Because it's my car," Roxas said.

"Because I have got third degree burns," Riku added.

"Because this is your fault."

"Or maybe it's because you still smell like kerosene or whatever else you were playing with?"

"Fine, I get the point." The red-head rolled his eyes. "So how long is this going to be?"

Riku groaned. "I would face-palm but I think that would hurt even more. Have you seen the lines at Patient First? This is going to be at least a five hour endeavour."

Riku winced as the nurse rubbed ointment onto the burns, closing his eyes as the dull throbbing settled in again. In a corner of the small room, Axel had gleefully put Roxas into a headlock. Riku shut his eyes as the pair crashed into an IV, sending it clattering to the ground and spraying them all with an ambiguous clear liquid.

The nurse ordered them out of the room with a scowl and continued to bandage the silverette's arms with a certain lack of care. She soon sent him back into the sitting area where the others were getting a stern talking to from an older doctor, which Axel was obviously tuning out, focusing more on his boyfriend's ass.

Riku went up and punched his roommate in the arm, not regretting the wave of pain that came after.

"I am supposed to scold you for doing that, but he is the one to blame, correct?" The man gestured at Riku's arms and looked back at Axel.

"Yeah, but how can you tell?"

"He smells like concentrated acetone."

Riku stared at the red-head. "And HOW exactly did he get that?" the silverette asked pointedly. Axel smiled sweetly, which was a scary sight."That is none of your business, Riku my dear." Axel reached out and tapped Riku's nose.

The other attempted to punch him again, but missed and sighed. "Fine, I won't ask, but you have to explain the scorch mark on our ceiling to the landlord."

The doctor chuckled and scratched his head "Well it looks like you have it all worked out."

As they made their way out the doors, they were nearly plowed over by a stretcher. The man who lay down on it twitched and groaned, his arms and legs bound in place. Only the white of his eyes shown and he spat and coughed blood violently onto his chest. His skin was stark white with a greenish hue and he was covered in large black bruises. Another doctor followed behind them gripping what looked like a bite mark on his shoulder. His arm hung loosely, useless.

The trio stared for a moment as the procession was loaded into an ambulance, and only began walking again when the sound of the siren disappeared far into the distance.

"WHY THE HELL DO YOU DO THIS?" Roxas shouted across the miniscule kitchen. Axel leaned against the counter and stared regretfully down at his feet. Riku was repainting the ceiling and stood on a small step-stool, trying to ignore them the best he could. "You always do this! We had a date today! Do you even remember?" The blond crossed his arms vindictively.

"I-I I'm so sorry Roxas... I really am! I promise it won't happen again! Though I can hardly control it..." The red-head muttered the last part, his voice oozing with guilt.

"HA! Like that has ever stopped you before, Axel! It won't happen again! It won't happen again! That's what you have said every time! I'm surprised Riku even has any eyebrows left! But it isn't just with the fire, Axel... I AM ALWAYS CLEANING UP YOUR MESSES!"

"B-but-"

"No, no more freaking excuses!" With that Roxas whipped around, accidentally bumping into the stool Riku was standing on. The silverette tumbled down in an uncomfortable position on the hard tiled floor. He dropped the paint can which unartfully dumped its contents onto Roxas before it plummeted into Riku's shoulder.

"Ow..." the injured boy groaned. The blond on the other hand was silent for a minute, presumably watching the yellowish liquid drip slowly off his nose.

"Roxy?" Axel asked in a concerned voice.

The other boy went storming up the stairs. "I'm taking a shower!" he shouted down to them. Axel slumped into a sitting position next to Riku on the floor. "Riku, what do I do?" the red-head pleaded. "I mean I have never seen Roxas this mad at me before! I guess I must have hurt him a lot!"

Riku looked to his arm, then back at Axel, trying to communicate the irony in this.

"I mean he looked like he was in so much pain!"

The silverette rolled his eyes.

"I just don't know what I can do! I mean, I guess we should just move on right? He will heal eventually, right?" Axel squirmed where he sat, thinking of the look on the younger's face when he had left.

"Axel..."

"Yeah?"

"You are really an idiot..." Riku shook his head.

The other looked taken aback by this."Riku, I'm really upset! Jeez, this is so unlike you!"

The silverette chuckled more for his own benefit than Axel's.

"I really don't understand what is so funny about this situation! Ro-" He was interrupted by a scream of horror from outside.

The pair leapt to their feet and sprinted for the entryway (Riku doing so much more stiffly then the other). The shrieking on the other side of the wall had turned to begging and pleading.

Axel yanked open the door and shut it again, pressing his back against the wood.

"OH GOD NO! HELP ME! SOMEONE! HE- STOP PLEASE! ST- JUST LET ME DIE!" The words were distorted by fright and pain, and they made Riku's blood run cold. Eventually the noise subsided into a soft gurgling, and then there was silence.

The silverette stared into Axel's face. His normally joking and cocky look had been replaced with one of sheer terror. Never before had Riku seen an expression like this on the red-head. It looked strange and misplaced, like this should have been happening to somebody else.

"What did you see?" Riku asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I-I saw a man eating-" His voice dropped and he cleared his throat. "Eating... eating the guy across the hall."

The other was silent, trying to absorb this information, but for some reason it wouldn't sink in.

Axel caught Riku's gaze and stared straight into his eyes, serious for once. "Riku, I'm saying that there is a cannibal sitting on our front step."

There was silence in the room.

"I think we should go get Roxas..." Riku stated quietly.

Axel ran up the stairs, Riku at his heels. He ripped open the bathroom door and pulled back the shower curtain.

"Roxas, we need to go, right now!" Axel shouted, his voice cracking slightly.

Said blond shrieked and threw a loofah sponge at Riku, but it was too late, the silverette had already gotten an eyeful.

Roxas shoved them both at the door and slammed it behind him. "GO AWAY!" they heard him scream over the sound of the shower running.

Riku paused for a moment to wipe the soap out of his eyes. He wondered which was worse, that there was a killer outside their apartment or what Roxas would do to him for seeing his man-hood.

Axel turned to him."Look what you have done now! You went and made Roxas angry again, I mean I bet he was just calming down too! You and your stupid ideas!"

Riku sighed in exasperation."Axel..." The red-head muttered on. "Just shut up all right? Do something useful and come and help me find something to defend ourselves with."

A few minutes later they were standing by the door, armed and ready. There was a loud thumping on the other side, like someone was walking into it.

"Axel..." Riku asked, eyebrows crossed in confusion.

"Yeah?"

"Why do you have a machete?" The silverette stared at the large, dangerous looking piece of metal in his friend's hands. He himself was brandishing a baseball bat.

"I told you, it was my grandfather's during the war!" Axel said indignantly.

"What war?"

"That doesn't matter, at least I have it now, okay?"

The other contemplated this for a moment a nodded.

Roxas came storming down the stairs. "All right! What was so important that you burst into my shower? And won't someone open the door?" The unsuspecting blond reached for the handle and got a full view of the sight beyond.

It was their neighbor, Donald, or at least that was what they had called him while he was alive. Now names like monster, corpse or simply a scream of terror came to mind. His head hung loosely, attached only by a flap of skin and a few arteries. Blood trickled down from his neck and dripped down onto the floor like a leaky sink. Most horrifying of all was that he blinked, and opened and closed his mouth like a fish trying to breath air. The monster should have been dead but instead it had stood itself into an upright position, as if it had never been injured.

Riku yanked Roxas back and slammed the door.

"Holy shit. Holy fucking shit," Roxas mumbled.

Riku silently handed him a back-scratcher,"All right the plan is we knock... him-" Riku used the word questioningly as if not sure if 'it' would be better, "-out of the way, and then we make a run for the car."

The silverette pushed the door open violently, he felt the bump as it collided with the creature beyond. As soon as he was out he began to sprint down the hallway. There was a scream behind him and Riku turned.

The thing in the hallway had grabbed Roxas's leg and was pulling him towards itself, gnashing its teeth in a horribly hungry fashion.

Axel brought the machete down on the thing's arm repeatedly in a frighteningly determined way. Finally the last piece of bloodied flesh tore away and the boy was free, but to their horror the hand still had a firm grip on his ankle.

Riku jumped into the car, quickly unlocking the back doors. The other two leapt into the backseat, Axel practically throwing the smaller inside. The silverette shoved the keys into the ignition and they took off down the road.

There was silence except for the occasional and sickening sound of bones snapping as Axel slowly peeled the dead hand from the blond's ankle and tossed it out the window.

Riku gagged and choked, trying not throw up. The silverette had seen gore like that in movies and video games, but never before had it seemed so tangible. He swallowed and the nausea subsided slightly.

Roxas had wiped the blood off of his foot and ankle but he still rubbed the area like there was some residue that refused to come off. Axel stared at the seat in front of him, wandering off into a fantasy.

The roads were desolate, the sounds of the usually bustling city had vanished. A few cars lay abandoned on the road, hotdog stands were empty, shops were closed. There was nothing but an empty silence. Something had gone wrong all over the city.

"We need to get Sora!" Roxas and Riku shouted in unison.

The blond hurriedly dialed his cell phone. There was a tense silence as they waited. Finally Roxas snapped it shut, his eyes wide with fear.

"I got the answering machine."

"Shitshitshitshitshit..." Riku muttered as he turned to look behind them for a road sign. There was a sickening thud and suddenly the windshield was splattered in blood. Riku slammed on his brakes and the car skidded down the road.

Axel stared back at whatever they had hit for a moment, his eyes going wide. He slowly turned to Riku, a mixture of confusion and fear in his face. "Hey, that was a girl from our English class, Aerith."

Riku went white and swallowed hard.

"What do we do?" Axel continued.

"I don't know! HOW SHOULD I KNOW!

"Guys," Roxas said

"I just killed her... ah fuck... I just killed her!"

"Guys?"

"Well Riku, I'm blaming this on you in court."

"GUYS SHE IS STILL ALIVE!"

Riku and Axel swung around and stared back down the road. Aerith had risen again, only this time half of her body was missing. Riku could just make out a piece of her ribcage on the ground next to her, and a bit of intestine had begun spilling out. There was a smear of rouge down the road.

The silverette screamed and floored it. Roxas clung to Axel who was uttering every curse word he could think of.

"Ah my fucking mother Christ, flip-nuggin, dander-shit bullocks, merde..."

After a few minutes Roxas let out a nervous giggle. Axel jumped, drawn back to reality.

"Look, it's Prince Charming going to rescue his little princess."

At this Riku chuckled. "Well if we are the prince and princess I guess I know who the King and Queen are."

Axel laughed, catching on."Hey, my Roxy make a pretty damn good dominatrix!"

"I wasn't calling Roxas the Queen, Axe."

Axel crossed his arms in mock offense. "Well I don't look half-assed in a dress either!"

All three of them cracked up. Riku was going around ninety miles per hour and skidding around the corners. They could see a few others like Aerith on the road now but they ignored them.

"So what do you think Sora's doing, Roxy?" Riku asked, his voice full of false happiness.

"Oh, he is probably still playing video games, he said he was going to have a zen day with his PlayStation," Roxas replied in the same tone.

"What? And he didn't invite Kairi or me over?"

Roxas laughed. "Speaking of Kairi, you better hurry up and ask Sora out before she steals him away!" Roxas said lightly. "He barely avoided her last invitation to go out on a date. She got a stomach flu the day before and I had to give it to her!"

"Well it's nice to know you are rooting for me," Riku said and grinned at him.

Roxas rolled his eyes and scoffed."As if."

They pulled up to the small apartment building where Roxas and Sora lived. It was farther away from the college then Riku and Axel's place, but was in a much nicer part of town. The trio got out of the car, but Riku motioned for the other two to stay behind.

The silverette ran up the steps, the numbing denial of the car ride wearing off. He reached the correct hallway quickly. Sora's door was already open, he could see the flickering of television lights from the inside.

"No! Kairi! What are you doing? Wait, Riku?"

Kairi was straddling Sora's waist and had pushed him down on the floor. The brunette was wriggling under her and trying to push the girl's hungry mouth away.

Without a second glance, Riku swung the bat and hit Kairi square in the back of the head. It made a crack like a home run. The silverette grabbed the younger's wrist and started dragging him back to the car.

"Holy shit! Riku? Riku, you just killed Kairi!" Sora babbled.

They were in the parking lot, Axel and Roxas leaning lazily against the car, when suddenly Roxas shouted and gestured for Sora to look behind him. The brunette felt a hand wrap around his wrist.

Riku looked back and for the first time he saw the large and fleshy bite mark on the girl's shoulder. With a savage cry he brought the bat down again. She grunted but refused to let go.

There was the sharp sound of a gun and the silverette saw a small dart lodge itself into Kairi's neck. She groaned and then suddenly she was nothing more than a greyish reddish puddle on the pavement.

Axel raised his arms in surrender and looked around for the attacker. Roxas stared at him, silently wondering why this was his natural reaction. Riku stared at the puddle of Kairi-mush and poked it with the bat, making sure it was dead.

Two men emerged from the bushes. One of them was a blond, about Riku's height, and the other one was an older brunette - but more importantly they had guns that could melt the walking dead!

"All right, we will explain everything in the car exclamation point! There is a pack of them heading this way."

Without hesitating the comrades jumped into their respective seats. Riku driving, Roxas sitting on top of Axel in the passenger's seat, Sora in the seat behind Riku, the blond in the middle and the other brunette by the window.

It quickly became apparent that the situation was much more dire. There were five or six of the things in the immediate area. Riku hit the gas and plowed one over.

"Who are you?" Axel asked to the strangers in the back seat.

"Well you see I'm Leon and this is Cloud and we used to be part of a stem-cell research group and-"

"What just happened? Is Riku injured? What happened to Kairi?" Sora babbled to himself.

"Shut up kid!" Cloud shouted at Sora. There were a few more thuds as bodies hit the car.

"You are getting dents in my hood! Steer you fuckwit!" Roxas screamed at Riku, who wasn't talking. The bandages on his arms were slowly turning maroon.

"-and thus the cells went out of control after the brain had died-" Leon went on.

"Just tell me how to kill them!" Axel shouted.

"-I mean I was just playing video games and suddenly she pushes me down-"

"How many times do I have to tell you to shut up!"

"And not only are you a horrible driver, you are dripping blood all over my leather seating! Swerve slapnuts!"

"-and thus they were still a living body, they still need to eat."

"Could you explain it any simpler?"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP I AM TRYING TO DRIVE!" Riku screamed, and everyone in the car went silent except for Roxas.

"You can't freaking drive you unitard!"

Riku flipped the blond off and suddenly a shooting pain went up his arm. The silverette swerved off the road and slammed into a telephone pole, sending a jarring impact through the car. There was an ominous hissing sound filled the air.

"Ah fuck! Run!" Axel shrieked. Everyone jumped out of the car, dashing after Axel.

They managed to get past the telephone pole before the gas tank blew. The explosion incinerated a few zombies and a grisly leg went flying through the air and narrowly missed Cloud. Roxas stared back at his pyrotechnically impaired car. The fire had spread through the cabin now. The blond thought of his leather seating and sniffed.

Riku had only been a few yards from the car, and a minefield of glass lay on the ground around him. He collapsed, the crimson staining his clothing clearly visible.

Axel ran over to his friend, shaking his shoulder roughly.

"Axel," the silverette whispered, his voice was crackly.

"Yeah?" Axel asked, the worry in his voice hardly masked.

"That really fucking hurts dude," Riku chuckled, and Axel helped him to his feet. A trickle of blood ran down from the silverette's eye. He hurriedly moved to shake his hair over it.

"Riku, show me your other eye."

"No."

Axel reached out to uncover it, but Riku slapped his hand away. "It's too late Axel, don't worry about it."

The red-head grimaced and nodded.

"Could someone please tell me what is going on?" Sora asked, bewildered.

"Well we would have already if you would have just shut up!" Cloud shouted at the other boy.

"Um...are all those people dead?" Sora asked uncertainly. There was a pack of about fifteen corpses lumbering their way.

Leon glanced around them and spotted a small grocery store. "I find the word 'dead' undermines my research. I'll explain everything when we get to safety," he said calmly and the rest followed after him. Once everyone was inside the supermarket they began trying to barricade the doors.

The group let out a collective sigh.

Leon held Riku down to the cold tile floor while Cloud dug out the piece of glass that had lodged itself in the boy's eye. The silverette clenched Sora's hand as he tried to keep himself from blinking. Cloud was an excellent doctor, but would have been better if his patient had had a stronger painkiller then Advil. Between groans from Riku, Leon was calmly trying to explain what exactly the monsters were.

"Cloud and I used to be part of a groundbreaking medical team working on stem-cell research." Axel gave him a blank look.

Leon sighed and grabbed a bag of M&Ms and poured them out onto the floor. Suddenly he had Sora's heightened attention. "Okay, when you are conceived you are just a mass of cells, all these cells are the same and are called stem-cells." He separated the candy into several different piles. "As you develop inside your mother, these cells begin to change and morph. They change into skin cells, brain cells, heart cells and so on. What we were trying to do is harness these stem-cell's ability to regrow missing limbs, new hearts, and other body parts for people like your friend here."

Riku moaned and tried to kick Leon, but the elder ignored him.

"Instead of having to wait for an eye off of a freshly dead body, we could just grow him a new one. We could have saved so many people exclamation point!" He trailed off for a moment. "But unfortunately my colleagues became obsessed with progress and we split up. They had forsaken safety precautions. Um...yes you question mark?"

Sora had raised his hand. "I'm Sora, and I was wondering if we could eat the candy sir!"

"Sure question mark?" Sora and Axel nearly leapt upon the chocolates. "Anyways- yes, Axel is it question mark?"

"What does this have anything to do with those things?" the red-head asked around a mouthful of candy.

"I'm getting there. Now then exclamation point! They had forsaken safety precautions and instead injected a dying kidney patient with blood they had laced with the stem-cells. Mind you the cells were still in a testing phase." Leon sighed and shook his head. "Unfortunately they lost the patient."

"So... it was a failure?" Roxas asked.

Riku groaned something unintelligible along the lines of 'this is not going anywhere' and Sora slid an M&M into the injured boy's mouth.

"Well, it didn't quite fail. Even though my former colleagues lost the patient, the stem-cells worked better then suspected, fulfilling their wildest dreams! Though the stem-cells could not bring back the person's brain. So what they had was a body, an empty shell. But it still needed energy to keep living, it still needed food. These things had a taste for protein and what were they surrounded by question mark? Humans- meat in other words. Once a victim had come in contact with the infected person's blood or saliva they were infected too. For some reason the stem-cells would attack a living person's brain, but if the person was already dead they took over immediately. And there are quite a few dead people in a hospital."

There was silence for a moment as Leon gave them time to absorb this information. "In order to kill these creation we need to dissolve the cell walls, turning them to mush, otherwise they will just keep coming back." He held up a dart gun. "These are filled with a type of lysine. They can turn normal people to mush too, now be careful exclamation point!"

Axel had broken into a bag of Doritos and was crunching away, watching as the others gathered around Riku on the floor. There were only a few pieces of glass left in his eye, but there were larger chunks elsewhere in the silverette. Roxas was in his first year of medical study and was currently using two shards of glass like tweezers to get another sliver out.

"Riku! Riku, do you feel all right?" Sora asked, gripping his friend's hand. Riku gave him a pained smile.

Axel prodded his side. "Don't be a bitch Ri, smile like you mean it!" Axel stated blandly and munched along.

"I... am going to kill- OW!" Roxas had pinched a piece of skin.

"Sorry... I'm surprised you can still talk Riku, I mean most people would either have to be biting something or would be screaming in pain by now."

"Fuck" Riku said, this pretty much summing up his attitude.

"See, there he goes being a bitch again. You should be happy, I mean you have finally made it to the hand holding stage."

Sora looked up at the taller questioningly. "What?" the innocent brunette asked.

Roxas rolled his eyes. "All right Axel, enough. We all know you were just about to make out with him if you needed to a few minutes ago, so stop trying to cover your ass."

"I was not going to make out with Riku!" Axel said indignantly. "Just now that I know he is going to live, so I can completely humiliate him while his defenses are down! It is what we men friends do!" Riku grimaced and muttered something.

"Well what do you get if you hold your tongue and say Axel?" Roxas asked.

Sora actually tried it. "Asshole."

"And that is what you are being right now!" Roxas shouted, accidentally slicing Riku a bit and causing the silverette to groan in pain. Cloud had moved on to bandaging his eye, for which the silverette was thankful.

"Well this is a very stressful situation. Axel is obviously concerned for his friend, but also is worried about turning into a brainless monster. Axel is just the type of person who chooses to take his own problems out on others, that's all exclamation point!" Leon said this all very fast and in a cheery voice, giving the red-head a large smile at the end.

Axel stared at him for a moment and wondered whether he should be insulted or not.

"All right! All done!" Cloud clasped his hands together and looked down proudly at Riku as if he were his prize science fair project.

"Ow..." he groaned and tilted his head back, closing his eye as the stinging settled into a dull throb. The blond stared down at him expectantly, beaming. "Um... thank you."

"You're welcome!" With that Cloud walked away.

"You look like a mummy, Riku!" Sora exclaimed, sitting down across from the boy. The others had all gone in search of snacks, it seemed (which shouldn't be too hard in a grocery store).

The silverette chuckled. "I wouldn't be surprised if I was at this point." He gestured to the doors.

Sora moved closer to him on hand and knee, quietly lifting up the silver hair and staring at Cloud's neat work. Riku's other eye widened in surprise and he leaned back slightly; the brunette was practically sitting in his lap.

"It's a pity really, you had the most beautiful eyes."

This brought a tint of rouge to the silverette's face.

"But what am I saying!" Sora said, getting back to his cheery self. "It must be really painful!" Riku let out a breath.

"Wait here," the brunette shouted and trotted off down one of the aisles. He came back with a smallish bottle in his hands. "This should amplify the effects of the pain killers!" he said, obviously pleased with his own medical knowledge.

Riku held the bottle in his hands looking at the label. "Cough syrup? How much should I take?" he questioned, not sure why no one else had thought of this.

"Well how painful is it?" Sora asked.

The silverette nodded, twisting off the cap and chugged the whole bottle.

"Well I think we need a leader!" Axel declared, everyone paused for a moment, staring at the red head in a confused state.

"That's not a bad idea. I nominate-" Cloud started.

"AND I THINK IT SHOULD BE ME!" Axel cut him off and struck a pose, looking off to the left at an imaginary point in the air.

"Well I think it should be Riku!" Sora shouted, his cute face contorted to a look of determination.

"That's really-" The silverette started but broke off into a series of snickers.

Axel gave him a funny look but continued on. "I believe I can lead you to greatness and um... not death!" the red-head exclaimed. "I can lead you to life! That's it, life! And I'm-" His voice was drowned out by the sound of Riku's laughter. Axel glared at him until he quieted.

"I think Leon or I should be leader!" Cloud said.

"And why's that, Blondie?" Axel asked, emphasizing the last word.

"Because you are an ass," the blond stated haughtily.

"Well!" Roxas interrupted loudly, and everyone turned to him. "I think you are all idiots and I am going to find some crackers!" He turned around and started down an aisle. The party stared after him for a moment before they started up again.

"Come on, I'm obviously the best choice! Look at this face!" Axel stated as Cloud agitatedly rummaged around in a bag.

"I think we all just need to-" Leon said in his droll soothing voice

"You know what, who needs a leader? I vote for Anarchy! Or Communism... Communism is nice..." Riku announced, but no one really gave him much attention except for Sora who was reading the dosage on the cough medicine bottle with a worried expression.

"Well I say," Cloud said, holding up the lysine gun. "Leon is leader, k? Any questions?" Everyone stopped and stared at the gun, not daring to speak.

"Good."

With that decided they all sat down again, not really sure of what to say. I mean really, what can one say in an apocalypse other than the normal 'leave me!' and 'run'.

Thirty seconds later, Roxas came back with a circus themed box of animal crackers. He stared at the odd circle for a moment. Riku was grinning like a madman (which is when pigs fly), Sora looked nervous and guilty (which was once in a blue moon), Axel sat back with a distinctly disappointed pout (which is the day Hell- no, actually that's quite normal), and Cloud and Leon looked pleasant enough.

Riku seemed to suddenly be transfixed on the red and yellow box. Sora bit his lip nervously and looked down at the floor. Trying to ignore this odd behavior, Roxas opened the box and took out a cracker in the shape of a lion.

"OH HOW I MISS MACON!" Riku cried before bursting into tears.

Axel stared at him, horrified. Riku had never cried... ever...

"All right Sora, tell me what did you do?" Roxas asked, giving his brother an accusing stare.

"I-I just gave him some cough medicine! I thought it might help with the pain!" Sora said in the most sincere voice he could muster.

"And how much did you give him?" Roxas asked rolling his eyes.

"He... he just drank the whole bottle." Guilt soaked the brunette's voice.

"Macon, I never wanted to leave you!" Riku sobbed, unaware of the others' conversation.

"You seriously..." Roxas started, unable to swallow his brother's idiocy. "What was going through your mind?"

"I just wanted to help." His voice had grown quieter.

Axel awkwardly patted Riku on the back , unsure of what to do.

Suddenly the silverette grasped his hand. "You... You look just like him... He had hair like yours and really sharp teeth... He was even selfish like you too..." Riku said and then wiped his nose on Axel's shirt.

"Um, who is this, uh..." Axel asked, a bit disgusted.

"Macon?"

"Yes, Macon."

"He was my lion," Riku said as if this was the most normal thing in the world.

"Lion?" Axel echoed.

"Yeah, he was my lion when I was in the circus!" Riku said, his sobs fading into snuffles.

Axel was taken aback. Let's reprise the first paragraph, they thought they had learned everything there was to know about the other.

"You were in the circus?" Sora asked, all smiles again. Axel looked too shocked to comment.

"I was born into it. My family tamed lions."

"B-but... you said you had an average childhood!" Axel exclaimed.

"I ran away from the circus when I was fourteen..."

At this Roxas snickered."Well that's different."

"But why? It must have been so much fun! And glamorous too! It's like every kid's dream. Why did you run away?"

"Well you see, I was an excellent lion tamer. I even slept with them sometimes... Those were the days. Macon and I were always together. He was born around the same time I was, we grew up together. He was my only friend..." Riku trailed off and looked close to tears again.

"What, were there no other kids in the circus?" Sora asked intently.

"Well there was the acrobat's kid, but he thought he was going to be the next Robin so... yeah. Anyways! The fortune teller that traveled with the circus told me that because of my bad luck if I ever performed I would die and the circus would collapse."

Axel nodded, after witnessing Riku's injuries he could believe it.

"And so I ran away. I had been watching the Brady Bunch for years, and all I ever wanted to be was like them. I had to leave Macon behind, I could barely support myself let alone a lion. They eat so much raw meat... I tried to get a record deal like the kids did in season seven episode three, but alas the record company told me I sounded like a dying house plant." Riku sniffed and and carried on. "I was forced to go back to street performing, I was rather popular you know. I did other odd jobs too, eventually I got into being a 'cat whisperer' for rich old ladies."

He paused for a moment contemplating. "Except one thought I was a gigolo and that didn't go over very well. But somehow I was able to pay for college!"

Everyone paused for a moment, trying to take all this in.

"So you left your parents and never saw them again?" Roxas asked with slight disbelief.

"Well so did I!" Axel said, crossing his arms.

"No, they disowned you numb nuts," Roxas retorted, glaring at his boyfriend. The red-head sighed exasperatedly. "Details, details..." he said, waving his hand as if it mattered not. He turned his attention back to Riku. "So this means that a bridge didn't collapse on your family's car and they are now all in comas which is why they never visit?"

The silverette nodded, completely unashamed of his lies.

Axel shook his head and smiled. "You really are a trip..."

Riku smiled sweetly at him for a moment. "So can I have those?" he asked, while simultaneously taking the box of animal crackers.

Roxas gave him a look that screamed 'If you weren't drugged up I would attack you right now', but the silverette remained blissfully unaware. The injured boy took out an elephant cracker and began having it prance across the floor while making sound effects. Though, somehow, whinnying and neighing didn't seem too appropriate for that specific animal.

They were surrounded by darkness, too afraid to turn on the lights for fear of attracting the living dead. The sun had set long ago, only Cloud and Leon sat awake, keeping watch. The rest had crashed unceremoniously on the floor, using bags of flour as pillows.

"Leon..." Cloud whispered, his voice shook slightly.

"What?" the elder asked, searching for him in the darkness.

"W-what if we don't make it out of this? What if one of them," he gestured to the bodies on the floor, "is already infected? What if the world's gone? Is there even a point in living in fear and danger?" Leon sighed.

"Cloud, I don't need the rest of the world if I can just have you. I promise you, no matter what, no matter where you go I will always be right there. I have even been doing some research lately and I think that there is still some ho-" He was cut off by a dragging footstep.

They both went rigid, Cloud silently moving towards the light switch. The lysine gun was in Leon's hands as he stared into the absolute blackness.

Another step; the moist sound of rotted meat pressing into tile. The noise slowly approached them. Suddenly there was a blood-chilling scream and the lights flickered on. The monster stood over Cloud, gnawing on an ensanguined chunk of flesh that it had torn from from his arm. Within seconds it had turned to mush.

Sora, Roxas and Axel were all on their feet now, trying to appraise the situation. Already the sounds of bodies hitting the doors and the constant moaning of the undead reached their ears.

Cloud clutched his arm, staggering. Leon rushed over to him and held him to his chest.

"Just kill me Leon, just fucking kill me. I'm a monster, kill me like you did the others. I want to die while I can still think," the blond sobbed into his chest.

"It's going to be okay, Cloud, the wound isn't deep, we still have time, it could take days to spread." Leon said, remorse cutting through his hopeful words.

"No, I'm infected! Goddammit! I fucking love you! And if you loved me you would kill me now!" Cloud shouted, pulling back and blinded with tears.

"I'm going to save you, if it's the last thing I do."

"Selfish bastard," the blond spat at him and cried into his shoulder, "I love you so much..."

"Oh my god..." Roxas said, staring at the doors, eyes wide with fear. Axel was up, machete in hand.

He stepped protectively in front of the blond. "Roxas... I want you to check to see if we can get out. I'll cover you." He stared at the other couple, assuring himself they would not be like Cloud and Leon. They would make it through this, they always did, only other people died.

Sora was trying to haul a confused Riku onto his feet. Apparently the medication had yet to wear off.

The silverette blinked, barely awake and rubbed his eyes."Sora, just five more minutes, please?" he begged, collapsing back down as soon as the small brunette had managed to haul him up.

"No! Riku! Bad! No... RIKU!" he whined.

Leon had hauled Cloud onto his back, easily lifting the extra weight.

"You!" He tossed Riku a bag which hit him in the face with a thud. "We are going to split up once we get out of here. I am not leaving Cloud, but I don't want to endanger the rest of you. As soon as we are out, make a run for it. We will contact you. Go far away exclamation point! If you can, make it to the country, just be ready when we call for you."

Sora and Axel nodded, Riku still a bit bemused.

"Axel! I can't get it open!" Roxas shouted, desperately trying to get through to the door. Unfortunately they had already made sure it couldn't be opened.

Axel watched as the monsters lumbered towards them.

"Well then how did they get in?" Sora asked.

"Something could have broken open, or they were possibly in here in the first place," Leon said, gesturing to what looked like a uniform on one of the zombies.

"But how could they?" Roxas questioned.

"It doesn't freaking matter, we need to find a way out!" Axel shouted at them.

Riku blinked in wonder."This is a really strange dream," he muttered to himself.

Axel glanced at one of the windows next to them, the undead were crowded on the other side, but still. He grabbed Riku's baseball bat and brought it against the glass, it barely cracked. He hit it again with more ferocity. Suddenly Riku came up behind him and yanked the bat out of his hands.

"And what makes you think you can-" Axel stopped mid-sentence as Riku swung the bat. with a smash, the glass shattered. An unlucky zombie got caught by Riku's attack.

The silverette lept through the space he had created as he swung again, and a there was the sickly sound of cracking bones as a neck snapped.

Axel jumped out next, helping Riku clear a way out. "How did you do that Riku?"

"Oh it's because this is all a dream. I should be waking up soon though," Riku responded, gritting his teeth and shattering a zombie's shoulder.

"Wait, no!" But Axel had more pressing matters at the time than convincing Riku he wasn't dreaming, like the endless flood of limbs and bodies that grappled at him. He fended them off with a few vicious hacks and rolled his eyes; well if believing he was in a dream gave Riku super-human strength then he might as well let him be.

Sora carried a bag of food and no weapon, desperately he searched for a way out.

"Riku! Lo-" he called but it was already too late and a decaying hand gripped Riku's arm with unnatural strength.

The silverette twisted around just in time to see Roxas clobber the horrific creature and start clubbing it with a crow bar. Riku was glad he was not on the blond's bad side. Blood spattered up his jeans and the thing moaned wearily on the pavement.

Leon fired his dart gun, clearing a way just big enough for them to get through. The group took off, the adrenaline in their blood allowing them to sprint across the parking lot and through the streets.

Once they were sure they had time they stopped, catching their breath.

Axel looked at the cars lined up neatly by the sidewalk. A light crossed his face and he walked up to the largest SUV on the block. Sora, Riku and Roxas followed him, unsure of what to do.

The red-head pulled two contraptions from his pocket. He inserted the first into the car's lock, then the other, which looked like a thin crocheting hook.

"Roxas, what kind of car is this?"

The blond looked up in surprise."Um, a 1994 Jeep Cherokee Sport."

"All right then." Axel jiggled the instrument and the lock clicked, popping open. He smirked while Sora stared at him in awe.

"That was so cool!" the brunette shouted. Riku looked down at him as if to say, 'and shattering a window isn't?'

Axel hopped in the car and jammed the first instrument into the ignition, pressing on it with all his strength. With a rumble, the engine started.

Roxas stared at him in astonishment and not necessarily the good kind. Riku muttered to himself and got into the back with Sora, leaving Roxy the front seat.

"Axel, you are so awesome!" Sora squealed.

The red-head grinned as he noticed Riku's death glare in the mirror."Oh Riku, darling! Is someone a little jealous?" Axel said sarcastically, trying to piss the silverette off.

"Axel, you're an ass hat, I'm never jealous of you," Riku said, turning away from him.

"Is it 'cause Sora likes me better?" he asked, succeeding in his goal.

"Axel, I'd much rather know how you learned to hotwire a car," Roxas stated, disapproval evident in his voice.

"He went to prison a couple times, probably for that," Riku said in a blasé fashion.

"Riku!" Axel shouted, "I am in the right mind to turn this car right around and feed you to the zombies mister!" He probably would have if the blond across from him wasn't giving him a look of fury.

"And I'm pretty sure Sora likes me better, Ax," the silverette pressed the younger down on the wide backseat.

"Uh, Riku, what are you doing!" Sora squeaked.

Riku smirked and moved his head so the brunette's nose brushed against his own. "I'm going to show Axel you like me more!" he said cheerily. The elder ran his slender fingers along the other's stomach, his eyes hungry with lust.

"AXEL I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS!" Roxas shouted, unaware of his brother's predicament in the back. "You never told me about this, you lied?"

"Well I never really lied..."Axel muttered.

"Uhg... and wait! Where the hell are Leon and Cloud?" Roxas vociferated.

Axel slammed the brakes, earning him slight swearing from the back. "Um... I'm pretty sure they made it out," he said sheepishly.

"Yeah... okay... I guess we should just continue driving then..." Roxas complied.

"Riku, I don't think we should be doing this here!" Sora squealed.

"That never bothered you before, ba-" Suddenly Riku's eyes closed and he collapsed on the younger.

There was a small noise of astonishment from the back and Sora sat up, his eyes wide and his hair mussed.

"Oh my god..." he whispered.

"What?" Roxas questioned, agitated.

"I-I think Riku just tried to have sex with me!" the brunette said breathlessly. "And then h-he just fell asleep!"

Axel sighed. "Don't worry Sora, ever since you woke him up in the grocery store he thought he was dreaming," he stated blandly. Roxas nodded, a bit perturbed.

"But.. wait! Does that mean he does this stuff to me when he's dreaming?" Sora shrieked. There was a confused silence in the front seat as the couple pictured this.

"I will kill him when he gets up," Roxas stated. "And you!" He pointed at Axel accusingly.

The red-head slumped in his seat, having momentarily thought he had escaped punishment. "You better explain yourself! You better have a damn good reason for nothing... YIBLISHE!" Axel stared at him for a moment.

"Well you see, I would have liked that not to have-"

"ZATKNI YIBLISHE!" the blond shouted at him.

"Um... No habla... uh... Spanish?" Axel asked, but all he got was a cold look. "Non parle-vous francaise?" he tried again. "Come on Roxy! I didn't think it would matter to you! I haven't been back to prison since I started living with Riku! Sure I have been there a couple times..."

"A couple times?" Roxas asked, arching an eyebrow.

"It was only for like a month, all right?" the redhead pleaded. "Please Roxy, it doesn't matter anymore, I won't go back to that life! And it's all because I met you. Between you and Riku I was able to get help!"

"You mean the Riku that just tried to rape my brother," the blond questioned.

Axel chuckled. "It was only rape if he didn't like it, isn't that right So-chan?"

The brunette blushed a shade of scarlet. "I can't believe both my best friends have come onto me in a few days..."

"It's because you are just that adorable!" Axel said, grinning. Roxas seemed to have calmed down a bit.

"Not you too!" Sora shrieked endearingly.

Axel smiled. Here they were all together taking a drive to the country. It would have been perfect if one of them wasn't in a drug induced sleep, the car didn't reek with blood and of course there weren't undead wandering the streets...

"Hey, Sora. Could you pass me something to eat?" Roxas asked after several moments.

"Sure!" The brunette smiled brightly and passed him a small cardboard package. JELLO was scrawled across the front in red letters.

Roxas stared for a moment, confused. "Could you possibly give me something else?" he requested politely. He could hear Sora rummaging through the bag in the back.

"Uh.. not unless you want to try eating water..." he responded.

His brother rubbed his temples. "Are you saying you packed nothing but jello?" Roxas demanded, fighting to keep his voice steady.

A look of terror suddenly passed across Axel's face. "Oh bugger..."

Roxas glanced at him, then all around, trying to see what had induced this sudden fear.

"Riku's hypoglycemic..."

The blond rolled his eyes and turned away, glaring at the window. "No, you don't understand! When Riku doesn't eat for a while he- he's like... the love child of The Hulk and Wolverine!"

"Axel I'm sure you are overexaggerating." Roxas muttered, an agitated note in his voice. "Knock on wood." He turned around in his seat and tapped Sora's head.

Unfortunately Axel wasn't exaggerating. Only three months before hand they had been studying for mid-terms, or at least Riku had been. The silverette had been cramming for weeks for the test, spending hours in the library each day. By the time the test came around, the house was a mess, the dishes were piled taller than Axel himself (they were still working on trying to cut that down), no one had bought groceries, and they had been surviving off instant ramen.

It was the night after the mid-terms and Riku had to nearly drag himself into the apartment. The bags under his eyes seeming to grow by the second. Axel had come back early from a party and was lying lazily on the couch, eating a cup of pudding. When the silverette opened the fridge there was a savage scream and Axel had jumped up, assuming his friend had hurt himself... again.

"Riku what's-"

"Is that my pudding? The last pudding?" the silverette snarled and, not waiting for a response, flung himself at Axel, grabbing hold of his neck. "Son of a bitch! I haven't eaten all day goddammit!" Riku had shoved him onto the floor and kneeled on his chest, restricting his breathing. "I let you into my apartment that I work my ass off for and you don't even buy my groceries? Food is love you asshole! If you loved me you would go to the super-market right now and buy me some fucking pudding!" Axel's eyes had gone wide, while one of Riku's had given an involuntary twitch.

"I'll go get pudding Riku! Don't worry! I love you!" Axel shouted as soon as the other let him off the ground. He hurriedly scampered out the door in defeat and fear.

When he had returned, Riku was lying on the floor, having passed out cold from low blood sugar.

The red-head shuddered from the memory.

"Hey! Jello is nice! It's like comfort food!" Sora defended the food with a passion.

"How is jello comforting!"

The brunette looked taken aback by his brother's words. "Don't you remember? Mom would always make us jello when something bad happened, like when dad ran away with that fisherman!"

"Sora, you cannot keep bringing that up! I never liked the jello anyways, it always reminds me of the bad times!"

Sora let out a hefty sigh and grumbled to himself.

Riku slowly came into consciousness after fading in and out of dreams for hours. The first thing he became aware of was the pulsating that seemed to echo throughout his body. He opened his eyes, or tried to and was greeted by a searing sensation in his right one. He turned his head and realized he was lying on the floor of a car (and not a very clean car he noted).

The boy shifted stiffly and sat up, awkwardly maneuvering himself towards the door. Outside were Axel and Sora, sitting Indian style on the ground and leisurely watching Roxas scurry about.

The red-head turned around and stared at him when he heard the car door open. "Oh Riku, how nice of you to join us!"

Sora paused, not turning around, but Riku could see his body freeze for a moment.

The silverette sat next to the boy, who was flushed scarlet. He decided not to ask. "So... uh... where're Cloud and Leon?" Riku asked, glancing around.

"Dunno," Axel stated in a blasé voice. There was silence for a moment as they all watched Roxas march toward them bearing the limp body of a squirrel.

"And what are we doing again?" he asked, keeping his usually apathetic look.

"Apparently Roxas and Sora go camping all the time. So we went to the middle of nowhere, or as close to nowhere as we could get, and then Roxy started chasing squirrels and things..." Axel answered boredly.

"Oh..." Roxas was now crouched over a small circle of rocks he had made on a flat piece of ground, rubbing a shoe string over a stick. Axel threw him a box of matches, but the blond scowled and refused them.

"I thought the apocalypse would be more exciting," Axel sighed. "I mean it was more fun in prison. Sure, a lot of guys got raped but still."

Riku stared at him for a moment and shook his head. The silverette glanced at Sora who refused to meet his eyes. "Sora? Is something wrong?"

The brunette tucked his head against his legs, pulling his knees close to him.

"Trust me Riku, you don't want to know!" the red-head snickered.

"Come on Ax! That just makes me want to know more!" The pair bickered back and forth, and as they did so Sora seemed to shrink, turning the color of a ripe strawberry.

"All right, all right Riku!" Axel sighed. Riku crossed his arms and looked at him expectantly. "You tried to rape Sora and then you fell asleep."

The silverette burst out laughing."Come on! You're lying!"

"No, I'm really being serious," Axel chuckled nervously.

Riku smiled and arched an eyebrow, looking to Sora who nodded his head.

"He is telling the truth," he said shakily.

Riku bit his lip and stared at him awkwardly, a sheepish expression clouding his face.

"So... uh.. why were you trying to... in a dream?"

It was the elder boy's turn to flush.

"Uh... eh... in dreams... I mean... I wasn't thinking straight, I would have done it even if it was my mother!" Riku immediately wished he could have bashed his head in against a tree. "I- I-"

Sora gave him an open-mouthed stare and Axel smirked. "And here I was thinking you didn't care about your mother, I mean you haven't seen her since you were fourteen, right?"

"I care very much about my mother, Ax! When she gets out of her coma I'll go visit her!" Riku retorted, crossing his arms.

Axel blinked, then actually began rolling on the ground, laughing maniacally.

The silverette turned back to Sora. "Come on, let's just forget about this, okay?" he asked hopefully. He tried to change the subject. "Does anyone have food, I'm starving!"

Axel stopped abruptly and began rummaging through his pockets fearfully.

"We don't have any, Riku," Sora said plainly, as if this had nothing to do with him.

"We don't have any food?" Riku echoed, his voice empty. With a sudden violent motion he launched himself at the red-head. In a fury, he slammed Axel's head against the ground and pinned him easily.

"No, no wait!" Axel pleaded as Riku moved to his pressure points. "I have fried chicken!" He produced a drumstick from his pocket and waved it in the silverette's face.

"Hey, why didn't you give that to my brother?" the brunette asked accusingly.

"Foolish mortal. You have never tasted the wrath of the hypoglycemic," Axel stated, glaring at him seriously.

Riku was now gnawing on the bone with a certain animalistic character.

"Why do you even keep fried chicken in your pockets?"

Axel shrugged."I just always have."

Roxas had skinned the squirrel (much to Sora's dismay) and roasted it over the fire he had created himself, of which the others were constantly reminded. It was getting dark, but the light from the fire illuminated the area. The smell of roasted squirrel and the smoke filled the air.

Axel gazed into the flames, a far-away look in his eye. "What's the point?"

The others looked up from their bits of squirrel and stared at him. "I mean, Leon and Cloud are probably dead now. What if everyone else is too?" he asked.

No one had the heart to speak up. Despite their normal or even happy demeanor, the same question had been brewing around their own heads.

"If we are the only people left... all we will do is run, run until we too fall victim. And even if we live thirty, forty, fifty more years, running forever isn't living."

No one spoke, no one made a sound. All they could hear were crickets chirping, everything seemed the same. How could the world have gone so wrong?

Sora spoke up, surprising everyone."So what?"

"So what? We are the la-" Axel continued, his voice incredulous.

"SO WHAT?" Sora shouted standing up. "So what if we could be the last ones? We move on, we live, we retreat if we have to! It doesn't matter what we do, we can and will make a life for ourselves. Nothing can ever stay the same anyways!" His voice was strong and filled with an unusual confidence the brunette had never possessed before.

"Sora?" Riku called his name gently, reaching out to brush his finger tips against the back of his hand. The boy turned, and Riku could see the firelight reflecting in the tears that stained his innocent face. His sapphire eyes were filled with both desolation and hope as he left the life he had always known. Sora collapsed into the elder's arms and the silverette pressed him against his warm chest.

"Axel is just being a cynical smart ass. We are humans, harder to stomp out than cockroaches." Riku smiled in a small, sad way. He could feel Sora's body tremble against him. Gently he began rubbing his back, acting more like a mother than a friend. Riku glared at Axel who returned the gaze guiltily.

"Hello question mark? Come in exclamation point!"

Roxas perked up."Leon?" he called, trying to make out a shape or anything in the darkness.

"No Cloud, they are not dead." The man's voice seemed to sound from nowhere. Even Sora looked up, his eyes red and puffy.

"Oh my god, could this be a mirage, are we already that malnourished?" Axel shouted dramatically.

"You see mirages, yiblishe," Riku retorted.

"Not all the time! What does that word mean, anyway?"

"It's Russian for 'dirty sex toy,'" Roxas stated plainly, Riku grinned.

"Cloud, I'm sure they know how to work a walkie-talkie, they aren't that idiotic."

The group was silenced for a moment.

"Oh but we are..." Riku murmured.

Roxas rummaged through the bag Leon had given them and found the device. "Yeah, we hear you. What's up?"

"All right, we need you to meet us at the docks, we have a boat there that will take us to our island."

"Holy crap, you have an island?"

"Well yeah, stem cell research kinda rakes in money and Cloud is an award winning surgeon so... Anyways, we have a laboratory on the island and it should be safe there since it is uninhabited," Leon went on.

"I've seen this movie," Axel grumbled.

"It's a book, there are two actually," Riku corrected.

"Well there is a movie too!" the red-head shouted at him.

"Will you shut up? It is a common plot device!" Roxas drowned them both out. Axel and Riku stared at him in shock.

"So the docks are by the music park, you know what I'm talking about question mark?" Leon asked him, having no reaction to the argument on the other side.

"Uhuh, yeah we know."

"We need you to be there sometime tomorrow night, you should be able to make it there. Did you get out okay question mark?"

"Yeah, we're fine. We made it way out in the country somewhere," Roxas responded.

Axel and Riku glared at each other."It is so not a common plot device," Axel muttered.

Roxas whapped the back of his head and continued on with his conversation.

Sora still clung to the silverette's warm body like a baby lemur. The elder ran his hand through his hair ruffling it. How long had he wished to do this? How many dreams had he had about this? Maybe now was the right time to let the brunette know.

"Sora I-" The boy in his arms looked up at him, meeting his gaze with those huge royal-blue eyes. "I-"

"Riku, something is poking me..." the brunette said, wiggling around in his lap.

HOW? Riku thought, why at a time like this? Well he knew why, but how had he not been aware he was getting... at the most inopportune time too! Now that Sora was wiggling around in his lap, he was very aware.

"Riku, What is it?" Sora asked him. The silverette honestly didn't have the heart to tell the boy what it was exactly. "It feels so weird!"

"Uh... It's uh... Um..." Riku tripped over his words. What did one normally carry in one's pockets? "My flashlight!" he said victoriously.

Axel stared at him, realizing what was happening. He was somewhere between dying of laughter and having a seizure trying to control it.

"Wow... sure is a big flashlight," Sora said offhandedly.

The silverette blushed and straightened (in more ways then one). He had now attracted Roxas's attention. That was it, this was strike three for him.

"Yeah, I guess it is," Riku stated awkwardly, not sure what to do. Should he remove the boy from his lap (which, very obviously, he didn't want to do) or keep him there and risk his dignity (if he had any left).

Unfortunately, Roxas made the decision for him. The blond grabbed his hand, yanking him up and sending his brother tumbling to the ground.

"Riku, you are coming with me."

The silverette hung his head. He had known this was inevitable. The pair walked until they were out of hearing distance of the other two.

"Roxas, I'm sorry," Riku said, defeat in his voice.

"Yeah, you better be. I have overlooked everything you have done so far. I have never seen a person so clumsy with love. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Uh..."

"Just now you had the perfect chance! But no! You couldn't even control your own body!"

"Ro-"

"It's been years! You better explain yourself, coward!"

"Roxas, are you saying you want me to be with your brother?" Riku asked, astonished.

"No shit Sherlock! Or it's rather the other way around, but it doesn't matter. You have been dorking around too long! This angsty love drama has gone on long enough!"

"So you seriously want me to confess?"

"Yeah, and you sure as hell better not hurt him. Then of course I know you won't, you are better for him than anyone else." The blond's voice grew less threatening as he finished that last sentence.

The other stared at him."I wouldn't dream of hurting him," he said, his tone low and serious.

"I call shotgun!" Sora called as they packed up camp (which basically meant making sure their fire was put out properly).

"No you don't Sora! You will sit in the back with Riku," Roxas ordered.

Said silverette quietly wondered when it had been decided that he would sit in the back.

"Come on Roxas," Sora whined and pouted, "I never get to ride shotgun!"

Roxas glared at him, then looked expectantly at Riku, who unfortunately for his own well-being was still pondering why it was assumed he was in the back.

"Fine... I'll sit in the back with Riku." Roxas grumbled in annoyance.

"Do I smell or something?" Riku asked, wondering why everyone seemed to have an aversion to sitting with him. Was it because he blew up a car? Or because he might start dripping blood on them? Or fall asleep in the middle of making a move? The silverette just didn't understand it and unfortunately no one answered his question.

Axel started the car with a thrum and smiled. Roxas sat in the back, an expression of doom on his face. Riku cowered away from him on the other side of the car.

"Can't you take a hint?" Roxas asked scowling.

"Eh?" Riku jerked up.

In the front seat Sora was giving Axel directions.

"Now right onto King's Street until you hit Highwind."

"Hurry up!" he gestured to the brunette.

"Roxas," Riku whispered, realizing what was going on. "I need to be tactful!"

"Hey, what are you-" Sora quipped in.

"You've been 'tactful' for years!"

The silverette turned away and crossed his arms."Why don't you tell him yourself if you want me to so badly!"

"Fine! Sora, Riku finds you-"

The boy's remaining eye widened and he launched himself at the other, covering his mouth.

"Play nice now, children." Axel said in a sing-song voice from the front seat, enjoying lording himself over the pair in the back.

Riku suddenly sprang up off the blond. "Why did you just lick my hand!"

"Oh, he'll lick anything you put in front of his face," the red-head said happily as he took another blow to the back of the head.

"I need you to make another left on Stansberry," Sora said, not quite getting the joke.

Riku on the other hand was trying to hide a grin.

"Wipe that look off your face!" Roxas shouted, blushing.

"Come on Roxy, don't be embarrassed!" Axel said, smirk firmly in place.

"Both of you can suck it!" the blond shouted angrily.

At this Riku couldn't hold it in anymore, he burst out in laughter."Obviously you beat us to that!"

Two hours later Axel and Riku were still nursing the wounds they had received from Roxas, though neither of them regretted their juvenile comments.

Sora anxiously glanced at the street signs as they passed. "Uh... I think we are going the wrong way," he said quietly. Axel pulled into yet another screeching halt. " I haven't seen a street I recognized at all for the past half-hour..." Sora admitted.

In the back seat, Roxas and Riku glanced around at their surroundings for the first time, bringing an end to their glaring contest.

"Sora, you drove there everyday for that play for three months," the blond said seriously.

"Yeah! But that was years ago! And- and, Axel just turn around and go back the way we came." The red-head did as he was bidden, making a huge u-turn and taking out a girl who was missing half of her face and an arm. That was the nice thing about apocalypses, hardly anyone was on the streets so you could drive like you were in Grand Theft Auto, except instead of hitting hookers you could plow over the undead!

"I can't believe you," Roxas sighed from the back seat. "You could get us all killed!"

"Oh come on Roxas, shouldn't your PMS be over by now?" Axel questioned, trying to distract the blond from his brother, but this was a bit like going into a lion's den covered in raw meat after having chucked rocks at it. The boy glowered at him.

The red-head tried a new approach, one that hopefully would not get himself killed. "I mean, we are pretty much saved! We survived, how many people can say that?"

Sora glanced out the window at the myriad of bodies roaming the streets. Obviously not many. "And now we are going to somewhere where we can probably live until this is all over, even if we have to eat genetically mutated fruits and vegetables!"

Roxas's gaze faltered. "I guess so."

"And now will you stop being a Negative Nancy?" he cooed mockingly.

"You're one to talk Mr. 'We are the last people on earth,'" Riku grumbled.

"Well I was just uh- hey that almost got you laid!"

"Would you shut up about Sora and I?" The silverette turned scarlet at the memory.

"You embarrassed Ku?" Axel chuckled.

"At least I'm not angsty and emo like you!"

"Really? Because you have the hair for it!"

"Are you freaking insulting my hair? You look like a distant relative of Sonic The Hedgehog!"

"I, at least, have some masculinity left!"

"Meat-head!"

"Circus boy!"

Riku was struck speechless, he had worked so long and hard to hide that from everyone around him."How did you know?" he asked quietly.

"You told us when you were drugged up," the red-head responded snidely.

Riku rested his head in his hands sadly in defeat.

"Well I think it's cool!" Sora said firmly, and the silverette looked up at him. "I mean every kid wants to be in the circus at some point!"

The other let out a groan of misery.

"You know, if we are the last people on earth humanity would be kinda screwed..." Roxas inserted offhandedly.

Everyone looked up and stared at him.

"And what does this have to do with..."

"No, I mean like really think about it. We are all guys so... yeah..."

There was silence for a moment.

"Well, I'm not so sure..." Axel glanced over at Sora, who crossed his arms in offense.

"Hey!"

"So, how long will this take?" Roxas asked. By the time the group had driven back to where they had started, half the day had already passed.

Axel glanced down at the dashboard and moaned, letting his head fall against the wheel and surprising them all with a loud honk.

"Dude, it says the tank is nearly empty..."

"What? No! That can't be!" Roxas said, worry in his voice.

"That is what you get for getting, no stealing, such a gas-guzzler," Riku sighed from the back. "Anyways, I'm pretty sure cars can run a while on empty."

Even so there was a nervous tension in the air.

"Maybe if we pee in the gas tank..." Sora started.

There was a collective 'What?'

"Have you been watching Sex Drive again?" Roxas asked concernedly, the boy was impressionable after all and he didn't exactly want his little brother running around like a hormonal teenager (more than he already was).

"Yeah, I watched the unrated version this time!" the brunette cried gleefully.

His brother shook his head despondently.

"Come on, Roxas!" Riku poked his cheek. "We have to have hope! I mean, sure he watches crappy coming of age stuff, but you know he appreciates indie films too!"

"So, even if my brother was a film critic, it wouldn't matter since most likely we will be eaten alive."

"Well, Sora might be right about the gas tank. Pass me a water bottle."

"There aren't anymore, I used them to make jello," Sora mumbled.

Roxas rubbed his temples."I don't really need to say anything, do I?"

"Well- I mean- Cloud and Leon have water! I really didn't think we would need it!" the brunette explained.

"It's fine Sora, we know," Axel said kindly, patting the other's head. "I mean your brother just has year-round PMS, that's all."

"Would you stop with the period jokes already?"

An odd clunking that been sounding in the car for the past two miles, and despite the fact that Axel had the pedal grinding against the floor, they didn't seem to go any faster than twenty miles per hour. As they drove farther into the city, the streets became more and more crowded by the living dead. The moaning had turned to a collective roar and their car was getting steadily slower.

Finally the vehicle came to a complete halt. They were only five blocks away and they were stuck, unable to move and unable to get out.

"Move, you piece of shit!" Axel shouted, and kicked the plastic as hard as he could.

"Well... I say we can either kill ourselves or try to make a run for it," Roxas reasoned.

"Which only leaves running," Riku added on.

The group tried to collect themselves as best they could. The undead swarmed around the car, pressing their bodies against it, and leaving smears of blood and other body fluids against the metal.

"Suddenly, killing yourself sounds a hell of a lot better," Axel mumbled.

But no one wanted to say their final goodbyes just yet. Who could blame them? It was easier to pretend they would never have to.

"All right, on the count of three," Roxas grunted miserably. "1." His heart leapt into his liver. "2." His hands clenched against the cold metal of the bar he held. "3." Simultaneously, all of the doors to the car swung open. The din of moans was only heightened by the sound of metal on bone.

It was amazing what humans could do when they fought for their lives. Riku could feel every inch of his body burning, screaming for him to stop, but he didn't listen. His vision flickered in and out, but that didn't stop him from seeing the monsters converge on Sora.

With a shout of fury, he jumped between them. Suddenly he could feel hot breath on his face and smell the stench of a day old corpse. He could tell it had once been a man, elderly but still able to function, and a pang of remorse shot through him. It lunged at his neck but he was able to block it just in time. There was the chime of teeth crunching down on metal.

The silverette pulled back for another blow, that was humane, that was what he would have wanted, no one could be happy to live like this. The man stumbled back and Riku grabbed Sora's hand. He could feel the younger's nails dig into his flesh but he didn't care. He sprinted forward.

Axel and Roxas were a few yards ahead of them, struggling to get through. Up ahead there was a building with an open door, perhaps if they could make it inside?

Axel saw where Riku was looking and gave him a quick nod. He hacked his way mercilessly through the mob, just enough to break free.

In the blink of an eye they had reached the building, and slammed the doors behind them, and began barricading themselves inside. The building had been made out to look like a disco and no one seemed to have cut the power. There were flowers decorating the neon pink walls and the ceiling. Multicolored lights danced across the room. The only peculiar thing was the fan that hung overhead, lopsided and shaking ominously as it spun.

Axel strode forward, business-like, and glanced around.

"Oh come on! We only have so long before they break in, I guess they can smell fresh meat." Roxas growled.

The red-head darted over to where some empty soda cans lay discarded on the floor. He snatched them up and marched into the bathroom.

Roxas stared for a moment but put it aside and reached into the bag Leon had given them. He quickly withdrew his hand with a muffled shriek and let go.

"What is it?" he shouted at no one in particular.

"I had to let the jello settle somewhere," Sora said in a small voice.

His brother let out a large groan and reached his hand back in, his eyes closed in disgust. Instead of pulling out the walkie-talkie he had hoped for, he pulled out one of Cloud and Leon's dart guns.

"Well this is better than expected," he said to himself and tossed the sack back to Sora.

Axel reemerged from the bathroom and stood beside his boyfriend. His arms were full of the beer and soda cans, except now Axel had his box of matches out, which was always a scary sight. He looked softly at Roxas.

"I'm sorry... You deserved so much more than me." he said, his voice sincere.

The blond's eyes softened for a moment."Yeah, but I love you." He uttered the last words with a despondent joy.

Riku glanced at Sora, realizing he had never let go of his hand. Now was his last chance. The windows and doors were rattling, the threat of the oncoming swarm was imminent.

"Sora I-" he started, then,"fuck this shit." He bent down and pulled the brunette to him. Their lips met in a desperate kiss. He pressed the younger's body against his own, loving the warm feeling against his chest. To his delight Sora kissed back, wrapping his arms around his neck and pulling him closer, if it were possible. Finally he was forced to stop for air.

The brunette traced his slightly swollen lips lightly in disbelief. "Riku, I just wanna say... uh... fuck this shit too!" He squirmed in happiness, though the words sounded foreign on his tongue.

Riku met his joyful gaze. He was the only boy who could smile on his deathbed.

The doors let out a teeth-grinding screech as the locks popped and they were forced open. This jolted the occupants of the room back into reality. The undead poured in, bringing with them the wretched aroma of decay.

Axel was the first to react, lighting one of his cans on fire and chucking it at the mob. It exploded with a resounding noise that shook the entire building.

"I've found the source of the mysterious ticking noise!" he shouted, blood-lust evident in his voice. The red-head was not going out without a bang, literally.

"It's a pipe bomb?" Sora squeaked in wonder.

"Yaaaaaaaay," Riku finished in a monotone, unable to resist.

Axel threw another, the explosion was enough to hold the monsters back for a while. Limbs and other extremities went flying into the air. There was already a crimson pool begining to grow on the floor. Sora clutched the bag and held the dart gun awkwardly, as if unsure of what to do with it.

All too soon Axel's homemade bombs ran out. He shook his head and swore profusely.

Riku ran at the hoard, a nearly suicidal move. He swung sporadically while the walking dead lunged for him. He could feel his burns and scabs crack and reopen, but he gritted his teeth and carried on. Within seconds, Axel and Roxas were at his side, though there seemed to be no end to the onslaught.

Sora stood back a little, picking off a few with the gun. Finally, he pulled back the trigger and heard an empty click. He reached into the bag, searching for anything that might help him. A zombie groped at Sora, its hand inches from his throat. The brunette threw himself backwards, trying to evade it. Instead he slipped on a puddle of blood on the floor, and the bag in his hands flew upward.

As if in slow motion, the jello seemed to float out of it, rippling like seaweed on the ocean floor. With ethereal grace, the chemical green food collided with the fan. The blades minced it thoroughly and it was spattered all across the room, covering every surface.

The zombie that was leering over Sora froze for a moment. The boy stared up into its bulging bloodshot eyes, wondering what had happened. Then he noticed the hole that was appearing in the zombie's sides and stomach. The jello seemed to be eating through its body.

"What the hell?" Riku shouted as his own combatant collapsed to the ground. With a groan it sizzled away. He wiped some of the jello off of his face and tasted it, it seemed normal enough.

"So jello actually has a purpose?" Roxas questioned, looking up at the ceiling.

"Who cares, this is our chance!" Axel shouted, grinning. Maybe he was right, maybe it was only other people who died. Regrettably, there were still more coming.

The group shoved themselves back through the doors and began sprinting down the street, running faster than they'd thought was humanly possible. They were almost there- five blocks, four blocks, three blocks.

Riku was dragging behind, he was a good runner, but his wounds seemed to catch up to him with every pounding step. Axel glanced back at him while the other two ran ahead. The silverette tripped and fell and his friend came running back to him, unwilling to leave him behind.

"You dunce! Leave me and go!" Riku shouted as the red-head approached.

Roxas had Sora's hand in a tight grasp and dragged him on, not letting him straggle behind. "I knew he was going to do this..." the blond muttered and a trickle came from his eye, but he quickly blinked it away and pressed on.

Zombies were already swarming Axel and Riku from all sides. Axel helped his friend to his feet, grimacing.

"Looks like this is finally our last stand," the silverette panted, raising his baseball bat even though his arms shook as he did so. He could see the blood seep through all the bandages and hear the pounding in his head. He knew he couldn't go on like this.

They stood back to back, facing their oncoming attackers. With an indecipherable shout they began to fight. Axel fought without reserve, putting all his strength into every swing. Riku's limbs moved slowly, his vision flickering in and out. He felt the teeth sink into his arm and tear off a hunk of flesh with a sickening rip. Suddenly, the ground seemed to have gotten too close; he could feel the warm pavement against his cheek.

Axel moved to stand over him, and the boy on the ground felt blood drip across his nose. He noticed the scrapes and cuts that had begun to crisscross his friend's body.

"There are two things a man can say when he knows he is about to die," the red-head said, still viciously protecting him. "One is I love you and the second is I'm sorry. Riku, you were my first friend and the best one I could ever ask for." His voice cracked for a moment.

Riku's body had become more relaxed, he knew now the pain would only last a little longer. "Also, do you remember when you got home from the convenience store after buying snacks one day and I told you a burglar had come in and stole your PS2? That was my fault. I dropped fire on it and it kinda exploded."

"That's nice," Riku said. He smiled internally. Only Axel would find the need to apologize for the death of a video game console. "Axel, you are my favorite idiot, so get the hell out of here." he uttered, his voice growing weaker by the second.

"No," the red-head said firmly.

But Riku couldn't hear anymore, a dull buzzing had filled his ears. Slowly, he felt himself fade away. He wondered why humans were so afraid of death, because to him it was easy as falling asleep. Finally his body went completely slack. His long, silver hair was spread-eagled on the pavement in a beautifully angelic way.

Axel smiled down at him, this would be the first and last time he would get to see Riku like this. He knew that in a few moments, he would be a bloodthirsty body like the rest. Secretly, he hoped that Riku would be the one to kill him, as strange and sick as that sounded. It just seemed less horrifying than a stranger doing it.

Still the red-head fought on, defending his friend's body. He refused to give in no matter how much his muscles ached. Until finally he heard Riku rise up with a moan, his eyes rolling back into his skull. Axel stared at him for a moment, then dropped his knife. It went clanging to the ground.

"Let's meet again in the next life," he murmured and closed his eyes. He didn't scream as he felt the teeth biting through his skin, he didn't beg for life as all the others had done when the warm blood flowed down his limbs, and he never once regretted what he had done.

Axel collapsed, dead before he even hit the pavement.

Roxas and Sora reached the dock safely. The brunette looked behind him for the other two, when he could see no one tears began pouring from his eyes. He glanced at his brother, who stood straight and tall, refusing to look at him.

"You knew, didn't you?" the younger screamed at him. He grabbed Roxas by the front of his shirt."You knew!"

"Riku just wanted you to be safe, I had to get you out of there," the blond uttered stoically.

Leon stared at them both."They might not be dea-" the elder started.

"Of course they are dead!" Sora shouted. "There were too many of them. We have been lucky thus far but there is no way they could have survived that! You saw how badly he was injured, there is no way..."

Sora stared at the sight in front of them. Axel and Riku stood in front of him, slowly side stepping their way towards them. Riku's bandages had begun to come off, revealing the infected cuts and burns that lay underneath. Part of his arm had been torn off and he could see the white of the bone. Axel didn't look any better. His normally smug face was torn and scraped.

"Sora... we need to get out of here," Roxas said, watching the bodies lumber toward him. Though somehow, his mind couldn't make a connection between these things and his lover. They had nothing in common, Axel was already gone and he knew it.

The brunette buried his face in his brother's chest. "I hate you..." he mumbled through sobs.

Roxas wrapped his arms around him."I know," he whispered. "I know."

EPILOGUE

Riku blinked and for some unknown reason it was with both eyes.

"Mnnnrg," he mumbled, and tried to sit up but failed epically. He was lying in a warm white bed in a room of the same color.

"Riku!" Axel said joyfully from the bed next to him. "I've been awake for like twenty minutes." The red-head was sitting up and staring over at him intently.

"The last thing I remember was dying..." the silverette grumbled. It was oddly hard for him to move his mouth.

"Yeah, me too. I'm pretty sure we are in heaven."

"Damn... and I wanted to live my next life as a tree or something," Riku said halfheartedly. There were a few a minutes of silence as they both stared at the ceiling.

"Being dead is pretty boring."

"Yeah..." Axel agreed.

"Hey, why don't you see if you can fly?"

"All right!" Axel crouched on the edge of the bed like a baby bird and held his arms out, waving them profusely. He took a spring off the bed and clattered to the floor with a thud and a groan of pain.

"Where there goes that idea. Being dead sucks."

"I thought you weren't supposed to feel pain after you die?" Axel moaned.

Suddenly Sora burst into the room through a door neither of them had noticed before."RIKUUUUUUU!" he called, his arms wide, ready to embrace the silverette.

Roxas came in behind him, an utterly blasé expression on his face. "Axel, why are you on the floor?"

"Ah shit! You died too, Roxy-kins?" Axel shouted as he scrambled up from the floor and ran to hug his boyfriend.

Cloud and Leon entered after them, smiling happily.

"You're not dead, you idiot." Roxas said coldly as the red-head clung to him.

"And I love you too, Roxy-poo!" Axel only hugged him tighter, ignoring his mood.

"Stop calling me those names!" the blond reprimanded.

On the other side of the room, Sora was helping Riku into a sitting position, beaming all the while.

"So uh... why am I alive?" Riku asked quizzically.

"Well you see, you died but the stem-cells immediately brought you back to life, however your brain was dead as I explained before. But do you know how if you lose a hand or other appendage and you can get to the hospital fast enough, they can reattach it for you question mark? Well this is basically the same concept. However it takes a bit more time for brains to redevelop dot dot dot," Leon explained.

"Thank you," Riku told him, not really sure what else to say to the man who saved his life. Sora nuzzled into his neck happily and Riku wrapped his arms loosely around him.

"So, how long have we been out?" the silverette questioned offhandedly, paying more attention to the boy in his lap.

"Two years," Cloud replied.

There was a pause and Riku's and Axel's eyes went wide in disbelief.

"We have a lot of catching up to do," Sora whispered kindly into his ear.

FIN