A/N: OMG. Chapter thirteen. Already! I can't believe it!

Mooncry: Thanks. :)

Synsacra: Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm so glad you caught my mistake! I have to go fix that…

Okiegirlforever: And so I have, depending on your definition of "soon".

RubberDuckiesWhoLikePieAndCake: And here it is!

Lucy-914: Well, this one isn't so much sweet as it is…well…nevermind… (sweat)

Pigeon: Not answering to you anymore.

Oathkeepera: Yup! I can't believe this is it, after all this time!

Forgotten Lies: Alright! Thanks!

Next to Nothing:

Chapter Thirteen:

"Unlucky Thirteen (The End)"

"How quaint, the starcrossed lovers reunited." In horror, I turned and saw Xemnas standing in the doorway. His face was twisted into something horrible, a cross between a snarl and a malicious grin. I was at a loss for words. I was numb, but I knew I was afraid. "Oh, Relena, Relena, Relena. You obviously have no idea of the nature of the mistake you made." He looked me hard in the eye, and it took all of my strength not to cower before him.

Avery stepped out in front of me. "Leave her alone, Xemnas."

Xemnas softened his expression, and it melted into one of amusement, and it scared me even more. "Not so cowardly any more, are we, now?" He thought a moment, "Of course you're not, now that you've got Axel's undeniable—spirit—within you once more. So brave and noble, stepping in my way of her once more."

Avery's face faltered. "That—that was—you?" He narrowed his eyes. "It was you who came for Larissa?"

Xemnas, still looking amused, raised his eyebrows. "And that's where you're wrong. We didn't need, or want your girl, here. What we really wanted, Avery, was you. I never would have guessed that this girl would have enough strength to survive death. But it was you we were sure about. We had watched you for quite some time. Trapped in the body of a highschooler was an unnaturally strong heart, and I will admit, we were just a bit greedy. We wanted your heart, your strength, as a part of our Organization. But the more we watched, the more we realized that we would never get to you directly. And then, we began to notice your feelings for the new girl. Rele—Larissa, mind you. We couldn't get to you alone, but we could certainly get to you through her. And all we had to do was wait for a convenient time to carry out our plan, and dear Larissa here played straight into our hands. She was in just the right place during the Heartless attack of Starlight, and just as we had planned, Avery, ever brave and noble, rushed to save her and his sister. It was almost sickening, how predictable all of you were, like actors in a play. But there was one thing out of place, but we gained something we hadn't bargained for. Your heart, Larissa/Relena. We hadn't expected you to cling to Avery like that, nor did we expect to find your Nobody, sometime later. And we certainly didn't expect your Nobody to exert such strength, when provoked by the Nobody of the person who cost you your life." He shrugged. "But people are unpredictable like that, even when they are dead."

I struggled to digest what Xemnas had said. So the Organization hadn't really come for me at all. I was just the bait. Meant to draw Avery into the Organization. The more I thought about it, the more I was infuriated. And they hadn't even expected me to survive! No wonder Xemnas was surprised when I was restored.

"And you, Larissa, you never cease to amaze me. You're just full of surprises. Of all the thirteen I expected to return to me, I never imagined that I would hear from my dear Savage Nymph first and foremost. I was pleasantly surprised. If Larxene could return, could the other eleven not return as well? And I believed that my question was answered when I heard that Axel, too, had risen. But I was surprised once more when I heard that Larxene's Somebody had traveled to Between to save him, giving up some of her own life force to bring him back. I had heard nothing from the other members, but that no longer concerned me, because it was then that I came across Catássa."

Avery clenched his fists, and I narrowed my eyes. Catássa was a touchy subject, for both of us.

"You should thank me, instead of staring at me with such hostile faces. I found her here, in this very world, beaten and broken in a dark alley. I offered to return her to full health, in exchange for a few—favors. Sadly, she was lost in her own witchcraft, fully immersed in the darkest of arts. I had obtained what I had required of her, but still, she stayed with me. Why reveal herself to a best friend and a brother who would be ashamed of her current state, when she could stay in the castle with someone who truly respected her choices?"

"You're a liar!" I shouted, unable to control myself. "We will always accept Catássa, no matter what her choices!" I clenched my eyes as well as my fists, and a barrier broke down inside of my soul. Out from my heart flowed lightning, traveling through my cells, and out of my skin. My control of lightning, it had returned to me.

Xemnas seemed surprised, and…afraid? "Another surprise, Larissa. I would have thought that your control of your element would have been lost, after you—left our ranks." He took a step backwards. "Now I see that the strength of your heart may measure up to Avery's himself. Catássa would be impressed, not that it would save the poor apparatchik anyway…"

Before I knew what was going on, Avery had dragged a chakram across Xemnas' chest. "You will never talk about my sister that way." Blood oozed slowly from the wound, but it didn't look fatal. But there Avery stood, a chakram in each hand. This wasn't over yet. I felt around in my soul, for the kunais I knew and remembered so well. No longer would I fight against Axel, but this time, I would fight alongside him.

I threw a kunai, but as Xemnas dodged it, it clipped his shoulder and pinned his cloak to the wall. Seeing the opportunity, Avery ran to slit his throat with his chakram, but panic radiated from my heart.

"No, Avery, don't kill him!" Both Avery and Xemnas seemed surprised by my show of mercy, at the very last second. The kunais hung loose in my hands, as I looked hard into their eyes. Avery, with his chakram just barely resting on the skin of Xemnas' throat, seemed to resign himself, his shoulders falling slightly, but he only took the chakram away a few inches, eyeing Xemnas warily. My kunais clattered to the floor as I slackened my fingers, a true sign of mercy. For all the anger I felt for the Superior, I would never become a killer, nor let Avery become one.

"You have too much heart, Larissa."

Xemnas looked at me, a mixture of pity and smugness, and although I did not understand at first, I did a short moment later, as I felt the kunai pierce my chest, my heart, the weakness of being human. The blood flowed from the wound far too fast, and I knew it was fatal. The light, the color drained before my eyes as my senses disappeared, but at least I heard Xemnas finish his statement.

"And you always have."

A/N: …wait for the epilogue before you kill me, okay?