A/N: Well, second chapter. Things might just get interesting from here. I humbly ask for your reviews and your time. Thank you.

Disclaimer: Square-Enix and Disney own the fandom, I own my original characters and the plot. Fair enough.

I did not sleep very well that night for two reasons: one, I had been kidnapped by a strange Organization and was probably going to be killed if I couldn't convince them that I wasn't a Mary-Sue. Two, I didn't dare sleep on the cot because that Naruto-Sue was snoring loudly underneath it.

Thus, naturally, I was in a foul mood when I finally fell asleep and was then awoken by repeated pokes to my shoulder.

I opened my eyes groggily and squinted at the Sue I'd been locked in with. She was giggling wildly and poking my arm every other second, drool sliding out of her mouth and dripping onto the otherwise clean floor. I shuddered when I noticed that the drool was leaving scorch marks. I always suspected that Sue drool was acid based…must be from all the make-up and diet pills.

"Hey, stop that. I was trying to sleep," I told the unnamed Sue when I could form conscious thought. The Sue giggled again and continued prodding me with her pointer finger. She had short, unpainted nails, which is an extremely rare feature for a Sue. I decided it came with being a ninja, as the nameless creature said she was. I groaned and sat up suddenly, dodging a poke, and blinked at my surroundings. No one had bothered to turn off the lights in our small cell, which was all well and good since I did not want to end up playing Tig with a Sue in total darkness. I stood up slowly and my stomach growled. Lovely. I'd forgotten the possibility of starvation.

"When do they feed us?" I asked the Sue, "And do you mind if I name you? I don't like talking to someone without a name." The Sue snickered and started poking the empty air I had occupied a moment ago.

"Like, food? I, like, don't eat anything! And you can name me as long as, like, it's a name with lots of sparkles and rainbows!" I suppressed the urge to gag and staggered over to the door. No half-pin barrel hinges. Why do all fandoms shun the half-pin barrel hinges? They're useful. At least, for escaping prisoners they are. I kicked the door irritably and let out a short breath, turning my head to study the Sue more carefully. She was still ramming her finger into the air where I had been sitting, her drool leaving nasty charred spots on the floor.

"I shall call you 'Nel'," I declared. Nel looked up at me for the first time and batted her long green eyelashes at me in wonder.

"Is that, like, a sparkle and rainbow name?"

"Sure," I sighed in defeat, staring out the window of our cell and wishing that that Axel character would show up and get me out of there. I felt a tug on my pant leg and looked down. Nel had slithered over and was clinging to my leg like a frightened toddler.

"You'll be, like, my bestest friend ever!" she cooed, slime dripping out of her mouth and landing on my bare foot. I howled in pain and kicked her away, rubbing the acid off my skin with whatever was left of my burnt pant leg. Gee, thanks Axel. When I was done there were sizeable holes in my jeans and the hemline had risen a few inches so they were more like tattered capris than the comfortable jeans I was used to. I scowled at Nel and folded my arms across my chest.

"Nel, it's very rude to drip acid on your friend's foot."

"Like, what's acid?" she asked, eyes wide. She was serious. I groaned and banged my head repeatedly against the wall. The insanity was threatening to return. I had to escape from this Sue or all would be lost. I gazed out between the bars on the door and squinted. The hallways were all painted white and the effect was blinding considering how dimly lit our room was. I waited for fifteen minutes but no one showed up to bring us food.

"Rana-chan! Rana-chan!" Nel said in a singsong voice. I remembered distantly that "-chan" is a Japanese suffix added to names to make them more affectionate, like a pet name. Thank goodness for my varied education. I rolled my eyes heavenward and glared at Nel impatiently.

"What?" Nel squealed in delight and rocked back and forth on her heels.

"Rana-chan, I remembered my name! It's Nel!"

"…that's what I named you."

"Huh?" Nel replied uncertainly. I nodded and her face fell.

"Like, I thought I'd, like, gotten my memory back," she sighed, resting her chin on her knees and staring up at me with her abnormally large eyes. I tried to smile sympathetically but it came off as more of a grimace. That brought to mind the question of how exactly Nel had ended up in this fandom. I'd never heard of something like this before except in crossover fanfictions, but I didn't think I was in one of those.

"Well, can't help you with the memory thing. Sorry," I said with no real remorse. As far as I was concerned, it was probably a good thing that Nel couldn't remember much about herself. I'd have given anything for all the Sues in Middle-earth to forget about their obsessions with Legolas. It would have saved me the trouble of helping the rangers hunt them all down and ship them back to wherever it is Sues live.

I yawned and lay down on the cot. Nel stayed where she was and stared at me. I suppose she had nothing better to do than watch me doze, but I didn't like it. I ignored her for the most part and observed the ceiling in silence. What was this Organization XIII going to do with me now? Axel had said I'd have to convince them that I wasn't a Sue. I wasn't sure how easy that would be. Compared to Nel, I was obviously not a Sue. But Xede had been as close to normal as I'd even seen a Sue get. If they were the opposite ends of the spectrum, then I was still fair game in the eyes of any Sue hunter (or hater) who didn't really care whether or not I was telling the truth. It was a dangerous game to be playing.

"Rana-chan!" Nel whined loudly. I opened my eyes and realized I had dozed off. It was impossible to tell what time of day or night it was, but the speed with which I was fully conscious suggested I hadn't been sleeping for long.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" I murmured, shifting into a more comfortable position and peering at Nel with blurry vision. The Sue pointed to the door. It was opening. I sat bolt upright on the cot and jumped to my feet. As soon as the door was open enough for me to get through, I ran forward with a war cry…

…And smacked my face against an invisible barrier. I fell over backwards and held my nose. It was bleeding but not broken, thank the Valar.

"Ow!" I complained loudly as my eyes watered and blood ran down my face, "Axel, you jerk! I'm gonna get you for -." I stopped when I sat up and saw it was not, in fact, Axel. A man in the same familiar black coat was staring at me skeptically from the entrance to the cell. He had long, bluish silver hair and yellow eyes. Yellow eyes! What is with these people?

"Who're you supposed to be?" I slurred while I pinched my nose with one hand and wiped the blood off my face with the other.

"My name is Saïx," he said slowly. "Do you understand me?"

"I'm not a Sue, I can understand English just fine. And I'd speak it more clearly if your stupid door wasn't so bent on my destruction!" Saïx did not seem amused or upset in the slightest. He didn't even come inside to help me to my feet, so I awkwardly stood and tried to keep my head still at the same time. Nel had laughed wildly at the sight of me being knocked off my feet by a door, but she stopped when I shot her one of my best deathglares.

"All right, so now what?" I glared at Saïx impatiently and he glared right back (the yellow eyes made his much scarier than mine). He opened his mouth to reply, but just then the weird black smoke portal thing appeared behind him and Axel stepped out. He looked a little flustered and gave Saïx a scathing look that, fortunately, Saïx didn't see because he had his back turned at the time. I gave Axel a small wave and hoped he was here to make this Saïx guy go away.

"Am I late?" Axel asked, his tone more polite than it had been the night before, though with a definite air of sarcasm that wasn't going to get either of us anywhere if he kept it up. Saïx turned around and gave the redhead the same glare he'd been directing at me.

"You're not needed."

"Yeah, but I caught her," Axel replied coolly. Saïx's eyes narrowed slightly but he did not answer. Instead, he pressed a button on the wall next to the door and something in the doorway shimmered and disappeared. I walked forward tentatively and put out a hand. There was nothing there to hinder my progress. Still moving slowly in case the wall had merely moved back, I stepped out of the cell and heard the door clang shut behind me. Nel came up by the window and grinned at me.

"Bye-bye, Rana-chan!" she said happily. I chuckled nervously and winced when Axel put a hand on my shoulder – gently this time, merely nudging me forward instead of dragging me along. I hurried to keep up with Saïx, who was sweeping down the hallway in front of us.

"Is that Sue really from the Naruto world?" I asked Axel in a low voice. He looked over his shoulder at the cell door that was getting smaller and smaller as we walked.

"Yeah, she is," he answered in an equally quiet voice, "She landed here by accident. We're usin' her to study how Sues act outside their home realms." My mind started working rapidly after he finished speaking, processing old theories about Sues and how to be rid of them that I hadn't thought about since I'd returned from Middle-earth.

"So is it working?"

"Pretty much," Axel sighed as we turned down a side corridor and picked up the pace a little bit, "She was a lot worse a few months ago. She was a real handful when she first showed up, she had all this crazy magic she could do…" He trailed off when Saïx shot us both a dark look. I realized quickly where I was and how foolish it was for me to be chatting about Sues and their destruction with a guy who was still fairly sure I was one…or was he? Axel didn't seem as cold as he had the other day. Maybe I'd convinced him. That thought left a hopeful bubble in my chest and I didn't feel as apprehensive about whatever was about to happen next.

That is, until Saïx opened a door and I was ushered into a large circular room with thirteen…no, fourteen thrones forming a ring around it. I craned my neck to see who was sitting in them. There were ten people, all wearing the same black coats and all with their hoods up. So this was Organization XIII. I still counted fourteen chairs and wondered what that meant. Also, if there were twelve members here, where was the thirteenth?

"So…this is the Sue," boomed a deep voice. I looked up even higher and spotted someone sitting on the highest throne.

"I'm not a -!" I started to say, but Axel shook his head slightly and gave me a warning look so I shut up.

"She says she doesn't know anything about the Organization, sir," Axel said calmly. His posture and tone of voice had changed completely since we stepped into the room. Before he had been casual and relaxed. Now he was a bit tense. And (better yet) he was defending me.

"I see," the man on the tallest throne said quietly, so quietly that I barely heard him. The other members murmured amongst themselves before the leader – or so I guessed he was – raised a hand for silence.

"You," he said, addressing me, "What is your name?"

"Rana Avari, sir," I replied as respectfully as I could.

"What world are you from?" I paused, unsure of how to answer that. I didn't know how much I should or shouldn't say about the real world in a fandom. Then again, these people already seemed to know a lot of things about Sues and our world that they probably shouldn't.

"Um…the real world…sir?" I stammered uncertainly, hoping it was the right answer. The man did not speak for a moment and I worried that I'd said something wrong.

"What do you know about Sues? What is the definition of a Sue?" Oh, trivia! I love trivia! I cleared my throat and took a deep breath to get ready for my long-winded explanation.

"A Sue is any female character that is unrealistic, 'perfect' or cliché," I said in a confident voice. This was territory I knew well from my earlier days. "Also, Sues usually are as important or nearly as important as the main characters in their home fandom. Most of them 'fall in love' with canon characters who would not otherwise be attracted to the Sue." The man nodded slowly and seemed satisfied with my answer…for the moment. He said something to one of his comrades on the thrones, but I didn't catch it.

"Axel."

"Yes, sir?" Axel answered promptly, tilting his head back so he could see.

"Explain how you came to capture this girl," the man – I realized he must be the "Superior" Larxene kept mentioning – ordered. The redhead nodded and hesitated for a moment as he collected his thoughts.

"I was patrolling as usual and spotted what I thought were two Sues. I killed one but decided the other one – Rana – looked kinda…kind of suspicious, so I brought her back for questioning," Axel said carefully while he tried to keep his informal mannerisms out of his speech. A figure that I assumed was Larxene shifted uncomfortably in her chair and glanced over at Superior as if she wanted to say something. He noticed and turned his head to look at her.

"Do you have something to add?" he asked. There was an edge to his tone that sounded like he was enjoying this, and I shuddered. Larxene pulled off her hood and glared down at me with pursed lips.

"I think this kid is manipulating Axel!" she cried, pointing an accusing finger in my direction. I blinked and swallowed. Superior turned his head again and waited expectantly for Axel to say something. The redhead looked both uneasy and defiant.

"Superior, I woulda shown some signs of Sue possession by now. Sir," he added hastily.

"Defending a Sue is a clear sign," Larxene snapped from her perch. Saïx, who until now had remained watchful and silent, eyed Axel and I warily.

"I agree with Larxene," he said, "This girl has bewitched him."

"How so?" I demanded hotly, ignoring Axel's slight shaking of the head. Larxene looked exasperated.

"Look at him! He would never defend a Sue unless she was controlling him!" All hooded heads moved to watch Axel. The redhead let out a soft hiss of annoyance under his breath and folded his arms across his chest, staring unflinchingly at his accusers.

"Man, you're all so quick to blame people for stuff…" he murmured. I chewed on my lower lip and waited to see what he would do. This was working only slightly in my favor. Axel had obviously been rather offended and seemed to be the type who would stubbornly defend his views if challenged. On the other hand, he'd ticked off the rest of his Organization. Eleven against two are not good odds.

"What do you have to say for yourself, Axel?" Saïx inquired in a silky, dangerous voice. The redhead turned sharply and glared at this new opponent.

"Whatever I have to say, it's not your place to tell me when to say it," he growled. I shuffled my feet and started edging backwards towards the door. Axel noticed and his gloved hand latched onto my upper arm, preventing movement. I smiled sheepishly.

"Hey, don't leave if I'm gonna help ya!" he told me with an amused smirk. I didn't know it then, but he wasn't really smiling. That was his grim, I'm-ready-for-a-fight look. If I had known that I wouldn't have been nearly as calm about staying where I was.

"I'm not possessed, sir. I just don't think she's a Sue. Doesn't fit the description, does she?" Axel told Superior. I smiled innocently and tried to look normal. I could feel the eyes of all the hooded members boring into me. After a few minutes of edgy silence, Superior jumped down from his chair and landed lightly on the ground. He strode forward, his boots making little or no noise on the floor, and grabbed my chin in one hand. I flinched and shivered. He had the same bright, disturbing golden eyes that Saïx and Xede had shared. I tried to hold eye contact but was too frightened by the nothingness in his gaze to look into it for long. After a few seconds Superior let go and turned to Axel.

"What have you told her about our world?"

"Nothin', boss," Axel replied, shrugging and watching Superior without the same obvious discomfort that I had, "Just the name. She's clueless." I nodded enthusiastically, though the "clueless" comment ruffled my feathers a bit. The other Organization members watched their leader in dead silence. It felt like they were all holding their breath. I doubted it was because of me – more likely they were wondering what punishment Axel would receive for aiding a "Sue". I had a nagging suspicion that Axel had had some problems with his comrades in the past (his insolence certainly made it believable), but I wasn't sure. Everyone seemed to have a fearful respect for Superior that I don't think Axel would have abandoned so lightly.

"I see," Superior said. I gulped and fidgeted with my shirtsleeve, hoping he was in a merciful mood, unlike Larxene who looked like she wanted to roast me on a spit and eat me for supper. Speaking of supper, my stomach picked that moment to growl loudly. With a sinking feeling I realized I hadn't eaten since breakfast the day before. Superior shifted slightly so he could glare at Axel and I at the same time.

"When did you last eat?" he asked me sharply. For a moment I thought he was concerned about me. Then I realized what an obvious sign of humanity hunger was.

"Breakfast, yesterday," I replied. My stomach growled again. Helpful thing, isn't it?

"A Sue is incapable of eating human food," said another member from his chair. He pulled off his hood and I caught sight of a tanned face and very light blonde hair and a matching beard. "I suggest we start there."

"Quiet, Luxord. That is my decision," Superior answered in a low voice. I sneaked a look at Axel out of the corner of my eye. He was no longer smiling and he looked tense. He probably wasn't sure himself if I was a Sue or not, and the results of this test would be important to us both. I just hoped that the Organization had a relatively normal taste in food. There's a lot of stuff I'll eat but I draw the line at certain foods.

"Zexion," Superior called over his shoulder. Immediately, a black robed figure appeared out of a dark portal.

"Superior?" the new person said in little more than a whisper. I didn't like his voice; it had a creepy edge to it. He did not remove his hood so I couldn't see his face. Superior turned and muttered something to him. Zexion bowed and vanished again.

"Zexion will go and fetch something from the kitchens," Superior told me, "And you will eat it." I nodded to show I understood. In a few moments Zexion returned and handed a small plate to Superior. There was a single English muffin on it. It looked cold and unbuttered, but my mouth watered just looking at it. Food! Real food! I almost squealed in delight and took the meager meal from Superior's hand without thanking him. I chewed the tough crust greedily and swallowed thickly. Now was the time that I wished for some water. Zexion and Superior, not to mention the rest of the Organization, watched me with a kind of detached fascination. I paused and wondered if the muffin was poisoned.

"Er…um…thank you?" I said quickly. Axel started to chuckle but stopped himself. Larxene scowled and tapped her foot impatiently in the air. Zexion took the empty plate, bowed to Superior, and disappeared again. I nervously wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and rocked back and forth on my heels. I felt a little better now, though I could feel a stomachache coming on from eating too quickly. I shot Axel a curious look but he did not meet my gaze.

"Did I pass?" I inquired tentatively. Superior stepped forward and pulled off his hood. He had silver hair, more metallic colored than Saïx's, and rather dark skin.

"My name is Xemnas," he informed me, "Remember it well and remember what position you're in."

"What position is that, sir?"

"For now…" He paused and turned his back on me, addressing his underlings. "For now we let her live. She shows obvious signs of being human, but we cannot let our guard down." Xemnas turned and gave Axel a bone-chilling glare that Larxene looked jealous of.

"If you ever defy the Organization again, I will finish what I started when Roxas left," he said in a warning tone. Axel paled and clenched his jaw, green eyes narrowing slightly.

"You got it, boss," he mumbled half under his breath. Xemnas seemed satisfied and looked back at the others. They were talking again in not-so-subtle voices.

"Is he mad?"

"She must be a Revised Sue!"

"I'm not going to trust her, no matter what he says."

"Oh, be quiet, Larxene. She looks normal."

"Normal compared to what?"

"I still say she's a Sue."

"Enough!" Xemnas roared over the arguments. Everyone shut up and looked a little startled that he had noticed them. Luxord glared at Larxene, who glared right back and tried to look aloof at the same time. I shifted my weight from foot to foot and tried to give Axel a grateful smile, but he kept looking away at the wrong moments. I hoped I'd get a chance to talk to him later. Some questions were gnawing at my head. Why did the Organization seem to dislike him so much? And what had Xemnas meant about finishing what he'd started? Who was Roxas? I felt that I should know the name from somewhere. Maybe I'd read it in one of the old fanfictions I'd seen that had stray crossover references without any explanations. That's when it clicked. I had heard of Kingdom Hearts before. It was a video game fandom. I probably would have recognized it earlier, but I had kept away from fanfiction sites since my return from Middle-earth. I was too worried that I'd find the Sues that I had helped kill. That was a disturbing thought.

"Hey, you ok?" I jumped and spun around. Axel was blinking at me with that weird, quizzical look on his face. I grinned and nodded.

"Thanks, Axel. You saved my life."

"Nah, you did that. I just wanted to tick off Larxene." I wasn't sure if he was joking or not. He looked a little shaken from what Xemnas had said to him, and I wondered what significance it had. I decided now was a bad time to ask.

"Say, when did you start believing me about not being a Sue?" I asked to change the subject. Axel shrugged and scratched the back of his head. He looked at loss for words.

"Probably when you said 'please' the other night. Oh, by the way…I got somethin' for ya." He held out my hunting dagger and I stared at him blankly for a moment, rather touched that he had remembered. My smile became a little more watery as I realized just how much the knife meant to me. It was a piece of my other home, in Middle-earth, where there were people who cared about me. Not that there weren't people like that in the real world, but I was already a living token of their friendship and love. The knife was different. It was a gift, a talisman, and it was precious to me. Oh no, the Sméagol moments were returning. I shook my head to clear it and nodded to Axel.

"I'm not sure what to say."

"I think 'thank you' is the usual response."

"I know, but…" I looked at the floor and Axel lifted my chin with his hand, shaking his head. He smiled wryly and stepped back a bit, studying me. In the background I could hear the rest of the Organization talking again. I stuffed my knife in my pocket for safekeeping and prayed I wouldn't be using it anytime soon.

"You know, I'm not sure what we're going to do with you," Axel sighed, "We don't have guests very often. Not ones that aren't prisoners." He laughed and ruffled my hair. I irritably smoothed it again and wished I had a comb.

"Ah, don't worry too much, kid. We'll figure it out." He looked over my head at the others and started to look a little impatient. I followed his gaze and together we watched them debate while Xemnas returned to his throne and let them bicker.

"Are they always this divided?"

"Depends on the argument." I wondered how such a messed up group managed to survive for so long. That brought to mind a question. I glanced back at Axel.

"What did Larxene mean when she said you'd gone soft since you died?" I asked suspiciously. Axel's smile froze and he stiffened. He gave me a hard look and folded his arms across his chest, which he seems to do when he's upset or being stubborn.

"That is a story for later," he replied simply. I must have looked offended because he added, "It'll get explained soon."

I certainly hoped so.