Serenity

A/N: Okay, so here's the next installment in the series. It will be very different from Matrimony, but there WILL be Lightis. It'll take some time before Lightning and Noctis get their moment. Hope you guys enjoy it.

Prologue

Down by the murky rivers of Avalon, a lone woman sat by the bank, watching rain pelt the river waters. She didn't know why she kept coming here. She guessed it was kind of relaxing to hear the river crash against the bank.

The sound alone purged her mind from thoughts of her droll, repetitive day working as a cashier at a rundown liquor store.

She sighed sadly. She wanted desperately to make money and move away from this sickening city, but no employer other than her sister would hire her. As much as she loved her sister, she wanted to find real work. Work that would satisfy her. Work that would provide an income sufficient enough to raise a family.

So far, her future looked bleak.

Maybe it was her destiny to grow up as a cashier with no family.

And that's why she came to the river, so all her horrible thoughts would be washed away. No pun intended.

As she continued watching the river, she noticed something peculiar caught in the current. Looking closer, she gasped. What in heaven's name? There was a woman being swept by the current!

Taking off her rain coat, she dove into the river, an action she seriously regretted, experiencing that the river was only a couple of feet deep. She swam toward the woman and guided her to the shore.

Coughing as water entered her lungs, she took a deep breath and flopped on ground. Ugh, the rain wasn't letting up, making this very unpleasant for her.

Shivering, she examined the unconscious woman she had rescued. The woman was tall and exquisite with sable black hair and pale skin. Vanity kicking in, she inspected the woman further.

Wow.

This woman was definitely a heart breaker. She had curves that all men and women desired. Plus, the rain made her satin black dress cling to her body, only further emphasizing her natural beauty and damn, if those legs got any longer...

It was a good thing, she had found and rescued her. Had the woman drifted any further, who knew where she could have ended up or who could have found her?

She shuttered at the thought. They were in Avalon. A beautiful woman like her would be sold to a mob leader and raped without remorse, not necessarily in that order either.

Lifting the woman up and around her shoulders, she groaned. It was going to be a long walk back home...

౦ം౦ം౦ം

By the time she finally made it to her rundown, "ghetto" apartment, the rain ceased to pour.

"Fang!" She called out, hoping her sister would assist her in carrying this tall woman.

No luck. Hmm...

"Snow?" No response. Now that was strange. The apartment manager never left his room without posting a 'Will return at...' sign on his door. Seeing no sign at all, she started to feel anxious.

Oh my God! What if the whole apartment building had been robbed while she was away?

Please no.

"Sazh?" Setting the woman down, she shouted out the names of the other residents as best as she could with her puny voice. "Hope?"

No answer.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! NOO!"

That was Snow's voice. She stood erect, grabbing a frying pan from the shared kitchen room. The loud scream had come from the common room, a room the five apartment occupants used for festivities.

It was an ambiguous room, covered by packages and boxes. Even the health inspector, who rarely came by, missed it. What better place was there than that to murder people? And right now, her friends were being murdered!

Not knowing why she was being so brave, she pushed passed the boxes and took a deep breath before opening the door. God have mercy, if she was going to die, she was going to take some people with her.

Opening the door, she rushed in, eyes closed and frying pan in the air. "Hold it right there!" She squeaked, cursing herself for not sounding intimidating. "Ah! Never mind, I'm sorry! Please don't shoot me!"

"Vanille?"

Vanille opened one of her eyes and found Snow, Fang, Hope, and Sazh staring at her as if she'd grown another head. How mortifying. She had just made a big fool of herself.

She thought they were being raided by robbers, but the reality was everyone was just watching the Blitz Bowl on the plasma screen television Snow and Sazh had carefully saved up for.

"Vanille, what's with the frying pan?" Her dark-haired sister, Fang questioned curiously.

"U-Uh. I-It's nothing!" She quickly hid the frying pan behind her. "No one answered me when I called, so I assumed..."

"That we'd been robbed?"

Vanille nodded. Please ground, open up and swallow me anytime now... "I heard screaming, too."

Fang walked up to her and pulled her into her arms. Ah, sisterly love. "Vanille..."

Oh no. Vanille groaned. Fang was using that tone again. Here comes the lecture.

"What did I say about the safety of our apartment?"

"That it's the safest in the world, and that it's securely fenced, and that it's safer here than it is at the Angel palace, and that Snow made all the windows bulletproof, and that Sazh is an expert marksman... AND that you'd never let any thug hurt me." Vanille recited as usual. "Am I missing anything?"

"Mmm, I think you are." Fang replied.

"No, I don't think I am."

"Yes, I think you are."

"Oh fine," she pouted. Her older sister was so stubborn. "I love you?"

"Nope," Fang crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. "I'm not convinced."

"I love you Fang!"

"Nope."

This time it was Snow who cut in. "Aww, come on babe." He shouted from the couch. "She loves you, now come and watch the game!"

As Fang returned to her seat next to Snow on the couch, Vanille silently thanked her sister's boyfriend. Snow was a great guy In fact, she didn't know anyone more caring or cheerful than him.

She was seriously in debt to the big man. He had saved her from more than a dozen earfuls from Fang.

Walking over to the couch, she sat next to Hope, a silver-haired boy.

Hope had been only fourteen when he was orphaned.

While returning from work, Snow had found him on the streets, lifeless and offered him a place to stay. Ever since that day, the young boy recovered his spirit and started practicing medicine, wanting to heal the injuries of others.

"What's going on?" She asked him.

"The angels just scored, tying it at seven to seven! Oh my God this is too intense!" Hope explained then jumped out of his seat, hands on his head in frustration when a demon player stole the ball. "WOW, is he blind?"

Vanille watched as the demon player drew closer. He tossed the ball into the air and did a bicycle kick, sending the ball passed the goalkeeper and scoring.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! YES!" Snow shouted, clapping happily. "Woohooo!"

So that's why Snow had been shouting... And to think that she had thought they were being robbed...

Hope shook his head angrily and shrank deeper into the couch, mumbling criticisms about how horrible the angels were at defense.

Vanille smiled. Though she wasn't a fan of blitz ball or sports in general, she loved it whenever they were together. It was the only time she felt like she belonged. She hated Avalon, but she loved Snow, Fang, Hope, and Sazh.

Shifting her thoughts, she felt a surge of pride ripple throughout her when the angels took possession of the ball. She, like Hope and Fang, was an angel. While she and Fang were Virtues or guardian angels, Hope was a Cherub, an angel of healing.

Snow and Sazh were different cases. They were both assassins, demons that specialized in the art of killing. Strangely though, Snow and Sazh were also the kindest demons in the world. She didn't exactly know how assassins could be nice, but she was thankful they were.

Still, sometimes she couldn't believe that Snow was an assassin, especially since Fang kicked his ass all the time.

Focusing on the game, she cheered as the angels scored and almost laughed herself to death when Hope told Snow and Sazh to kiss his 'booty'.

"Demons ain't got nothing on angels," Hope taunted.

"Oh suck my dick," Snow retorted bitterly.

"Sorry," Hope answered, drunk on joy. So drunk, in fact, he forgot the basic rule to survival... "I think Fang does plenty of that already."

Vanille choked, spitting her soda everywhere.

Oh no, that poor child. By the looks of it, Vanille could tell Hope was already regretting what he said. True or not, that was a damn bold statement, and Hope knew it. They all did.

An ominous aura filled the room, making chills run up her spine. It was Fang's aura.

Snow and Sazh moved as far away as possible from Fang, not wanting to be caught in the massacre that was sure to happen.

Vanille sat where she was. Fang would never hurt her. Hope, however, was a goner.

"NOOO!" Hope squealed like a birdy. "I-I-I didn't mean to say that! Holy crap Fang, please don't kill me. PLEASE!"

Fang drew her arm back. Hope's eyes widened spontaneously. He knew that form. Oh God, please not that.

"NOOO NOT the FALC—"

Hope didn't get to finish sentence. Fang's punch sent him flying through the door and into the front yard.

"U-U-Ugh..." Came the teenage boy's pained groaned. "I can't feel my body... Why did I have to run my stupid mouth? Hey... What the hell? There's a freakin' unconscious woman here!"

Hearing those words, Vanille stood up immediately. How could she have forgotten about the lady?

"A woman?" Snow arched one eyebrow.

Curiosity piqued, they all exited the common room and walked to the front yard, where Hope was lying.

Vanille took a step forward, hopping over Hope's semi-paralyzed boy.

Sure enough, the black-haired woman remained sleeping where she had left her.

"Woooow," Snow whistled after an initial inspection. "That is one FINE woman." His joy was short-lived as Fang grabbed him by the ear angrily and punched him in the gut. After dealing with Hope's little episode, she was not in the mood to deal with Snow's appreciation for the female race.

"O-Of course, I-I mean she's not as sexy as you are baby," Snow moaned, rubbing his bruised stomach.

Fang glared at him. "You're sleeping on the couch."

"WHAT?" Snow whined. "Aww come on babe, you know I didn't mean it."

"Nope."

Vanille moved over to Hope. "What do you guys think about her? I found her in the river. She was being swept away by the current."

"She's human," Sazh answered. "It's strange. I can smell her blood. It's genuine human blood, but there's something strange about it. Her blood is fresh like a baby's. It's almost as if human blood is new to her system, but that's not possible..."

"How strange," Fang commented. "She looks like she's about Vanille's age. Why's a young little thing like her doing, drowning in a river?"

"Well maybe we can ask her once she wakes up," Vanille replied. "Either way, she's going to be staying with us."

"We don't have any more vacant rooms," Snow interjected. As much as he'd love to shelter another person, his crummy apartment's capacity had reached its limit when Sazh moved in. "She won't have anywhere to sleep."

"That's not a problem," Vanille answered. "She can sleep in my room. I have a makeshift mattress that she can use as a bed, and I have plenty of clothes for her to wear if she needs some."

"Ah fine," Snow conceded defeat. There was absolutely no point in arguing with Vanille when she wanted something. The Oerba 'stubbornness' was a scary enemy and a bane to all men's existences. "You can keep her—I mean, you can let her stay."

Vanille nodded happily.

"What do you think, Hope?" She asked the teen.

Hope didn't reply. It took him all his effort not to drool like an idiot. This woman was so beautiful it hurt to look at her. She looked like she was some rich person's wife or better yet, she looked like royalty.

Vanille elbowed him playfully. Hope always blushed and turned on his 'shy' mode whenever he was around women. This woman, in particular, was exceptionally gorgeous, so Vanille could only wonder how chaotic Hope's state of mind was.

"Look she's waking up," Fang pointed out.

The dark-haired woman opened her eyes slowly. "Uh... My head..." She groaned and shivered.

"Hello there!" Vanille greeted sweetly and noticed that the woman's eyes were also black. Everything about her was dark and shrouded by mystery.

The woman blinked and paused as if she was trying to get her voice to work. Where was she?

"My name's Vanille," Vanille stated then introduced the rest of her household. "That's Snow, Fang, Sazh, and Hope. What's your name?"

"My name?" The woman breathed, rubbing her forehead. "I... I don't know." She genuinely couldn't remember what her name was or what she had been doing prior to waking up. All she could vaguely remember was floating on water.

Vanille glanced at Fang, who shrugged. Maybe the woman had amnesia. It wouldn't be surprising, seeing as she had nearly drowned in the river.

"Well then, do you know where you came from?" Vanille questioned.

The dark-haired woman shook her head. "I can't remember anything. W-What's happened to me?" She panicked.

Fang set her hands down on the woman's shoulders lightly. "Hey now, don't worry about it. I'm sure it will all come back in time. How about we get you settled in Vanille's room until you get your memories back?"

"Yeah," Snow gave her a smile. "You can stay for as long as you need. Hell, you can stay forever if you want. The more the merrier I always say, and I don't think anyone has a problem with that, plus Hope will be ecstatic to have another girl around."

"You asshole," Hope groaned, still hurting.

Snow ignored him. "So what do you say?"

The woman nodded timidly, surprised by their willingness to help her when she was a complete stranger. "I-I'd like that."

Vanille grabbed the woman's hand. "Come on, let me show you our room."

Before she could drag the poor woman away, she was stopped by Fang.

"Hold on Vanille. We need to come up with a temporary name for her. It's bad enough that she doesn't know what to call herself, but we need some sort of way to address her."

"Hmm," Vanille scratched her chin. "What do you guys think?"

Snow frowned, Sazh shrugged, and Hope moaned.

Receiving no clear response, Vanille examined the woman for traits that stood out. The woman was painfully good looking, and her looks matched the description of the mythical fallen angels that her mother had read stories of.

This was going to be tough.

Giving the woman another quick glance, she noticed something that she hadn't before. Dangling from the back of the woman's black dress was a small white tag. Vanille grabbed it and read the letters on it.

Clarissa?

Oh, that was a brand name!

Her face lit up happily. This is great!

"Guys," Vanille laughed merrily. "I think her name should be Clarissa."

"Not bad," Fang smirked. The others agreed.

"C-Clarissa?" The dark-haired woman repeated, trying the name out. She liked it. "Okay."

"Now for a last name," Snow stated. "How about Villiers? You could be my little sister!"

"No, no," Vanille waved his words away. The last thing Clarissa wanted to be was a Villiers. She was so much more suited to be an Oerba. "Clarissa, you should take the Oerba name."

Snow rolled his eyes. He wasn't going to have any of this nonsense in the household. Two Oerba's were enough; one more would be a pain that he wasn't going to deal with.

"Nope sorry, not happening," Snow refused.

"Too bad, Clarissa already decided to be an Oerba!" Vanille stuck her tongue out.

"I did?" Clarissa asked, confused.

"Yes you did," Vanille whispered, telling her to play along.

"Clarissa," Snow nudged. "Tell the insane woman that you're going to be a Villiers. I mean do you honestly want to be an Oerba? Oerba sounds like something a monkey would grunt before taking a crap."

"Hey!" Vanille gasped, offended by the slight to her family name. "That was an unnecessary comment!"

Before she could further reprimand for Snow's insult, Vanille watched as Fang pounced on him. Her sister clawed and punched at him with such a fury that it was a wonder how she had managed to bottle up that much anger for so long.

"Guys?" Hope interrupted.

No one was listening, they were too busy watching Fang and Snow wrestle. "GUYS!" He shouted.

That got their attention.

"I think Clarissa's last name should be Angel," he suggested.

"Why's that Hope?" Vanille questioned. She did admit it was lovely choice for a woman such as Clarissa.

"I-I don't know," Hope replied sheepishly. A blush crept up his face. "I-I just thought she looked like an Angel when I first saw her... Oh my God, that was so cheesy. Just forget I ever said anything."

"No," Clarissa smiled. "I like it a lot, thank you."

"Clarissa Angel?" Fang grinned. "Not too shabby I'd say."

"Then it's settled," Vanille replied. "Welcome to the family, Clarissa. Now let me show you our room."

Clarissa followed the quirky teenager through a series a crummy hallways. Twice, she had nearly killed herself from stumbling over the random potholes strewn all over the place. Goodness grief, someone definitely had to put up a couple of warning signs. These things were deadly.

Vanille, however, seemed to know where every pothole was, seeing as she hadn't tripped once during the course of their walk to the rooms. They stopped at a faded green door that was long in need of a paint job and repairs as there was an enormous crack running from top to bottom. It seemed everything about this apartment was impoverished, but Clarissa didn't mind at all. She was glad she had a place to stay because for all she knew, she could have been homeless prior to coming here.

The room was fairly small, decorated in orange paint. There was a small drawer with a mirror on top and a moving closet door that croaked when put to use.

Clarissa was surprised. If Vanille set up a mattress for her in this room, there would be absolutely no space left. The fact that the orange haired teen was willing to sacrifice so much touched her.

"You don't have to do this," Clarissa stated. "I can ask Snow to let me sleep in the room we were in earlier."

"The common room?" Vanille questioned. "Nah, I'll be much happier if you stay here with me. I'd rather have company than extra space. I don't even do much in my room anyways."

"I see," Clarissa commented. "Um, is there a restroom anywhere that I can use?"

"Of course, just not here. You have to take a right at the hallway, walk a bit and then you'll see it on your left. It's a black door and yes, it is a shared bathroom so if it's locked, someone might be using it," Vanille answered.

"Thanks," Clarissa left in search of the restroom. For some reason, her stomach and head were aching. She didn't get too far before the pain in her head ignited, forcing her to lean against the wall.

What's wrong with me? She clamped her jaw shut to prevent herself from screaming out. Sweat poured profusely from her temple, drenching her face. Her body was so hot it felt like she was being boiled alive.

The sweat on her arms caused her to slip. Lying on the floor, she curled into a ball and grit her teeth. At this moment, she couldn't focus on or process anything other than the agony she was in.

"Clarissa?" Vanille's worried voice rang out. "Oh my God! Clarissa! Are you alright? What's wrong?"

Unable to endure any longer, Clarissa screamed, clutching and pulling on her dress. Any form of distraction was welcome.

"Help!" Vanille shouted. "Someone help! Clarissa talk to me!"

"I-It h-hurts," she stuttered. "I-I..." She didn't have enough strength to finish sentence.

"Hey!" Hope came running down the hallway with the others in tow. "What's going on?"

"Hope," Vanille started to tear up. "Something's wrong with Clarissa. She's in so much pain that she can't even talk."

"When did this start happening?" Hope asked.

"I don't know. I went looking for Clarissa in case she had gotten lost, b-b-but then I found her lying on the floor like this!"

"Calm down Vanille," Fang patted her head.

"Hope can't you do something buddy?" Snow asked. "I mean you've been studying to be a doctor now put those brains to use. Think of this as your first test, if you can heal Clarissa you get an A for the day."

"What the hell are you saying?" Hope snapped. "This isn't a joke. Clarissa's in pain and if my inexperienced ass screws up a spell, things could get ugly. I'm not going to gamble with her life."

Vanille was about to agree with boy when something happened that none of them would ever expect.

The hallway lit up in a brilliant white glow. Vanille hissed. The light was so bright, it hurt even when she had her eyes closed. Never in her life had she experienced anything like this.

The light lasted for what seemed like hours before finally fading.

Rubbing her eyes, she waited for them to get back into focus. And when they did, boy was she surprised.

"W-What the?" Hope's agnostic voice broke the silence. "I-Is that? Am I the only one seeing things?"

"N-No," Fang stammered.

"Holy shitola..." Snow gasped, eyes wide as saucers. "But how is that even possible?"

Vanille wanted to ask the same thing. She couldn't believe it, but her eyes didn't lie.

Clutched in Clarissa's arms were two baby twins.

Chapter 1: Kingdom Hearts

Sixteen Years Later...

"Mom! MOM!" A young girl of sixteen ran happily through the streets of Avalon and bustled into her uncle's apartment complex. She had casually gone to fetch the mail at the post office across the street; however, her casual trek had turned her day into one of the happiest in her life.

"Mommy!" She called again. "Mom? Hello? Is anyone home? Aunty Vanille? Aunty Fang? Uncle Snow? Uncle Sazh? Uncle Hope?" That's strange... No one was answering her. She had just got back from her part time job babysitting, and it was about 7:00 PM, so everyone should have made their ways home by now.

"Reni?" Her blond-haired cousin, Naminé walked out of the bathroom, yawning. "Oh Reni, you're home!"

"Hey Naminé, do you know where everybody is? I tried calling, but no one seems to be home," Reni held a parcel to her chest. "Shouldn't they be home?"

Naminé shrugged. "I don't know. Guess they all have overtime. I've been trying to do my homework, but Dajh keeps bugging me. He wants me to play PlayStation with him. God knows I'm terrible at all games, period. Want to play with us?"

"Sure," Reni replied.

Following her cousin to the common room, Reni spotted her little cousin, Dajh sitting directly in front of the television with a controller in his hand. The little pre-schooler was always so eager to play, there was no stopping him when he was in the 'zone'.

Reni spotted another figure, only he was lying on the couch lazily watching Dajh 'pwn' some 'noobs' on the PlayStation. The pre-schooler's vocabulary was impressive indeed.

"YA I kik ur butt!" Dajh pumped his fist in the air.

See what she meant? Reni smiled. Dajh was just so adorable.

"Reni! Naminé!"

Reni glared at the figure on the sofa. "What do you want, Ciel?"

"Hey! Don't be so cold to your precious older brother," Ciel whined playfully. "You know I love you baby sister."

"For Pete's sake!" Reni growled. "You are not older than me! Mom says I was born first!"

"If you say so baby sister."

Reni rolled her eyes as Ciel ran his hand through his messy, trademark blue-gray hair. Ugh, her brother was such a playboy, good-for-nothing womanizer. She honestly didn't know why the girls at their previous school thought he was sooo hot.

Even now, the comments of her friends remained engraved in her head. It was always, 'Oh Reni, Ciel is absolutely gorgeous, can I eat him?' or 'Reni don't you ever want a piece of that?' As if! Puh-leeze.

"Oh, oh," Dajh grunted, happy to see his older cousins. "Reni, Naminé let's play! Come, come!"

Reni sat on the floor between Naminé and Dajh and held her controller. She, like Naminé, only played games when Dajh begged her to. Usually, it was Ciel who played with him, but she guessed her brother wasn't in the mood. The idiot must have broken up with a girl, again.

The game started and waves of zombies assaulted their base.

Her character shot off two measly rounds from his pistol before being mobbed and eaten by zombies.

"Hahahaha! Reni, you suck."

"Oh shut it, Ciel," she muttered angrily. "No one loves you."

"Not true," Ciel retorted. "Mom loves me."

"That's only because you're adopted."

"Pfft, you wish baby sister."

"Oh I do," Reni mashed the buttons of her controller. All the time.

"Hey!" Naminé yelled. "Dajh, you stole my upgrade!"

"Yu snooj you looze!" Dajh squealed. The little monster was obviously ecstatic about the ass kicking he was delivering to his two older cousins. In the world of video games, he was king.

The three of them played for about an hour until they heard the front gate creak open.

"Daddy and Mommy are home!" Dajh jumped and ran out the door, completely forgetting about the game that was in progress.

Reni, Naminé, and Ciel followed the little boy to the front yard. Sure enough, everyone was there.

"Mommy!" Reni ran toward her mother and gave her a hug.

"Hey honey," her mother smiled and kissed her cheek. "How was work today?"

"Babysitting? Piece of cake. By the way, I have something to tell y—"

Reni yelped as Ciel shoved her away. "MOMMA!"

Their mother laughed happily as her big, baby boy held her up. Reni felt a wave of jealousy surge through her.

"How are my babies doing?" their mother asked.

"Fine," they replied in unison.

"How about you, mom?" Reni cuddled against their mother. "Did you bust some bad guy ass at work?"

Their mother was a cop, which was totally sick because Avalon cops were the baddest of the bad asses. To top things off, their mother was so smoking hot every single male cop wanted to be her partner.

"Not really," she replied. "But there was an incident at the gate. A couple of vampires and werewolves tried to sneak their way into Avalon. We caught them before they could make it."

"Man, problems with the Horde are getting worse, aren't they?" Reni frowned.

Sixteen years ago, the human race faced a severe crisis. Having suffered earlier from the civil war, the humans were in a terrible state, both militarily and economically. Yet, from south of their lands emerged a monstrous, bloodthirsty race known as the Horde.

The Horde, comprised of vampires, werewolves, filth monsters, freezlings, gigantic insects, the undead, and many other abominations, voraciously feasted on the weary humans. And, in a matter of weeks, human lands were completely overrun by the monsters.

Fearing for their lives, human citizens fled to demon and angel lands, where they sought refuge despite the prejudice against them. What was once known as human lands soon became known as the Wilderness, a sanctuary for the foreign creatures.

However, the Horde's greed didn't end with the invasion of human lands. Wanting more, the creatures foolishly approached demon and angel lands, assuming that their new prey were as weak as the humans.

Unorganized and pitted against the ruthless demons and angels, the Horde was massacred in the bloodshed that followed.

The Horde retreated into the Wilderness in order to recuperate.

Being a reproductive race, they regained their impressive numbers in a matter of weeks, and over the years made various attempts at invading demon and angel lands.

Five years after their acquisition of human lands, the Horde developed a hierarchy and leadership. They appointed four leaders and gave them the titles of 'The Four Kings'.

The North was ruled by the Pale King, the South; the Were-lord, the East; the Arachnid, and the West; the Immortal.

Soon enough, the demons and angels found themselves facing a tougher foe, whose numbers were enormously greater than theirs. The Horde persistently attacked demon and angel lands, and won several of their encounters.

The newly appointed demon king, Noctis Lucis Caelum decided to construct an academy for demons, angels, and humans. Many demons thought it was strange that their king tolerated the human race, but others knew it was due to the wishes of the late queen, the deceased angel princess.

Kingdom Hearts became the name of the academy that was constructed. Students accepted were put through military training under the top commanders, all the while, studying their choice of a specialization or major with renowned educators.

Having all three races in their arsenal, the KH (the academy students) successfully managed to push the Horde out of angel and demon lands.

Even to this day, the KH fought the Horde, while maintaining good grades as well.

So where did Avalon come to play in all this muck? Well, Avalon is the border between the Wilderness, and angel and demon lands, meaning that the Horde has to go through Avalon if they want to invade.

Reni frowned. Her mother, being an Avalon cop, guarded the border occasionally. Reni absolutely hated the fact that her mother put herself in danger. Although her mother had some military experience, she was definitely no match for a creature of the Horde. After all, she was only human.

"Mom," Reni squeezed her mother. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Don't worry honey," their mother insisted. "I can take care of myself. I won't let any of those monsters come into Avalon, and if they lay a single hand on my babies, I'll kill every last one of them."

Reni giggled happily. "I love you mommy!"

"I love you, too sweetheart."

"Soooo mom, all of that Horde nonsense aside, why'd you come home so late?" Ciel asked.

"Oh," their mother paused. "That's because your Uncle Hope had to close the shop."

"Ah."

Their Uncle Hope was the only one in the family that had a car. Whenever he finished work, he would pick up the rest of their aunts and uncles, consequently if he worked late, everyone came home late.

"Reni honey, you said you wanted to tell me something?"

Reni shook her head and hid her letter. It was best to save the news for later. "I'll tell you at dinner."

At that moment, Uncle Snow came up to them with Naminé on his shoulders. Naminé's head nearly hit the ceiling because her father was so tall. Their 6'7" uncle was a human tower. It was really surprising her little cousin had ended up petite.

Naminé was about 5'4", which was roughly about her height as well. It was also sad because Naminé was four years younger than her, meaning her cousin still had time to grow.

Reni sighed. If only she was as tall as Ciel or her mother then her life would be complete. Her mother was at least a good head taller than her, and Ciel... Well Ciel was just tall...

"Dinner's at nine, Clarissa." Uncle Snow told their mother. "If you don't mind, I'm going to go take a shower. Princess, why don't you help your mother set up the tables?" he asked, using his term of endearment for Naminé,

"Sure thing daddy," Naminé replied.

"Ciel, Reni," their Aunt Vanille yawned, exhausted from her long day at work. Despite the fact, Vanille looked like she was still eighteen, she groaned like an old woman. "Can you two help Uncle Hope bring the groceries in? He's waiting outside by the car."

"Okay!" They both answered and ran off to help their uncle.

"You've got a lovely pair of angels there Clarissa," Vanille sighed enviously.

"I know," Clarissa beamed with pride as her twins went to save their uncle. "I don't know what I'd do without them. They're the reason I live. Reni always tells me she's going to find her father for my sake, and Ciel says he's going to be rich and buy me a mansion, but I could care less about those things as long as I have them."

"You're so lucky to have kids Clarissa. I'd kill to have some of my own..." Vanille frowned. "It's been sixteen years since the day I met you, and I have yet to find a man for myself. I honestly think I've been cursed to live a life of a recluse."

"Don't worry Vanille, I'm sure there's a special someone out there waiting to meet you."

"You tell me that every year," Vanille smiled, "and yet, it still gives me hope."

"Well if it makes you feel better, Reni and Ciel absolutely adore you."

"And I absolutely adore them as well. Okay, I think I'm going to go change. I really have to get out of this sweaty t-shirt. I'll see you at dinner Clarissa!" Vanille waved before disappearing into her room.

Clarissa stood in the front yard waiting for her babies when Sazh and Susan Katzroy passed by with their son, Dajh. They greeted her warmly and told her they'd see her at dinner.

"Mommy we're back!" Reni called out as she came into the apartment complex carrying a box of sodas and a bag of plastic cups.

Ciel walked in, holding a bag of potatoes in each arm. Hope followed with silverware in his hands.

"Well now that we have everything ready. Let's go have dinner now, shall we?" Hope asked.

౦ം౦ം౦ം

Reni fidgeted nervously. How was she going to break the news to everyone?

Dinner had been splendid as usual. Her Aunt Fang's cooking was unparalleled, and today, the French fries were just AMAZING. Their Uncle Snow made that fact known with a loud belch that earned him a giggle from Dajh and a slap from Aunt Vanille.

Currently, everyone was working off their appetite by talking about their day.

As it drew near eleven o'clock, Reni decided it was time.

She stood, immediately gaining everyone's attention.

"Reni, what's wrong?" her mother asked.

"Umm everyone... I have something to t-tell you guys," Reni swallowed. "I-I got a letter in the mail today. It's from the Director of Admissions at KH Academy. Mom, do you remember how I applied to the academy because I wanted to find dad?"

"Of course I do honey," her mother replied.

"Well..." Here it goes. "I got accepted."

Wait for it.

The reaction was priceless. Everybody jumped out of their seats in shock and cheered merrily as if they had won the lottery.

Reni laughed happily as her aunts and uncles took turns embracing her.

Uncle Snow cheered. "My niece, Reni is going to be famous! She's going to Kingdom Hearts Academy! Dang, I'm going to tell everyone at work tomorrow."

"Me too!" Hope clapped. "Reni's probably the first student from Avalon to attend there. Good for you, baby!"

Reni looked at her mother. She was crying tears of joy, sniffling and sobbing uncontrollably. "Oh sweetheart, I'm so proud of you."

Naminé came up to her and grabbed her hands. "Oh my God, Reni I am SO jealous of you. You get to go to school with Roxas Hikari!"

Reni rolled her eyes. Her cousin was obsessed with blond haired demon. As a teenager, Roxas Hikari had been a popular singer. Now an adult, he was a legend that taught Music classes at KH. To think that she would get to meet him in person. Boy, Naminé was going to have a seizure.

"So Reni," Ciel ruffled her hair, an action that irritated her. "Whose letter did you steal?"

She punched him angrily.

"I'm just joking!" Ciel laughed. "Congratulations baby sister. Give me a hug!"

Reni smiled and hugged her twin. Quite contrary to popular belief, she could be civil Ciel when she wanted to. Their sibling relationship wasn't completely comprised of hate. They had their share of touching moments as well.

"Reni, can I see the letter?" Her mother asked.

"Sure thing," She handed the letter to her mother.

Clarissa read the letter out loud.

"Dear Miss Serenity Angel,

It is my pleasure to offer you admissions to Kingdom Hearts Academy.
As you know, you are now amongst the elite of the elite, so take a moment to congratulate yourself.
If you do choose to attend, be prepared. Your life will never be the same.
I'm sure you know this by now, but Kingdom Hearts is not just an educational institute. It is primarily a military institute.
As a student you will undergo rigorous combat training in preparation for the war against the Horde.
Before you start having second thoughts, remember that you were chosen for a reason.
The Admissions staff at Kingdom Hearts chooses only the best.
Once again, I congratulate you.

Sincerely, P - Director of Admissions KH.

P.S. Orientation starts next week. See you there."

Clarissa kissed her daughter on the head and ran a hand through her long black hair, which was put up in its usual high ponytail. Reni had inherited her looks, and Ciel, she assumed, had inherited his father's.

Reni cooed as her mother played with her hair.

"Who's P?" Ciel asked, reading his sister's letter. "All the letter says is that the dude is the Director of Admissions. Couldn't he have given us his full name or something? Way to be vague."

"P stands for Prompto," Vanille answered.

Seeing the blank stares on Clarissa and Reni's faces, she elaborated. "He's only the hottest Archdemon bachelor to ever walk this continent!"

Reni and Ciel snickered.

"Oh what?" their aunt huffed. "I have a thing for cute, playboy blonds that are single, I might add. Don't give me that look Clarissa, I know you have a thing for the demon king, and don't even try to deny it! You literally drool all over the TV screen when he comes on!"

Clarissa blushed profusely. Normally, she wasn't guy crazy like Vanille, but that man, Noctis Caelum was too gorgeous for her to turn the other way.

"Anyways. Prompto is one of the richest men on the continent," Vanille stated.

"Hooooooly," Ciel gasped. "Reni, you got a letter from him? It's probably made of gold paper, we could sell this for a lot of munny!"

Reni arched her eyebrow dubiously. "We are not selling MY acceptance letter, idiot. If you want munny so bad, go get an acceptance letter yourself. OH wait, I forgot, you can't. I'm the brains in the family."

"Mom!" Ciel faked crying and hugged his mother. "Reni's making fun of my intelligence."

Intelligence? Reni laughed. What intelligence? Ugh, Ciel was such a mommy's boy.

"Reni," her mother scolded playfully. "Apologize to your brother."

"Fine," Reni muttered. "I'm sorry, asshole."

"It's okay dipshit," Ciel stuck his tongue out.

"You two..." their mother growled murderously.

"Oh crap, Ciel," Reni gulped, not liking the way her mother was cracking her knuckles. "Mom's about to go mama bear on us. We better run! C-Ciel?"

Reni looked around, and found to her dismay that Ciel was already gone. That jerk! How could he leave her like this? Then again... She would have done the exact same thing if she was in his position.

Frozen stiff, Reni watched in horror as her mother advanced on her. The calm, stoic look on her mother's face told her she was in for a spanking.

"M-Mom?"

"This is for your own good, sweetheart."

"M-MOMMY! NO!"

౦ം౦ം౦ം

One week later

"Are we there yet?"

"Ciel," Clarissa sighed. "As much as I love you honey, if you ask me that one more time, I will throw you out of this car."

Reni snorted unladylike.

They had been traveling on the road, since 4:00 AM, for three hours now. KH was located directly on the border of demon and angel lands. Unfortunately for them, that was ridiculously far from Avalon.

Thank God Uncle Hope had let them borrow his car. Otherwise, they would have never made it to orientation on time.

It was a good thing they were almost there, Reni couldn't stand being in the same car as Ciel anymore. Honestly, why did he have to tag along? Why did her mother have to insist on him being there?

"Look outside," her mother gasped. "It's beautiful."

Reni agreed. Having lived in Avalon her whole life, she wasn't prepared for the sight of an actual, fully-developed city. People were everywhere! The streets were filled with demons and angels, each going about their daily lives.

There were also a bunch of tall buildings, or skyscrapers as her Aunt Fang called them. They were about the size of a thousand Uncle Snows.

This city in particular was built as a circle, where the main office buildings were built on the circumference. Then there was a single bridge that led to the center of the city, where the academy was. Basically, the academy was an island in the middle of the city with the ocean surrounding it.

"Wow," Reni breathed. "There are so many people. Is this how all other cities are like?"

"I don't know," Ciel stuck his head out of the window, studying the women that they passed. "But the girls here are HOT!"

"You think every girl is hot," Reni scowled.

"No, I don't think you are."

"That's a different story, we're related!"

"I think mom is hot."

Reni gagged. "That is so gross, I'm not even going to talk to you anymore." In truth, she knew Ciel was right. The reason Ciel never stayed with a girl for too long was because none of them resembled their mother. Talk about having Oedipus Complex...

"Why are you so riled up?" Ciel teased. "Could it be that you're jealous?"

"NO!" Reni all but screamed. "You thinking mom is hot is just wrong."

"Wrong? Says who?" Ciel asked. "Hey mom, I think you're hot. There's not a single woman in the world that's more beautiful than you are."

"Aww," their mother smiled. "Thanks baby."

"See? There's nothing wrong with a little love," Ciel answered. "It's no wonder you've never had a boyfriend before. With your dull, non-feminine charms, I don't think there's a male in Aria, with the exception of me, that would willingly come within a ten-foot radius of you."

"OH SHUT UP!" Reni shouted, hating the fact that all of Ciel's words were true. "You are so annoying!"

Ciel pressed his face against Reni's intimately. "If you want, I could teach you baby sister..."

His hot breath made her shiver. She shoved his face away. "Get away from me you perverted asshole!"

"That's enough, both of you," their mother ordered as she parked at a lot. "We're here."

"Woah," Reni breathed. The academy was its own city; it was a city within a city. Each of the academy buildings were made of glass, making the school one big architectural mural.

The crosswalks were flooded with students. The older students were wearing academy uniforms, which varied in color. Many of them were guiding the new students. Reni saw students wearing black, red, blue, and grey uniforms. She wondered why there was a distinction in color.

"Hello there!" A guy about her height came running up to them. He had tanned skin and short dark hair. He was also wearing a blue uniform. "Are you three new students here?"

Three? Reni wondered. Oh, he had included her mother in the count. The guy wasn't at fault. Her mother's looks were deceiving. For a woman that was supposed to be in her thirties, her mother had the looks of a girl in her early twenties, so it was no surprise she had been mistaken for a student.

"No, no, no," Clarissa replied. "This is Reni, she's a new student here. I'm her mother and that's her brother Ciel. We're both just tagging along for morale support."

"Oh... Her mother?" the guy replied. "I'm sorry for the mismatch, it's just you look really young for your age."

"Thank you, uh?"

"My name's Martin, but you can call me Mikey, I'm a 3rd year student at KH studying interrogation and torture. I'm also an orientation guide, so if you have any questions, I'm your man!" Mikey answered.

"Could you point out where the nearest restroom is?" Clarissa asked.

"Sure," Mikey beamed. "Do you see those huge staircases, leading to that oval-shaped building? If you take a right on those staircases, you should be able to find the restrooms. Do you want us to wait for you, or do you want to meet us at Uriel Hall?"

"Where's Uriel Hall? I'll meet you three there," Clarissa nodded.

"It's the oval-shaped building," Mikey informed. "All of the new students are supposed to gather there. The demon king is going to make a speech at eight."

"Did you say demon king?" Clarissa brightened up. "Demon king as in Noctis Lucis Caelum?"

"Oh no," Reni and Ciel groaned. Here we go. There was no stopping their mother when the king was involved.

"Yes that's correct. The one and only founder of KH Academy. At the beginning of the school year, he gives an encouragement speech to all of the first year students," Mikey stated. "It's tradition."

Reni and Ciel watched as their mother made a complete fool of herself, skipping up the stairs like a five year old.

"Uh," Reni tapped Mikey on the shoulder. "She's not our real mother."

"It's okay," Mikey laughed. "My mom embarrasses me all the time, too. So Reni do you have any questions?"

"Actually I do," Reni nodded. "How come your uniform's blue, while the other students' are red, grey and black? Is it a matter of personal preference or is there a story behind the uniform colors."

"I'm glad you asked!" Mikey grinned. "Uniforms are a huge factor in KH. The colors are based on your battle potential and skills. Take me for example, I'm in the Blue Class, which means I have to take classes with other Blue Class students. And when we do military scrimmages, I'm a part of the Blue Platoon. I'm not really a skilled fighter and my uniform is proof of it."

"So what are the rankings?"

"Grey is the default color, meaning you'll get a Grey uniform since you're a first year. And throughout your first six months as a student, your uniform will evaluate your potential. Based on your performance, you'll be sorted into either of the Blue, Red, Black, or White Classes"

"There's a White Class?" Reni scratched her head. "I haven't seen anyone wearing a white uniform yet."

"That's because there are only four students in the White Class," Mikey answered. "I said the uniform sorts you into classes based on skill and potential, right? Well, the White Class is the hardest to get into, next is Red, then Black, then Blue."

"Well Reni, I guess you'll be stuck in the Grey Class forever then," Ciel commented, "because everyone knows you can't fight to save your life."

"Well Ciel," she mimicked his tone. "I guess you'll be stuck in NO class forever because you can't even get into KH!"

Take that!

"Don't make me laugh," Ciel pinched the bridge of his nose. "If I was a student here, the uniform would have such a hard time trying to measure my vast potential that it'd just put in the Rainbow Class for my awesomeness."

"You are so gay," Reni grunted.

"Nuh-uh," Ciel shook his head. "I love women."

"Exactly my point."

It took Ciel a while to process the insult, but he finally got it. "HEY!"

"Anyways Mikey, ignore this idiot. Don't waste your breath on inferior beings like him," Reni smirked while Ciel fumed. "He's not on our intellectual level. So, who are these four students of the White Class?"

"You might know them," Mikey explained. "The first two students are the demon prince and princess or better known as the twin Seraphs, Lucien and Lucia."

Reni's eyes widened. "They go to KH? You mean they're students here?"

"Of course," Mikey stated indulgently. "You probably won't see them often though. The White Class is taught by the demon king himself. For the most part, when the White Class isn't on the battlefield, they're studying in the demon palace. On rare occasions and events, they'll probably be at the academy. Like today, I forgot to mention, the White Class is here at orientation."

"Oh. My. God," Reni paused for a moment of silence at the epic-ness that was turning out to be today. "Who are the other two students?"

"They're members of a royal demon family, Haven and Shahara Glass. The Glasses are world class assassins that answer only to the demon king," Mikey stretched his arms. "Basically, if you harm either Lucien or Lucia, the Glasses will come after your ass with a vengeance. Don't get me wrong, the prince and princess can take care of themselves, but the Glasses were extra measures that the demon king took to ensure the safety of his children."

"Ah, I see. Mikey, are there special privileges that each class gets?"

"Boy, you're reading my mind. I was just going to go over that," Mikey laughed. "To answer your question, yes there are. But, I don't really know much about them, since I'm in the Blue Class."

Mikey continued. "In order to bolster competition and hard work ethic, the demon king ruled that students of a higher class could order students of a lower class to do whatever they wanted them to as long as the requests were reasonable."

"For example," Mikey lifted his index finger. "Let's say, a Black Class student came up to me and ordered me to do a hundred push-ups, I'd have to do it, or else my uniform would see that as a lack of discipline, eventually if I kept refusing to comply with the Black Class student's orders, I'd get kicked out of school."

"But doesn't that mean bullying is allowed?"

Mikey nodded. "Yep, you got it. In KH there are no rules that forbid bullying. You won't be spoon fed or saved by the teachers here. The Headmaster's philosophy is every man for himself. If you want respect, you have to earn it."

"Do people get bullied a lot?"

"All the time," Mikey grinned. "Mainly, the bullies come from the Black Class."

"Why not the Red Class or the White Class?" Reni asked.

"I don't know. I guess it's because the White Class can't waste time picking on others."

"And the Red Class?"

"The Red Class is unique. Despite the fact that the Red Class are masters of the battlefield, the students are REALLY childish. They spend more time terrorizing each other than they do terrorizing other classes."

"How are they childish?" Reni asked again. Her questions never seemed to run out. She couldn't help it; life at the academy was so interesting compared to life at her school in Avalon.

"One reason is the stupid nicknames that the students give each other. The Blue and Red Class once had a scrimmage with each other in a game of Capture the Flag. It was the most confusing scrimmage I ever took part in," Mikey shuttered. "Can you imagine being attacked by numbers and suits from a deck of playing cards? During that whole match, I was being chased by a 'Seven', an 'Eight' and a 'Deuce'."

"That actually does sound terrifying," Reni laughed. "Was there a 'Jack', a 'Queen' or a 'King'?"

"I don't know," Mikey chuckled at the absurdity of the notion. "If there was, they weren't chasing me."

A loud bell chimed in the distance.

"Oh!" Mike jumped. "It's time to make our way to Uriel Hall, the king's speech is about to start. If you have any other questions, I'll answer them later."

౦ം౦ം౦ം

Clarissa walked out of the nicest bathroom she had ever seen.

Still focused on her experience, she didn't notice the figure walking towards her. Consequently, she ran into the person.

"Oof," she groaned, rubbing her head. Jeez did she just run into moving wall? "I'm sorry," she apologized immediately. "I wasn't paying attention."

"You're sorry?" Came the baritone voice's dubious reply.

She slowly raised her gaze up the man's body. He was dressed in an expensive White uniform. Clarissa gasped when her eyes made contact with his. She had never seen a person with crystal green eyes.

The man, she noticed, was a student. However, everything about him screamed that he was a seductive predator with his dark blue hair styled into messy spikes and his ears studded with silver earrings.

In any other case, Clarissa would definitely have considered this young man attractive, but there was a rugged aura about him that reeked of malice and dominance. It was almost as if the man believed he owned the world.

"Are you listening?" the man asked. Oh God, his velvet voice made her shutter.

"I'm sorry," Clarissa inclined her head.

The man grabbed her chin and forced her to look into his haunting green eyes. "So what are you going to do about it? You ruined my uniform, girl."

Girl? Clarissa gasped. She was old enough to be his mother. How dare he act high and mighty with her? Maybe it was time to show him what Avalon cops did to arrogant assholes.

"If you're so upset about it," Clarissa snarled. "Go wash it yourself! Or is mommy not here to do it for you?"

The man clenched his fist, taken aback by this woman's insolence. Didn't this bitch know who he was? No one ever mentioned his mother in his presence, not if they wanted to live.

"You little bitch," he gnashed his teeth and shoved her roughly against the bathroom walls. "You really don't know who I am, do you?"

Clarissa tried to get out his hold, but he was just too strong. What the hell was this guy made of? It felt as if she was trapped against an iron cage.

Hearing his spiteful words, she couldn't help but feel a sliver of dread enter her body.

Something in the back of her head told her she knew who he was. She prayed to God she was wrong.

"Lucien!" A blue-haired woman called after the man.

Clarissa groaned. She was right. The man standing in front of her with a murderous gleam in his eyes was none other than the demon king's son, the Seraph, Lucien. Why couldn't she have just kept her temper in check? Why did she have to piss off one of the most dangerous men in the kingdom?

Like father like son, she thought. It was no surprise the prince was so violent when his father was the deadliest man in the world.

"Lucien are you listening?"

"Fuck off, Lucia. I'm busy," Lucien growled.

The prince's twin, Lucia changed her soft demeanor in an instant. Living up to her title as the Ice Princess, she angrily grabbed Lucien by the ear and pulled him away. If there was one person that was on par with the prince in terms of temper, it was his twin.

"What the hell did you say to me?" Lucia barked. She was known for being society's most elegant lady, a stoic woman that rarely spoke. It was strange for Clarissa to see the princess acting in such a way. "Stop wasting your time with the human and get your ass to Uriel Hall. Father wants to see us."

"Fine," Lucien quieted at the mention of his father. "Don't think I've forgotten about you, bitch. You're dead." He gave the dark-haired woman one last glare before walking away.

"Human," Lucia scowled as if their conversation sickened her. "If you know what's best for you, stay away from my brother. He will kill you the next time he sees you. No one has ever insulted him and gotten away with it."

Clarissa nodded.

"Farewell then," the princess inclined her head before following after her twin.

౦ം౦ം౦ം

A/N: Soooo. Good or bad? Continue? o.O

Anyways, the reason I made this chapter so long is because this is a pilot of sorts. I'm introducing everything in this chapter, and if you guys like it, I'll make more. Also, my fall quarter starts this week, so I won't be able to update in a LONG ass time. So before I start classes, I wanted to at least leave you guys with something. So thanks! Leave a review and tell me what you thought of it or ask any question that you have!