Ok, sorry for the wait! Mom caught me on the computer last time I posted, so there were... issues. I've got an English project now, so she had to let me on! Hah! Anyway, due to the above factors, this chapter is once again shorter than I wanted, and not exactly where I wanted to stop, but it's UP.

Thankyou for the reviews! And a lot of questions are now answered on my profile! So, if you asked a question, it's probably there. If not, it'll probably be there once I get some time to make sure I got everything.

Oh, and check out my friend m3thod-mak3r 's stories Stranger Than Fiction and Thunder Struck. Like she says at the beginning of Chapter 1, Thunder Struck started out as a joke between us ("Larxene-Zexion pairing! How the heck would that work!") but turned out being really good. Stranger Than Fiction is about what happens to Axel after he dies. It involves Jak and Daxter, some OCs, and a buncha kinda creepy fanfic writers. Oh, and she's writing a parody on the Davinci Code, but I don't know much about it 'cause I haven't read the book or seen the movie (yes, I'm a loser).

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Oreos, Kettle Corn... Let's just say I don't own anything but Avalon.

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"Hey! I found popcorn!"

Zexion, Vexen, Lexaeus, and Marluxia turned away from the TV and saw Larxene holding a box of Kettle Corn.

"Excellent," Vexen commented with a smirk. "I was just beginning to get hungry. Perhaps because I died."

The other Nobodies nodded in agreement.

Normally, Nobodies didn't need food, drink, sleep, or even bathing. Why? Who knows? Their bodies simply didn't need the upkeep to function. But when they were wounded or exhausted, sleep, food, and drink helped speed up the process of healing and regaining energy. Thus, it made sense that these Organization members, who had spent all or their strength and taken heavy injuries, would want such things.

"Was there anything else?" Lexaeus asked hopefully. "Like a steak?"

Larxene rolled her eyes. Lexaeus had a well-known affinity for meat. #(Men,)# she thought to herself. #(What is it with men and meat?)# "No, Lexaeus," she sighed impatiently. "There's only this, some potato chips, and a box of Oreos."

"Oreos?"

"Potato chips?"

Vexen's and Marluxia's heads snapped up expectantly at the mention of their favorite snacks.

"Ugh." It seemed Larxene and Zexion were the only sane ones in the house. It almost made Larxene miss Axel. Almost.

Zexion sighed and snatched the popcorn from Larxene. "We'd better keep this," he told her quietly. "They're going to finish the Oreos and chips off quickly… Trust me. I know."

"Mrow?" Larxene cocked her head curiously.

"If you've ever been to anything that involves food with these two… which I unfortunately have…"

Larxene laughed. "I get it, I get it."

And so, Zexion and Larxene made some popcorn and hid the rest while Vexen and Marluxia gobbled the chips and Oreos, snarling at Lexaeus whenever he tried to take some for himself.

"Haven't you ever heard of sharing?" the large Tomahawk wielder snapped at Marluxia.

"Vexen, did you hear something?" Marluxia asked between Oreos.

"Nothing," the older man replied, crunching his chips.

"It must have been my imagination."

"Or the wind."

This cooperation was rather scary because the two usually hated each other. Witness the power of food.

Zexion sighed and shoved his own made bag of popcorn at a grateful Lexaeus, then went back to the kitchen to pop himself another bag.

Larxene couldn't help but chuckle. "You're always so thoughtful," she whispered playfully. "You try to hide it with indifference, but you're always thinking of others. That's probably why that girl fell for you…"

Zexion blushed and felt his temper flare at the same time. "Her name is Avalon, not 'that girl,' and I am not always thinking of others." Being a "soft" Nobody never led to anything good. Just look at Demyx. The Organization's number nine got teased and pranked by most of the other members. No, it was much better to appear emotionless like most of the others.

Larxene shrugged at his response. "Whatever, I really don't care." She looked at the TV. "What do you think about all this, anyway?"

"Huh?" Zexion wondered aloud. "You mean why we're here and not dissolved in the darkness?"

"Not quite what I had in mind, but I'd like to hear it," the woman responded with obvious interest. "Why do you think we're still around?"

Zexion stared at the TV and rubbed his chin in thought. "Well, theoretically, we can't really die because we're already dead. So what's left of us is simply absorbed into the darkness that it was reborn in. Correct?"

"Yeah…"

"Avalon supposedly has the powers of light at her command. That's where her weapons and powers stem from, rather than the darkness ours do. Do you follow so far?"

"Sorta…"

"I believe she wanted to save us so badly that her heart sought us out while we were being consumed and, with her powers of light, rescued us from the darkness enveloping us."

Larxene looked confused. "So… You mean that we didn't really die, we were just sort of… falling into darkness?"

"Correct."

"And… she saved us unconsciously with the light?"

Zexion nodded.

"But… Why would she want to save us? Why not just you? She didn't even really know us! There was nothing in it for her!"

Zexion smiled a little bit. "She's… just… like that."

Larxene stared at the man in shock. That was a very gentle, loving sort of comment. And the serene expression on his face… That just wasn't normal coming from him.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaanyway," the woman said hurriedly, "I got really off subject. What I meant to ask was what you think about what's going on in there." She nodded at the TV. "Avalon is acting quite strange. So is Axel, come to think of it. Any thoughts?"

A flood of emotions Zexion had been holding back finally crashed through his defenses. Yes, he had many thoughts on the situation.

He was both flattered and annoyed by how upset Avalon was by his death. It was an odd feeling, but there it was anyway.

And why did she reject Axel? She'd seemed to get along with him just fine before… As a matter of fact, Zexion would've pegged Axel as more likely to end up with her than him. So why did she act so cold around him now? Not that he would've minded normally, but it seemed to be tearing her up.

And finally, (the thing Zexion didn't want to think about) was Axel the other person Avalon had fallen in love with? He'd sensed the possibility pretty much since the two met. They just seemed to hit it off immediately, like they'd been meant for each other. He'd been jealous. He hadn't realized it until just recently, but he was jealous of them. But now, Avalon had just turned Axel away, even though it seemed to be hurting her as much as Axel. #(Was… she doing it for me?)# The thought made him feel as egotistical as Axel, but she'd already disproved everything he thought about himself as a Nobody…

"Zexion?" Larxene asked, waving a hand in front of his face. "Your thoughts?"

"Nothing worth repeating."

Nearby, Vexen and Marluxia summoned their weapons and stole Lexaeus' bag of popcorn, having already run out of chips and Oreos.

00000000000000000000000000000000

Avalon clenched her fists and stood up decisively. She was angry at pretty much everything at this point, and wanted to take it out on more Heartless. Unfortunately, she couldn't progress any further without risking being detected by the Organization (according to Axel, anyway).

"Fine," the girl muttered to herself, turning around and walking back the way she came. "I'll just go downstairs and see what's going on."

Which turned out to be pointless, because the door chose that moment to swing open in front of her (forcing her to jump backwards to avoid being hit) and revealed a surprised Riku.

"Avalon!" The boy's eyes widened as he stared at the girl. A slow grin spread across his face. "You're alright!"

Before Avalon could say anything along the lines of "Gee, thanks for noticing," she noticed him staring at her curiously.

"What did Vexen want from you, anyway? And what's with the Organization cloak?"

Avalon blinked. She'd forgotten that she was wearing the Organization uniform. "Oh…" she looked down at herself. "It's a long story…

And you have to finish your business with Ansem so we can get out of here. I'll explain later." #(Maybe.)#

Riku walked into the room and stared down at her in thought. "How'd you know about Ansem? I didn't tell you anything about him…"

"Talent"

Riku glared at her.

Avalon sighed. "Later," she hissed impatiently. "I'll tell you everything later." She just wasn't in the mood. Between Zexion's death and having snapped at Axel for killing him, the girl was in a foul mood.

Riku studied the girl in concern. She wasn't acting like herself.

Avalon sighed and slapped herself mentally. #(First some Heartless, then Axel. Now, I'm taking it out on Riku…)# She crossed her arms and looked sideways at the wall, avoiding the boy's gaze. "Sorry, that was a little harsh… Look, while we were separated some stuff happened that I'd rather not talk about right now…"

Riku was startled by how sad she looked. "Are you alright?"

Still staring away, the girl laughed humorlessly. "That's a good question. Depends on your definition, I guess." She shrugged and shook her head. "Relatively, yeah, I'm fine." She met Riku's gaze and smiled in an attempt to keep him from worrying. She could tell it didn't work, though, because he still gave off a worried sort of vibe. "Anyway," she said, trying to change the conversation topic, "We have to get out of here, so go take care of Ansem." She pointed to the center of the room, where she knew Ansem would appear now that Riku was there. She would have offered to help, but she knew this was Riku's fight. "And good luck."

Riku considered her again, then nodded and walked to the center of the room. "Come out, Ansem!" he yelled, holding his arms out and looking around. "I know you're here! I can smell you!"

Riku and Avalon (who was in the corner of the room) adopted defensive positions as Ansem appeared right in front of Riku. "Oh, I know what you can do," he said, almost proudly. "Your skill with darkness has matured…"

Avalon nodded to herself in silent agreement. Riku's new senses almost reminded her of Zexion's. The hint of a smile flitted across her face at this realization.

Ansem looked past Riku to Avalon and raised an eyebrow. "What have we here? The Guardian?" He chuckled when Avalon shot him a "Go die right now" glare. Her dislike for him was obvious. "Friends in high places now, Riku?"

"This is between you and me, Ansem," Riku snapped impatiently.

Ansem shrugged. It made no difference to him. "But I don't understand," he said, regarding the boy curiously. "Why accept the darkness, but refuse me?" Ansem sneered at the boy. "Are you still afraid of the dark?"

Riku smiled. "I used to be. But that's not it now. The truth is…" He summoned his weapon and raised it into a good attack position. "You just really stink."

Avalon chuckled and sat down in her corner. Now things would get interesting.

Ansem raised his arms and darkened the room, setting his ideal battleground. "Submit!" he yelled as his shadow guardian swung at Riku, who easily dodged the attack.

Riku skidded to a stop behind Ansem and slashed, landing the first blow.

"Submit!" Ansem's guardian attacked again, this time barley hitting Riku.

Riku went into dark mode and threw a ball of fire at the man, making him flinch.

Avalon grinned. This was more fun than beating up random Heartless. Except…

"Submit!"

Riku dodged an attack.

"Submit!"

Riku jumped backwards to avoid another attack.

"Submit!"

(Yes, this is what the last battle under Reverse/Rebirth is like).

"Yo, Mister Darkness!" Avalon yelled irritably. "If you say 'submit' one more time, I'll get involved. And then you'll submit!"

Ansem didn't respond, but he actually did stop yelling "submit" when his guardian-thing attacked. For a while.

Eventually, Ansem dashed across the field insanely fast, hitting Riku into the air each time he passed. Apparently this took a lot of energy, because he soon slowed to a stop and bent over to regain his breath.

Riku attacked as frequently as he could during this period of time, until Ansem recovered enough energy to attack him with another cry of "Submit!"

"Aaaargh!" Avalon commented from the corner.

She was relieved when Riku landed a particularly strong swing right in Ansem's chest, weakening him enough to make the room return to normal.

Riku jumped backwards, still facing Ansem. "Ansem," he snarled, then made a sliding dash at the man, running his blade straight through the target. "It's over."

"Not… over…" Ansem grunted, doubled over in pain. "I gave you… the dark… My shadow… lingers…" And with that, he disappeared, sending a shockwave of darkness through the room and plunging Riku into the realm of darkness with the last of his strength.

Avalon knew Riku would be all right, so she waited for a few seconds, and then watched Riku reappear in the room with King Mickey. Taking no notice of her, they discussed Riku's dark and Ansem's shadow inside of him.

"Your darkness is your own. I used to think all darkness was bad, but in you, light and dark mingle in a way I've never seen. Back to back, supporting each other. You've taken a road I never thought of." Mickey extended a hand toward the boy. "And if it's alright with you, I'd like to walk that road with you."

Avalon cocked her head as the two shook hands and smiled thoughtfully. #(Light and dark working together, supporting each other. Is that how things were meant to be?)# It was an interesting thought. If that was true, she and the Nobodies really were connected, as well as all darkness and light. #(And Riku's the middle ground…)#

"Oh, that's right. This is Avalon."

Avalon snapped out of her thoughtful daze and saw Riku and Mickey standing in front of her, Riku holding out a hand toward her and Mickey staring at her curiously. She stood up quickly, her cloak jangling at the movement.

"Avalon, this is King Mickey." Riku motioned toward the huge mouse, who bowed.

"Oh!" Avalon bowed to the King gracefully and respectfully. "It's a pleasure to meet you.

"The pleasure's all mine." Despite his friendly air, Mickey was staring at the girl in an almost calculating way. "Riku seems to know you, but why are you wearing an Organization uniform?"

Riku nodded. "I asked the same thing, but she didn't answer. She wasn't wearing it when we met."

Avalon smiled at the thought of Demyx's reaction to the answer for that same question. "I'd love to explain now," she said half-heartedly, "But we have to leave as soon as possible. An Organization member could arrive at any time for an investigation."

"How do you know?"

"A… friend… told me." Avalon frowned. She wasn't exactly sure that was the truth: Axel hadn't told her, and he wasn't… was he a friend? The girl felt extremely sad and confused at that thought. She shook her head in an attempt to clear it and met Riku's penetrating gaze. He knew something was wrong. Avalon sighed in defeat: she didn't want to tell him everything, but she had a feeling Riku wouldn't let her keep her recent experiences a secret from him. "Look," she said, putting her hands up in surrender, "I'll tell you everything after we get the heck out of here. Alright?"

The silver-haired boy smiled and pushed some of his long hair out of his face, nearly making Avalon blush. "That's fine with me. Let's go."

"Umm…" A thought occurred to Avalon. "Do you know where the exit is?"

Riku froze.

"Oops!" Mickey said, smiling apologetically. "Forgot that part."

Avalon groaned. This could not be a good thing.

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Yeah, the're lost in Castle Oblivion. It's not that hard to do, when you think about it...

By the way, does Axel remind anyone else of Reno? Like, a lot?

Anyway, PLEASE review! Ask questions! Give suggestions! Make comments! Or answer my random questions! I like hearing from people!

And please continue to be patient about the updating! I'm sneaking on as much as I can!