Happy New Year! Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. :/ Thankfully, my writer's block seems to be broken! Anyway, This came about 'cause of that one KHIII trailer with Demyx and his golden eyes. I was really hoping that Demyx would be back (He is one of my favorite Organization members, after all), but I never thought he would be 'Norted! Anyway, I began to think about how lazy he is. Thus, Paradyme was born!

Paradigm (correctly spelled) refers to the way a person sees things, his point of view. I named Demyx's Somebody Dyme for the sole purpose of making this pun. :3 Enjoy!

The ex-Nobody stared at himself in the mirror. One of the few things within him that still called him Demyx (or, more accurately, Dyme) had him smooth down a few errant strands of hair. He brushed it, noting absently the white streak on the left side of his hair. His eyes, golden as a result of Xehanort's power within him, narrowed at the thought. Soon his hair would be completely white.

He shrugged. He had read something talking about how white hair, the "hoary head," was a crown of glory. Despite that, he kind of liked the color his hair had always been. His mullet, while a bit out of fashion, had a personality much like his. It was wild and lazy, yet cool in its own way. He frowned. His sea-green eyes (the color he would typically call "that bluish, greenish aqua color that nobody really knows the name of"), too, had matched his hair and laid-back attitude. His current eye color kind of looked like his hair and was downright creepy to him. Oh, well, he mused, If it furthers the master's purpose, I guess it's okay. He turned around and left the room in search of Saïx. He was pretty sure that his mission had something to do with a strip of islands, but he wanted to be absolutely certain.

When he approached his blue-haired compatriot, his brows furrowed. Ever since they had all become Somebodies again, Saïx—no, Isa—had been acting oddly. He was lost in thought more often than not and could usually be seen staring at the floor. Although he still barked orders at others, he seemed to be quieter. Once or twice, Dyme had even found him with a guilty look on his face. Shoving the introspective thoughts to the back of his mind for now, Dyme cleared his throat. "So, uh, what's my mission again?"

Isa glared at him, annoyed at having his thoughts interrupted. "You are to go to Destiny Islands and take care of some Heartless there. Two Large Armors and a herd of Neoshadows have surfaced. They are interfering with the master's work. Eliminate them."

Dyme grimaced. He still hated work. He nodded, stating, "I'll get it done." With that, he summoned a Corridor of Darkness and stepped through it. When he set foot on the sands of Destiny Islands, he took a deep breath, soaking in the salty scent of the ocean. He shook his head, telling himself if he completed the mission fast enough, he would hopefully have enough time to enjoy the water. Even as he thought this, the waves lapped at his boots, compelling him to forsake his work and play with them. A seagull squawked at him and landed on a log floating in the water. He groaned. He desperately wanted to forget about his mission. He steeled himself and forcibly turned away from it, summoning his sitar. Master Xehanort required his service. As he departed from the waves, he could almost hear the voice of Demyx, his Nobody self, crying out to him.

Fifteen minutes later, he had terminated one of the Large Armors, a good number of the Neoshadows, and a handful of shadows. He looked around for places he had not yet checked when he heard a voice. He pivoted in surprise. A young woman, maybe in her last years of school, was blinking innocently at him.

"Sir? What kind of guitar is that? I've never seen one like it before."

Dyme froze. Should he talk to her? Strictly speaking, Organization members were not to make contact with the residents of the worlds to which they traveled. Still, she seemed nice enough. He shrugged. "That's 'cause it's not a guitar. It's a sitar, which is way cooler!" He fondled his instrument. "I call her Sasha."

The girl's large blue eyes widened. "Ooh! She's so beautiful! Tidus used to have a guitar and Wokka has a ukulele."

Dyme nodded, although he had no idea who exactly belonged to the names. "I just tuned her. You want to take 'er for a spin? Just be careful, okay?"

"Really?!" The girl's curly brown hair bobbed as she nodded excitedly. "I'll be super careful with her! I promise!" She gently took the instrument from him and began to pick out a few chords.

Dyme smiled—truly smiled!— at her. Was this what it felt like to have a heart? He appeared to have found a friend. "Man, you're good for a beginner! Hold it like this, though, so you can strum it easier." He adjusted it in her grasp. As he stood, he felt the will of his master pressing against him again. He shrugged it off. Xehanort could wait for a few minutes. Music was more important. He could hear the waves imploring him to approach them, to immerse himself in them. The urge to lose himself in them grew to the point that it physically hurt him to deny it. He whipped his head around to face the girl—When had it turned toward the waves?—and shook his head.

The brunette lifted her head up. "So, how are you enjoying summer break?"

"Huh?" Dyme blinked. "Summer break?"

She nodded. "Yeah! We're out of school and can finally relax. Kairi went to visit some old guy named Yen Sid. I think he's her great-uncle or something. Tidus is visiting his girlfriend Yuna and her family. I think Wokka's just chilling here with his parents. I plan to go swimming and play jump rope! I just love break! Don't you? In fact, Mom says we get a whole extra week off of school tha. . ."

Dyme listened to her ramble on, chuckling. Kids were so amusing. All they thought about was having fun. You like to have fun, too. At least, you did before Xehanort, his inner Demyx stated accusingly. A pang hit his new-found heart. What happened to relaxing? You are like water after all . . . Dyme thought back to when he had woken up with his heart. He had been approached by Xemnas and asked to join the new Organization. Dyme had agreed, not knowing what else he would do. Being a traveling musician probably would not pay enough to keep him fed and in some kind of shelter. Munny was tight these days. Still, what had he given up? "My freedom," he muttered wryly.

"What? Yes! Freedom! That's what Summer's all about!" the girl exclaimed. "Exactly!"

You know, she's right! Dyme decided right then and there that he would ditch this so-called master. Dyme already had his heart. What more could Xehanort offer him? He sighed. Maybe his eyes and hair would go back to normal soon. Until then, he could enjoy his heart and do just what he had wanted to do. "You know what? I'm going swimming. Thanks for reminding me it's summer!" He flashed a smile at her. "I'd completely forgotten, dude." He tugged off his boots and unzipped his black Organization coat, slipping out of it. He stood there in his black t-shirt and pants, reveling in the liberty he had taken. His socks were the last thing to go before he dove into the water. As if to greet him, a giant wave crashed on top of him the moment he rose to the surface. He sputtered, taken aback. "Okay, okay! I missed you, too!" laughed the ex-Nobody, grinning. "Dance, water, dance!" The ocean swirled about him happily.

"Selph, c'mon! We've got to hurry if we're going to be there on time!" a girl's voice called.

The brunette blinked. "Oh! I forgot we were going to hang out. Be right there!"

"Selphie, hurry!" This time, a boy joined the other girl.

Selphie carefully placed Dyme's sitar on the sand near his other belongings. "I told you I'm coming, didn't I?" she yelled cheekily. With a wave at her new friend and a hollered "Goodbye, mister!" she ran to meet the other teenagers.

Dyme waved back and sank deeper into the water. When he surfaced, he murmured, "Huh. I guess I'm a rogue now. . . I wonder if Axel wants another person on his side. Isa said something about him joining Sora." He paused and then shrugged. "Well, maybe I'll look for him tomorrow." He sighed contentedly, "No more dumb work. No more icky sweat. . . Life is good!"

The next time Dyme looked in a mirror was a week and a half later. He was trying a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt in a store. He nodded. "I like them!" He brushed his longish bangs out of his face, having run out of styling gel the previous morning. It was then that he noticed the white streak was not quite so big as it had been before. In fact, his eyes were back to their normal color. He grinned. The old Organization Demyx was gone. He was now Dyme the Somebody, though he sometimes slipped up and called himself Demyx. He was glad to have his heart back. If "Master" Xehanort did not like that, the old coot could get over it. Dyme was free!

Wouldn't Demyx be the type to just up and leave 'cause he's too lazy to continue? :3 I had to write this!

Soli Deo gloria!