A/N: I know, hons. Id hate me too if I read an author like me who NEVER updates Dx I'm sorry, really.

As you guys are reading this, a few of my stories are being added to and/or revised.

The second chapter to this is already done, and I'm gonna wait till the third is done and Beta'd before I post it, aright? The third SHALL be done in a week's time. (I only have Wednesday, Friday, Saturday+Sunday to write, and I'm kinda slow... So... Again, a week's time!)

I really hope you guys like this story, because it was a real big blast writing it. I was havin' so much fun! I can't wait to get started on the third chapter, even!

Over the Hill Shines: Reality

A morning bloom of sunshine cast upon cold, crisp air. The sun had just reared its head from ugly, grey wisps of stratus clouds, bringing a softer wind to the business men and women, school children crossing streets, warming the occasional construction worker who passed by.

Two teenage kids, around fifteen or sixteen, walked nonchalantly in the busy, frisk air. They talked about school work, the drama circulating in their school, about the world's news and a game that had just recently come out. "I think it'll be pretty cool," said the shorter of the two, carrying his bag loosely slung over a shoulder. His uniform sleeves were rolled up, revealing fairly light skin scarred by freckles and many months worth of sporting activity. The teen beside him, another boy, shook his head in disbelief,

"Are you kidding me? Kill Zone 3 will be so much better!" A rack of shivers crawled his spine, "I can't believe you like zombie crap. It's disgusting, weird, impossible-…" The other interrupted him, "If 'possible' is in your sentence, I won't listen to another word." He crossed his arms and stuck his head up defiantly, a grin eventually replacing the snooty façade he'd tried to portray. He bumped into his friend jokingly to lighten the mood, "I like zombie stuff because… It doesn't count as actually killing people."

His friend's face scrunched up, "Ugh, of course it does!" He shook his head, "It's gross, Ven. They still count as humans…"

The blonde shrugged, "Not to me. They're just targets, like your little… Kill Zone crap, Sora."

The bell for school chimed a distance away and practically sang "8:45", shoving the boys' tardiness in their faces. "You made us late!" Sora groaned, shoving Ven ahead to quicken their pace.

"Agh! Don't shove, ow! Sora," the blonde whined, squirming and grumbling.

As they had reached school grounds, the gates readily closing, the two boys never noticed the long, drawn-out scream that echoed along Town Square's plaza.

It was a bloody, terrified scream filled with malice and pure fear. A scream that would start everything.

Over the Hill Shines: Reality

He chewed, sucked and gnawed on a new pencil's eraser, eyes falling to slits and jaw going still and relaxed for a moment. Vanitas's hand propped his head up, cupping his cheek, while he tried to bare the darkened classroom presentation. The young adult had gotten little to no sleep whatsoever last night, all because he was trying to keep his worth-nothing grades up. Really, when were you ever going to use line symmetry in life? Who needs it?

The raven would much rather be at home, sleeping in till 4 o'clock and playing Red Dead Redemption, maybe going to a club later on in the night instead of doing his homework. He was twenty-one after all, so he could go into the good night clubs instead of the awkward 'teen' clubs he'd attended to as a youngster.

As he thought about it though, he remembered that those little clubs were so innocent. No real drugs or drinking- Sure, a blunt or two passed around and some stupid kid might sneak a cheap drink here or there, but they almost always got caught. It made him smile a little, thinking of his roommates, Zack and Kairi. He remembered when they were caught by a host, doin' it in the back room. Some knucklehead, Roastus-or, whatever his name was-, had busted them while heading out. Bahh, he didn't even let them finish. Vanitas scoffed internally, slightly shaking his head at the two rabbits-of-friends. The thought of them dry-humping on his bed, again, laughing at him because he wasn't there to see it, made his smiling mood change to a scowl.

Thinking of them… They better not touch his dog again.

Over the Hill Shines: Reality

Ienzo's hand was slapped at for pealing the bread of his sandwich, Demyx glaring directly at him. "Stop picking at your food, just eat it." The slate-haired child glowered at the pasta and sandwich, shaking his head with crossed arms. Demyx rolled his eyes, lifting a fork to the child's mouth. "C'mon, hon, it's good! Pinky promise," he held out a ringed pinky for the boy to take, although, the youngster stayed motionless, glaring to the side at Axel and Terra. The two, as always, were competing their hardest. Today, as they all had gathered at the school's roof top for lunch, it's push-ups, yesterday was a race, and tomorrow would probably be people-lifting. The two were crazy, always trying to beat the other at something. They were loud and obnoxious, and it made the poor child uneasy to have such strong emotion near him.

While Ienzo was lost in thought about the two muscle-heads, Demyx had started scratching the leather of his Sitar case out of boredom, asking Tidus the most ridiculous of questions.

"Are you still going out with Yuffie and Ms. Gainsborough?" The meatier dirty blonde scoffed at such a thing, as if the matter itself seemed childish and silly to him. "Of course not. I'm tryin' to get a tail or two with that Aqua chick, though. We take French and geometry together, and man- she's a tight-ass!" He blew at a strand of hair, hitting Wakka in the shoulder. The big brute was refereeing Axel and Terra's competition, although losing count a couple times here and there. "Hey, Wakka, didja get Left4Dead two yet? I'm dyin' to play it,"

The brute frowned and shook his head, "Naah. Mom's bein' a bitch and wouldn't let me get it this weekend. But, hey, if there's ever an apocalypse, you'll be the first to call." Tidus laughed at that, "Of course, it happens all the time."

"Eighty-goddamn-NINE!" Axel shouted, pushing towards his goal of one hundred. Terra coughed and bumped a shoulder with the redhead, "Ninety-two!" He growled back, arms quivering slightly and fingers curling at the ends. The slighter, slimmer blonde glared at the two, "Don't cuss in front of Ienzo!" He covered the boy's ears and huffed at the meat-buddies, 'humph'-ing and patting the youngster's head. He, almost as always, stayed motionless and bored-looking.

The door to the school's roof-top opened, out coming Ventus, Sora, and Lea with their lunches. Ven took one look at the small, gathered group, eyes rolling at Axel and Terra's game. "Oh, come on. I can do better than that, Ax." He rolled his red Gatorade towards Terra when they were finished, chewing happily on a cafeteria brownie and sneaking a piece to Ienzo when Demyx was distracted.

Lea leaned against the railing and scoffed at his brother. "You suck." The other looked up after downing Sora's Dr. Pepper(Which he'd whined about later) and replied, "Not what your mom said last night." The group's nose wrinkled, Tidus muttering a quiet "That's nasty" and Sora drawing out an 'eeeeew'.

With a roll of his emerald greens, Axel turned to Ven and Sora. "So, where's Roxy-Pox and Perry Winkle?" The brunet's nose wrinkled again as Ven replied. "Still in class. Apparently, Webber wanted Roxas and Yuffie to stay after." Wakka laughed at that, a perverted grin plastered on his big lips while he nudged at Tidus with wagging eyebrows. He was shoved back by the cackling blonde, who only shook his head and muttered another "Nasty" under his breath.

"Ugh, what's with you guys and bein' gross?" Demyx frowned, an arm protectively wrapped around the smaller form of Ienzo. "I mean, really! I understand that we're guys, but you don't hafta dog on sex all the ti-" A sharp, piercing sound covered the slender blonde's words. It was, quite obviously, loud- but not only that. It had a desperate effect that mingled chillingly well with fear, something that caused a stiffness to fall upon the small group. Silence followed afterward, a cold sweat breaking on the back of the sitar player's neck. His fingers tightened around Ienzo's shoulder, "What was that?"

Axel stood up slowly; the only noise was his and Terra's slightly rough breathing. The taller redhead leered over his brother, looking over the railing and out towards the schoolyard. The kids below them had stopped also, looking right and left, wondering aloud and noisily. Some people even made jokes of it, yelling a, "That's how good I am!" Axel tried to peer over the mob of students, past them and over the gates. On the streets, cars were lined up and unmoving.

Lea elbowed his brother with a quivery smile, "Ahh, it's nothin', Ax. Just traffic lined up. Maybe somebody got hit?" The taller brother shook his head with furrowed brows, "That didn't sound like a hit 'n' run, Lea." The younger shrugged his shoulders, blinking at such bright sunlight. A bell rung through the school grounds, Principle Mourey's voice coming over the speaker.

"Students and faculty: Please remain calm. Do not go near the gates or school walls. Iv been informed that something has occurred in and near Twilight Square, and the schools around the city are also going under this lock-down. I'm not one-hundred percent sure what has happened, but please do not panic. It's sure to blow over soon. So, with that, please return to your classes, quietly. Thank you, and have a wonderful day. "

Sora stood up, grabbing Tidus's and Demyx's hands to help them to their feet. "A lock-down?" He asked, looking quizatically towards Lea and Ven. Demyx cleared his throat, "Maybe it's from the car-crash down the street... Was it a car crash?"

Finally, Ienzo spoke up. "I doubt any sort of car crash occurred. There was absolutely no sound of metal clashing, it's highly unlikely that-" Wakka interrupted the tiny freshman, "Then what was the sound? A siren?" He asked as everyone headed for the stairs. They walked quietly, as they were told, whispering in rushed, hushed voices.

"Maybe there's a psycho-killer on the loose," Axel grinned, wagging an eyebrow at Sora and Ven, "who wants to get their grubby hands on little boys and-" Lea countered his brother, "A creepy, psycho-killer? Dad's here? Awh, damn." The group laughed, tension dissipating steadily. Pats on the back were received as the pack gradually returned to their classes. Ventus, Lea, and Sora stayed together, walking in silence and reveling in the student body's quick whispers. Yuffie bustled out of their classroom's door, looping arms with the blonde and red-head. "Hey!" She squeaked, eyeing the three. "Do you know why the principle called everyone in? You were on the roof, right?" Sora nodded, entering the science class and smiling towards Roxas. He sat next to the taller blonde, turning his head to look at Yuffie. "We didn't see anything though. All we heard was this weird sound, kinda like a... Siren, or-..."

Ven interrupted with wide-eyed blue orbs and said slowly with complete sureness, "No, you guys... I think it was a scream."

Over the Hill Shines: Reality

"Rodlen, stand up and present your story board." Mr. Katrin instructed snootily, waving his hand towards the white board. The black haired, young adult stood on his feet, walking towards the front in a prolonged speed. "Any day now," the professor chastised, rolling his eyes at the slow student. Vanitas took a dry-erase pen from the silver white board lining, sketching out the basics of his project. He was in his Advanced Literature class, presenting his ideas on human genetics and defects. He never really got why Mr. Katrin decided to assign a science project in his literature class, but hey- at least he never failed science in high school.

The intercom was brought to life, speaker craggily and their dean's voice light-hearted.

"Please excuse my interruption. Students and staff: Please be careful when crossing anywhere near Twilight Square and Main Street. There has been an accident, so when leaving the campus grounds, watch out for anything strange. Thank you." The speaker cut off with a screech, a couple voices rising in the class.

"Go on, Rodlen. Don't pay attention to the message, just do your presentation." Vanitas ignored his instruction and asked, "What happened?" He looked upon the faces of his class mates, all of them intrigued as their faces slightly creased with worry. A frustrated sigh escaped the professor's lips, "You think I know? Just get it over with," he snapped his fingers forward, telling the raven to pick up his pace. With a roll of golden hues, Vanitas continued writing.

"At the end of 2009, there is an estimate of 2.5 million children living with HI-"

"Wait, hold on! Look outside! What is that thing?" A girl in the back hollered, scurrying closer to the window to get a better look. Her face presented complete and utter disgust, a hand covering her open mouth. Vanitas and Mr. Katrin turned to everyone, the younger's eyebrows raising. Both men stepped up the stairway, towards the large window that covered most of the right wall. As Vanitas looked, he couldn't tell what it was, either. His classmates murmured and covered their hearts in shock. Mangled heaps of flesh was still attached to the strange creatures, clawed hands scratching against the gate's wall. Its lips, from what Vanitas could see, were red, dried, and curled back into somewhat of a hiss. The hair atop its head was mangled and dirty, looking to be in patches.

As it crawled along the school's wall, a door from another building opened. Bustling students happily came out early, ready to go home and do whatever it is they would normally do. The creature sped towards the far side as not to be caught, in a shadowed area by bunched trees, bushes, and flowers. In the pit of his stomach, Vanitas could tell it wouldn't end well. Two stray students, both boys, were at the head of the class and walking arm-in-arm. They chattered loudly, oblivious to the stalking monstrosity that hid in shadows. The men walked closer and nearer towards their dwindling fate, as cheery as can be. The black-haired man glowered at the pale, shivering thing that awaited them, banging loudly on the window.

"Hey!" He called, trying to open the window with the best of his ability.

A hand landed on his shoulder, Mr. Katrin gritting his teeth and murmuring, "These windows don't open, they-"

"Are you kidding me?" He looked back at his professor as if he were the stupidest, most naive person he'd ever met. He cursed and ran straight out of the classroom, a few heroics following on the heel of his feet. The hallways never seemed so long to him at that moment, and all he wanted to do was get outside. He pushed the heavy exit door open, striding out of building 6-2-C with vigor.

He waved his hands at the nearest person, calling a loud, "Hey! Stop those two idiots!" The class turned heads, following him with questioning eyes. He stopped short, finding nothing to do as he watched and waited. The creature in shadow pounced on one of the distracted boys, who had his eye trained directly on Vanitas. It was the first scream he'd heard that day. It was ugly, and loud, a little bit chalky even as it carried out for a few prolonged seconds. "Shit! See?" He pointed, rushing towards the two battling figures. He tore at the man's form, yanking him towards his body. His neck had been torn to pulp, deep gouges scarring his arm and side. He acted as if he couldn't breathe, and all his friends and classmates could do was watch, horror-struck. The demon-like creature hissed lowly at Vanitas while he pulled the man back, snarling and chomping the air. Blood splattered from its mouth, claws outstretching and ripping into new flesh; The previous sophmore's unsuspecting friend.

"Take 'em!" Vanitas shouted, shoving the hypervenaating male into who he thought was a class friend's, Tom Sandel's, arms and lunging directly towards the pale being. He put as much force as he could in that one punch- failing miserably and being knocked over, as if he were a fly. He seethed on the ground, rolling himself to his feet and charging once more. The class silently watched, backing away whenever the being screamed or yelped.

"Vanitas!" Somebody called, gaining his attention for barely a millisecond. One of his own classmates threw a blunt object towards him, which surprised the adrenaline-filled junior. Tom still held the writhing, screaming sophomore in his arms. Blood pooled onto the Tom's yellow shirt, and he himself looked as pale as he'd ever be. "Do it!"

He looked at his weapon, growling at such a stupid object- A flag pole? What was he going to do, preach the beast to death? He looked at the very end of the flag pole, relieved to an extent to see it was shaped like a spear, sharp and ready. He bared his teeth at the intruder, ignoring the still, lifeless body left on the floor. The creature, as if finding the right mind, started to crouch back. He looked for a moment, as if contemplating his next moves. His back was curved, Vanitas noticed, giving him a higher advantage: It wouldn't be able to run as fast as him.

So, with this hopeful knowledge in mind, he started for it again, flag pole ready and muscles twitching in anticipation. Was he really going to kill it? Could he? He... had to. Simple enough, right?

The thing screeched murderously, dropping on all fours and crawling fast-paced towards the golden-eyed young adult. Vanitas's foot connected with its jaw, sending the being upward and flying. It hit the concrete with a loud thud, body twitching and back arching. Its head had cracked open, although it was obviously not dead- yet.

Stalking closer, Vanitas, quite skillfully, lunged the flagpole into the creatures' nasal cavity. A loud, cracking, crushing sound was heard. It was so disgustingly distinguished; the students twenty-or-so feet away could hear it clearly. A long, drawn-out moan came from the demon's chest, body writhing jitterbug-like, fingers curling and un-curling in disdain. A small, echo of a hiss passed its dry lips. Nothing else except stale wind moved for the next couple of seconds, people around Vanitas in shock about the relatively easy kill. The raven-haired college student pulled the trusty spear-flag out of the being's head, a satisfied smirk plastered on his face.

"Ah! What the hell are you doing?" Tom yelled, now pushing the seemingly uninjured male away. He'd stopped moving, completely stopped his breathing, just minutes before. Now in a crouched position over the helpless Junior, a curled smile reached his now-pale complexion. His irises were white, the pupil seemingly darkened in color, and small. Tom tried to back up crab-style to free himself from the psycho's chilly stare; a frightened look tossed over the demon's shoulder, directed at Vanitas. His eyes pleaded for help.

With a somewhat cool stride, not to mention him ignoring the pain searing throughout his foot, Vanitas took the same, blood-dripping spear and dug the sharp pole into the turned demon. It slid under his neck skin, Vanitas having to push extra-hard for it to go up and through his skull. He dragged the howling beast up, prodding the pole more into its brain cavity. His uninjured foot connected at the small of the mutant's back, the force he put under it was back-breaking.

Tom, horrified, looked up at Vanitas's face. No emotion portrayed on his face. There was blood dripping down his arm, right pant leg, saliva, sweat, and the barbarian's own stale blood crawling down his check, trickling towards the collar of his black shirt. The movement under Vanitas's foot stilled, finally. He once again dislodged the spear-like pole, throwing it aside and looking at the two classes displayed before him. A girl in the back bellowed loudly, shoving her way through. "Chip! Dale!" She cried, running over to a paling body. She touched the boy's light brown hair, eyes wide and uncertain.

You…" Voice cracked, as if her energy was drained, "Killed him…" The black haired male stepped forward, kicking aside who he thought to be 'Chip'. "For your own good. Where's my thanks? I just saved your goddamn ass and all you can say is that?" He replied, coldhearted. The crowd fell silent, watching the girl kneel before her fallen friend. Tears dripped sadly off of herr white face, smudging her non-waterproof mascara.

Tom stood up, being helped by none other than his best friend, Rikku. The girl, for once in her damned life, wasn't happy and cheery, or ditzy and loud. A small "Are you okay?" was heard while she patted his cheek.

Mr. Katrin stormed towards Vanitas, a glare in place that only really showed fear. "What have you done? What have you done?" He asked desperately, looking over the three dead bodies. He surveyed Dale, as the boy has never made a move yet. His throat and shoulder had been ripped apart, the meat munched and a bit of his bone shattered. His skin was already turning a blue-white color due to such an immense blood loss. There wasn't a thing Katrin could do for the three fallen. There was definiatly not a thing he could do to Vanitas, either. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, the man really had saved a good bunch of people, of kids and even himself.

His anger died down into a small pit of empty sadness. "How are we going to explain this to the dean?" He turned to the mob of students, eyes cast around to every face until it fell one a pair of goldenrod irises.

"Obviously, we need to tell 'em how I kicked ass. And, those… Things- what are they?" He kicked the original intruder's gut, though nothing stirred within the beast. "Are they gonna be tested or something?" Katrin shook his head slowly, a slow shrug soon finding action on his shoulders. His index finger was pressed tightly to his lips as he thought, dulled, blue eyes scanning over the dead bodies.

"C'mon, kids." He murmured softly, taking the still-crying girl's hand. Mr. Katrin rubbed her back, asking her name.

"D-Daisy." She sniffled, questly shuffling forward towards the office. "Daisy Dunkling…"

Vanitas hung by the bodies for a little while longer, eyes searching along every shadow and building. He could still feel a tightness in the pit of his stomach, and his shoulders were insistent on not relaxing. What was it that made him so alert? Sure, he'd just killed two people, but… He picked up the flagpole and turned to the bodies. He had a bad feeling that he would still need it...

Were they people? Humans? Or were they some type of… Mutation? The thought scared him. A mutation of what, he wondered. How could one being affect another, healthy, living, breathing man so quickly?

Soon, Vaniitas found himself following after the students and his teacher, everyone's heart heavy and thumping irregulary from sadness. Everyone, except Vanitas.

He wanted to find out what happened. He needed to know.

A/N: Oh, dear. How was it? Good? Bad? I would be so happy to hear your guys's thoughts!

Thank you for reading the first chapter to Over the Hill Shines: Reality! I hope everyone sticks around for the following chapters, and is happy with what goes down in it. I, personally, can't wait. xD

Don't be shy to pop me a review, damsels and dudes~ (Ahh, the lame lines stick with me.)