Chapter Two-

The New Assignment

Recap-

"Well, men, what are we going to do?"

-End Recap-

"What we do is report this to Xemnas, now!" Axel shouted

"But before that," Xigbar started, "I have something for him."

Before Number VIII can protest, Number II had already walked out the door. The redhead huffed angrily before rushing out after the Freeshooter, yelling, "Xigbar! Get back here!" Xaldin and Marluxia just watched as the voices of their comrades faded away. In short, it was a moment of pure awkwardness.

After the pause, the lord of Castle Oblivion continued to struggle out of Xaldin's grip. But the Whirlwind Lancer just wouldn't let go! The brunette/pink-haired toddler stopped his attempts and started to think. Oh, who was he kidding, he may still remember what happened to him, but his mind just won't think right! Okay, Plan B.

The scythe-wielder took a deep breathe, turned so that his head faced the side with Xaldin's ear on it and screamed his little kiddy heart out. Number III quickly dropped him and Marluxia ran away from him like there was no tomorrow. He dashed through the halls of the Castle That Never Was with the commander of the Dragoon Nobodies chasing after him. But he still managed to keep a lot of distance between them.

Thank you, small stature and lightness!

The new chibified member spotted something in the distance. It was Number IV himself.

"Demyx!"

"Eh?" he turned around and saw the toddler run up to him, "…Marluxia?"

"No time; hide me!" without warning, the boy just slipped inside Demyx's organization cloak and clung onto his leg.

"What are you-?"

"Ssh! I'm not here!" he hissed. The sitar player had no idea what the situation was but he'll play along. And speak of the devil, Xaldin ran up to him.

"Demyx, have you seen Marluxia?" he thought for a moment before rephrasing, "Uh, I mean a small boy that looks like Marluxia."

"No…Why?" he asked, pulling off a straight face

"Nothing." And with that, off he went.

"…Is he gone…?"

"Yeah, he's gone."

"Oh, thank goodness!" Marluxia detached himself from Demyx's leg. He had to cling on to it so that his body won't bulge out from the cloak that would've been a dead giveaway.

"Okay, what the hell happened to you?"

"I'll explain on the way, but we have to go to Xemnas's office."

So the two started their walk. Marluxia pondered before he told the Melodious Nocturne the whole story. The blonde musician seemed to take it all in, stifling a laugh once or twice. Hey, he may be the man's superior, but he isn't called the Graceful Assassin for nothing.

"So Vexen spiked your coffee and basically used you as a guinea pig… And then Axel and Xigbar found you and they put you in pink scented diapers…Xaldin found you there, too and you ran away from him because he and Xigbar are crazy?"

"Not as crazy as Saïx, but pretty close."

Soon the two were in front of the door to Xemnas's office. Demyx took a deep breath before knocking. He heard a low, "Come in" and slowly opened the door.

"Um, Superior?" At the moment, the Superior's back was facing towards them. He was at his desk, like he always was, writing. Always writing, thought the Melodious Nocturne.

"What is it Number IX?" he asked, not turning around from his work

"We seem to have…a problem, sir…"

That got his attention. Xemnas turned around and asked, "A problem? And what would that be?"

Demyx simply stepped aside, which earned him a raised eyebrow from the leader of the Organization. But that reaction changed as soon as Marluxia stepped in the room and gave a curt bow, in all his new toddler glory. It took the silver-haired man a second to comprehend the fact that it was Marluxia standing in front of him.

"…Number XI?"

"Yes, Superior."

"…May I ask what happened?"

"To put it bluntly, Vexen spiked my coffee with one of his potions to see how I would react to its contents. The answer he got…Well, I think it's pretty self-explanatory."

At that moment, the Flurry of Dancing Flames came inside the room, panting.

"There you are! Man, I ran all around the Castle That Never Was and Castle Oblivion just looking for you!" he took a deep breath, "Guess that Superior already knows?"

"Duh." Demyx said to the pyro.

"Shut up." He retorted, "Oh and by the way, I had Xaldin pin Xigbar to a wall using his spears. Don't worry about the dress."

"…Dress?"

"Like I said…Xigbar's crazy…"

Xemnas sighed, "Well, I guess I have no other choice. Number VIII, Number IX, you are to be Number XI's caretakers until this potion wears off or until Vexen makes an antidote…Whichever comes first."

"What?" the redhead and the blondie shouted

"You have got to be kidding me…" the brunette muttered, slapping his forehead

"Number XI, I doubt you would want to be put under the care of any other member."

The scythe-wielder thought this over. Xigbar and Xaldin are loonies, so they're out of the question. Vexen was the one who put him in the situation in the first place, and he'll probably just use him as a test subject for more experiments…Or worst…Feed him something that could make this permanent! No way is that happening! Okay, Lexaeus…well, he'll probably just slack off and spend his time at the gym. Besides, the man had an eerie feeling about him that sends shivers down his spine. Zexion would just be reading or solving another puzzle, and Saïx was DEFINITELY not an option!

Oh, he could just imagine it now! He goes berserk and starts going around destroying stuff. One of them might just be him. Luxord is mostly out at Port Royal, and even if he wasn't, he'll just find a way to get alcohol down his throat. Larxene's gone (They never did know how, she just did) and Roxas doesn't seem like the type who would know how to handle a child…

So Xemnas was right…As much as it pains him to say, those two were the only non-crazy members that would actually be willing to take care of him.

Without notice, he gave a big yawn and blurted out in a slurred and tired voice, "I'm sleepy…"

The two had to use all of their strength just to contain 'awwww's. But it seemed like Axel was the only one who then realized that this was Marluxia. The scythe-wielding, flower-using, pink-haired, girly-man lord of Castle Oblivion Marluxia. Demyx just didn't care.

"Maybe you should take a nap?" the sitar player suggested. But by the time he said that, the mini-member was already way ahead of him. He was lying down on the floor, snoozing away like he didn't have a care in the world. The chakram user scooped him up into his arms and jerked his head in the direction of the door, gesturing Demyx to follow.

The Graceful Assassin's new caretakers went to Castle Oblivion and up to the top floor, where Marluxia's room was located. Opening the door, the aroma of many different flowers made their way into their noses.

The two silently went in and Axel gently put the toddler down on his bed. Axel put Marluxia's blanket over him, covering everything except his head. They then saw that the boy's expression changed to one that looked relaxed and at eased. Number VIII and Number IX quickly went out the room.

Demyx sighed as he clicked the door shut, "Okay…That was simple…"

"So now what?"

"Well, now that we are taking care of a child, we should assume the roles of parents."

"…Pardon?" to be frank, the green-eyed Nobody never heard Demyx use a sentence like that. Also, what he had meant caught him by surprise.

"Aw, you know what I'm taking about." He said, "Anyway, it's pretty obvious that you're the mother."

"What? Why am I the mother?"

"Well, because, one: you looked everywhere for little Marly. You were worried. Mothers worry the most. And, two: you have a womanly figure."

"Excuse me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean look! Your waist is almost non-existent and your hips are just out there. You look like a frickin hourglass. You can practically have a baby yourself."

Axel glared at him, but Demyx didn't seem to notice. He had begun thinking. Yes, everyone, contradictory to common belief Demyx is smart. He is not a complete retard. Anyway, he began to think.

"He's about five, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Okay…I think I got it…"

"Got what?"

"Well, y'see, I just remembered that my Other had a younger sibling that was born when he was about ten. Kinda acted like Marluxia, too, so I think our jobs would be easier if I can remember how he took care of her."

"I see…But I still don't get why I have to be the mother."

"I already explained it to you, Axel."

"Yeah, but you act more of a mother than I do. Also, you're playing uke."

Demyx turned red and asked, "Where the hell did that come from?"

"You are with Zexion, aren't you?"

"No!" he yelled

"Ah, so you're still crushing on him."

"I am not!"

"Alright, alright…" he quickly muttered to himself, "Denial."

"AXEL!"