...This story is in two more C2s... I'm getting sort of scared now... meep...

"Special Ed" is (c) to Steven Lynch
The Litte Mermaid and Finding Nemo are (c) to Disney


...To retreat into memories is a well known, as well as wanted...

...But to tell someone which memory you wish to live in... is not something easily done...

...Although... memories of a past life... may not be so hard to share with one whom you trust...

xXxXxXxXx

-two weeks later-

Feminine laughter rung through the church. "N-No way...!"

"I swear, that's how it goes!"

Demyx and Aeris had been meeting much more often in secrecy. The rest of the Commitee had raised an eyebrow at "Aerith's" constant outings, but in respecting her privacy, didn't say anything. And Demyx found that Xigbar didn't really care what his subordinate did, as he came back with food.

It was that food that was supposed to be Xigbar's that the two water elementals were eating and having an enjoyable conversation over, sitting in one of the old pews. Demyx was just teling his friend about an odd song he heard once, and Aeris was trying not to do a spit-take.

"And then it goes right back into the chorus!" Demyx continued. "Special Ed, his momma dropped him, dropped him on his head, and now he thinks he's a slice of bread, 'cause he's little bit special!"

Aeris couldn't hold it in any longer and spat out what she had just eaten to the side, holding her stomach from the pain. "O-Oh... That's rich!"

"Heh heh... sorry 'bout that..." Demyx said handing her a napkin. Aeris gladly took it and wiped her mouth, still giggling.

"Oh, thanks.. where do you find this stuff?"

"Internet, my dear Aeris, the Internet." Demyx replied. "OK, I told you something funny I knew. Your turn."

"Ah... sorry. I'm afriad I don't know of anything particulary funny."

"C'monnn! There has to be something!"

"Well... I wasn't going to tell anyone this but..." Aeris leaned him and whispered something in Demyx's ear, causing such an outburst of laughter that he fell off his seat and started rowling on the floor.

"Cloud?! Cross-dressing?!" he cried. "That is awesome!"

Aeris started laughing again as well. "Yes..! Of course, that's something I would have liked to have forgotten as well!"

"The fact that he cross-dressed?"

"No- the fact that he didn't look half bad."

And yet another howl of laught came from our dear Nocturne. This time, however, he seated himself on the floor right next to Aeris, leaning back against the wooden pew. Both of them let out loose, contented sighs.

It was quiet for a moment while both of them just relaxed in the other's prescence. Demyx had never expierenced something like this before. As said before, he had accepted the "fact" that Nobodies do not have hearts, but what of Aeris? Here she was, a being composed of water and also not meant to exist, and yet did she not have a heart?

...Good question.

Demyx's eyes widened as he realized his own stupidity. How could the subject of hearts have not come up durning the time when Aeris explained her situation, or at all during the past two weeks?

"...Aeris?"

"Hm?"

"Do you... do you have a heart?"

Aeris paused for a moment, then smiled. "Well, there's the question of the century." she joked. "But now that you bring it up, I'm not all that sure if I do. I mean... if I have my heart, great. Yipee for me. But if I don't..."

"Its in Kingdom Hearts." Demyx finished.

Aeris sighed. "That's probably true, but I don't like to think that way."

Demyx eyed her. "What do you like to think then?"

"I like to think that my heart stayed behind on Gaia in the Life Stream, watching over my mother and all the friends I left behind. I think that way... they've never truly forgotten me."

Demyx examined Aeris' face. Her lips curved into a smile that overwhelmed in knowlegde, and her eyes showed a longing love that needed to be given. It reminded him so much of her eyes...

"...Never forgotten..." he mumbled. "I wonder if she forgot him..."

Aeris blinked. "If who remembers who?"

Demyx looked her in the eyes, a serious yet saddened tone to his voice. "If Evadne remembers Edym."

XxXxXxXxX

"C'mon, Edy, its boring here, let's go. Maybe Nemo's back from school early."

"..."

"Edym?"

"..."

"EDYM!"

"Wha?! Oh, sorry sis!"

Edym was a young merman, his tail the same shade of blue-green as his eyes, and his blonde braided hair flowing gently in tune to the waves. Next to him was a slightly younger mermaid. Her curly blonde hair was tied in the back with a sea star clip, and her tail was the color of the sky at midnight, also matching her eyes.

"Edym, you have to learn to pay attention!" scolded the girl. "One of these days a current's gonna to snatch you up and send you into the next ocean!"

"Right Evadne, right..." Edym replied causually. He may have been 3 years older, but man was his sister pushy.

The two had been exploring the grottos outside of Atlantica, bored out of their minds. They couldn't go into the castle and visit Ariel- Sebastion had been taking her vocal training to an all time high lately and she was not allowed to leave or have any visitors that would distract her studies. The tiny clownfish Nemo was at school, his father Marlin was more boring than Sebastion himself, and Dory was... well, Dory. There was Nemo's friends, the Tank Gang, from that "dentist" place in Austrailia, but most of them had never been in the ocean, and the siblings were in no mood to play teacher.

"...Maybe we stop by the EAC and visit Crush and Squirt...?" Edym asked hopefully as they began to swim back.

"No. We are not going back there. That place is evil." his sister replied harshly. Ever since that incident where she was flung out of the current and into the jellyfish forest, Evadne had issues with the EAC.

"Oh, come on, Eva, it would at least give us something to do..." the merman whined. But his sister would not budge. "...Fine. Have it your way."

"...Hey, what about that thing?"

"What thing?"

"Don't give me that, Edy." Evadne smirked. "That thing Ariel gave you from her grotto."

Edym suddenly jerked to a stop, panic covering his face. "How'd you...?!"

"Dory remembers the oddest things at the oddest times, dear brother..." Evadne was clearly enjoying herself. "Now would you care to show me?"

By the lost city of Atlantis, his sister was good! Edym would have to comply. "...Alright. But don't tell ANYONE." His sister gave a salute, and Edym swam back to the grottos.

They came to one in the back, the one with a small opening but was quite large once inside. It was also fairly dark, which helped Edym hide his special something. His hands wandered around for a bit, unti he finally grabbed what he was searching for; a long piece of wood with a hollow, almost gourd shaped bottom. Strings were tied from top to bottom, and made sounds when Evadne plucked them. "What is it Edy?"

Edym grew a wide smile. "Welllll... Scuttle said it was something called a "roffelcopter"... but you know... its Scuttle."

"Of course."

"So, I let Gill see it, right, 'cause, let's face it, Gill knows everything." Edym continued. "He said is was a musical instrument called a 'sitar'. He even said he'd teach me how to play it!"

Edym's excitement was well-known to be contagious. "Did he?" his siter asked, shaking with anticipation.

"Yup! Here's, listen..."

All time seemed to stand still as Edym played. It was a soothing melody that seemed to stop all water movement. The coral sang out to the tune, one brushing against the other making musice along side the gentle plucking of the strings. The grotto appeared to light up in joy, then drop down into darkness in sadness, and so on and so forth. It didn't take long for Evadne to regocnize the song.

"The lullaby..." she gasped.

"...Yeah." Edym said. "The one Mom used to sing to us."

Edym and Evadne's family history was well known. Their father Emile was a favored guard in King Triton's army, and their mother Eadoin was one of the most beautiful mermaids in the royal choir. Emile died in protecting Altantica from the atack of the evil sea witch Ursula, leaving Eadoin, a young Edym and a baby Evadne behind. Things went well for the family, the wounds of the battle had healed and all would hopefully be normal... that was, until the Red Sea. The Red Sea was a disease that spread through the oceans so fast nothing could be done. Before anyone could react, Eadoin, too, was gone, but her children kept the memory of her song alive and well.

After a moment of silence, Edym spoke again. "That's... why I wanted to learn... I want to remember Mom and Dad and everything they did so that we'd be here... I dont want their memory to die out in vain..."

Evadne stared at her brother. Sure, he was a fun loving goof-off, rarely did his homework in school, and never brushed his teeth unless you told him he wasn't going to eat dinner if he didn't, but Edym had his serious moments. All of them were about his family. He loved his family more than anything in the world, and Evadne knew this to be true. When Ariel first showed them her collection of human items, Edym was worried Evadne would catch on to the red-head's actions and get herself hurt. She saw it at first as being over-protective, but knowing what their already pactched family had been through, Evadne saw her brother had a right to be.

She swam over to his side, sitting down next to him when he suddenly went silent. "...Edym?"

Edym circled his arms around his sister in a tight hug, resting his head on hers. "Evadne... please don't ever do anything dangerous. I don't want to lose you."

There was a hidden tinge of saddness to his voice, so the younger hugged him as well. "Only if you do the same."

Evadne felt a small drop of water atop her head. "Of course. Big brother loves you."

XxXxXxXxX

Demyx was a Nobody.

A very sad looking Nobody.

Aeris noticed.

Without a second thought, Aeris had rested the Nobody's head in her lap, as silent, crystal tears flowed from his eyes, staining her dress. Aeris stroked his cropped hair gently as though her were a abandoned kitten that she and found and was beggining to raise.

"...I... I miss her..." Demyx said. "I miss my sister... I miss my home... I miss my friends... its not fair..."

"Shh..." Aeris cooed, still stroking his locks. "Its OK.."

But it wasn't. The memories came back to him, flodding his mind with images of warmth and love and all the other things Demyx might never have again. "I... want my heart back... I want it back so I can go back home... I want my sister to known I'm OK... and we can be a family again..."

Aeris' stroking hand slowly came to a stop, causing Demyx to perk his head up. He was met with a gaze that seemed to be in the verge of tears.

"Demyx... I.. I want to go home too..." she whispered. "I miss my mother terribly, both of them... and not all of my friends are here... I could only bring so many..."

The Nocturne slowly rose and sat next to the Ancient, and most likely on Edym's impluse, embraced her. Aeris slowly returned the gesture, burying her face into the black leather of his coat. They stayed like that for a long time, both trying desperately to hear the others heart beats as well as their own, but to no avail.

Finally, Aeris spoke.

She moved her head out of his chest and looked him in the eyes, her hands tracing a small line in his cheek left by his tears. "Demyx... I want you to meet them."

"Meet who?"

"My friends. I want you to meet them. ...Tommorrow."

"What?!"


I know the whole "Demyx is a merman" thing is overdone, but it was the most developed idea I had for him! It was either that, or he would have been a band leader from Traverse Town, or a Demi-God from Olympus, both of which had no back story to them! (...Ha, Demi-God...) But seriously, that had to be one of the most, depressing, angsty, and romantic things I've ever written. These things happen once in a blue moon, so I hope you liked it.

As for Edym and his family... I have a thing for E names right now... but I feel so bad about his history... I just see numbers 7-12 of the Organization having tragic past lives... but what I did is still unexcusable... ohhhh, what have I done?