Okay everyone, here is the third installment of Oblivion is Eternal. Sorry it's been so long since the last update, but I was away and left my laptop (and subsequently this story) at home. Yeah, I'm smart. Anyway, the Oblivion master copy has just reached over 11,000 words. Who knew I had it in me?

A big thank you goes, once again, to my sister for always being there to help and motivate me with a nice kick in the behind. Thanks, Moony! heart

All standard disclaimers apply. Nothing but the plot and the dead people are mine.

And...SMACK IT!

It had been two weeks since Roxas had first started training, and like any teenage boy, he only had so much patience. When was he going to start exorcising ghosts? Not that he was in a big hurry, mind you, but he still felt useless. In truth, Roxas was still terrified of the spirits that roamed the halls of the school. How could he tell anyone? It was shameful, and Roxas was more than a little embarrassed. It was bad enough that he was hardly sleeping now—there were more of the spirits at night—and now he was falling asleep in class. Thank God it was Friday.

Roxas was struggling with his last class of they day, staring out at the black-clouded sky. He was surprised it hadn't started to rain already with the look of things. He had just turned back to studying the pattern of scratches on his desktop when a lightning flash illuminated the room. Then everything went dark.

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Roxas squeezed his eyes shut, he was NOT afraid of the dark. Maybe he should start singing; that always calmed him down.

"Somewhere in the darkness black dogs bark

And insects crawl and creep

I often hear a whisper in the trees

Like someone's in there looking out

And watching me

Sometimes at night I can sense a presence

Feel a danger

I'm a child inside, still afraid of the dark…1"

…Okay, maybe that wasn't the best song to sing at a time like this. Roxas sat quietly, arms wrapped around himself as his teacher called for order amongst the students. He had almost convinced himself that he wasn't scared when a familiar cold swept through the room. Oh hell no. The lightning flash lit up the room and Roxas saw him, standing in the ray of brief light from the window. His throat was cut and there were red streaks down his face, as if had been crying. Other than that he looked pretty normal. Then he spoke.

"Jonathan, there you are. I've been looking everywhere for you. It was only a misunderstanding, Jonathan, how could you do this to me?" The spirit stretched out blood-covered hand and gently laid it on Roxas's cheek. Roxas felt the blood run down his face, down his neck… He pulled away and ran for the door.

"Jonathan, I love you. Come back to me." But Roxas kept running and the spirit didn't follow.

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Roxas barreled down the dark hallway, taking turns left and right. He was bound to get lost, but that didn't matter. He could still feel the blood on his face…! He ran through something cold and froze. He squeezed his eyes shut, but something made him turn around and look. Staring baffled back at him was a man in an old suit…with his stomach cut open. Gutted, like a fish. Roxas could feel the bile rising in his throat. The man looked at him and opened his mouth, a spark of recognition in his eye.

"Jonathan? What are you doing all the way over here? Victor's looking for you boy!" Roxas just nodded dumbly. Axel had told him that when they talked to you, they weren't really talking to you, just someone from the past. Best not to make them angry. They stared at each other until the man slid back, hand flying to his stomach. His eyes lost focus as they fixed on Roxas again.

"How could you do this to me, Jonathan?"

Without a word, Roxas turned and fled.

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Roxas flew down the hall, right turn here, left turn here, until he collided with something. He stiffened, waiting for the words that everyone who he had passed has said: "How could you do this to me Jonathan?" But they never came.

"Hey Roxas! I've been looking all over for you!" It was Demyx. Thank God.

"Demyx," he breathed, collapsing against his chest. Startled, Demyx wrapped his arms around Roxas's shaking form.

"You alright? Roxas?"

"Y—yeah. I'm fine." Roxas pulled away. An awkward silence settled over the two of them until Roxas cleared his throat. "So, why were you looking for me?" Demyx snapped his fingers.

"Oh yeah! Zexion told me to gather everyone and bring 'em to HQ. Just to make sure bad things don't happen."

"HQ?" Roxas asked. "And he told you to gather everyone? How many do you still have to get?"

"Oh, you were the only one who didn't show up when the lights went out. I guess Zex forgot to mention it…"

"Great," Roxas groaned. "The only guy who didn't show up to the meeting." Demyx winced.

"I didn't mean to—what I mean is—" he bit his lip. "Look, I missed meetings too, when I was new. Don't sweat it. Let's go, shall we?" Roxas nodded.

"Sure."

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HQ turned out to be an empty classroom in the science wing. The other 11 members were all seated in a crooked circle of mismatched chairs. On the edges in worn holders were white candle stubs that sent a dim glow around the hooded figures.

"Ah, here they are," said a voice Roxas recognized to be the principal's. In unison, 12 hoods (including Demyx's) came off in a smooth motion. Roxas was left looking at the faces of his fellow exorcists. They were friendlier than he'd expected.

"Introduction time," Demyx announced. "Okay, that creepy red haired-guy is Lexaeus—"

"I'm not creepy. It's nice to meet you Roxas." Roxas nodded to him.

"And that blonde chick is Larxene—"

"Key kid."

"Hi."

"You already know me, Axel, Marluxia, and Zexion, and you already know Mr. Mansex and Saix over there." Xemnas made an aggravated noise in the back of his throat while everyone else laughed.

"Be quiet. Now." Xemnas ground out.

"Ha..ha…hoo…" Demyx breathed after a few minutes. "Anyway," he said, wiping tears from his eyes, "That guy with the dreadlocks is Xaldin and scar guy is Xigbar." Roxas waved to both of them. "And that the guy with the beard is Luxord. The other blonde guy is Vexen. …He's an even bigger creep than Lexaeus and that's amazing."

"Hey!"

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not a creep?!" exclaimed Lexaeus.

"Maybe I should do the introductions next time," Zexion mused.

"No!"

"Yes."

"No!"

"Demyx." Demyx paused.

"…Right, no arguing with Zexion."

"Good boy," Zexion said, kissing Demyx on the cheek. A few wolf whistles broke out from the other members.

"You are so whipped," Larxene cackled. Roxas looked at the other members of the Organization, able to joke around at a time like this, and felt even more out of place.

"Don't be upset, Mr. Dereveau," came a voice behind him. "It takes time to become immune to seeing a dead human among the living, you know. They have all had time to adapt." Xemnas put his hand on Roxas's slumped shoulder.

"Is it that easy to see?" Roxas whispered.

"Only for me. I had to watch all of these brats go through it too."

"Go through what?" asked Demyx. Zexion looked up, took one look at Roxas's face, and smiled.

"Oh. Yes, don't worry about it Roxas. Deep down, we're all still afraid too."

"Yeah," said Axel who reached up and pulled Roxas into the chair next to him. Was it just him, or did Axel's hand stay in his for longer than necessary? Not that he was complaining. It was probably just wishful thinking on Roxas's part.

"I have an idea," Zexion said after a moment. "Let's share experiences. It will pass the time."

"That's a good idea," Saix agreed as did everyone else. Almost all of Zexion's ideas were good ones.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to do it, Xemnas. I still don't know how. What memory do we want to start with?" Roxas was now thoroughly confused. Demyx looked over at him with a wink.

"Remember when I was telling you about the time Zexion made me sleep outside?" Roxas nodded. "Want to hear the story?"

"Let's start with that then," Xemnas said. "Bring it to the front of your mind Demyx. Join hands everyone." Roxas hesitantly joined hands with Axel and Demyx, feeling like a teenage girl about to attempt a séance. Axel's hand tightened in his.

"Hang on kid."

Xemnas stepped into the middle of the circle, put his hand on Demyx's forehead and spoke a phrase that Roxas didn't catch. There was a sharp tug and he was falling…fading into black.

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"Zexion, for the last time, I don't know!" A younger Demyx was standing in front of the school gates, glaring at the sign.

"Look closer, Demyx."

"I'm looking as close as humanly possible!"

"Obviously not!" Demyx heaved a loud sigh.

"Can't you just tell me Zexion?" Demyx asked turning to his mentor imploringly.

"No." Clenching his teeth, Demyx turned to glare balefully at the sign. God he hated that guy.

"Axel's so lucky," Demyx grumbled as he went up to inspect the sign. "He doesn't have to deal with a guy who has a stick up his ass."

"What was that?" Zexion's voice was very close behind him. Demyx froze.

"Uh…I just asked if we could…go inside? Please?"

"That's what I thought. And no, you aren't going inside until you figure it out. Have fun." And with that, Zexion disappeared inside the school.

"You can't be serious!" Demyx screamed. But there was no answer.

For hours Demyx sat there brooding on how much of a jerk Zexion was. He thought about it until darkness fell. He thought about it until sleep took him and he curled up in a ball in front of the answer.

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Demyx woke when the rain started to fall, landing on his cheek and nose and soaking into his robe. Sitting up, Demyx swore.

"This just fantastic!" Demyx stood up, soaking wet and angry, and threw a rock at the sign. "Stupid plaque on the stupid gate, with your stupid German creed! Stupid, stupid, STUPID!" Demyx chucked another rock at the sign and looked down at the ground, cold and defeated, all of his anger spent.

"Stupid…" Demyx felt close to tears. But men didn't cry, Axel always said, so Demyx sucked it up and dropped his last rock. He thought back on what Zexion had told him:

"Think Demyx, what phrase does every person at this school, exorcist or not, know? Think!"

"I'm thinking!" Demyx yelled. "You hear me Zexion? I'M TRYING!" Against his will, a sob tore it's way out of Demyx's chest. He bit it back and squeezed his eyes shut. This was the end of the line. He'd been working on this simple question for twoweeks now. It had only taken Axel 2 days, 6 hours, 35 minutes, and 23 seconds; Vexen'd been counting. Maybe he just wasn't good enough to be an exorcist… Demyx sank to his knees, staring at the sign. The stupid sign on the stupid gate with the stupid German creed… Demyx turned his head to stare at the doors of the school.

"What was I thinking…?" he whispered, shivering. "I give up." He turned his gaze heavenward, past the doors, past the motto carved above them. The motto.

What everyone knows…papered on the walls, carved above every door, no chance of being forgotten…

"Vergessen ist ewig…" There was a clink next to his ear and a flash of silver in the corner of his eye. He turned his head. A rosary? He turned fully and saw Zexion, hand outstretched, holding the silver rosary out to him. Demyx disbelievingly held out his hand, allowing tears to stream down his face. The older exorcist dropped the rosary into it and held his umbrella over the two of them.

"Get up Demyx, and come inside. Welcome to the Organization."

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Roxas opened his eyes, partially expecting to be dripping wet. But he was still inside, holding hands with Axel and Demyx and looking at Xemnas in the middle of the circle. Strange, his face felt wet… He didn't realize he was crying until Axel's gloved hand wiped the tears away. Roxas quickly scrubbed at his face, hoping that no one else had seen the tears. But if he factored in his luck as of late, they already had. But when he looked up, everyone else was wiping tears away, too. Zexion leaned over and gently claimed Demyx's mouth. Demyx kissed him back softly and smiled when they pulled apart.

"See?" Axel whispered in his ear. Roxas felt pleasant shivers run down his spine and his face turned pink. Luckily it was dark in the room and Axel missed it. "Nothing to be ashamed about. We all feel what Demyx felt. It's really awesome."

"H—how is that possible? What just happened?"

"That," Xemnas said, "is called—"

"Mind melting," Axel finished. Xemnas looked annoyed.

"That's not what it's called, Axel." Demyx looked up, surprised.

"It's not?" Xemnas shook his head, looking exasperated. "Axel, you lied to me!"

"Look," said Axel, "he's confused enough already. Just explain how it works. We all call it mind melting anyway." Xemnas looked around at the sheepishly nodding exorcists. It was true; everyone except Zexion (and Saix) called it mind melting.

"Anyway," Xemnas ground out, "the…mind melting as you call it is very simple. I just inject my spiritual power into Demyx's memory. Then it travels from his mind into all of yours. The hands aren't really necessary, but it helps the flow of energy between minds. I find it hard to do without."

"So, anyone of us could do it?" Roxas asked, looking around at his peers. Xemnas chuckled.

"All of you will be able do it in time, young one, but right now the only one who's close to being able to attempt it is Zexion. It takes a high concentration of spirit energy, and Zexion is the only one who has that much right now."

"Umm…here's a stupid question: How do you uh, get spirit energy?" Everyone laughed, and Roxas felt even more ridiculous than before. That is, until Axel leaned down, still chuckling, and put his mouth next to Roxas's ear.

"Your spirit energy develops when you're around others with higher energy. If the people around you have lower energy, they benefit from your company. Got it memorized?"

"The sharing of memories also heightens spiritual energy, no matter what your level. Everyone benefits from everyone," Zexion added, not missing how red Roxas's face turned at Axel's proximity, even in the dark.

"R-really?" Roxas stuttered out (like the intelligent boy he is). "Cool." Axel grinned cockily.

"Yeah, I guess it is." The night stretched on with all of the Organization members sharing their experiences and feelings, and Roxas felt closer to them than he had ever felt to anyone before. He learned the history of the house, the Organization, and all of his fellow exorcists, but he still had yet to receive his rosary.

"There is much you have yet to learn before you can exorcise spirits, Roxas," Zexion said, as if reading his mind. "Although Demyx and Axel's generation received their rosaries after completing the first test, things have gotten more…cautious since then. Armed with rosaries, new exorcists seem to believe they are, shall we say, invincible? We've lost quite a few trainees that way." All the other exorcists nodded sadly and Roxas cringed.

"Ouch. Is that why there are only 12 of you?" Xemnas nodded.

"We choose our applicants after a year's study period and careful observation."

"Oh. Wait, then why am I here?" The other exorcists exchanged unreadable looks and no one spoke for a moment. Finally, Demyx chuckled and winked at Roxas.

"'Cause you're special." And that was the end of that.

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After the lights came back on, the group split up and went back to their rooms. They had set the date of the next meeting for tomorrow, during 3rd period. Roxas was told that the cloak was the only thing he needed to get out of class, just raise your hand and they'll nod for you to go. Roxas nodded, but was still apprehensive. He hated getting in trouble, but figured that if he got sent to the principal's office it wouldn't matter either way. But everything went off without a hitch and Roxas found himself to be the second exorcist to inhabit the Records Room, as it was called by the others.

"Guten Morgen, Roxas."

"Guten Morgen, Marluxia." The pink haired exorcist's face split into a smile, as if he still couldn't believe that Roxas could speak just that little bit of German. Roxas smiled back and took a seat in one of the mismatched chairs. Marluxia sipped his tea and studied him from across the circle.

"Something wrong?" Roxas asked. Marluxia shook his head and went back to reading his newspaper. The other exorcists filtered in after a few moments and the meeting started.

Axel was appointed as Roxas's official field trainer, but the others were encouraged to help and add to the experience. Zexion was called in as Roxas's tutor, there to help him learn everything from the books. Roxas was even excused from the rest of the day to start the chapter on ceremonies and rituals with Zexion. Although Roxas was ecstatic that he was a member of the Organization, he wasn't too thrilled about having Axel as his field trainer. He'd probably kill himself during one of the simple exorcisms because he was staring at Axel and not paying attention. Yeah, having a crush on the one of the people you're going to be spending most of your waking hours with did not spell success in Roxas's book.

It was going to be one hell of a school year.

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"Now, there were three main rituals for exorcising spirits in the old days. First, the use of a cross and prayer. Second, the use of the thirteen-pointed star and a chant. Third, ritual salting and burning of the remains of the deceased. All three of these were used in different parts of the world, by different social and religious groups. Understand so far?"

"I think so. But isn't thirteen supposed to be an evil number?" Zexion laughed, but shook his head.

"The ritual that used the thirteen-pointed star and the chant or phrase has been around the longest, but used by the smallest group of people. When someone performed an exorcism using this method, the two things that were recorded in peoples minds were 'thirteen' and 'evil.' Therefore, in most cultures, thirteen is associated with evil and the devil instead of the banishment of the devil. As you soon will learn, not all legends are true." Roxas nodded. It made sense when he thought about it.

The lesson carried on and Roxas learned many things about the rituals of the past, the types of crosses that were used (wooden ones were most common, but silver worked the best), how thirteen-pointed stars were drawn and made (ranging from thirteen crossed lines drawn in charcoal to gold and silver star pendants, this method allowed the most freedom), and what kind of salt to use for burning bones (it didn't really matter, but rock salt was said to be the best) until his head felt like it would burst. Zexion noticed this and gently shoved him out the door.

"Axel, he's all yours."

"Yes! All right kid, ready for the action?" Roxas nodded, happy to get out of the classroom. He'd almost forgotten why he was dreading going out alone with Axel until the sun reflected of the laughing aqua eyes and shone through the fire red hair. Roxas's heart skipped a beat and his breath caught in his throat. Oh God, this was going to be such exquisite torture.

"You okay kid? You're face got kinda red there all of a sudden."

"Huh?" Roxas looked up and wished he hadn't. He met Axel's beautiful, concerned eyes and felt the blush creep up his neck, all the way to his ears. "I—I'm fine. Just tired that's all." Axel didn't look convinced, but let it slide with a chuckle.

"Yeah, Zexion can wear anyone out with all that brainy stuff." Roxas laughed along with him and made up his mind.

"Hey, Axel?"

"Yeah, Roxy?"

"Can I ask you a—wait a minute, Roxy? Did you just call me Roxy?!"

"Yeah, why?"

"Please don't. My mom's dog is named Roxy. She was a gift when I was born, and I never asked Mom whether the dog was named after me, or if I was named after the dog. It's just…embarrassing."

"Oh. Sorry. So, what did you want, kid?"

"Oh yeah, can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"Why am I really in the Organization? And don't give me that 'You're special' crap that I've been getting from everyone else. You're not a liar." Axel uncomfortably scratched the back of his head.

"You're not going to stop asking until I tell you?"

"Right." Roxas crossed his arms over his chest and pinned Axel with an expectant stare. Axel sighed.

"You sure we just can't drop the subject?"

"Positive."

"Fine. How far did Zex get when he explained the cult ritual to you?"

"The cult, or coven ritual consists of thirteen, no more, no less, trained exorcists, each stationed on one point of a star drawn over, on, or through the object or place being exorcised. Each exorcist then takes their star pendant in their right hand and combines the spiritual energy released from each exorcist into one group omission. This is usually done by the leader or most experienced exorcist in the cult. The coven then speaks the chant as one and casts the energy over the target. This is the most powerful exorcizing ritual known, as it exorcises all spirits at the target location. This ritual is only used in times of emergency," Roxas parroted back, the exact paragraph Zexion had recited not 20 minutes ago. Axel let out a low whistle.

"Wow kid, that's amazing. Anyway, how many exorcists are in the Organization?"

"12?"

"Including you."

"…13?"

"Good. Now, from that paragraph you just recited, why is it important to have thirteen exorcists?"

"Because that's the only number you can perform the cult ritual with?"

"Right again."

"But why do you guys need to perform a cult ritual?"

"Because, well, because there's been an increase in the number of malicious spirits lately, and it getting dangerous for the normal kids at the school."

"So why me?" Axel considered answering, "Because you're special," but decided against it. The kid deserved the truth.

"One, because we were desperate. We needed to start training another exorcist soon or they wouldn't be ready in time."

"Ready for wh—?" Axel held up a finger to stop him.

"I'm not done. Two, because you already had the gift, we just had to hone it. And three, well, because you're special." Roxas looked like he was going to punch something. "But I'm not saying that just because," Axel hurriedly amended. "You see, there never used to be this many spirits at Oblivion Heights, things were pretty boring."

"So what changed?" Roxas asked, curious despite his better judgment.

"You. All the spirits started to come the moment you came to Oblivion Heights."

1. The Saw Doctors "Still Afraid of the Dark"

There you have it, chapter three. Sorry it was so talky, but I had to explain things somewhere right? Right? Please review, and then there will be cake.

Sincerely,

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