Chapter 2: Time to Work, Bitches

Oh, and thanks for the alerts and favs…I'm shocked—and flattered.

Heh. Two and a half years later I finally update. Fail.

So the day continued.

After Xigbar, Xaldin, Luxord and Marluxia split up, they each went off to their own little corners to wallow in their fear. Marluxia exiled himself to his garden. Apparently, he planned to never come out. But what goes on in that garden nobody knows. Marluxia could be fertilizing his hydrangeas and aloe but he could just as easily be sharpening his scythe and getting a battle plan ready. Nobody knows what goes on there, and nobody wants to know what happens there.

Xaldin had basically banished all thoughts of Xemnas and death to the far corner of his mind, where he knew it would never come afloat again. He simply went to the library, made himself comfortable, and dug his nose in a book. Typical Xaldin: don't worry about things you know will end up badly. He knew very well the terror that Xemnas was capable of inflicting.

Xigbar and Luxord. They were both anxious and somewhat nervous, but that didn't stop them from scrambling around the castle. Of course, they peeped around every corner and made sure to turn around every five steps to make sure they weren't being hunted down by either Xemnas or Saix. After a protracted journey to the kitchen, they stole some donuts and went straight down to the basement…that is, the secret room in the basement where most of the castle's supply of alcohol is stored. They weren't going to drink, though one of them would fall to the temptation eventually; they were going to hide. Xemnas was coming back to kill them all, so what was the point of even trying?

As for The Superior, Xemnas was not amused at the moment. He was tired, and angry, and he wanted food. Zexion proved to be a total and complete asshole most of the mission. Throughout the mission, which was to establish a backup hideout in the shadows of Hollow Bastion, he kept complaining and groaning and refused to help out. Xemnas had tried negotiations, bribes, threats, and force. Even so, Zexion simply sat against and crumbling wall and bonded with his ipod. Lexaeus just stood around, blinking and breathing. That man looked, acted, and actually was a rock. He proved that by not really doing anything. So, naturally, Xemnas dismissed himself from the incompetence. And now, he was taking a breath of his stale office-ish air. He stomped to his seat, and sank into it with a soft groan. Its plush tempted him to fall asleep and relax, had a voice not disturbed him.

"Superior."

Xemnas jumped a little, blinked a few times, and straightened out. He looked up and saw Saix standing over his desk with a strange expression on his face. It was a contemptuous and expectant expression, which was very strange for Saix. A smile seemed to grace his lips and his eyebrows were cocked in a sort of naughty scowl. Definitely woke Xemnas up. Though he didn't show it.

"Yes, Saix?" Xemnas prompted tentatively.

Saix waited a while before answering. He fought a smile.

"There are some…anarchists, if you will…in this Organization." He said.

"Marluxia?" Xemnas asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm aware." He grimaced.

"Not only him. See, there are some people in this Organization that doubt your power…" Saix purred, leaning forward. A mischievous flame danced behind guarded eyes. His hands were now on the desk and he was leaning at a sixty degree angle over it.

Xemnas, mildly disturbed, raised an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair.

"Is that so?"

Xemnas bristled. He felt heat in his body rising up to his head and he felt the need to bash something with stick. But now, though he was pissed off, he was also amused at what Saix was telling him. It was not all the time Saix spoke with such emotion. Whatever he was trying to say must've been interesting, especially now that he was actually suppressing a genuine grin.

"Yes."

"And what exactly are they saying?"

"They believe you are giving us inept, trifle missions, that is if we get any at all. The four I heard—Marluxia, Xigbar, Xaldin, and Luxord—were accusing you of lacking acumen or going senile. They thing you're incompetent as the job of a leader. Marluxia thinks he should be the leader, and they're all planning a mutiny." Saix finished and took a step back to let Xemnas take this in.

Mutiny. The very word echoed in Xemnas' head. Such a hideous, disgusting word, especially to a leader. But the epiphany hit Xemnas so hard he almost toppled over. How did he know that everyone else was loyal to him? How did he know that Saix wasn't lying? Where was everyone now, and what were they doing? Xemnas made a promise to sleep with a gun under his pillow tonight. With a knife, and pepper spray, the whole self defense package. An arsenal. But wait. Why sleep if you're going to be hunted down anyway? Pssh, who even needs sleep? And finally, though no one heard it, a little snap in the back of Xemnas' mind ended it all.

Saix watched with mild entertainment. He watched as Xemnas went from angsty and annoyed to sadistic and ready to inflict some damage. A strange grin took over his face and his brilliant orange eyes were alit with evil. Behind that orange leer, Saix could almost see the plans the Superior's vast mind conjured. Torture, abuse, chastisement and amusement. Xemnas suddenly leaned forward, looking Saix straight in the eye, and said, "Where are the anarchists, then?" His eyes narrowed, making him look a bit catlike.

"Spread around the castle. Shall you address this issue tonight at the dinner table?"

"Of course." Xemnas said coolly, glancing at the stack of papers on his desk. "Now, Saix…you know that there has been a shortage of missions for all of you. Nothing has been amiss lately. In fact, nothing is amiss at this time."

Saix nodded.

"Right. So how is it that I can give you missions? Ah, I will have fun this coming week, oh yes, I will have fun…"

Saix blinked and took a half step back.

"Yes, sir."

"You are dismissed."

Up a few stories in Demyx's bedroom, there was a lively silence in the room. By lively, I mean that all of them were awake, but they were too lazy to get themselves out of bed. Demyx was on his side, humming a song lightly, pretending to be sleeping. Axel was lying on his stomach, fidgeting and fake-snoring to see if he could get Roxas to laugh.

As for Roxas…Roxas had nearly become sick just lying on that couch. It was brown, discolored and darker in some places. It reeked of soda, old milk, and age in general. When Roxas tried to make himself comfortable, it shrieked and groaned and shook with a simple maneuver. Fuming, Roxas climbed into Demyx's bed, took his place between them, and finally fell asleep. So now, Roxas was trying to keep quiet, stuffing the giggles back in his throat. He pulled the covers over his head and heaved with giggles.

"Hey, Roxas." Axel said, head still in the pillow. "I wouldn't pull the covers up like that."

"Why not?" demanded Roxas.

"Because Raid™ kills bedbugs." Axel replied. "It kills everything. Especially plants."

Demyx hooted and finally opened his eyes, even though what Axel said had not made any sense at all. His eyes shone with amusement and laughter. The pretty boy was awake and ready to skip around.

"So. What are we going to do today?" Axel asked. He propped himself up on his elbows, and sat up straight with a yawn. A symphony of clicks came from his vertebrae.

"Uhh…" Demyx closed his eyes. "I think we should do something out the ordinary. Why don't we go swimming or something?"

Axel groaned. "Oh, ew, no way. How about we fuck up Xemnas' life?" Axel suppressed a tight little smirk as he gave them all a sharp emerald gaze. Axel cocked a red eyebrow and finally grinned.

Demyx made a face. "Oh, why are you so hell bent on messing up Xemnas' life?" he questioned with slight pity. "I mean, Xemnas isn't that fun to harass."

"Oh, yes he is!" Axel contradicted with short, quick nods. "He gets all huffy!"

Roxas finally spoke up.

"Axel…I don't think we should do that."

Roxas, of course, being the bashful shy guy of the Organization, had to smudge the fun in everyone else lives by acting like an adult when he was only sixteen. Roxas' blonde eyebrows were knitted together in a worried wince, and his lips were in a slight pucker. He was messing with the sheets shyly.

"I agree!" Demyx muttered, falling into a Roxas –like state. Axel looked at the big blue puppy eyes staring at him with utter disgust. He rolled his eyes and sighed heavily.

Axel stared at them both for a long time, an 'Are you serious' look on his face. He growled a little, frowned, and waved his hand.

"Fine. Noobs." He scoffed, sliding out of bed. "Anyway. I'm going to go eat. You guys can go play dollies."

With that lame little comment, Axel stepped smoothly out of the room, not even bothering to close the door behind him. Typical Axel. Life isn't worth living if it's not going to be fun.

Demyx and Roxas exchanged confused glances and sighed in unison.

"Well…now what?" Roxas asked, glancing at Demyx.

"I don't know." Mumbled Roxas with slight annoyance. He and Demyx looked around the room, as if trying to find something fun to do. Then, his eyes landed on the window. A mischievous smile took over his face.

"Demyx, got some spare change?" Roxas asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Demyx blinked and raised his eyebrows.

"Well. Yes, I do." He replied.

Roxas glanced at the window and harrumphed loudly. Demyx understood.

"Let's pelt Marly with munny."

By the time lunch hour came, the castle was wound tightly as a spring. Marluxia had condemned himself to his garden, but was dragged out by Larxene. She had gone through the toil of dragging him up to the dining room. It was hard to ignore his moans and pleads—only because Marluxia was Larxene's best friend. Strangely, he would not tell her what was bothering him. When they approached the table, Larxene had to hold him down to plant (haha, get it) his butt on the seat. She was sitting on him to make sure he did not escape, though this was very much futile because Marluxia could bench press her effortlessly if he wanted to make the effort and risk sweating- he had just showered.

The table was full now; each seat was occupied. Expressions ranged from relaxed to paranoid to terrified. Yet someone was bearing a grin no one had seen before, and that person was Saix, sitting near the head of the table. Saix, who usually sat up straighter than a pole, was leaning back against the back of the chair, casual. His arms were folded against his chest, and his smirk widened when he saw the look on Marluxia's face.

"Marly," Larxene whispered into Marluxia's ear, "is he high?"

"N-No…" Marluxia muttered with a small shake of his head.

Larxene shrugged. She caught a whiff of seafood in the air.

All in all, the only people who were talking right now were Axel and Demyx, making sound effects and laughing at really stupid jokes. At one point, the pulled their arms up to their chest and flapped their hands around, squeaking "T-rex attack!" and slapped each other like that. Roxas was sinking in the chair next to them, reddening and murmuring to himself, but no one heard what he said, because Demyx's giggles sounded like little bells: the happiness dulled Saix's smirk for a second. He was pleased when he switched his gaze to the terrified Luxord, who was white-faced, clasping his hands to hide the tremors that besieged him.

Xaldin glided out of the kitchen, carrying a platter of crab in one hand and a platter of salmon and an assortment of fish in the other. He planted them down on the table with a flourish, proud, and was about to turn and fetch the rest when he saw the table's glum faces. Xaldin frowned, and opened his mouth on the rare occasion of saying something, but shook his head and went off.

"You better eat that." He grumbled, throwing a glare over his shoulder.

And that was when Xemnas stalked in, with a bounce in his step and determinedly blasé expression on his calm face. Xemnas slipped into a seat, avoiding eye contact with everyone.

Meanwhile, Xaldin carted all the food in and took a seat himself. The oblivious ones started eating heartily.

Xemnas hadn't touched his food. He was looking down, but then his head snapped up. Xemnas' bright orangey eyes held more sadism than ever, and the smirk that made an irregular line across his face gave him a spooky appearance. He folded his hands over the table serenely, and cleared his throat primly.

"So," Xemnas said loudly, flippantly, "I do believe there is something I have to clear up with you, no? You want a mission? You want to be worked; you want to be out and about working for me?" At this point, Xemnas smiled tautly. "Oh, you will, and like never before. From this point on, you will be worked. I will show you what I can do, being your superior. And here's the thing: none of you can stop me!" Xemnas allowed himself a short, derisive laugh. Those who did not know what was going on, like Axel and Larxene, were slack jawed and completely shocked. Xigbar and Luxord both winced and Marluxia pursed his lips. "Saix is exempt from what I assign you to do. This is your last meal being free. Because, after you finish here, I have some fun missions for you. Time to clean the gutters. I also want the walls scrubbed, bleached, the floors polished, and the door hinges oiled. You wanted a mission, you get a mission. One more thing: do a bad job and remember that Saix is in control of the whip."

"That's right." Added Saix with a nod, smirking. "Better watch yourselves."

"But we have nothing to do with this!" interrupted Axel.

"Silence!" barked Xemnas. "Demerit for you! Saix, put him down."

Saix whipped out an iPhone and punched in Axel's name. He shot a look at Axel, and snickered.

Axel slumped in his seat and blinked quickly, perplexed. He looked at Demyx in disbelief. Axel was blatantly offended.

"Does everybody understand?" Xemnas said coldly. "I'll be taking questions."

"Xemnas, I have a question." Demyx stared at him firmly, and for the first time in his life, he looked extremely serious. "Have you had a V8?"

Axel and Roxas promptly starting laughing and pounding the table with their fists. Roxas spit his Sprite™ all over the place and nearly choked on air while Axel's face turned red and he lost the ability to breathe.

Saix and Xemnas exchanged confused glances. Saix was trying to figure out what to do with this sudden outburst, and Xemnas had no idea what a V8 was.

"Superior, shall I give him a demerit?" Saix whispered, leaning close to him.

Xemnas stared at Axel and Roxas, whose laughter was dying down, and pursed his lips.

"But of course, VII."

Saix slammed his hand down on the table, causing the plates and silverware to jump. Knees banged up against the bottom of the table, resulting in cussing and howls of pain.

"All three of you! Demerits!" he barked, putting the info into the PDA.

"What the hell?" Axel said loudly, losing his rosy color from his cheeks as he stared at Saix with burning eyes.

"Tsk, tsk…maybe another demerit?" Saix cooed.

Axel shut his mouth and glared down at his food with extreme hatred.

Roxas and Demyx sobered and looked up at Saix shyly. They were scared into infinite submission with this…this faggotry—uhh, I mean, new set of rules. Where did it all come from, anyway? They hadn't done anything. Maybe Xemnas had finally lost it. Finally. There was so much the man could handle. Twelve dysfunctional underlings could grind down even the most unwavering patience and tolerance. Roxas and Demyx were sure this was the case.

"Your tasks start tomorrow. I expect you all here, in this dining room, at six in the morning. Not one minute late." Xemnas said it like a threat. "I will assign the tasks and you are going to work until I deem the task finished. Only perfect will be acceptable. For now, enjoy this final meal of freedom."

Silence rang in the room. Nobody said a word, nobody even moved. Vexen, who maintained a stoic demeanor throughout, was calmly sitting in his chair. Zexion looked downright irritated and Xigbar was biting his nails. Luxord looked like a patient in a hospice and Marluxia looked ill. Roxas and Demyx, scared out of their wits, scooted their chairs closer to Axel, who glumly stabbed his food with a fork. No one wanted to eat anymore.

"Hey, Xemnas," Xigbar broke the silence. All heads snapped to him, wide eyed and anticipant of Xemnas' reply. Xemnas, at the end of the table, clasped his hands and watched Xigbar keenly with glinting orange eyes.

"Yes?" he prompted warily.

"You're messing around, right? Surely you're not going to abuse us." Xigbar said shortly. There was a collective silence. Xigbar asked the question casually, like addressing a day to day matter. He showed no fear, but Luxord saw him toying with the cuffs of his uniform, the way he does when he's nervous or thinking hard. Xigbar was smiling slightly, probably to reassure himself.

"Of course I'm not messing around," Xemnas said, deeply offended. He ended the conversation right there by taking a sip of red wine. The color of the wine unnerved the Organization—it was a deep red, like blood. From the farthest end of the table, Larxene shyly raised her hand, peering up at Xemnas.

Xemnas nodded, indicating for her to continue.

"I was wondering if I could leave the table—"

"Absolutely not." Saix said instantly.

Larxene suddenly changed. Her face went red, the muscles in her jaw twitched.

"Listen," she slammed her hands down on the table and stood up jerkily. Larxene pointed a finger at Saix and Xemnas critically. "I'm on my period. Do you really want me to pull my blood soaked tampon out right here and now?" she snarled. "I can shove it down your throat to taste my pain! You want that?" Larxene suddenly looked near tears. Marluxia patted her back perfunctorily.

Saix, perturbed beyond reason, nodded quite stiffly and stared down at the floor. Xemnas looked a little unnerved, watching her as she hobbled out of the room. He frowned, and pushed his plate away, as did Zexion.

"What's a period?" Demyx asked loudly.

"Demerit," Saix said under his breath. He frowned, debating on whether or whether not to make it two simply because it was an offensive question.

"It's a girl thing," Axel said shortly, wheedling a fish bone between his teeth. "Hey, Xemnas."

"Speaking out of turn!" Saix said sharply, pointing at Axel critically. Xemnas cast him a sideways glance and raised a hand to silence him. Saix seemed to be having quite a bit of fun with the punishments.

"Yes?"

"Since we're free, can we still mess around?" Axel asked sincerely.

"N—" Saix began, halting his sentence at hearing Xemnas draw breath to speak.

"Only until tomorrow morning, six o'clock sharp," Xemnas cut in, eyes narrowing. He rose from the table, and Saix followed suit, surveying them all with utmost contempt. With that, they marched out of the dining room, leaving behind a terrified silence.

Wow, I wrote this when I was still in middle school...how time flies.

I'll probably update again. Before the two and half year mark.