~*~
Prefects and Perches
~*~

Okay, we've covered the Princesses. Next up: the Prefects. These would be your goody-two shoes and your teachers' pets. But Prefects are on a whole other level, because the academic powers that be saw fit to grant these lucky few with some measure of authority over the rest of us peasants - a.k.a. students. If the Princesses are campus royalty, then the Prefects are the city guard. They make sure the school's rules and regulations are followed. That is to say, they enforce the law. They are the law.

Let's start with Naminé Atigi. Naminé is the middle sister to Kairi and Xion, and you could say she's a bit of a child prodigy. Straight A's, top of her class... to say the girl's got smarts would be an understatement. She's also considered the beauty of the three sisters, but if you ask me, they're all pretty damn cute. On top of that, she's super sweet, the kind of person you can really open up to. Even if you've only just met her, simply talk to her for a few minutes and she'll have you feeling like you've been BFFs since preschool. Guess she's just a conversational wizard that way. No... wizard's not the right word...

She's more of a witch.

All that aside, what she really loves is her art. Lock her alone in a room with nothing but a sketch pad and some color pencils and she'll be one happy camper. She's damn good at it too, putting the likes of Picasso and Rembrandt to shame. She brings whole new meaning to the term 'lifelike art.' Maybe that's because she has the power to bring her illustrations to actual living, breathing life.

Ever seen a full-size adult hippopotamus, all large and in charge and in your face, roaming freely down the halls of your school as if it were the most natural thing in the world for a hippo to do? I have, courtesy of one Naminé the Artiste Magnifique. And why, you may ask, did she decide to sketch into existence what is considered to be one of Africa's deadliest animals and let it loose on her professors and fellow classmates? Simple. She thinks hippos are, and I quote, "cuddly." To be fair, she's not wrong - the big fellah was friggin' adorable. And luckily, anything that spawns from her drawings is one hundred percent under her control, so Mr. Squishy-McLumps (as I so lovingly named the behemoth) was as docile as a golden retriever puppy.

Now onto Prefect number two: Rapunzel. She likes to paint, which is probably why she and Naminé get along so well. Birds of a feather and whatnot. But that's not all! Punzie also likes to sculpt, write, play guitar, sing, dance, act, photograph, program, knit, cook, garden, woodwork, metalwork, ventriloquize… basically everything but the goddamn kitchen sink. Though if the sink were to clog, she'd be able to fix it. That's right, you can add plumbing to that list too.

Guess that's just what happens when you place a type A personality under house arrest from the day they're born with only boredom and the internet to keep them company. See, Rapunzel has been homeschooled her entire life. Her mother was also gifted with the superfreak gene and had it rough growing up. She didn't want Rapunzel to go through the same crap she had to. Her solution? Lock the girl up and throw away the key. Overprotective much? Luckily, Yen Sid being the all seeing, all knowing entity that he is (but purports not to be, to which I call bullshit) ferreted out this injustice and sat down Mommy Dearest for a lil chat. Next thing you know, 'ol Punzie is enrolled here at Freakazoid U and happier than a kangaroo in a bouncy castle. Her mother did have one stipulation however: she wanted in on the school board. Wasn't quite ready to cut the apron strings yet, I guess.

Believe it or not, being a hobby encyclopedia in human form is not Rapunzel's superpower. No, her ability actually has to do with the only other thing that's longer than her list of pastimes: her hair. I can already picture all your dubious looks out there, but hear me out. First of all, she's got tresses for days. No, seriously. I'm convinced she could bungee jump off the moon and straight down into the belly of the Grand Canyon using her golden locks for the cord and still have plenty to spare. I have no idea how it all fits in her bedroom when she sleeps at night. And having more hair than a star cruiser full of wookies isn't even the weirdest part. She can control it. Its like some shaggy kraken with prehensile tentacles that makes it home on top her head. It grabs, it wraps, it lifts, it slices, it dices, it can even make julienne fries. And it. Is. Scary. Trust me, Punzie is not someone you want to tangle with.

Moving along, we come to Sora. Oi, where to begin with this kid… Put it this way. If Rapunzel is a ball of energy, then Sora is the freaking sun. He's all light and warmth, butterflies and puppy dogs, caffeine highs and sugar rushes. He's a ginormous goofball and okay, maybe he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he is the nicest guy in the whole goddamn universe. That's not just an opinion, that's not just hyperbole, that is one hundred percent fact. Anyone who tells you different is lying through their crooked ass teeth. Everyone loves Sora, it's impossible not to. You'd have to be heartless to hate him. This kid tends to make buddies with everyone wherever he goes. He's a real "friendship is magic" sort. It's almost annoying, the amount of pure, unadulterated happy just radiating off this dude. I don't know how his girlfriend stands it twenty-four seven.

Speaking of which, remember Kairi? Remember her love of sneaking out her parent's house at night and how her boyfriend's bedroom was her home away from home? Sora's the boyfriend. Seems these two grew up together in remote tropical paradise. Childhood sweethearts from the days of digging holes in the sandbox. And let me tell you, these two are such a cute couple, it's gross.

And the Oscar for Mutant with the Most Fitting Powers goes to (drumroll please)... Sora! No joke, this knucklehead manifested the ability to harness and wield pure light itself. He's a force for good and it's a pretty sweet deal that comes with a couple perks. For starters, Sora is, for all intents and purposes, laughing gas on legs. He is Feel Good Inc and can turn even the most stubborn of frowns upside down. Euphoria, hope, courage, a whole wide range of positive emotions at his fingertips that he can just pop into your cerebral cortex. He doesn't force you to feel these things, mind you. It's more of a very strong suggestion, one you can ignore if you're feeling so inclined. But wait, there's more! Not only is the kid Captain Good Vibes, but he can also summon a blade of blinding radiant light. Picture a golden lightsaber formed of dreams, love, and happiness and you'll get the idea. Oh, and having been on the receiving end of that weapon's holy wrath, believe me when I say it hurts. Like a bitch.

And then there's Riku. He also grew up on that island. You know, the same one that Xion, Kairi, Naminé, Sora, and everyone else and their mom seems to come from at this point. Must be something in the water there turning that place into Superfreaks-R-Us. Anyway, Riku and Sora? Hashtag Total Best Buds 4 Life. Which is funny because Riku is the night to Sora's day. Don't get me wrong, Riku's a good guy too, he's just not the perky little ray of sunshine Sora is. What he is is Mr. Perfect Prefect. Popular, athletic, smart, all topped off with brooding good looks that have more than half the students here writing his name next to theirs inside giant, crudely drawn hearts on the wrinkled pages of their notebooks. You could practically hear the collective shatter of all those hearts the day word spread 'round campus that he was off the market.

On paper, Riku may sound like he's got it all together, but things aren't always what they appear. Dig down deep enough and you'll find it's always the ones that seem so perfect that are actually a little cracked. Our golden boy here has a dark side. His is the power to command the shadows. Bend them, weave them, yank them off the very walls and floors into very solid, very real objects. He can even breathe life into them. His latest party trick is conjuring little critters of darkness, humanoid in shape with antennae that twitch and eyes that burn like candles. Riku has dubbed these lil bastards Shadows. Originality at its finest, right? Personally, I would have gone with MidKnights.

Sometimes however, it would seem the darkness has a mind of its own. Sometimes, he hears a voice whispering to him from the shadows. Sometimes, it tells him to do things he doesn't want to do and so he doesn't. But sometimes, it's harder for him to tell it no. Apparently, the voice has a name. And that name is…

Andrew.

...wait, no, that's not right. What was it?

Anakin?

Ansel...?

Ansem. That was it. Is it all in Riku's head? Or is this Ansem dude really some icky creepy-crawly from the Upside Down? Who knows. Mum's the word though. Only reason I'm privy to any of this is cuz like me, Mr. Not-So-Perfect Prefect is a patient of Doc Aq's. He's got the shrink slot right before mine and the walls here? Not as sound proof as they probably should be.

Finally, you've got Saïx. If you were to look up the term 'resting bitchface' in the dictionary, you'd find a picture of Saïx in all his scowling glory. Dude never smiles. Mayhaps it's because of that perpetual stick up his ass. He's a total boyscout that takes his duties way to seriously and is drunk off his prefect power. He catches you out after curfew? Detention. Speak above a whisper in the library? Detention. Smirk, frown, cough, sneeze, blink, breathe, or even so much as exist in his esteemed, hallowed presence? You bet your sweet booty he'll find a way to slap you with that dreaded lilac slip.

He wasn't always such a royal stick in the mud. A long time ago in a backstory far, far away, he was actually halfway decent. We used to be friends. Best friends in fact, if you can believe it. We go waaaaaaaay back to the days of juice boxes and Legos. We were orphanage brats together, partners in crime. The caretakers loathed us, we were always starting so much trouble. Well, more so me, but Saïx always had my back. We were hellions even as muggles, but throw mutant powers into the mix and the home was all but dying to be rid of us. They practically fell to their knees and kissed the very ground Yen Sid walked on the day he showed up to take us off their hands. Settling in at the academy, growing up with others like us, life was good… at first. But then for some reason that still remains a mystery to this day, that crusty old geezer Professor Xehanort took a special interest in Saïx. And even weirder, Saïx went along with it. Day by day, my brother from another mother slowly disappeared, replaced by Prof X's uptight mini-me. Soon he was a model citizen who wanted nothing to do with the likes of me. A grumpy, straightlaced, goody-goody ghost of his former self.

By the way, don't even think about asking him about that huge scar on his face in the shape of an X, not if you're particularly attached to your humble existence on this mortal coil. He's a bit touchy about the subject. Lotta rumors circulating as to how he got it though. Some say he learned the hard way not to run with scissors. Others say he got in a fight with a lawnmower and lost. Only I know the real story behind it. Let's just say his old man isn't going to be winning father of the year anytime soon.

Now we get to the part you've all been waiting for: his power. There's always two sides to a coin, and Saïx is no exception. One minute he's a dull, mild mannered prefect with a unhealthy hard on for the school's code of ethics, the next a switch flips and he's a bloodthirsty killing machine. Faster, stronger… tougher too. He's not invulnerable, not even close, but he sure as hell can take a punch. I'm pretty sure he doesn't even feel pain anymore when he's juiced up or if he does, he has nary a shit to give. To sweeten the pot, rapid self healing also comes part of the package deal. But the best part? He goes completely, totally and utterly off his rocker. He's got a maniacal laugh that'd make any mad scientist or super villain swell with pride. That's not even the catch though. It seems his ability is tied to the moon - more powerful (and more crazy) after sunset, bonus points if Mother Nature's nightlight is full. Not sure if that's just how it works or it it's all psychological. Cuz, you know... it's weird. Then again, I'm a Zippo lighter personified, so who am I to judge?

And that about wraps it up for the Gold Star Sticker Brigade. Some of them got their issues, but when it really comes down to it, they're just a bunch of good eggs doing their part to keep everyone on the straight and narrow. But you gotta remember, with great power comes great responsibility. They're not just around to throw the book at us hooligans if we step out of line. They're also here to protect us, keep us safe. Because in a school packed to the brim with deadly and sometimes mildly unhinged superfreaks, there's no doubt we're gonna need the protection. It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it.

Boy am I glad I'm not in their shoes.

Naminé stared at me, one eyebrow cocked as she waited for me to say something.

One hand flew to my chest, fingers splayed. "Moi?" I bat my eyelashes. "I would never."

"Sure," her grin turned wry before she shifted her attention over to Snow. "Forget every word you've heard out of this miscreant's mouth."

"Hey!"

Cheap shot.

Ignoring my outburst, she flashed Snow her patented smile - guaranteed to warm even the most frozen of hearts or your munny back. "Hi, my name is Naminé. It's an absolute pleasure to finally meet you."

There was a pause as Snow hesitated, staring at the hand Naminé had stretched out to her.

"It's okay," Naminé reassured, her voice soft. "I know all about your gift. Don't worry, I'll be just fine."

Snow gave her a tiny frown, then glanced down at her own gloved hand. She squinted, as if looking for holes or other breaches in her personal defenses. It must have passed inspection for she finally, albeit gingerly and with a deep breath, took the prefect's hand in her own and shook it. "Elsa."

"Nams here is the resident welcoming committee," I piped in. "You know, a friendly face for the newbies. Proof that we're not all monsters here." I smirked. "Not on the outside, at least."

Eyes never leaving Snow, Naminé said with a cavity inducing grin, "Luckily, Axel is enough of a monster for all of us, both inside and out."

I shrugged. "Can't argue with facts."

Don't let her angelic aura fool you. Naminé's default setting may be sweetheart, but girl can be savage when she wants to be.

But her jabs at me were harmless. I knew they all came from a place of love. She was just teasing to keep up appearances. We were, after all, on opposite sides of the law. She couldn't be seen fraternizing with the enemy. But she and I, we were on good terms.

At least, I hoped we were. Anyone who can pop your nose out of existence using only a doodle and an eraser is not someone whose bad side you want to get on. To be fair, I'm not sure if she can actually go that far with her powers, but I'd rather not be the one to find out. I'm a fan of my nose. It's as cute as a fucking button and I'd like to keep it.

"Anyway," Naminé clapped her hands together, "I'm so glad to see you out of your room at last, Elsa. If you have a moment, I'd like to-"

That's as far as she got before she was interrupted by a dark, barking blur that came out of nowhere, rushed past her and hurtled straight into Snow. True to her namesake, a puff of cool, white powder erupted from her as she yelped in surprise and stumbled back a step, but managed to stay upright. With another bark, it proceeded to leap up and slobber all over her face.

Now that it had slowed down enough to be visible to the naked eye, the blur turned out to be a dog. A big, but lean dog with scruffy black fur, gangling legs, and a face only a mother could love. He was a happy fellah, his tail wagging faster than a hummingbird's wings. He'd taken a spot between all three of us, center of attention, spinning around to grace each of us with several loud woofs.

Giggling, Naminé leaned down to pat him on the head. "What a cute puppy!" She looked to Snow, her fingers moving to scratch behind his ear now as she did so. Panting, the mutt closed his eyes and leaned into it. Oh yeah. He was in doggy heaven. "Is he yours? Because I have to let you know, we normally don't allow pets on campus."

Fido's ears perked up, his head turned and he froze, eyes zeroed in on something in the lunchroom crowd. Then he released another gleeful wuf before crouching low to the ground, muscles tense, tail high in the air and going like a windshield wiper possessed.

Still in the process of mopping off the slimey remnants from our new pal's initial greeting, Snow shook her head with a snort. "No, he's not."

Naminé tipped her head to one side. "Then where did he c-?"

"Got you!" A new voice cried out from the throng of lunch-goers.

Faster than you can say 'Scooby Snack' the dog bolted, disappearing amongst the mixture of dining tables and our classmates legs just as a second blur appeared from the opposite direction, pouncing into the now empty space Man's Best Friend had been not just half a tick ago. It crashed into the floor with a thud and a grunt. Then it rolled over onto its back, revealing itself to be a now rather dazed-looking boy with spiky brown hair.

I crossed my arms and sniggered down at him, shaking my head. "Always gotta make an entrance, huh, Sora?"

He groaned, a hand going to his forehead. Then he shook it off and beamed back up at me from the floor. "What can I say? Can't help showing off." His eyes flicked over to Snow. "Oh! You're the new girl!" His smile threatened to split his face in two as it stretched even wider. Still making no move to get up, he gave her a big wave. "Hi New Girl!"

Eyebrows knitting together, she mirrored the gesture weakly. I didn't blame her. She was probably trying to figure out if he was a student or a nuthouse escapee. A question many people found themselves pondering upon first meeting Sora.

"What's the deal with the dog?" Naminé placed a hand on one hip as she too stared down at him.

"Dunno," he shrugged, taking the hand I offered to help him back onto his feet. Dusting himself off, he said, "He doesn't seem to belong to anyone. Think it's a stray that wandered in here by accident. It's just been running around like a chicken with its head cut off, yapping at everyone it sees. I've been trying to catch him all day!"

Nams pursed her lips to one side and looked around. Rover was nowhere to be seen, not with all the students packed in here, providing him near impenetrable cover. But you could definitely still hear him. "Can't Cindy help you?"

His shoulders slumped. "She tried, but it didn't work for some reason!"

"Oh ho!" I smirked over in the direction of the Princess's table. "Are somebody's powers on the fritz? Finally met her match? Outsmarted by a widdle doggo?"

Naminé tapped a finger to her chin. "Maybe it's because the dog won't stay still."

"S'pose it could be hard for the fleabag whisperer to lay the whammy on a moving target," I admitted with a harrumph.

There was another excited bork as Spot burst back out of the crowd a couple yards away from us. His clumsy feet did not nail the landing and he smashed into the floor face first, tumbling and rolling a few times before sliding to a stop. Then he immediately perked up, panting and still in high spirits before scampering off again.

"What a goofy dog," Sora laughed, clasping his hands behind his head. "Welp, duty calls! Laters, guys!" He grinned at us, then at Snow. "Laters, New Girl!" With that, he charged after the mutt once more.

With a tiny a laugh, Nams looked back to Snow. "Now, where were we? Ah, yes." She pulled out a piece of paper from her messenger bag. "This is your schedule here. We-" Yet again, her words stopped short. I had sidled up to peek over her shoulder at the page. She glanced at me out of the corner of narrowed eyes, shifting the sheet out of my line of sight. "Um, excuse me."

I smirked. "You're excused."

What can I say, I'm a Nosy Nancy. It's in my blood. There's no fighting it, so why even try?

Her eyelids drooped and she shook her head, handing the paper to Snow. "We try to keep the schedules light for our first years so as not to overwhelm them as they adjust to their new environment," she explained. She was keeping it very profesh and was using her prefect voice, which was somewhere between friendly flight attendant and mama bear. "I'm in most of the same courses as you, so feel free to come to me if you have any questions. There is one session you and I don't share, but Rapunzel's in that one. She's a prefect, like me. She'll be happy to help."

"Punzie's the one with the hair." I pointed at my own mane. "You can't miss her."

Snow blinked. "...the hair?"

"You'll know it when you see it. Trust me."

Raising a finger, Naminé rattled off, "Dining hall hours are seven to nine for breakfast, eleven to one lunch, and five to seven dinner. Curfew is at ten on weekdays, but I recommend being in your room by nine forty-five to be on the safe side. On the weekend-"

Snow snerked, one hand darting up to cover her lips. Nams' eyebrows shot up, then she looked behind herself to discover that I had been making an extravagant show of mimicking her hand gestures and miming her lil speech, complete with ridiculous faces. I hastily shoved my hands into my pocket, looked away and began to whistle.

Nothing to see here. Move along.

With a sigh, Naminé said, "Perhaps I should show you around now. The school grounds are massive, so we have a lot to cover. Follow me."

She turned, shouldering past me and began to make her way towards the cafeteria's double-doored exit. Snow's gaze met mine and I bowed low with a sweeping flourish. "After you, M'lady." Her eyes crinkled as she moved to follow her tour guide with me only a few steps behind. We did not get far however before a pair of legs suddenly shot out, blocking the aisle like a boom barrier and stopping Nams dead in her tracks.

One look would tell you that the owner of said legs was the pinnacle of the three Bads. Bad Boy, Bad News, and Badass. From his untamed hair to his leather jacket to his strappy, steel-toed boots, dude was obviously a fan of the color black and wasn't afraid to show it. He was leaning back in his chair with his legs stretched out and crossed casually at the ankles, feet propped up by another seat on the opposite side of the walkway. He folded his arms together as he chewed some gum, watching Nams through half-lidded golden eyes.

She exhaled heavily with a small scowl. "Can I help you, Vanitas?"

"Wanna pass? Gotta pay the toll." He began to blow a bubble.

"Do I dare even ask?" she muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. First me, now Vanitas. Two douchebags for the price of one. Must be her lucky day. At last, she tossed a hand up in defeat. "Fine, what's the toll?"

He let the bubble pop and flashed a wicked smirk. Then he puckered up and made kissy noises at her.

"Ugh," she huffed in disgust and marched forward, shoving his legs out of her way none too gently. She called behind her, "Not in a million years."

A scoff escaped him and he jeered, "Be too soon for my tastes, cupcake."

Brrr. Some serious cold shoulder going on there. Those two don't seem to like each other very much, huh?

You'd never guess they were hooking up on the QT.

Shocker, am I right? Talk about opposites attract!

But see? Being a Nosy Nancy pays off. I've got more dirt than a dump truck.

Worrying her lower lip between her teeth, Snow stared after Naminé then glanced down at Vanitas as he blew another slow bubble. He arched an eyebrow at her before letting the gum burst again. "Take a picture, toots."

Her back stiffened and she hurried to catch up with Naminé. I said nothing to him, just rapped my knuckles against his as I strolled past.

Vani and I tend travel in the same circles.

"Don't mind him," I muttered to Snow as I stepped up beside her. "He may seem like a jackass at first, but once you get to know him… well, he's still a jackass. But beneath that jackass-errific exterior beats a heart of gold."

She didn't say anything, just gave a small nod, eyes downcast as her fingers toyed with her braid.

I frowned. Seemed Snow had lost her voice since last night. She hadn't had much to say, not since Nams showed up anyway. Just not a people person, I guess. She was probably drowning in all the new faces and once again re-thinking her decision to leave the room today.

Naminé was waiting by the door as we approached. She flashed that candy-coated smile of hers again and gestured to the opening. "Right this way, we'll start in just a moment." Snow stepped over the threshold and out into the corridor. I moved to follow, but Naminé suddenly stood in my way. "Not you, loverboy," she said, jabbing a finger into my chest and forcing me to take a step back.

"Wha- I- I'm not-" I said with all the eloquence of a turnip.

The audacity of this woman!

"Save it. I have a job to do, and I can't do it with you hanging around being a nuisance. You can flirt later," she chided. I tried not to snort at the sight of someone half my size trying to order me around.

Instead I puffed my chest up, crossed my arms, and stared down my nose at her. "I resent the insinuation. I have nothing but honorable intentions."

"Mmm-hmm." She didn't look convinced.

"Besides, what am I supposed to do now?"

"Don't you have class or something?"

My eyelids drooped. "Do you know me but at all?"

"Fine then, go, I don't know…" her hand flicked through the air a couple times. "...set something on fire I guess."

The corners of my lips stretched slyly. "Your wish is my command."

"Wait," she snapped. Nams pressed her mouth into a thin line as she looked up at me, unamused. I set my phasers to stun and beamed back at her. With a sigh, she started rummaging in her bag and pulled out one of her sketchbooks. Flipping through the pages, she stopped somewhere in the middle, reached a hand in and pulled. I wrinkled my forehead. From the pages of that itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny artpad, she soon had produced a full-scale and fully functioning fire extinguisher. She gave it to me with a grunt.

I blinked a couple times. "You had one of these already drawn up and ready to go?"

"I have twenty. I know you," she shrugged. "Just… don't go too crazy and please clean up afterwards."

Shifting the extinguisher to one hand, I used the other to salute her. "Roger, roger." I then glanced past her to lock eyes with Snow, who was still waiting patiently in the hallway. I grinned, "Catch you on the flipside. Try not to miss me too much."

She struggled to suppress her smile, raising her chin a fraction. "No worries there, Ethel."

There's my girl Friday.

I watched the two of them walk off together, Naminé talking animatedly, already pointing out the many sights, landmarks and wonders the institute had to offer. When they turned a corner and I lost sight of them, I looked down at the bright red canister within my hands.

Welp. You heard the lady.

Time to go set some shit on fire.

At Yen Sid's Institute for the Gifted, there are many delights to experience, curiosities to behold. Kicking it off lightly, there's the school store that is by and large student run. It has been lovingly nicknamed the Bazaar due to its location in an open air courtyard situated towards the center of campus. There, you can purchase school supplies, snacks, caffeine-laced beverages and other such necessities. There are also a few off the menu items that are available for purchase if you murmur the right words to the right people. You know, real black market shit. We're talking smokes, booze… classy, high end periodicals for the furtherment of one's anatomical education… all that good stuff up for grabs! For the right price, of course.

For you adventurous types, there's the woodlands that surround three quarters of the campus. We're not exactly sure how big it is, no one's ever fully explored it all, but it's gotta be at least 100 acres. One of the more prominent features of the forest is Pride Rock. A steep hill with an even steeper drop overlooking a small lake. Many a idiots have proven their mettle by making the leap from its tipy top to the fathoms below. It's become a right of passage of sorts. Then there's Grandmother Willow. The largests, oldest, gnarliest tree that sleeps in the deepest, darkest part of the woods. It's said if you seek her out after midnight, you can hear her whispering to you from amidst her coiling branches. Few are brave enough to make the perilous journey after dark, even fewer willing speak of their excursion when they return… if they return. And let's not forget about the Cave of Wonders. Sort of a tunnel of love, naturally formed and romantic as all freaking hell. It's hard to put into words exactly what the inside is like. Let's just say all that glitters is not gold. Trust me, I can attest to the wonders therein. Total date night spot.

There's something for everybody at the academy, even all you conspiracy nuts like me out there. We all know this old place has a basement, despite no one being allowed down there. We even know there is a subbasement beyond that. But legend tells of an even deeper layer. A sub-subbasement, if you will, and they say it's a total freaky-deaky house of horrors down there. A grimy decrepit crypt full of bugs the size of great danes and bones with rotting meat still clinging to 'em. Take a wrong turn down there and you may even find yourself face to face with enraged ghosts of long dead and forgotten mutants from yesteryear.

They call it the Underworld.

But really, who'd believe in a silly old wives' tale like that? Bit far fetched, even for me.

Regardless of what you're into, everyone has their favorite spot here. The place you go to just chillax with some friends or be alone with your thoughts. For me, that spot's the school clock tower. The tallest and oldest structure on campus, the focal point around which the rest of the buildings gather. The thing is definitely from another century, all colorful and gaudy like opening night at a Barnum & Bailey circus. It wears four gargantuan bronze bells like a crown and their chimes can be heard for miles. If you're sitting on the top ledge just above its king-size clock face, you'll bear witness to the best damn view of sunset in the whole wide world.

If you can get to the top. The tower is technically off limits to students.

But my friends and I, we have our ways.

And so it was, after a satisfying and legally sanctioned afternoon of setting many a things ablaze (including the fire extinguisher that had been so generously offered up as tribute), that I was to be found perched upon that high ledge, enjoying a visit from the nicotine fairy. The Marlboro hung from my mouth as I leaned back on my palms watching the daystar near the end of its slow descent. Those blizzards that had been raging all week seemed to have settled down for good and this was the first time the sky had been clear in days. I wasn't going to miss the show.

The whole campus and beyond could be seen from up here. Mostly it was just forest as far as the eye could see except for the north where one single, lonely road sprouted from the main entrance and trailed off into the distance. There were still clumps of snow lying around here and there, but most of it had melted by now, the leftover slush glimmering in the golden glow of approaching twilight.

It was actually kind of pretty.

Crap, I must be going soft in my old age.

"You're gonna get lung cancer from those, you know."

Xion's words dragged me out of my musings. I glanced out of the corner of my eye to see her and Roxas emerge from around the corner to come join me in our usual front row seats to the final curtains of the day.

Tendrils of smoke curled out of my nostrils as I pulled the cigarette away from my lips and smirked. "Can the devil even get lung cancer?" I ask, drawing one leg up towards my chest as she sat down on the ledge too, leaving a spot between us.

Rox snorted at that as he also took a seat, filling the gap in the middle. "Oh so, what, you're saying you're the devil now?"

"Hey, I got the fire and brimstone part down at least." I stretched my arm out in front of me, propping it on one knee as I tapped away some ash. "By the way, if I ever catch either of you smoking, I'll smack you so hard upside the head you'll feel it for your next ten birthdays, you hear me?"

"Wow, who knew Satan was such a hypocrite," Xion rolled her eyes with a faint smile. "Not that I'm saying that I want to, but even if I did, what makes you think you could stop me?"

I didn't respond right away, instead frowning as I watched the crimson bands of light sprawl over the horizon. After letting the silence stretch for a bit, I asked, "Ever wonder why the sun sets red?"

The kiddos blinked at each other. Then Xion shook her head as Roxas said slowly, "No… why?"

"Cuz I fucking told it to, that's why."

Xion all but burst with laughter at that. "Liar! Even if that were true, how does that have anything to do with anything?"

"Tell me," I said, eyes still locked on that big, dimming light bulb in the sky, "what's the sun made of?"

"Gas," Xion answered almost immediately, then shrugged. "Plasma, really. Mostly hydrogen and helium, but also a little bit of carbon, nitrogen, oxy-"

"Ahhhnt," I made a buzzer noise, reaching my arm behind Roxas to flick Xion in the ear. "Wrong. Would contestant numero dos care to venture a guess?"

He hesitated, his brow furrowing. "Um… fire?"

"Ding, ding. We have a winner!" I grinned, tapping a finger to my nose. "Bonus round now, champ. What am I?" I asked, jabbing a thumb into my chest.

"A dork?" Xion interjected, sticking her tongue out at me as Roxas smothered a chuckle behind his hand.

My eyelids drooped. "No."

Alright, fine, yes, but that is so not the point.

"I'm the lord and frigging master of fire, twerp." I pointed a digit skyward, "Meaning that big flaming orb up there is my bitch. So, moral of the story, halfpints?" Shoving the cigarette between my teeth, I flashed them a crooked half-smirk. "Do as I say or I'll drop the motherfucking sun on your asses. Got it memorized?"

Crickets. Then another explosion of laughter, this time from the both of them.

Somehow I got the feeling they weren't taking me seriously.

Just a hunch.

"Sure… sure, okay," Xion wheezed out. "I won't smoke and in the interest of not shattering your fragile male ego, we'll say it's cuz you told us not to."

I sniffed indignantly. "Thank you, from the bottom of my fragile male ego."

"Same here," Rox chirped. "Scout's honor, you won't ever catch me smoking." He let out a grunt as I slugged him in the shoulder. "Kidding, kidding! There's nothing to catch, promise."

"Damn well better not be," I grumbled.

Having subsided into mere giggles now, Xion swung her dangling feet as she shot me some side eye. "So. That girl you ditched us for at lunch. Spill."

I scratched a spot behind my ear and stared at the sunset as if I were watching gray paint dry on a slightly grayer wall. "Dunno what you're talking about."

Roxas snerked. "C'mon, Axel. You practically tore a hole in the space-time continuum running across the cafeteria to get to the new girl."

"Ghost blonde hair? Blue eyes? Some serious va-va-voom going on?" Xion ticked off on her fingers, waggling her eyebrows at the last one. "Ring any bells?"

"Maybe a jingle or two," I shrugged, slowing inhaling more smoke into my lungs.

Xion sighed, muttering, "Like pulling teeth."

"Dude," Rox gave me a pointed look. "It's not that hard. You. Her. Fill in the blank. Go."

I raised an eyebrow. "Sorry squirts, but if you're itching for a birds n' the bees talk, I'm saving that one til you're both a lil bit older."

She scrunched up her face. "Ew, no. First off, just how old do you think we are?"

"You'll always be my babies," I cooed, pinching Roxas's precious chubby widdle cheek. He socked me in the side of the rib cage.

They grow up so fast.

"Second off," Xion shook her head, "We just want to know stuff like, um… like how do you know her?"

"Oh. Simple enough." I smirked at them. "I stole her car."

"You what?!" they exclaimed in perfect unison. Neat trick. Wonder if they practice it in their free time.

"It's okay. She was in it at the time."

Roxas frowned. "So you also… kidnapped her?"

"Nah, she was cool with it. And then we beat up some carjackers. Real lowlife thugs, you know? We even gift wrapped them for the police." I snapped my fingers. "I think that makes us super heroes. Maybe she and I should become a crime-fighting dynamic duo. Ooo, or start one of them justice leagues. I could rock the hell out of a cape and costume." My eyes narrowed. "But no tights. I draw the line at that shit. This ain't no fucking Swan Lake. And don't even get me started on the underoos. Trust me, no one wants to see that. I-"

My words came to a screeching halt at the blank stares they were giving me. I rubbed the nape of my neck, "Uh… heh… what were we talking about again?"

One corner of Roxas's lips twitched upward. "Your new girlfriend, Super Tangent Man."

I scoffed. "She's not- listen, we just… fought a little crime together." And I may or may not have laid a lil sweet, sweet sugar on her. They didn't know that though. "I wouldn't exactly call that flirting."

With a snort, Xion hunched forward so she could better look me in the eye. "You kidding? Given your MO, that may as well be roses and candlelight. What's her name?"

I huffed and flopped backward, my arms folding behind my head to cushion it from the concrete. Not gonna lie, wasn't a fan of this line of questioning. I gnawed on my cigarette as I stared straight up, watching the thin trickle of smoke drifting up into the darkening sky. "You got such a crush on her, you go ask her."

"I'm not the one with a crush," she sing-songed.

I felt Rox kick my shoe with his own. "So tell us about her. What's she like?"

"Hmmm, welp… she's got two arms, two legs. A pair of eyes, a nose… lessee what else… oh, get this. She has elbows. And nine fingers, at least. Maybe ten, but don't quote me on that."

"Axel…"

Tossing a hand up, I said, "What? You asked what she was like. She's very person-like. That may in fact be because she's a person. One you can go interact with and get all the juicy deets from yourself."

"Oh wow," I heard Xion chuckle. "You really like this one."

"Do not."

"Please. You're patient zero of the hyperverbal disease. You have something to say about everything. It's when you clam up about something or someone that we know we've hit a soft spot."

Oh brother. "Thank you, Dr Phil."

Roxas practically crowed, "You're right! This is exactly how he got with Meg too, remember?"

"Hey now, you leave Meg out of th-"

A flash of copper red hair and brown eyes suddenly filled my vision above, too close for comfort. "Sup guys! What-"

"Sweet Zombie Jesus!" I snapped, startled into sitting back up. "Damn it, Peter, boundaries! We talked about this!"

We had the extraordinary displeasure of having been joined by a fourth person. A tall wisp of a boy that looked like he'd snap like a twig if you so much as breathed on him. He jumped back at my outburst and straight off the ledge, where the laws of physic would argue he should have had a one way ticket to Splatsville on the pavement several stories below. Instead he just floated there in midair.

If you hadn't guessed, defying the laws of gravity was this kid's own special brand of x-gene hocus pocus.

A bucktooth grin spread across his face. "My bad, man. Didn't surprise you too bad, did I?"

"Nah. Left arm's feeling numb, but that's normal, right?" I deadpanned, using a bit more force than necessary to stub out my mostly spent cigarette on the concrete next to my seat, shooting the rugrats a look. They stifled some sniggers into their fists.

"For sure, awesomesauce!" he beamed, giving me the thumbs up. Then he tapped his knuckles together. "So… Tink n' I were wonderin' if maybe, possibly we could also-"

"Shoo, fly, don't bother me," I cut him off, waving a dismissive hand.

He zipped around like a paper airplane, looping behind me and popping his head up between me and Roxas. Palms pressed together and held up just under his chin, he whined, "Aw c'mon, please? Tons of room up here, we could share-"

I planted a hand on his face and shoved him away. "I said buzz off, pest."

"But-"

"Get outta here, Rocketeer."

"If ya'd just-"

"Bye bye, Tweety Pie."

With a growl, he whooshed past me, nearly knocking me off my perch. He whirled around to face all three of us, stamping his foot on the nonexistent ground beneath him and tugging the hood of his green jacket up over his head with a huff. "Fine!" Into the hoodie's breast pocket, he said, "We're outta here, Tink. This spot blows." He stuck his thumbs in his ears, wriggled his fingers, and razzed his tongue at us. "Wouldn't want to hang out with these lame buttheads anyway!" On that oh-so-clever final note, he torpedoed elsewhere.

Jeeze, that kid needs to learn to grow the fuck up.

Just because the brat can fly, he thinks the highest point on campus should be his roost. But the clock tower's our turf, end of story. We were here first, fair and square. Didn't stop him from trying to weasel his way in from time to time. Which in turn, didn't stop me from chasing him off with the metaphorical flyswatter. And back and forth it went, so on and so forth, a cycle without end. You'd think he'd know by now not to be such a crybaby about it.

"You know," Xion said, eyes crinkling, "it wouldn't kill you to be a little nicer to Peter."

I turned up my nose. "I humbly disagree."

"Pfffft. You never humbly do anything."

My eyes rolled. "Alright then, I unhumbly disagree."

She sighed and shook her head. "Unhumbly is not a word."

"There's no pleasing you."

Rox slapped my shoulder. "Still, he's not wrong. It's huge up here," he spread his arms wide, indicating our domain atop of the tower. "Would it be so wrong to share the space?"

I reached for my pack of Marlboros. "Sharing is for toddlers and Sunday confessionals. Besides, it's too much fun pissing him off. I..." The words died in my throat as I frowned, patting all my pockets. I released a snarl. "That little shit swiped my smokes."

He cracked up at that. "Serves you right, you big bully."

I tried to silence him with a withering glare. No such luck. If anything, he only laughed harder. I hissed out a harsh breath. "Who's side you on, anyway?"

Leaping up onto his feet, Roxas planted his fists on his hips and thrust his chest out. "The side of truth, justice, and-"

"Siddown, twerp," I yanked on his shirt, forcing him to unceremoniously fall back onto his rear. Xion was doing her best to contain a fit of giggles behind both her hands. "There's only one superhero here, and hint hint, it's not you."

He turned his head, smiling at the third amigo. "Wow, Xion, when did you become a superhero?"

I cuffed him lightly on the back of the head and they both just broke down into laughter again. One corner of my lips turned up despite myself.

Peter may have been as annoying as a buzzing mosquito just begging to be squished under thumb, but I hadn't failed to notice that he'd just done me a bit of a favor. Inadvertently, of course. God forbid the brat do a good deed on purpose out of the kindness of his own heart. Regardless, he'd played distraction and gotten the kiddies off my back about Snow, for which I was grateful.

In the interest of keeping the subject-change ball rolling, when the cackling at last settled down, I said, "So I hear Professor Cueball was a no show in class for you two today."

Xion bit back a grin. "You mean Instructor Xehanort?"

"That'd be the one."

"Yeah, it was weird," Roxas nodded. "He's been late before, we all know how busy he is with his private research. But he's never just totally bailed on a session before."

Xion pulled her knees up, hugging them to her chest. "Word is no one's seen him since yesterday. It's like he's just fallen off the face of the planet."

"Huh." I scratched the tip of my nose in thought, then shrugged. "Old coot probably just wandered off from his shuffleboard group after a bout of dementia. He'll turn up sooner or later."

"You think?"

"Yup. He's most likely just gotten himself lost in the attic or the dreaded verboten west wing, caught up in a lively debate with a suit of armor or trying to figure out where he misplaced his dentures. Or his Viagra."

She scrunched up her nose with a tiny smile. "Ew, gross, who would he need Viagra for?" I opened my mouth to respond, but she was already raising a hand to quiet me. "On second thought, don't answer that. I'd rather not hear what your twisted imagination would come up with, thanks."

"Smart girl," I chuckled before tapping a finger to my temple. "It's a horror show in here. You do not want to peek behind the curtain, believe me."

We continued to chat about everything and nothing, laughing about stupid crap and roughhousing on our precarious seats, heedless of the treacherous drop below us. Just like we always did, just like every other sunset in the past. Just like we planned to keep doing every sunset in the future too.

If only we knew how few sunsets we had left together.

Speaking of which, you're probably wondering where all that doom and gloom was that I promised you at the end my little midnight adventure. Worry not, my friends, it's coming. In fact, it'd already begun, it was just going on behind the scenes. Hiding beneath the surface, unseen as it grew and spread, devouring everything in its path, like a cancer. It would be a while still before it finally emerged from the shadows to rear its ugly head, but the warning signs were there to see if anyone had bothered to look. By the time anyone even had a clue, it was already too late.

But I'm getting ahead of myself here. No need to fret over the distant (yet not so distant) future just yet.

Afterall, I still, as I would soon discover, had to survive that very night.

Author's Note: Dun dun duuuuuuun! I'm such a doom and gloom tease xD And see, see, you didn't have to wait long for this update either! Next one will be quite soon as well!

Once again, MUCH praise and MUCH worship to the beautiful and breathtaking Arisa Kiryuu for being a vunderbar beta for this chapter! Thank you, my lil cabbage! Also, special thanks to Arisa Kiryuu and Amarxlen for being so generous as to take some time to leave their reviews!

Gwah, sorry, the Prefects section got a bit out of control lengthwise Dx It's my intention to keep those little intro/clique descriptions short, but once I start writing, it's hard to stop sometimes. Then afterwards it feels impossible to cut anything out. Plus, you know Ax is gonna have a lot to say about CERTAIN people *cough*Saïx*cough* Hope it was still a fun read, even if it was a bit of a marathon!

And what Axel-centric fic is truly complete without a clocktower scene? Don't care if it's possibly even cliché at this point, had to do it, so you can deal. Plus, I got to put my own little twist on why the sun sets red :3 that might be my fave bit in the whole chapter, it was a lot of fun to write. And also, fun fact, it was the first part I wrote for this chapter!

Anywhosel, thank you so so sooooo much for reading, I super duper appreciate it! If you have any comments, friendly feedback, or are just liking the story thus far, please make my day by letting me know in a review! Catch you at the next update, lovelies! Much love, peace out, word to your mothers, and other such delightful platitudes!