The Castle That Never Was was not a place one might expect to find something as fun and recreational as a swimming pool within. However, when the place was created, Lexaeus had demanded a full working gym in his room including a pool. They built the place so one would have to enter number V's door to access it, however his actual room lay hidden behind a door at the left end of a hallway, the gym to the right. He'd proclaimed that anyone who wanted to use the facility could, so long as they didn't bother him while they were doing so.

It was a simple affair, and it had worked well enough that even after his death his room remained unlocked for those left to use the working gym facility.

And it was within the pool area of the gym that most of the remaining members of Organization XIII could be found at this particular moment in time. Most might find it strange that they, what few were left and with only Twilight-knew how much time left would be wasting some hanging around in a pool.

It had actually started when Demyx, somewhat frustrated at his erratic missions throwing off his four-times-a-week swimming schedule taking the opportunity to grab his trunks and jump into the pool, dragging Larxene along with him under the excuse of 'what if my shoulder acts up and I start drowning?'.

She didn't buy it, but she was there, nonetheless watching as he completed his twenty-somethingth lap doing breast stroke. Xigbar had arrived about a half hour ago, bored or something equivalent and challenged the water elemental to a race. He'd lost spectacularly, but it'd given him an excuse to hang around for longer. Luxord, curious as to where everyone was had shown up soon after, and even Saix had wandered in sometime between Luxord's arrival and the present.

So it remained that four, and occasionally five of Organization XIII were currently, and rather amiably chatting with each other over everything that wasn't the current state their group or they themselves were in. It brought a strange sense of nostalgia to them all, as they remember the days that would never come again.

As Demyx finished his thirty-first lap, Larxene grabbed him and forced him to participate in the conversation, and for the next few hours the five of them continued to speak. All too soon, though, it was back down to just the two who had been there originally, various others getting up and leaving- notably with reluctance.

The warm, humid room was bathed in silence, only the occasional slurp out of the pool's draining system could be heard as the slight ripples still in the water disturbed the surface. Larxene was laying next to the edge, her head pillowed on her bunched-up coat, arms crossed over her stomach, one bare foot dipped in the water. Demyx was still in the water, his arms crossed on the edge just next to the Nymph's stomach, his head resting on them.

It was then, almost as if some higher force commanded him to do it, he jumped out of the pool, the sounds of water cascading off of him loud as a waterfall in the eerie silence of the room. Larxene didn't open her eyes, letting him take one of her hands with his, lacing their fingers together and moving her arm up to a better place while he settled himself down. To an outsider, their position would probably look quite sexual, especially as he buried his nose in the crook of her neck.

But Larxene knew what he was doing. Something she'd figured out fairly early on in their relationship. When Demyx was anxious or nervous, he tended to seek out close physical contact. How he'd managed before she came along, she wasn't quite sure, and she wasn't quite sure she wanted to know. She waited silently, enjoying the pleasant warmth and weight of him on her, something that, less than a year ago, she never would've thought possible. It had taken time, quite a bit of time actually, but he'd managed to prove himself trustworthy to the wounded, broken part of her subconscious, the part that never thought it could trust a man again.

"You know..." he said finally, his voice barely above a whisper. "I have to admit, I hate my title."

Larxene cocked an eyebrow, though her eyes remained closed. A random topic for speech... he must've been really nervous about something.

"I mean..." he continued, bringing his face from the crook of her neck and off-centered above her. "Melodious Nocturne? Nocturne is a type of music, it has to have some sort of melody to it... such a pointless title..."

The lightning element sighed, cracking one eye open. "You're telling me? Savage Nymph. Savage, seriously? What am I, a cave woman? Do I look like I eat meat straight off the spit?"

"Hey," Demyx chided, grinning at her. "I've seen you do that before."

She scowled, squeezing his hand until she knew it hurt. "Random fits of insanity out of Xaldin in regards to dinner do not count, Demyx. I was talking about me literally going out there, killing something, bringing it back to the fire and roasting it myself."

He laughed and shook his head. "Though I don't think we have it the worst."

"No," she sighed, rolling her eyes, both now open. "None of us in the Organization have very... interesting titles. I mean some of them are ok, Luna Diviner, Gambler of Fate. Some of them don't match at all. I mean, come on. Lexaeus was neither silent nor a hero. And since when was Marluxia graceful? The man had the worst posture I've ever seen with the way he jut his pelvis out and slouched his shoulders."

"Maybe it was an allusion to the flowers?" Demyx supplied, raising an eyebrow.

Larxene rolled her eyes again. "The flowers just made him seem gay. There has to be a better way to represent death. Speaking of gay titles, Axel's?"

The Nocturne laughed then, his forehead resting against her collarbone until he was done. "Flurry of Dancing Flames? What's so bad about that?"

"Dancing? Hello? I swear that must've been a cruel joke on Xemnas' part for the way Axel sways his hips when he fights," Larxene replied distastefully.

"Aww, he's just voluptuous. In a manly way. You can't blame him for flaunting it, can you?" Demyx said, his voice teasing.

"I would rather he didn't, if it's all the same to you," came the snippy retort. "The last thing I need is that mental image of Hedgehog Butt."

The Nocturne sighed. "I never understood Xigbar's title. It's too... common. I knew at least two other people before I became a Nobody who used 'Freeshooter' as a title. One of them was some hunting fanatic that landed himself in jail three times from killing animals out of season. The other's name was a joke. He uh... he suffered from a case of premature ejaculation."

Larxene started laughing, hard, curling up enough that her head met his shoulder. "Oh my God. That is the funniest thing I have ever heard!"

She sighed and laid back flat, pulling her foot out of the water and adjusting her position slightly. "What I don't understand is how we all got landed with such unfortunate hair styles."

"I heard Xemnas' is almost exactly the same as it was before, as is Luxord and Xigbar's. Apparently the only thing that changed with them was the color. Axel's didn't change color at all, it just stuck up like he'd been playing with forks and electrical sockets," Demyx explained. He laughed, and removed his hand from hers to tug at one of his bangs. "This... I'm not sure what happened here. It got slightly darker, not much change to the color... but the back stuck up strange. I used to style the top of it so it stood up like it does now, but like twice as spiky, while the sides and back just sort of hung down. Something decided I needed a mohawk, apparently."

"I'm not sure which is worse," Larxene countered. "Your mohawk or my antennas."

The water elemental laughed softly, gripping one of the said 'antennas' between his forefinger and thumb and lightly stroking it. "I like them. They're fun to play with."

The Nymph scowled and batted his hand away. "Maybe for you. I think they look strange. And before you ask, yes. My hair didn't change style except for those bangs, but it did change colors."

"So, what was it before? Something outlandish? Abhorsively bright blue?"

Larxene shook her head. "Naw, it was darker... like golden yellow, had a red tint to it. Strawberry blonde if you will."

"Ohhh, nice..." Demyx murmured appreciatively, his voice taking an almost purring roll to it as he leaned forward and nuzzled against the side of her head. A moment passed and his lips traveled from the side of her head to her neck, lightly caressing the skin there.

He was trying to delay saying something. She knew it. Now it was time to figure out what he had been hiding.

"So, Demyx... what's the matter?" she asked, though she tilted her head slightly to expose more of her neck. She closed her eyes and let a slow breath escape from her lips.

"Matter?" he whispered between kisses. "Whatever are you talking about?" His hand grasped hers again, and any doubts Larxene had about him being anxious over something fell away.

"Demyx, you're never like this unless something has you worked up," she sighed, squeezing his hand gently. "Delaying it will just make it harder to say."

His hand twitched, and he sighed slowly. "Xemnas is sending me out after Roxas again. He wants to see if I can get the Keybearer's heart before he does... drastic things with the Heartless gathered at Hollow Bastion."

Larxene felt a chill suddenly along her spine. "That's... no. He's already started that plan, Luxord said so."

"I know. Xemnas also told me that if I fuck it up, I better not come back," his voice was barely audible as he spoke the words, his hand tightening to the point of pain.

The Nymph squeezed her eyes shut. "You can't... there's no way to... he's..."

"Yeah," Demyx met her eyes, calm green to shocking blue, shining with tears that would never fall, that should never have been there in the first place. "... this is going to be my last mission with the Organization."

He wished he hadn't said that. He wished he hadn't told her anything because the look she gave him now was not something Larxene should ever have. It was so... open. And so very, very vulnerable.

"I'm sorry Larxene," he whispered, closing his eyes against her pained countenance. "... so... sorry..."

She sighed, and the air shook as it left her lungs. "At least you told me. I would've had to kick your ass if you wouldn't have..." It was then she leaned forward, kissing him, trying not to let the chaos in her mind spill through the kiss.

Demyx broke first, pulling back and staring at her closed eyelids. "Larxene... no. Lucidia."

Her eyes shot open, eyebrows pulling up. He'd never called her by her other name before.

"... F... for what little it's worth..." he took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "I..." Her eyes widened just the tiniest bit. "I love you, Lucidia."

Demyx winced as he saw the carefully constructed wall she kept around herself fall, and was soon subjected to a kiss on which he could literally taste the desperation. All he could do was try to reciprocate until she let up slightly for air, but even when she did, their lips remained touching.

"I love you too, Ethan... you idiot," Larxene replied, and her voice was calm and so very back in character.

-

Demyx sighed, stepping out of the portal. At least he'd picked a decent battlefield. It had at one point probably been a plaza or some place where people could gather. Probably, though he couldn't tell for sure. Maybe it had just been an entry way to the massive gates guarding the castle proper of Hollow Bastion.

But Demyx didn't know, nor did he care. All he could tell was that it would provide ample room to fight someone. Unfortunately, the someone he was going to fight happened to be standing there waiting.

"Jeez, couldn't even give a guy a breather," he mumbled, not looking the Keyblade master or either of his friends in the eyes.

"Hey, weren't you the one we caught messing around in the Underworld?" Sora asked, cocking an eyebrow and tilting his head.

Demyx merely nodded and shrugged.

"How'd a wimp like you get into Organization XIII?"

The Nocturne shook his head. "Wimp? Shows what you know. But I think you'll be happy to know they're kicking me out after this."

Sora seemed taken by surprise. "Kicking you... out?"

"Yes. I either complete my mission of retrieving Roxas, or I can never go back. And I'm never going to get Roxas back," Demyx shrugged in response. "But this isn't the place to talk about my personal life. It's not like you care, all you're here for is to kill a bunch of innocent people. So I guess I'll be the first victim. Get ready, kid."

Sora was confused. "Innocent...?" But he got no other chance to ponder on it, before he had a large, solid blue object flying right for his face.

Though he knew this battle could not end well, Demyx still tried as hard as he could. Everywhere Sora would strike, he would be there with a counterattack, every tiny chance he got, he threw his size and weight around, bullying the smaller boy or his friends into positions where he could attack them better.

But it still wasn't enough.

He realized that as the finishing move to a particularly debilitating combination attack sent him flying across the arena and he only barely managed to right himself before going head first into the rock wall on the side of the arena. He was running out of strength, out of life, and now he was cornered, and the Keybearer was heading right towards him.

He threw the sitar to the side, watching as it dissolved into water upon impact with the ground, leaving a sparkling puddle. He collapsed to his knees and watched it gleam for a second, or an hour, or days, he didn't know which before closing his eyes and returning to the fore, hanging his head down.

He heard the last few steps the Keybearer took, heard the jingle of the Keyblade as it was lifted up into the air, and the howling of wind as the large metallic object sliced through the air.

And then he heard nothing.

-

Larxene was pacing nervously, if nervously could ever be used to describe Larxene, back and forth in Demyx's room. He had to survive this. He just had to. The chances were slim to none, but he had to. He promised he wouldn't go anywhere without her, damn it!

She sighed, knowing it was no good to wait, she'd know soon enough. However, even as the air finished leaving her lungs, she noticed something was off. There was something... missing.

Curiously, she looked towards the windows towards the outside. What she saw there froze her insides solid in one thick sheet of ice.

-

A/N: I tollld you I'd be back and be better at this. Anyway, I'm going to leave you all to your speculations now.

Read and Review, as always. Hell, post your theories, I'd love to see them. I love you all, and I'll see you again in the next couple days.