The boy ran down the street, panting and frantic. Anxiously looking for an escape. His twelve other friends had already gotten away.

"HEY! You get back here NOW!"

Yeah, right! Like they expect me to hand myself in? He thought to himself.

He found a small ledge on the outside of a house covered by long vines and shrubbery. It was high enough that no one could get there, well if they were normal. The boy checked his other options and easily leapt onto the ledge and concealed himself quite well, and waited. Soon enough the men chasing him were in sight.

"I can't find those guys anywhere. I thought we saw one, but man! They can run!" The boy grinned in his dark, little hiding spot, still trying to catch his breath.

"Those gang members sure are short though." The boy frowned when they said that. They still think that this 'gang' is run by twenty or thirty-somethings. They never could guess it was a bunch of teens or even kids.

He watched as they walked away, giving up on their chase for imaginary adult gang members. He was dead tired, however he knew he wouldn't sleep much because it was Sunday. Tomorrow is school. All of the other guys have perfect grades and attendance, so no one will suspect them. And then the after-school job at their host club, they don't sleep much. He jumped down, now so you understand, the ledge was on the second story and jumping from that could normally break your legs, but he absorbed the impact on the balls of his feet and somehow kept from injuring himself. He ran down the streets, climbed over walls, and jumped across roofs. He eventually reached a small blue house in the more quiet part of town. He climbed in through the window and shut it behind him. He stripped off his long coat and jumped into the bed, hoping his family in the next rooms didn't hear him just come home at three in the morning.

BREEP BREEP BREEP BREEEEE- BAM! The boy aggravated by awaking only three hours after falling asleep groggily stumbled out of bed and walled into the shower, and realized he cut himself on his way home last night. Blood trickled off his shoulder and into the shower drain. He got out, cleansed his wound and put on his school uniform. A white dress shirt, a black suit jacket, black dress pants, black boots, and black gloves. Which are not part of the dress code, but are allowed. He grabbed his bag, and ran down the stairs.

"Young man! You are going to eat your breakfast before you leave!" The boy hesitated at the door.

"But, mom, I need to-"

"You need to obey and eat your breakfast. A poptart and a diet coke isn't breakfast. I don't care what you're friends do. YOU are eating a good meal before school."

The boy groaned in defeat, but he knew when he was beat. His mother handed him a plate of scrambled eggs, toast, ham, and orange juice. He scarfed down the food and was washing down the juice when his mother gasped.

"Oh, sweetie! What happened to your face?" He saw his reflection in the glass. A faint shadow streaked across his cheekbone. He fell on his face while running away.

"Kadaj started it." He blurted defensively. True they did get into a fight yesterday afternoon. Kadaj and his brothers, Yazoo and Loz, are college-aged guys with serious problems. Their mother, whose name was Jenova, was a serial killer in a town nearby called Midgar. She died and their older brother, Sephiroth, took over the 'family business' and wound up in a maximum-security prison for life. They want their brother out and miss their mom terribly and they are quite the punks around, and despite the fact of the family around them, they don't have a criminal record.

"Kadaj? Oh, honey! Are you alright?" The boy looked at his mother, how would she react if she knew what he was really up to?

"Yeah mom, I'm fine! I showed him not to mess with me! This is just a battle scar!" He saw his mother looked upset when he said it. He felt awful.

When he was really little, his mom took him to the place where his dad worked. They worked on energy and nuclear reactors, which is pretty dangerous work. That day a fire broke out in the factory, most of the workers got out alive others were not so lucky. His father was one of the deceased. The boy didn't know why, he didn't know how, but he always believed his father's death was somehow his fault. He claimed that's why he had been marked. During the fire, while his mother was trying to get them out alive a pipe burst, shrapnel hit the boy in the face, permanently scarring him.

He ran his fingers over his scars. Then glanced at the clock.

"I'm gonna be late." He got out of his seat and headed for the door.

"I love you, honey." His mom called.

"Yeah, love you too." He bolted out the door. The boy had made rules after his dad died.

Rule number 1: Never show mom how upset you are.

Rule number 2: Always leave on a positive note. If something happens, make sure she knows you love her.

Rule number 3: Never ever let her see you use those powers.

Rule number 4: Always do what's right.

He ran to a sleek black car waiting for him in the driveway. The driver was about sixteen, just like the boy, he had golden eyes like a cat's, and long sky blue hair down past his shoulders, and white earrings. But the most noticeable thing was two long scars crossing over from his forehead to under his eyes in a 'X' shape.

"Morning. Man, how did you get out of there? Those guys were after you like a hoard of hornets!" The teen driving asked as he pulled out of the driveway and into the street.

"Don't question my abilities, Saïx. I jumped on this ledge and hid for a bit." Saïx laughed.

"Geez. You know you're luck will run out one day, Axel."

"Shut up and drive." Axel grumbled. Saïx grinned and turned into the street, and drove towards their high school.

Axel stared out the window of the car while Saïx drove in silence.

"I saw Reno yesterday." Saïx commented. Axel scoffed and glared at the rear-view mirror.

"Yeah, so?" he retorted.

Saïx frowned. "I thought it would be comforting to know your brother is doing fine."

"No. It's not." Axel snapped. Saïx just looked at the road.

"Sorry man." Axel added, in a less angry tone. "It's just…Reno's become one of them. You know… a Shinra operative. Ever since that accident, he's tried to help… but he just doesn't know what he's doing."

Saïx nodded. "Right."

For those of you who know what Shinra is, I don't need to explain. But if I don't, some of you will cry foul. Shinra is an organization for upholding the city's best interests, from top-secret missions, to arresting gang members in the local neighborhoods. For instance Sephiroth was one of their biggest catches. Their base is in Midgar, but they have jurisdiction in all the neighboring cities, including Radiant Garden and Twilight Town.

Saïx just pulled into the school parking lot, when they arrived in the middle of an argument.

"MY CAR! I'LL KILL YOU!" Axel recognized that voice. He and Saïx got out of their car and saw a black haired teen with a long cruel scar down his left cheek and an eye patch on the right side of his face. The teen's hair was streaked with gray, and pulled into a ponytail down to his back, and his only eye that showed was golden. Next to this traumatic guy was a sleek glossy black Chrysler, with a long scratch going across it. Holding a set of keys, was none other than the youngest of Jenova's sons, Yazoo. His long slate-colored hair was swaying in the wind.

"Temper, temper. This is why I can't stand brats." He chided in an icy voice. The teenager clenched his fists.

"Hey, Xigbar! Calm down!" Saïx and Axel were right behind him. Xigbar turned around.

"What? Not even going to fight me? Your little friends too big and tough?" Yazoo taunted. Axel glared at him.

"C'mon Xiggy, he's not even worth the trouble." Axel tried to convince him. Xigbar just growled and headed for the school. Yazoo taunted and yelled at him until they were inside.

"Man! I want nothing more than to put a bullet in Yazoo's empty idiot head!" Xigbar hissed when they walked into the school halls. Axel looked at his surroundings, not many people were close to them. This might surprise you, but despite their looks, scars and all, Axel, Saïx, Xigbar, and some of their other friends, are actually the most popular and liked of all their classmates. An auburn haired girl ran up to Axel, a distressed look on her face.

"Kairi? What's wrong?" Axel asked, worried now. She tried to catch her breath.

"It's Sora." Sora was the older twin of Roxas, one of Axel's best friends.

"What happened?" Saïx asked.

"He's in the hospital. He ran into someone and they beat him up." She was tearing up. "They broke his leg and cracked four of his ribs." Kairi looked like she would burst into tears. She and Sora had been dating for a few weeks now, although they've known each other all their lives. It must have been devastating for her.

"I bet it was Loz. He's been itching to beat up someone around here. But of course Shinra and the police won't do anything or they won't have enough evidence to lock them up." Xigbar growled. Axel put his hand on Kairi's shoulder.

"Sora's tough, he'll be fine. You shouldn't worry so much Kairi." She nodded.

"You're right. Thanks, Axel. I just wanted you to know. Roxas is pretty upset with the situation too. Even Naminé can't cheer him up." Axel frowned.

"Well, thanks for telling me." She nodded and walked off. They were headed for science class, when a hyper mullet-brandishing teen ran up to them.

"Hey, Axel, Saïx, Xiggy, we've got a new professor here!" He claimed while taking sips of coffee.

"Demyx, you should stop drinking coffee so much, and who's the new guy?" Xigbar asked. Demyx gulped the last bit of his coffee, tossed it in the trash and blinked.

"Um, I think it was Professor Ansem. Yeah! That's who it was!" Demyx grinned, his green eyes sparkling.

"Ansem? I think my dad knew him." Axel commented.

"Yeah, and didn't Vexen, Lexeaus, Zexion, Xaldin, and Xemnas go to that seminar he had last summer?" Saïx asked.

"Yeah! They sure did." Xigbar confirmed. They reached the door and walked inside where several students sat ready for this lecture. The second they sat down the bell rung and the professor walked to the front of the room.

"I am Ansem. Welcome to my class. I recognize some of you from my summer course. In any case we should start. I believe one of the most mysterious, yet amazing things among us is the heart. It is the source of life and emotion, but no one can truly understand it. It can be injured, physically and emotionally." As interested as Axel was in his seminar, he couldn't focus entirely on it.

"Mr. Gunlock." Axel jumped. Ansem hadn't called his name, but Axel had fallen asleep.

"Cardiac arrest." Xigbar answered. Ansem nodded. Axel realized that Ansem asked a question, and Xigbar had given an answer. Ansem was about to announce something, but the bell rang before he could start, and everyone got up and walked out. Axel yawned when they left.

"Didn't sleep much, huh?" Demyx asked. Axel shook his head. Saïx grinned.

"You should have seen him! I've never seen anyone run that fast! I bet he stunned the police really good!" Axel smirked, but he wanted nothing more than to sleep. Demyx pulled an orange bottle out of his pocket.

"What's that, Dem?" Axel yawned. Demyx grinned.

"Vexen's latest concoction. Take one, and you'll have a fever for the rest of the day. You could go home and get some sleep." Axel shook his head.

"Nah. I'll just catch up on some sleep on my break at the club."

"Plus it's Monday. We have a pretty decent sized crowd usually." Saïx added.

The rest of the school day went by sluggishly. Filled with seminars and homework assignments and projects. Axel was trying to find Roxas, but he didn't see him at school at all, which was unusual. After school, something started up again in the parking lot.

A blond-haired boy, about fourteen years old, came up to Kairi, who looked very upset.

"Hey, where's Sora?" he asked Kairi.

"He's in the hospital." She answered simply. He looked stunned.

"What happened?"

"He was attacked. He got badly hurt."

"Maybe if he wasn't such a pushover, he might have defended himself."

Axel looked over his shoulder. A guy in a white trench coat stood over them. He was about sixteen, with short platinum blonde hair and a long, thin, scar from his forehead to below his left eye, and a black ski cap with the Japanese kanji "Shin" written on it. His partners, a slender red-eyed girl and a muscular brown-eyed young man were standing behind him.

"What did you just say?" The blonde growled. The ski cap guy sneered.

"Seriously. Have you ever seen him fight willingly? No wonder he's in the hospital. I'm surprised he's still in one piece." He smirked. "I'm telling you, if he doesn't man up, one day he's gonna wind up dead. Not that anyone would miss him. I sure wouldn't."

"Shut up, Seifer!" The blonde lunged at him. Everyone crowded around them chanting for a fight. A girl about fifteen with brown hair and mismatched eyes, one green, one blue, tried to stop them.

"Tidus!" Saïx and a teen with red-orange brushed-back hair pulled the two apart before they could beat each other up.

"Tidus, you gotta calm down, man. Trying to solve problems with these fights doesn't solve anything, ya?"

"Wakka…" Tidus glared at Wakka then Seifer.

"You're just lucky your friends stopped you, or else Seifer would've put you in your place, y'know?" The muscle-bound kid, Rai taunted. Tidus growled and tensed.

"Hothead," Seifer's female partner, Fuu, commented.

"Tidus…" Yuna warned. He looked over at the others.

"Sorry. I just can't take Seifer and his insults to everyone anymore!" Axel looked at the disappearing crowd.

"Hey, when's that big soccer game?" Axel asked. Tidus perked up.

"Saturday, twelve-thirty. The Besaid Aurochs will crush the competition! Right, Wakka?"

Wakka laughed. "Absolutely!"

Xigbar grinned. "Right. Good luck guys. Man, I'm going to kill Yazoo…" He looked solemnly at his car. Axel headed towards Saïx's car.

"See you at the club?" Saïx asked.

"Yeah, yeah." Xigbar waved. They pulled out of the parking lot and drove away. Axel fell asleep somewhere along the way.

His dream was something from the past. He was sitting in a room with twelve other teenagers in a circle. Saïx sat to his left, Demyx to his right. In the first spot an older teen with silver hair, orange eyes, and russet skin. Next to him Xigbar sat, his eye looking around the room. Next to him another older teen with black dreadlocks, most pulled into a ponytail, purple eyes and sideburns tapped his fingers on his armrest. Next to him a guy about seventeen with long blonde hair and emerald green eyes fiddled with a prescription bottle. Then a bulky guy with ginger hair brushed up and intense blue eyes was cracking his knuckles. A slate haired guy with pale blue eyes sat next to the bulky guy, reading a textbook. Then Saïx, then Axel, then Demyx. Next to Demyx, a guy with blonde hair brushed back with blue eyes sat shuffling playing cards. Next to him sat a guy with pale pink hair and electric blue eyes glancing at everyone else. Then there was a girl with strawberry blond hair brushed neatly back, emphasizing her vibrant green eyes. And finally there was a younger teenage boy with blond hair and brilliant blue eyes.

All of their chairs had high backs, which towered over their heads, and roman numerals. And the one in the first chair stood up.

"You all are here because we know what it's like to see despair, sorrow, and pain beyond all reason. We have all witnessed the loss of loved ones, and each of us has been marked. Some physically, and most emotionally." He looked at Xigbar, then Saïx, and finally, Axel.

"You all know how the local law enforcers, Shinra, have done next to nothing about our safety and allow these things to happen to more people every day. I ask you; do you just want to stand helplessly and watch as children loose their parents, or siblings? Do you want Sephiroth to break out of prison and fulfill his mother's wishes of slaughtering everyone? Do you want to watch as Shinra takes away what little freedom we have and leave us defenseless against the real dangers? If you do not, I ask you: stand and fight! Fight against Shinra, for our families, for our friends, for our town, the beautiful Radiant Garden!" They all got up and cheered.

"Now not all of us know each other, and I know this is lame, but tell everyone else your name, your age, your rank, and your reason for fighting." He added. "My name is Xemnas. I have no last name. That is part of my reason for fighting. I am eighteen years of age. My rank is I, superior. My reason for fighting is this: Sephiroth killed my mother, my father, and my younger brother… in front of me." Everyone fell silent. Xigbar stood up.

"My name is Xigbar Gunlock. I am seventeen. My rank is II. My reason for fighting is my older brother worked by making guns and missiles for the armies in other countries, and one day he brought me on a delivery and a gang that was distantly connected to Jenova attacked us. He was shot thirty-seven times. I got out with these." He pointed to his eye patch then his scar.

"My name is Xaldin Farehll. I am eighteen. I am number III. My reason for fighting is my big sister was stabbed to death, and Shinra couldn't convict her killer because of insufficient evidence."

"I am Vexen Kearn. I am seventeen years old. I am number IV. My reason for fighting is my father was tested on like a guinea pig. He died of an overdose of medication. The lab where he was murdered is still in business today and they still use human experiments."

"I'm Lexeaus Roth. I'm eighteen and I'm number V. I'm fighting for my mother who was beaten to death. Her killer was released from prison only five months after his arrest, claiming he was insane when the killing happened."

"My name is Zexion Krall. I'm sixteen and my rank is VI. My younger brother and sister were kidnapped three years ago, and I haven't seen them since. Shinra hasn't ever done a thing to help my family before or since."

"I am Saïx Belding. I am number VII. I'm sixteen. I'm fighting for my mother, who died in a car accident. It was a DUI case; the man who killed my mother seven years ago and marked me wasn't even arrested." Axel stood up.

"My name is Axel Flynn. I'm number VIII and I'm sixteen. And I'm fighting for my father who died in the factory meltdown ten years ago that Shinra caused, and all of those who feel the pain I do." He touched the marks under his eyes; they were the shape of teardrops.

"I'm Demyx Gibson, and I'm fifteen and I'm number IX. I'm fighting for my mom. She died because we couldn't afford her medicine when she got really sick. And the laboratory where they made her meds raised the price because of the epidemic. Only the rich survived."

"I am Luxord Binion. Number X. I'm seventeen. My father was killed in a casino by greedy thugs."

"Marluxia Iris. Number XI, and I am sixteen. My brother was buried alive by Sephiroth seven years ago."

"I'm Larxene Myoka. XII. I'm sixteen. My dad was killed in the line of duty by gang members."

"I'm number XIII, Roxas Vale. I'm fourteen. Sephiroth killed my mom and dad. My twin brother is all I have, and we live with his best friend; Riku." Xemnas looked at all of us.

"Thank you for joining this cause. We will not stand by and let others get hurt like us. We don't want to see more suffering in this world. So now we will stand and fight as: Organization XIII!" They cheered, hopeful for their futures.

"Axel! Wake up!" Axel blinked and rubbed his eyes.

"Time to go to work, sandman." Saïx laughed. Axel stretched and got out of the car, looked at the building and sighed.

"Ugh. When is waiting a bunch of crazy teenage girls hand and foot work?"

"Since forever. C'mon man, your fan-girls await you!" Saïx laughed. Axel groaned. I believe another explanation is in order. A host club is an establishment where they hire attractive young men to serve female clientele drinks and lavish attention, such as offering to light her cigarette, but in high school clubs it's more about being treated luxuriously by guys you might like, who go to your school.

Axel pushed open the door and walked inside. He started cleaning tables and Saïx opened the windows. Demyx, Zexion, and Xigbar walked in while Axel started on the third table. Lights flipped on and the floors were being swept.

"Hey! I finally got the parlor trick down!" Demyx shouted. He picked up a goblet and a bottle of soda, and tossed the glass in the air. Lexeaus, Vexen, Xaldin, and Marluxia arrived just in time to see the glass shatter into a thousand pieces and Demyx yelp in terror.

"I'm okay!" he yelled out, half-heartedly. Saïx rolled his eyes.

"You broke it, dingbat!" Xigbar yelled. He pushed the broom into Demyx's hands.

"Sweep it up!" Demyx grumbled about Internet videos being uninformative, and shuffled across the floor, broken glass in the dustpan.

"Well, that matter aside," Xemnas walked in from the back room, he and Roxas were already there. "I guess we need to open." Saïx flipped a sign in the window over.

"'Kay. We're open." Demyx snickered. Axel sat on the window seat, waiting for something to happen. Within a few minutes after opening the door opened, the jingle from the bell over the door lit up the club. Axel, Saïx, and Xemnas were by the door, so they bowed to the two older teenage girls who just walked in.

"Welcome to Host Club XIII." They greeted them warmly. Xemnas held his hand out for them.

"I'll lead you to your table." The girls giggled and followed him, and Demyx joined Axel and Saïx.

"It's kinda fun to have these girls want to date us, huh?" Axel rolled his eyes.

"It's just a way to make money and provide a job to cover up our 'after-school activity'." Demyx shrugged.

"Whatever. I haven't heard any complaints about this job so far!" Axel grinned. Demyx never could ask a girl out, so naturally he loved the job. Several girls came and left and later on, Saïx did the parlor trick Demyx tried, but it worked.

"How come you can do that?" Demyx complained. Saïx turned and grinned.

"Practice, Dem. Lots of practice." He answered. Demyx crossed his arms. Saïx frowned. He was looking at Marluxia, who motioned for someone to come over.

"Marluxia wants something. I'll be back." Saïx walked towards the kitchen. The front door opened. Axel turned around and bowed.

"Welcome to-" Before he could finish, he felt a strong blow to his gut. He managed to look up to see three slate haired men walking into the building. They were Jenova's sons, Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo. The oldest one with his hair trimmed just below his chin, Kadaj, pointed to the others.

"Which one of you trashed my brother's car?" Axel saw Xigbar biting the inside of his cheek. Kadaj looked around the room, his multi-colored eyes smoldered with hate. No one moved, Xemnas, Lexeaus, and Xaldin were standing in between them and the girls, and considering that they are the oldest and biggest of all the others, they probably didn't look like a bunch of brats to Kadaj.

"Fine." He shrugged. "You girls can go." The second he said that, the girl in the corner bolted.

"Yazoo," He glanced at his younger brother. "Don't cause too much of a scene." Yazoo grinned and pulled what looked like a small club from his jacket. Xigbar took a step forward.

"Hey!" Yazoo pulled the trigger on it. The shot echoed in the room. It was a pistol, a 45 caliber. No doubt people heard that, and Shinra would show up. Xigbar shouted and collapsed. Yazoo slowly walked over to him.

"You're the brat from that high school. Didn't I already teach you a lesson with my car key?" Yazoo chided coldly. Xigbar clenched his arm; dark blood trickled onto the floor. "But no. You had to bash in my windshield." Xigbar gritted his teeth.

"Revenge is a powerful thing. But I'll tell you something. It never will end well for people like you." He stomped on Xigbar's arm. You could hear the bone snap, the sickly noise made Axel cringe. Xigbar screamed in pain. "Kadaj, you and Loz can go. I'll finish things up here real quick." Kadaj nodded and left with Loz. Yazoo kicked Xigbar, who rolled on his stomach.

"Stop it!" Roxas tried to hit Yazoo, but he saw him coming, so he turned around kicking Roxas into the wall.

"Now, where were we?" Yazoo put his boot on Xigbar's back and grabbed his wrists and started pulling. Xigbar screamed.

"I think I'll just keep you from using these arms to break my property." Axel burned with hate. He probably would have tried to fight Yazoo, when all of a sudden, someone wearing a long leather hooded cloak, jumped out of the kitchen.

"What? A feeble attempt at a rescue?" Yazoo taunted. He tried to kick him, but the guy dodged it with superhuman speed and kicked Yazoo in the face, knocking him to the ground. Yazoo reached for his gun, but the cloaked man knocked it out of his hand. He kicked him in the chest and Yazoo stumbled backwards out of the building.

"Ungh… I'll get you back for this!" He ran off. The guy pulled his hood off. His blue hair dropped to his collarbone.

"Saïx? How did you do that?" Axel asked.

"How did you jump on that ledge? We're not normal. I've figured it out, but first things first. Xigbar, are you okay?" Saïx helped Xigbar up. Xigbar had blood smeared on his face.

"No… he broke my arm. I can feel it… I need this bullet wound checked out, now."

Axel wasn't sure, but he knew Saïx was right. They weren't normal. After all of their tragic experiences, they all thought how they should be dead, yet they weren't. And Axel didn't know it yet, and he never realized it, but when he was burning with hate and tried to fight for Xigbar's sake, red flames coiled at his feet.