[Disclaimer: ...we obviously don't own Kingdom Hearts...if only we were that good... ;) ]

CHAPTER NINE

Drunken Deceit

Looking around, Saix pointed at Marluxia, signifying he'd be the one to sit at a separate table.

"What? No way, Saix should have to sit alone!" Marluxia contested.

"I have to…use the ladies room," Chelly said before leaning to Demyx. "Keep the waiter distracted!"

She did a double take around the restaurant before running toward the back.

"Where is she going?" Roxas asked.

"Hey, waiter guy!" Demyx said.

The waiter looked over at him.

"Uh…do you like music?"

The waiter raised an eyebrow in response before turning to the majority of the group for a decision.

Chelly ran back at that moment and pointed to a table in the back by the large window overlooking the back of the ship. "Um…sir, there's a table over there."

The waiter gave her a funny look before the large table that had, to him, magically appeared. "Oh…I guess…come this way," he said unsurely.

"Chelly and her stupid alchemy powers…all I can do is dress up men in drag and heal people…" Leximy grumbled under her breath.

"For you ma'am," Saix said, pulling out a chair when the group reached the table.

Simultaneously Marluxia pulled out a chair just as Vexen was about to sit on it. "Sit here, Leximy," he said as Vexen fell to the floor.

Axel pulled out a chair for Chelly and smirked at Vexen.

"Why thank you," Chelly said as she kindly took the chair.

Axel turned to grab the chair next to her, but was beaten by Zexion and his book. Instead, Axel sighed and took the seat on the other side of her.

Saix nonchalantly walked over and took the seat next to Leximy, while Vexen grumbled and brushed himself off as he grabbed an available chair.

Leximy picked up a menu and looked through the choices. "Let's see…what looks good here…?"

"How about the spicy tuna roll?" Axel suggested.

"No, the sea cucumber roll," Demyx countered.

"I think we should get an avocado roll, with sprouts," Marluxia said.

"Could you be any more of a woman?" Xigbar asked, to which Marluxia responded with a glare.

"Get the waiter to come over here," Leximy said, leaning to Saix.

Saix snapped his fingers. "Waiter what is this nonsense? Get back to work and tend to the lady?"

"Yes?" the waiter asked, slightly annoyed.

"Can we get some sake over here?" Leximy asked.

"Aren't you a little young to be drinking? Not that I'm objecting, luv pea," Xigbar said.

"It's not for me…it's for you guys. I think the evening needs a bit more excitement plus it's a time of celebration for getting rid of Larxene!"

In one of the member's rooms, Larxene smiled evilly as she looked around to see what damage she could do. "Leave me there will they…well, I'll show them…" she said with an evil cackle.

When there was a knock at the door, a nervous employee said, "Is…everything okay, ma'am?"

"Oh, everything is wonderful," she said; when he muttered something and left, she continued to cackle.

"Are any of you allowed to have it…?" Chelly asked. "Who is going to be the designated driver?"

Axel put a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, we didn't drive here."

"Chelly, it's okay, lighten up," Leximy said with a smile.

Marluxia turned to the waiter and cleared his throat. "I'll have a Sapporo bear please."

Xigbar and Luxord laughed. "What a man, drinking beer."

Marluxia whispered as they laughed, "Make that a light please."

The waiter nodded and walked away.

"Okay…but you're too young!" Chelly said, pointing at Roxas.

Roxas turned to Axel.

"I'm…sure Roxas can handle a drink…" Axel said.

Roxas nodded in agreement. Chelly glared at the two.

"This should be interesting…" Leximy said with a smile.

Thirty minutes later, the group was out of sorts.

Xemnas had his arm around Saix and was smiling. "I love you man! You're always there for me…and I just want to…I want to thank you!" he said with a hiccup.

"Yes…thank you Superior," Saix said.

Demyx sat in his chair, face flushed, giggling to himself.

"What the hell! What are you doing?" Roxas shouted at Axel.

"I'm…eating," Axel said in his slurred speech.

"Well stop it!" Roxas said.

Saix sighed and took another sip of sake.

"Why does alcohol have no effect on you?" Leximy asked Saix with a frown. "That's not fun…look at Marluxia! Him and Vexen are serenading that elderly couple…"

"Oh dear…someone should go take care of them before the old people call security…" Chelly said.

Roxas hit his forehead with his palm. "This is getting out of hand…we should get everyone to go back to their rooms before something happens…"

"Hey, hey, Chelly," Demyx said.

"Hmm?"

Before he could say anything, Demyx started to giggle again.

"Okay, Dem, I think it's time for bed…"

"Aw, but I was just starting to have a good time…" Zexion said as he flipped the page in his book.

"I challenge you to a d-d-d-d-DUEL!" Luxord shouted, pointing at Roxas.

"No way! Get away from me you drunkard!" Roxas said, slapping his hand away.

"Yes, I agree, Chelly, let's get these boys to bed before a bar fight breaks out. I'm worried about Xaldin, I think he's having a conversation with that koi fish…" Leximy said.

"Thank you for being sane Zexion…Xaldin?" Chelly said, looking over at Xaldin.

Xaldin sat by the small pond with the fish. "Yeah, I don't understand why Saix thinks I look like a blow fish…I'm obviously more like you guys…"

The koi fish, oblivious to the fact Xaldin was standing over their home, just continued swimming.

"Okay, boys, let's go," Chelly said, standing up.

Demyx whimpered a little. "Whyy?"

"Let's go," Leximy said, taking Marluxia's hand. "Sorry to bother you," she added to the elderly couple. "Marluxia, take Vexen's hand, we don't want to lose him."

Saix watched as she dragged them out the door.

"Dude," Axel said in his slurred speech. "Jus' go fur it."

"What did he say?" Chelly asked.

"'Just go for it'," Roxas clarified.

"What should Saix go for…?"

"I think I'd better go save her," Saix said.

Axel gave him a wobbly thumbs up. "'Atta boy!"

Chelly took Axel's hand. "Time for bed," she said before grabbing Demyx's hand and turning to Zexion and Roxas. "Round up the rest."

Zexion and Roxas nodded before setting off on what could have been their most dangerous mission so far.

After tucking Marluxia and Vexen into bed, Leximy turned to leave when Marluxia tugged at her sleeve. "Give me a kiss goodnight," he said with a smile.

"Okay, but only because you won't remember this in the morning," she said, giving him a kiss on the forehead.

Saix stood awkwardly in the doorway. "Let's go, they need to rest…"

"Okay," Leximy whispered, following Saix back to their room.

'Maybe I should have pretended to be wasted…' Saix thought to himself sadly at the missed opportunity.

Dragging Demyx into his room and putting him on his bed, Chelly sighed as she struggled to pull up his blankets.

"I wanna story Cheeshhhelly!" Demyx whined.

"You'll get one when you decide to say my name correctly."

He paused. "Shelll… ell…. Chelly…" he cut off with a giggle.

"Don't you know what her name ish?" Axel asked from the door way.

"Yeah, it's Chhhelly!"

Axel shook his head and grabbed Chelly's hand. "Let's get out of here," he said with a wink, his body moving back and forth unstably.

Roxas walked in at that moment.

"Did you get everyone?" Chelly asked him.

Roxas nodded. "Everyone's back where they should be," he confirmed.

"Okay, thank you so much Roxas…I've got to go put this one to bed," she said, pointing at Axel.

"She's taking me back to her room," Axel said with a wink.

"We have the same room, Axel…"

"Whatever you say, sweetheart."

Chelly sighed and dragged him out of the room.

Leximy sat down on her bed and yawned. Saix sat on his bed and looked at her, wondering what to say.

"That sure was fun…time for bed, though," Leximy said before noticing Saix was staring at her. "Hey, what are you looking at?"

"…Can I have a kiss goodnight, too?"

Leximy jumped up and pointed accusingly at him. "I knew it! I knew the alcohol affected you! Take that Mr. I can hold twenty shots in my system without getting wasted!"

"I'll never tire of your overly long nicknames."

Leximy smiled, then frowned. "Wait, were you serious?"

"…nah, of course not…" Saix held back a blush.

Leximy laughed. "Goodnight, Saix."

"Goodnight," he said, half smiling as he laid down.

Chelly threw Axel on his bed and glared at him.

Axel took a moment to adjust himself, then looked at her. "You're kinda tough for a small girl," he said before smiling. "I like that."

"Sure, sure, Axel…go to sleep, okay?"

"But the night is young…we can get a few friends together…"

"…and get more drunk?"

Axel smiled mischievously.

"Maybe tomorrow night…"

"I don't think I can fall asleep."

"Try."

As soon as Axel's head hit the pillow, he was out.

Chelly smiled and turned off the light and Axel began snoring. Glancing at a new message on her phone, she walked out of the room and shut the door behind her.

Leximy tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. "Saix, are you still awake?"

"…"

"Pst…Saix…"

"…"

Leximy paused before throwing a pillow at him. Saix twitched a little. "I'm not…a puppy…" he muttered.

"Oh good, you're awake."

"Huh?"

"I can't sleep…"

Saix rubbed his head and sat up. "Why not? Are you having nightmares?"

"I don't know…I have this weird feeling…like Chelly's in trouble… Do you ever feel that way about Axel? I know you two are bffls."

"Sure…" Saix rubbed his eyes. "Uh, Chelly's fine, she's probably asleep right now. Don't worry, Axel wouldn't let anything happen to her."

Back in Axel and Chelly's room, Axel shouted randomly as he tossed in his sleep, completely oblivious to the fact that Chelly was no longer in the room.

In Demyx's room, Roxas stared at his wall, trying to block out Demyx, who talked in his sleep.

"No, I've always liked playing the Sitar…yeah, thank you, I've practiced a lot…" Demyx muttered, laughing and turning over to his other side. "I can't believe today's my first concert and I'm already world famous…"

"Why did I get stuck with someone who talks in their sleep…?" Roxas asked sadly to himself.

In another room on the ship, Chelly took a seat with her companion at a small table where a pianist played a lovely tune. There were candles on every table, and couples sat around the two smiling and laughing.

"Sorry, were you waiting long?" she asked.

Zexion pulled down his book to meet her eyes. "Not at all. Everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, everyone's in bed," Chelly replied with a smile.

Leximy sighed and looked at Saix who appeared to be asleep again. "I just can't shake this feeling…" she said; after a moment, she slipped out of the room quietly. Where could Chelly be…"

She walked into Axel and Chelly's room where Axel slightly stirred. "Chelly? What are you doing here? Are you cold? You should come over here, I'll keep you warm," Axel muttered waving his hands at Leximy.

"Uh…okay?" Leximy said, walking over to him.

Axel touched her head. "Why are you so much taller?" he asked, petting her head.

"This is awkward, I'm leaving, go back to sleep."

"Don't leave me!" Axel said before falling back over on his bed and falling asleep.

Leximy slipped back into the hallway. "I knew something was wrong…she's not in her room…Chelly?" she said, opening a closet and stepped aside as a mop fell out. "You're not Chelly, get back in there."

"So what made you decide on this restaurant?" Chelly asked as she sipped her fruity drink.

Zexion shrugged. "It had the most class, and I heard they had piano music, which I know both of us enjoy."

He held back a smile as Chelly's widened. "Good choice!" she complimented. "Too bad everyone else is missing out on this lovely atmosphere."

Zexion nodded, but was secretly glad.

"Chelly?" Axel said, slightly waking up; when he didn't receive an answer, he sat up and rubbed his head. "Chelly?" he repeated, looking over at her bed. When he realized she wasn't there, he stood up and tried to steady himself.

There was a knock at the door, and Axel slowly walked over to answer it. He was met with his blonde, blue-eyed best friend.

"Hey, Axel…can I stay in here? Demyx won't shut up…" Roxas said before noticing Axel's oddly pale face. "What's wrong?"

"Chelly's not here," Axel mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "I have to go out and find her."

"Oh…I'll come help you," Roxas said. "I'm already awake anyway…"

As the two walked into the hallway, they noticed Leximy walking by.

"Hey, Leximy," Axel called. "Have you seen Chelly?"

"No, I've been looking for her…" Leximy said with a worried look.

Axel sighed. "Okay, we have to find her…"

"I'll take the first two decks, Axel, you try the upper decks, Leximy, you try this floor," Roxas said.

The three agreed and Roxas started downstairs.

Axel sighed heavily again.

"You okay?" Leximy asked the noticeably upset Axel.

"Yeah…I'm just…worried…well, not actually worried, since…you know, but…"

Leximy felt the atmosphere turn slightly serious. "You…really care about her, don't you?"

Axel silently looked away.

"Don't worry," Leximy said, putting a hand on his shoulder awkwardly. "I'm sure she's fine."

"Let's hope so."

Leximy nodded and continued down the hallway, while Axel took to the stairs.

"So why did you call me out here?" Chelly asked as she nibbled on one of the breadsticks on the table; she was still full from dinner, but the bread looked too good to pass up.

"I…needed you to look over some…stories," Zexion said.

"Stories?" Chelly repeated.

"Yeah, I found a story that I thought you'd like," Zexion said, handing her a book.

"Oh, how nice," Chelly said taking the book and looking over it. "Thank you so much!"

"No problem…" Zexion said with the smallest hint of a smile.

After the pianist retired for the night, Zexion and Chelly decided it was time to head back to their respective rooms.

At that moment Leximy walked by the door to the small restaurant. She looked inside and noticed Zexion and Chelly sitting at a table. She paused and stared at them as they stood up and set down their napkins.

Quickly turning around Leximy started back to her room.

She made it about halfway there when she met Roxas and Axel who had obviously come up empty.

"Any luck?" Axel asked hopefully.

Leximy frowned as Chelly and Zexion came into view.

"Hey look, everyone is out here already," Chelly said happily as she started to wave at them.

"What is all this nonsense?" Saix asked, coming out of his and Leximy's room.

Leximy glared at Chelly and Zexion grew closer, and walked into her room, closing the door behind her.

Saix paused and stared at the closed door. "What…happened?"

Roxas shrugged. As Chelly and Zexion reached the two Chelly looked distraught. "Why did Leximy go in there?" she asked.

"I…have no idea," Saix replied, obviously slightly groggy from having just woken up. He turned and knocked on the door. "Can I come in?"

"No…I'm…uh…changing," was Leximy's reply.

"Oh, okay," Saix said, waiting patiently.

Fifteen minutes passed before he knocked on it again.

"Leximy?"

"Don't bother me you pervert!"

Saix sighed and leaned against the door. "Women…" he said with a shake of his head.

"Saix, what happened?" Axel asked.

"I have no idea…you were just with her, you should know."

Axel shrugged.

"Um…" Chelly quietly knocked on the door. "Leximy? Can you please come out for a second…?"

"I'm sleeping, go away, come back some other day."

"Oh no…she's rhyming…that's never a good sign," Saix said.

"Oh dear, this is serious…" Chelly said, putting her hand under her chin thoughtfully. "Did anything happen while I was out?"

"Where were you, anyway?" Axel asked. "We went looking for you."

Before Chelly could answer, Leximy cut in. "I'll let Axel in."

The group paused.

"What?" Axel and Saix said in synch.

"Go Axel! Find out what's wrong!" Chelly encouraged.

"Oh…kay?" Axel said.

Leximy opened the door just enough to let Axel in, then closed it.

"What's going on?"Axel asked.

"It's about Chelly…"

"Yeah, we found her," Axel said.

"No…it's…she's cheating on you!" Leximy blurted out. "She was with Zexion!"

Axel pat his head nonchalantly. "Yeah, she probably couldn't sleep…wait, she's cheating on me? But we're not even together…"

The only one pressed against the door was Saix, who still was sitting on the ground.

"What are they saying?" Chelly asked curiously.

"Something about Zexion…"

Zexion looked up from his book.

"Well…you don't even know what they were talking about," Axel pointed out.

"They were at a candlelight dinner with piano music. You put two and two together."

"I'm not going to assume anything."

Leximy sighed.

"What are they saying now?" Chelly asked, slowly getting anxious.

"Something about dinner…"

Leximy yawned. "I haven't slept in the past two nights…I think I deserve some sleep," she said sitting on her bed.

"Sounds good," Axel said, heading for the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Leximy asked.

"Back…to my room?"

"Nope, you're stuck in here. The door isn't going to open again."

Axel sighed and sat on Saix's bed. "You've got to be kidding me…"

Chelly yawned and sat on the ground next to Saix. "Axellll….I'm tired…can we go to bed now?" she said.

Axel cleared his throat and looks from the door back to Leximy. After she began to breath heavier, he whispered, "Ah, she's finally asleep."

He took a couple steps toward the door when Leximy said, "No."

Axel turned around with his eyes closed. "What?"

"Sit down," she said, looking like she was fast asleep.

Axel sighed.

"You can come sleep in our room, Chelly," Roxas offered.

"Nah, Demyx is too noisy, I'd never get any sleep…"

"Don't remind me…" Roxas said before saying goodnight and heading back to his room.

"You guys going to be okay?" Zexion asked.

"'Okay'? I highly doubt it…" Saix said.

Chelly waved a tired hand. "We'll be okay."

"Okay…by the way, who has your guys' keys?"

Saix and Chelly pointed at the door.

"That's what I thought…" Zexion said with a small shake of his head. "Goodnight."

When he walked away, Chelly turned to Saix. "How long do you think we're going to have to wait…?"

"Knowing Leximy? …a while if she feels like she wants to prove a point…"

Chelly sighed. "I was afraid you were going to say that…"