The Organization members were exceptionally skilled fighters, and some more than the others possessed incredible prowess when it came to combat. But in order to maintain their form and skill, they spent at least one day a week in the Hall of Empty Melodies practicing their moves. Usually they'd undergo rounds against the lesser Nobodies and Pureblood Heartless, but the best form of practice was a round against another one of their fellow members. And that day, it was Xigbar and Marluxia who were to face off against each other.

"Now this should be interesting," cackled Xigbar as he took his place to the side of the area. "Ain't that right Mullethead?"

Demyx, who wasn't too far away, groaned in annoyance. "For the millionth time, Xiggy, please stop calling me that. I hate it."

But Xigbar ignored him.

Marluxia, clad only in a plain white collared shirt with the top few buttons freed, stood on the other side of the area, stretching to warm off.

"Now remember, Marluxia," said Larxene, who stood behind him with her hands clasped together, "Should for any reason you not come out on top at the end of this round, you know I will always still adore you."

Marluxia's lips spread into a devilish smirk as he turned around and gazed at the blonde. "Oh please, Larxene," Marluxia said coolly, "As if Xigbar could ever best me in battle."

"He did the last time," Larxene pointed out.

Marluxia's smirk disappeared. "I was not in top form that day, it was an unfair match from the very beginning."

Besides Larxene and Demyx, also gathered in the Hall of Empty Melodies to watch Xigbar and Marluxia's match were Xaldin, Vexen, Zexion, Axel, Luxord, and Roxas. Lexaeus, who was officiating the match, was present as well.

"Get ready!" the Silent Hero barked to Xigbar and Marluxia.

Roxas, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor with Axel standing next to him, looked up at the redhead and asked. "Do you think Xigbar is going to beat Marluxia again?"

Axel shrugged. "Don't know. We'll find out by the time they're finished! Although, I'd wager my Munny on Xigbar, he never disappoints."

Zexion, who stood close by, let out a quiet chuckle. "You would be surprised, Axel. Xigbar back in his human days had some misses every once in a while."

Overhearing the Cloaked Schemer's comment, Xigbar shot a wicked glare in Zexion's direction. "Oi! I heard that!" he barked, pointing one of his arrowguns at the younger Nobody, "Watch that mouth of yours Mister Zexion, you're going to tarnish my reputation!"

Marluxia, who reached for one of the buttons on his shirt and popped it out, chuckled darkly. "You may have to reconsider that statement of yours, Xigbar, for it may be I who will be teaching you what fighting like an expert looks like today."

Xigbar cackled. "Oh yeah?" he retorted.

Marluxia grinned smugly. "Indeed." And having freed all the buttons on the front of his shirt from their holes, without missing a beat, Marluxia swiftly peeled the garment off of his back, revealing a network of fine muscles on his chest and abdomen. The Graceful Assassin's gesture elicited a coy, salacious giggle out of Larxene as she watched her lover discard his shirt to a far side of the Hall of Empty Melodies. The gesture garnered different reactions from some of the other Organization members: Luxord responded by whistling smoothly, Demyx snickered, Axel crossed his arms together and grinned in amusement, and Vexen, noticing Roxas staring wide-eyed at Marluxia, proceeded to slap a hand over the teenager's eyes, blocking his vision.

"Hey!" Roxas exclaimed.

"I'm going to pretend that neither of us saw that," Vexen uttered under his breath, still covering Roxas' eyes.

"Get your hand off, Vexen!" Roxas mumbled in annoyance.

The scientist shot a sharp look at the teenager. "Don't be ridiculous, child. I'm only trying to do you a favor – this is for your own good!" he said brusquely.

Lexaeus, who had remained stony-faced over Marluxia's actions, took out a pocket watch from his coat and held it in his large hand. "Xigbar, Marluxia, get in your starting positions!" he said.

The now shirtless Marluxia walked over to one end of the Hall of Empty Melodies and summoned his scythe, the Graceful Dahlia. "Well, Xigbar, we shall soon see which one of us teaches the other how to fight like an expert, and which one of us teaches the other how to lose miserably like a pathetic amateur."

Xigbar slinked over to one end of the Hall of Empty Melodies with a smug smirk resting on his lips. "I'll teach you how to lose like an amateur, Pretty Boy," the Freeshooter said while pointing one of his weapons at the Graceful Assassin, "And I'm going to do it with my shirt on!"

Demyx, having heard this, had to cover his mouth as a quick fit of laughter left his lips. "Well, that escalated quickly," he quipped.

Looking at his pocket watch, Lexaeus began to count down to signal the start of the round. "Three…Two…One!"

But before either Xigbar or Marluxia could get the chance to charge at one another, in the very center of the Hall of Empty Melodies, a Corridor of Darkness materialized in thorns and black shadows. From out of it emerged Saïx with a piece of paper slipped between his fingers.

"May I have your attention please!" the second in command said at the top of his voice. Everyone looked in Saïx's direction.

"What calls, Saïx?" Zexion asked.

"I have an announcement to make," said Saïx, "so please listen well. Lord Xemnas sent me a memo this morning, and he has requested that I inform all of you that the Organization has been invited to attend a gala in Daybreak Town."

The Organization members looked at one another in curiosity.

"What's a gala?" asked Roxas.

Larxene giggled at the teenager. "Silly boy. A gala is a party where you get to dress all fancily!" Then she cast Roxas a skeptic glance. "Although I doubt you'd like it … it's something only grownups would enjoy."

Roxas' eyes narrowed in annoyance. "I'm not a kid!" he retorted.

"Relax, Roxas," said Axel as he laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Larxene knows. She's just teasing you."

The Savage Nymph giggled as a devious smile spread on her lips.

"A gala, you say?" Vexen uttered. "Well, that's a first, I must say. We've never been invited to anything of the likes of it before."

"The gala's host is well acquainted with Lord Xemnas," Saïx replied.

"And who would that be?" Luxord inquired.

"Some fellow by the name of Malachi, according to Lord Xemnas."

"When is it?" asked Axel.

"In five days' time," said Saïx, "beginning at precisely seven in the evening." And with that, he departed in a Corridor of Darkness.

"Oh this is so exciting!" Larxene chirped after Saïx had gone away, and wound her fingers around one of Marluxia's muscular, skin-bare arms. "A gala! Think of it, Marluxia! You and I, attending it together!"

"Well … the idea of it certainly sounds very attractive," Marluxia mused. "I suppose I would not mind attending it."

Vexen's eyes lit up in eagerness. "This could be an opportune moment for me to discuss my own personal research projects with the other invitees! Wouldn't you agree, Zexion?"

"Why, yes, Vexen," Zexion answered. "Although, while I must admit I'd much rather remain at The World That Never Was reading my books, this is certainly something that will be nice to participate in for a change."

Demyx's eyes lit up even brighter than Vexen's. "I hope their repertoire for the event will be good! A party without great music would be such a letdown."

Xigbar crossed his arms and sighed harshly. "We'll have to wear our formal uniforms to it, won't we? Dusks, I hate those monkey suits. They're too stuffy."

"Nay, mate," Luxord countered. "I'd be glad to trade these threads for formal attire for one night."

"We'll all be going, it looks like?" Xaldin inquired.

Upon Xaldin's words, Axel laughed, "Ha! Not this one!" he said with a smug grin, pointing to himself.

Roxas looked at his friend in shock. "You're not going?"

"Nope."

Larxene, who herself was stunned by the redhead's remarks, walked over to him and lay her hands on his shoulder with a coy smile that earned Axel an envious, murderous glare from Marluxia. "Oh don't be ridiculous Axel, of course you'll be coming to the party! You'd be a fool to miss it. And besides," with two wandering fingers, Larxene pushed Axel's pointy chin towards hers, "I'm sure Marluxia wouldn't mind if we had a dance together tonight." She then turned and gave Marluxia an acknowledging look. "Isn't that right Marly?"

Marluxia maintained his disapproving icy glare towards Axel. "Larxene," he said in a calm voice that dripped with icy, dark displeasure, "you will do no such thing with Axel. I forbid it."

The Savage Nymph threw her head back and let out a girlish giggle. "Now, now, Marluxia," she chided playfully, "it's just one dance. You can have me for the rest of the evening."

Not paying any attention to the banter between Marluxia and Larxene, Roxas said to his friend, "Well Axel, if you're not going to go to this gala, then I'd much rather stay behind with you."

Chuckling in amusement, Axel congenially slapped Roxas on the back, commending the teenager's decision. "I'm proud of you, bro. Good choice, if you don't mind my saying it!"

Rolling her teal eyes, Larxene sighed harshly. "You two are making what is probably one of the worst decisions ever," she said, before waving her had flippantly at them. "Well, it's your loss! We may never be invited to another gala ever again!"

…

Downstairs in the castle basement, there grew a lovely garden within a greenhouse maintained by the Organization. A magnificent, colorful array of flora grew in the garden: roses, geraniums, larkspur, forget-me-nots, peonies, jonquils, camellias, honeysuckle, chrysanthemums, among others. The garden also supported a selection of fruits, vegetables, and spices that included tomatoes, peas, capsicum, carrots, apples, sage, rosemary, basil, and thyme. While it almost seemed impossible to cultivate a garden in The World That Never Was without sunlight, with a special kind of magic that the Organization knew, the garden was among one of the most beautiful that Aqua had ever seen, and she was with Xion helping her tend to the garden when Xion told her about the Organization's invitation.

"A gala?"

Xion nodded.

A petite, sentimental smile appeared on Aqua's lips. "That sounds lovely," she mused. And then she added, "In the Land of Departure, my Master or the nobles of the world would hold parties every once in a while in our castle. They were the most glamourous occasions I've ever seen."

"Did you attend any of them, Aqua?" Xion asked in curiosity as she fed a patch of peonies in the garden water from a jug.

"Oh yes, plenty!" Aqua answered.

"Did you enjoy them?"

"Sometimes, but not all the time. Most of the time, I had to attend them as a formality since my master is the caretaker of the land and I was his student. Those were the parties that I thought were boring. But when they weren't, I had a marvelous time."

A sad smile then crept up from the corners of Xion's lips. "I've never been to such an occasion before. Were the parties as dreamy and gorgeous as I hear they are?"

Aqua nodded as she watered some camellias. "Yes, they were delightful!" Her eyes then sparkled with nostalgia, and she sighed. "Oh I can still see the lights, the beautiful gowns, the musicians and their instruments …"

As she finished pouring the last of her water on some roses, Xion asked the bluenette, "If you could, would you attend the gala that the Organization is going to?"

Aqua's eyes fell upon some violets as she considered Xion's question. She bent down and aimlessly began to caress the petals of the violet with her fingers. "I would be eager to," she eventually answered, "If I weren't the Organization's hostage."

…

"Not going?" Naminé exclaimed.

Roxas nodded. "He seemed serious about it."

For Axel to miss out on an opportunity of a lifetime struck Naminé with astonishment. This wasn't like him; Axel usually enjoyed opportunities to do something new or different. A gala was no exeception.

"But why?" Naminé asked Roxas. "How come he doesn't want to go?"

Roxas shrugged. "He never said," the teenager replied. "But I know that if Axel won't go, I'd rather not go either. I don't even know what to do at a gala."

Naminé sighed. "I'd have loved to go," she said as a countenance of longing formed in her face. "It sounds like a dream. Oh, but Lord Xemnas would never allow me to do such a thing."

"That sounds about right," Roxas pointed out while crossing his arms.

Wiping her hands on her apron, Naminé's face fell. "If only Lord Xemnas weren't so cruel. Maybe, just maybe, he'd let me go to it …"

Roxas took Namine's hand into his own in encouragement. "Well, you might not be able to go, but we can have a good time back here in the castle, you, me, Axel, Xion, and Aqua!"

Namine's face then slowly brightened as she considered Roxas' suggestion. "Axel did say I should have some time off from my duties …" A grateful smile grew from the corners of her lips. "It's a fine idea; thank you, Roxas." Then: "But will Lord Xemnas allow it?"

"Why shouldn't he? He and the others will be gone for a whole evening. It would be completely reasonable for you and Xion to have the night off."

"Ok! What would we do though?"

Roxas' face furrowed, scrunching up in thought. "I dunno. But maybe Axel knows! He's better at coming up with good ideas than me!"

"Well," said Naminé with a humored grin, "I hope it's not going to be spending the night doing nothing but eat sea salt ice cream."

She and Roxas laughed together.

A/N: I have to indulge myself and do a fancy Victorian Era style party scene for this story.

Did you also catch the Taylor Swift "Love Story" and Mulan references I inserted in the chapter? If you did – bravo! You have sharp eyes! (:

I am so excited for the next few chapters – I hope you guys are too! Stay tuned!

-gt²