The end of his story was interrupted by the Level two who tapped lightly at the door. When given passage, it rolled in, and Axel took the plate off of its' back, "Apple slices?" He offered the blond, fully aware of how Xion's eyes followed, her mouth agape, trying to calculate how it must taste.

The blond accepted a few, picking them up gently with slender fingers, "So you got mugged, and now you don't want to go back?"

"I mean…I keep in contact with Kairi, Sora, and Riku, but I haven't been back there for a while. I'm fine just chatting online with them. It wasn't so much of the mugging, Roxas, as it is the fact that I shouted multiple times on a street with several people on it, and all of them gave me a look of, 'I'm so glad that's not me.' I can't be around people like that. I asked Kairi about it later, and she admitted to me, she probably would have walked right on by as well." He popped a chunk of apple into his mouth, "What if that had been my life on the line? Are we as a people really all so disengaged from reality that we'll just let our primal side take over?"

Xion moved air from cheek to cheek, "I'm sorry that happened, Axel…but…but maybe if Roxas went with us and promised to make sure none of that happened to you, we could go?" Her blue eyes swung to the blond, "Please, please, pretty please, pleaaaaseee?"

The boy gave a shrug, "Why not, Axel? It seems fun, and Xion really wants to go. What exactly goes on at an AI competition?"

"There are categories." The redhead played with one of the apple slices, "Demolition, aesthetics, and reality composition. If I was going to enter Xion, it'd be in reality composition. She'd have to answer questions, make decisions, and do moral debates. After doing this, they'd then look at her code. I'd have to tweak some things there if we decided to take her, but that's the gist of it. You have a high chance of winning, Xion, solely based on the fact you're able to flawlessly follow a conversation like this. Even some of the current Level 7s might have a problem completely understanding exactly why I don't want to go back, but if you'll go with me Rox…I guess I can go." Axel still felt negatively towards the idea, and apprehension weighed like a lead brick in his stomach. On the other hand, the thought of being with Roxas for a whole weekend was insatiable. His whole existence was like a desert being quenched by rain.

Xion's face [Facial display 1: smile] lit up with a /cheerfulness/ that couldn't be extinguished, "Oh my gosh! Thank you so much, Axel!" She stood and hugged him tightly before embracing the blond, "We'll have the best time, and I'll really try to win!"

"Not so fast, Xion. You won't be able to go looking like the way you do now. It's very obvious what I'm doing right now. Even Roxas can tell I'm bordering on breaking the rules. I'll have to remove your soft shell and you won't be able to wear your wig." There was no other way around it, sadly. Axel understood what kind of treatment they would get if the AI showed up looking the way she did.

At the idea of losing her skin and hair, she sighed, "That's okay. I mean…I mean, I really want to see what the city is like, okay? I can do it, even if it means not looking my best."

Roxas was amazed. The reaction that had just been displayed was that of a girl being told she couldn't wear her makeup or do her hair before going to a party. Looking to Axel, he felt something similar to pride swell up inside him. Who had known that there was such an amazing programmer near him all this time? "Well just tell me what weekend it is, and I'll clear it with my parents. They're pretty easy going, but they'll want to put a few safety measures in place, so my Panguin doesn't act up while I'm in the city."

"It's three weekends from now, so if we start hanging out regularly before then, they should be fine with it, right? My mom won't mind chaperoning us." His mother was well aware of what had happened and why Axel was so uncomfortable. Reaching up to redo his hair into a ponytail, he sighed before thinking of what else they could do, "You like video games, right?"

The blond chuckled softly at how contemplative the redhead's face was. Observant and good with people, he could easily sense that the other wanted to please him, "Yeah, Ax. I like video games."

Heading downstairs with Xion as a tag along, the two teens proceeded to play a couple rounds of the latest virtual fighter. To his chagrin, Axel quickly found out that Roxas not only owned the game, but had beaten every level on expert. "Not fair!" He whined, "If you just stopped using your power up, I'd totally be able to-" as he was about to finish his statement he caught the sight of his mother coming in with groceries.

"Hey guys." She smiled, "How's it going? Having fun?"

Taking off his headgear, the redhead beamed back at her, "Yeah, lots of fun." To him, this whole day had been like a dream come true.

Roxas was polite, so he followed Axel's lead, "Hello, Mrs. Brennant. I'm Roxas, nice to meet you." He gave a friendly wave to which she returned.

"Hi Roxas, nice to meet you too. Hey Xion, mind helping me outside with the groceries, hun?" To her, Xion was no different than any other AI made to serve humanity. Axel had argued with her multiple times about bossing the program around, because to him, she had feelings and emotions. Xion was smart enough to refuse if she wanted, but she usually didn't due to her submissive nature. Axel's mother used this as evidence that although Xion could 'think for herself' she really couldn't think for herself. Biting his tongue, Axel chose not to make a scene. He hated when he could have easily been asked to volunteer, but she selected Xion again.

Luckily, Xion was very eager to help where she could, so she smiled brightly, "Absolutely, ma'am." That was what Xion always called her. Not mom or Mrs. Brennant, but ma'am. That bothered Axel too. Xion was a servant. A second class citizen. It made sense due to the fact she lacked a brain and a heart, but…just something felt wrong about it.

"Hey Rox, it's about dinner time, so we're going to get a little busy." He gave a weak smile, "Wanna hang out again tomorrow?"

Taking his cue with ease, Roxas nodded, "I'd like that, Axel. Bye, Mrs. Brennant! Bye, Xion! Thank you all for having me."

Moving towards the front door, the Level two brought his bag to him, "Have a good night." He barely acknowledged the robot's words.

After leaving, the blond walked home underneath the few glimmers of sunlight that were beginning to trickle away. The sun bathed the palette of the sky in bright pinks and burnt gold-orange. Stopping to stand there for a long while, he watched as it disappeared beyond the world's edge, and then in the silence, there began the buzz of streetlights.

One by one, they were turning on in the night to replace the sun.

Hey guys. I know I usually make these notes pretty short, but I'm barely getting any reviews. Let me know what you think, alright? Thank you Layla for beta. *scuttles back of to hole*