Disclaimer- I think you know the drill...

Warnings- Hyperactivity at it's bes-... uh, worst?

A/N- This chapter is probably the most important out of all the chapters done so far. Very important to the storyline as you will see. That's actually all I have to say for now... How strange for a big mouth like me... OH yeah. I got a piercing :

I'm quite happy. It's a Monroe, which means it's on my upper lips right where Marilyn Monroe's famous beauty mark was. Didn't hurt a bit to get either. Nope nope : But like an hour later it hurt like no ones business!

Protecting Me

Chapter 13 : Chocolate Therapy

Hold me tight

with all your might

You'll never let me go (Let me go)

"Roxas!" Axel frantically dropped to his knees. His eyes squinted so that they could adjust to the darkness under his bed. "This really isn't funny anymore Rox!" Said toddler wasn't under the bed either. As a matter of fact, Axel really didn't know where the hell he was!

"Roxas! If this is one of your little games you're going to be in BIG trouble when I find you!" He ran to open the closet door, although he doubted Roxas would hide in such a dark, scary place when he could barely stand a dark bedroom.

So here is what happened thus far in case anyone is lost at this point. All Axel did was go to sleep the other night with Roxas safely sleeping on his chest after a hard, stressful day...

and now he was just gone! Roxas had always been an early riser. The toddler usually was out of bed and scampering around the castle long before Axel even thought about opening his eyes. But the good thing was that Roxas was always right back in the room by the time Axel woke up. This time he was nowhere to be seen. A few minutes went by in which Axel sat in his bed, waiting for Roxas to come running through the door and dive onto his bed, but that moment never came.

He started out looking for Roxas as if he was playing another game of hide and seek. Normally during their games, the site of Axel mocking Roxas's skillful hiding was enough to make toddler giggle, therefore revealing his hiding spot. When Axel heard nothing in return to his mocks he started to naturally panic.

Axel even considered the obvious: That Larxene was still being a bitter bitch towards Roxas and took him in the middle of the night or something.

The second that idea popped into his head he stormed down to the Savage Nymphs room just before she was about to go down and take her shower, banged loudly on her door, charged right into her room and... it was all for nothing. Roxas wasn't anywhere to be seen or heard. He stood in the middle of the girl's room calling the toddlers name with Larxene standing furiously behind him.

"You took him!" Axel turned to her with the finger pointed.

"Excuse me?! I did what?" Larxene looked about ready to beat Axel senseless at this point. No one just walked into her room unless they were suicidal. She pulled her towel tightly around her body and moved closer to Axel.

"You heard me! He's gone! I know what you did!"

Larxene pressed her teeth together, grabbing Axel but the collar of his coat. "I don't have your damn kid Axel. Now I'm going to go take my shower and I don't want to hear another WORD from you for the rest of the day!

The females shoved Axel out of the room and slammed the door violently behind him.

"You should keep a better eye on your toys!"

Now this was the part that required much thought. He was more than sure that Larxene took him but Roxas wasn't anywhere in that room. He needed to think... Maybe Roxas just stayed out in the halls a little longer than he normally did. So maybe he was already back safely in Axel's room right now.

And with that in mind Axel ran back to his own room only to find, once again, nothing. So that my friends, is where we last left Axel. Alone... in a Roxas's-less room.

'What if he was still upset about the other night and ran away or something?' Axel leaned against the frame of his bed in defeat, rubbing the bridge of his nose. '...Shit!'

Wait, it would have been impossible for Roxas to leave the castle that early in the morning. The bridge leading to the front entrance was on magic lock and unable to be activated until after breakfast. It was one of Xemnas's weird protection policies. That way no one could enter the castle until the members within were battle ready, should an invasion take place. Apparently Xemnas thought meals fueled them... in actuality it was the morning fights over space that really woke them up. Go figure...

Either way that only meant Roxas was still in the castle. Breakfast was ten minutes away, after that then Axel had to worry. Someone had to have seen him! Everyone was up! Even if no one saw him... some had to help him look for Roxas... Someone like Demyx! The other nobody who was supposed to have some responsibility for the kid yet hardly ever showed it.

The redhead stepped into the hall. Chances were that Demyx had long past woken up and was already out of his room. So where the heck would a social nobody like Demyx be at this time?

The Organizations number two strode past Axel with his eyebrow raised. To anyone passing by the fire wielder must have still looked pretty panic stricken. Xigbar just decided Axel must have been having an episode and such things shouldn't be questioned. So he just kept walking.

"Xigbar!" Axel pulled the older man backwards suddenly by his hood. Xigbar always did hold a certain fatherly affection for that headache machine of a musician, so it was only natural that he kept a close eye on Demyx. Therefore he was one of the best nobodies to go to when one wanted to know where the blond was. "You haven't seen Demyx at all this morning have you?"

The older man slapped Axel's hand away and yanked his hood back. "As a matter of fact I was just talking to the kid about ten minutes ago." Xigbar kept walking right past Axel on his way back to his own room. Though he did call back to Axel. "He's in the recreation room watching TV."

xXx

The countdown to the time in which the bridge became accessible had now reached eight minutes. At least Demyx's mind was an easy one to manipulate. If he didn't know where Roxas was then it wouldn't take much to get him to search.

"Demyx!"

"Wha-"

Said blond glanced up from his lounging on the couch in the dimly lit recreation room. A blanket was wrapped tightly around his body and the TV blasted some sort of morning music video countdown. Demyx gave a drowsy eyed look, his hair sticking up in every direction showing that he clearly forgot to wash out his hair gel the previous night. Axel flipped the lights on, making Demyx cringe like a vampire would to the sun.

"He's gone Demyx! Gone!"

"What-?" Number Nine rubbed at his blurry eyes. "Who's gone?"

"I woke up this morning and I can't find him anywhere!" Axel threw his arms around in a panic while talking. At the same time his eyes scanned the room for any signs of Roxas.

"Oh, you mean Roxas?"

Axel gave Demyx that are you stupid? Gaze before answering the obvious.

"No, I miss Larxene so much now that I can't find her... Of course it's Roxas dumb ass!"

Demyx gave a confused blink, followed by a pause in which the television music was the only noise in the room. Demyx wasn't what anyone would call a morning person. The wakeup process included a good dosage of coffee, some hair gel, and some loud music by a band no one had ever heard of besides him. The musician scratched absentmindedly at his hair to let what was said sink in.

"You panic a lot over him..."

Demyx's response was one that left Axel looking like he just got slapped in the face. "Why shouldn't I be panicking? He could be so upset he's plotting to run away! To leave the Organi-"

Axel was interrupted by the sound of Demyx's laughter. "He's three years old Axel. I doubt he has any grand ideas of leaving the Organization yet. Maybe when he's older, then who would blame him but-"

"This isn't funny!" Axel's voice grew deathly serious, causing Demyx to cringe.

"... Like I said, calm down. I was only joking. He's in my room."

"Which is why we have to-... Wait a sec," Axel took Demyx's shoulder in a threatening way that said you better be telling the truth. "Why is he in your room?"

"I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and noticed Roxas sitting by the door crying. He was still upset over last night and I wanted to cheer him up. So I took him up to my room to let him have some candy." Demyx shrugged. "I know he's always had a sweet tooth so I figure it would help."

"And?"

"And he's probably in there sleeping as we speak."

The both of them were relived when the death grip on Demyx was finally released and Axel's short fuse was temporarily halted from exploding. The redhead sat back on the couch with a sigh, just letting his eyes scan the television. Demyx followed Axel's lead, taking note that the breakfast bell would ring any second.

Never missing a beat, the bell rung at it's exact time. Accompanying the obnoxious bell was the sound of the recreation room door slamming into the back wall, causing the tv to temporarily blur out of focus.

Both nobodies threw their heads back to see the miniature version of their number thirteen standing in the doorway with a huge grin on his face.

"Axeeeeeeeel! I founded you!" Roxas collided with Axel's leg with such force that if the red head had been standing up he would have surely been knocked right back down. The second Roxas backed off he bounced continuously on the balls of his feet with an airy laughter coming form his mouth, He continued on with his little act by spinning around in a circle, tripping over Axel's foot and promptly falling on his bottom. The faint smell of milk chocolate drifted up into Axel's nose. The combined surge of energy and heavy chocolaty smell could only mean one thing...

Axel glanced at Demyx with an eyebrow raised.

"Demyx..."

"Yeah?"

"Just how much candy did you give him?"

The musician looked down at Roxas, then back up at Axel with a nervous stare. "Ummmm... some."

"Explain 'some'?"Axel's voice rose once again to a point that let Demyx know the anger fuse was re-lit.

"I uh- I just let him go while I came down here."

"You just let him GO!?" Axel advanced on Demyx to the point that the both of them had moved off of the couch and Demyx was backed against a wall in the corner. "You just let a three year old 'go' in a room riddled with sweets?!"

"I-I ju-just wanted to make him happy. He looked so sad Axel..." Demyx put on the best pout face he could possibly muster. Which immediately disappeared when Axel took him by the shoulders again.

"I swear you have JUST reached a new level of dumb!"

Demyx's eyes shifted around the room. "Axel..."

"Didn't you even read those books YOU got from the library?!"

"Axel..."

"Toddlers can't handle as much sugar as we can. It causes hyperactivity!"

"Axel..."

"What!?" He finally got fed up when he noticed all of his threats being thrown at Demyx were being ignored. Demyx didn't say a word, just pointed to the spot that just a few seconds ago had been occupied by Roxas, but now was completely empty. Axel let go of Demyx, the same panic he had when he started the search rising again. Or maybe now it was worse. A hyper toddler couldn't have been good based on what all those books said.

Demyx sighed. "Let me guess," Axel didn't even need to say two words to him for him to know what was coming next. "You're going to put at least half the blame for this on me as usual and because of that I'm going to be forced to help you look. At the same time you're going to try to keep the fact that he's missing again a secret from the others until something goes horribly wrong like the last time. Am I right?"

Axel blinked, a slow smirk creeping onto his face.

"Damn right."

xXx

With eyes drooping, almost fully closed, Zexion stirred his coffee with his spoon resting between two loose fingers. The clink of the spoon against the glass was at least giving him some reassurance that this tired morning spell would soon be over once the caffeine started to work its magic on his body. He sighed as the scent of one of his fellow members crossed his nose... odd... it was Roxas's scent moving very quickly past the dining halls doors.

The part that was odd was that Roxas's scent wasn't followed by Axel's revolting burnt cinder smell as it always was.

Like usual though, Zexion didn't take much notice as to who was coming in and out or what everyone was talking about unless they specifically addressed him. Even then he didn't hail to them unless they were a superior. Thankfully such an event didn't happen that morning. Zexion wasn't anti-social. He was actually far from that; It was just that most of the other members he found were incapable of holding down an intelligent conversation.

Roxas's scent traveled upstairs towards the Superiors quarters and at that point Zexion decided to ignore it. It actually wasn't until about five minutes later that Axel's scent could be detected right outside door. The burnt cinder smell was followed very closely by a salty oceanic smell.

"Hey Axel," Xigbar took a sip of his coffee, tipping back in his chair right next to Zexion. "Where's the little man? I had something for him that might lift his mood a little."

"Why bother with that nonsense?" Vexen, who sat on the other side of Zexion as usual, spoke up. "It all promotes artificial happiness. Why trick the boy?"

"Did I ask for your input?" Xigbar leaned back up, glaring over Zexion's head at Vexen.

"Don't start!" Zexion slammed his fists down on the table to shut the two up before it could get any worse. Axel and Demyx sat down in their normal spots, the seat between them where Roxas usually sat remained empty.

"So where is the little man?"

"He's-"

"Axel can't find him." Zexion cut in as he idly sipped at his coffee.

The other members blinked, mostly just wondering how Zexion knew that so quickly. The fact that there was a great distance between Axel and Roxas's scents was almost a dead give away.

"Wow, he's smart..." Demyx muttered to himself, earning an elbow in the ribs courtesy of Axel.

"I was going to say I let him go play."

"Mmhm." Zexion replied through a mouthful of coffee in a very unconvincing way.

"It's true Zexion," Demyx leaned over the table. "he was just-"

A loud static like whistle reverberated off the dinning hall walls. The speakers running throughout the castles sounded like they damn near blew at that rate. Everyone in the dinning hall grabbed their ears to shield themselves from the ungodly screeching noise. The noise ceased, but only momentarily. It was soon replaced by a deep powerful voice.

"The nobody that had such impudence as to pull such an audacious prank better be prepared to have their non-existent life cut short! This took years of research and experience to compile and this nonsense will not be tolerated in my Organization! The one I find responsible will be punished!" The voice of their Superior disappeared with a click, leaving the members in the hall to look back and forth nervously. Everyone knew that it was only a matter of second before Xemnas came down in a furious mood.

"Who is responsible for this!?" The members heard Xemnas before they saw him teleport in right beside his chair. In his hand he held a bunch of papers that looked like they used to be very important... Of course now there were little chopped up bits of paper in between them that made the professionalism look rather sloppy. He let the papers drop to the floor, revealing that someone had in fact cut them up. To be exact, cut them into the shape of a string of paper dolls. Many of the superior members gave a look of outrage while much of the younger population gave that 'who the heck cares...' look.

"What, exactly, is that?" Marluxia squinted across the table to try to see the small print on the paper dolls.

"This just happens to be what remains of this years report. All of this years experiences were written in these reports. Whoever did this is just lucky that I thought ahead and made a back up copy on the computer system."

It was quite obvious at that point, whoever was to blame for the mishap had to be the nobody that was not present at the table just before the announcement. Currently that only left three suspects. Roxas, Xemnas and -

"Someones going to DIE!" Another voice boomed throughout the room. Not quite as powerful as Xemnas's, for it was much more feminine. Larxene appeared in the doorway looking a lot worse for wear with a bathrobe on and a towel wrapped tightly around her head. "Look at this! Look at what he did to me!"

"What's the matter?" Axel raised his eyebrow, not seeing why Larxene was so upset. "You look the same as always."

"This is the same as always!?" She yanked the towel off her head to reveal that ALL of her hair was pushed up as if she had stuck her head outside of a gummi ship when it was going full speed. "The shampoo bottle was replaced with honey!" Of course it was only the younger, unpranked members of the Organization who found this pranking rampage absolutely priceless.

"Whoever committed both acts step forward!" Xemnas sent a rapid fire of death glares to each of the members one by one.

Zexion dropped his spoon into his empty coffee cup. He stood from his seat with a yawn and casually walked passed Larxene and Xemnas to leave the hall. "Roxas did it. Axel misplaced him again."

'Today's just going to be another one of those days...' He thought as he headed to the library and far away from everyone else hopefully.

It didn't take long for everyone's glares to be focused on Axel, the irresponsible caretaker in their eyes. The harshest one of all coming from Xemnas over his destroyed possession.

"Alright alright!" Axel stood up from his chair with his hands up in the air. "He's only three and doesn't know any better. How much more trouble can one kid cause?"

Xemnas kept his eyes locked with Axel's jade ones.

"Then I expect you to take full responsibility for him and any further actions of his. I want him found!" He directed to Axel before turning to the others. "As for everyone else I don't want this act of irresponsibility to get in the way of your plans for today. We will continue work as usual."

xXx

Zexion was right about one thing while he was busy looking down on the others with that big old head of his. Today was going to be one of those days. The Organization was normally not a very peaceful place. So a couple fights here and there or a prank that was aimed towards destroying someone's reputation was just common place for them; definitely not 'one of those days'.

The day just turned out to be nerve wracking for most. That was probably the only way to describe it. Twelve older beings that had little patience for nonsense locked within a castle with a toddler at his worst. Any onlookers wouldn't be able to help but feel pity for them...

About an hour after breakfast Axel and Demyx started off on what was probably the most hopeless search of their entire non-existent lives while everyone else tried to conduct business as usual.

Marluxia, who headed straight down to his garden after breakfast, turned the sprinkler control knob to 'gentle shower' as to not drown his plants. The green house was a grand glass protected room that protruded from the far side of the castle facing away from the moon. Therefore the only thing comparable to sunlight was the heat lamps hanging overhead to provide warmth to the grassy floor below and the multitude of plant life. This room that looked very much like a well organized jungle was Marluxia's sanctuary. A sanctuary that no one else was allowed to enter.

Well, it used to be his sanctuary...

"AXEL!"

The redhead rolled his eyes when he recognized the voice of his rather flamboyant enemy and the anger coming from it. Axel pushed himself up from his position on the ground; having been very busy searching for Roxas under furniture.

"I don't have time for you!" And he continued his search. He didn't stand fully up, but merely flopped back over to check under yet another couch. Marluxia however refused to budge. He stood over Axel until an icy cold drop of water slid from his nose and right onto Axel's neck. On impulse Axel rubbed at his neck. With a quick double take glance at the provider of the water, Axel couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Marluxia was dripping wet from head to toe; a giant puddle forming quickly at his feet. Not only that but his black jacket was now tainted with mud and grim.

"How is this funny!? That brat of yours overloaded my sprinkler system!" Marluxia growled. "My new rose bush if nearly submerged in water!"

Axel canned his laughter so that he could stand up to full height. Unfortunately the sight of Marluxia looking much like a drowned rat didn't help matters.

"Calm down pretty boy! I told you I was looking."

It doesn't even need to be said that at the exact moment 'pretty boy' came out of Axel's mouth a fight soon followed. A fight between Marluxia and Axel never simply "ended". They hated each other far too much and both had too much pride to make it that easy. Both being very powerful and equally matched in skill and stamina never helped much either.

Twenty-seven insults, three Superior interventions, and two pieces of destroyed furniture later was when they both separated ways.

Of course Roxas's toddler mischief didn't end there... Three nobodies where already furious at Axel and it didn't take long before the fourth one came storming up to the redhead.

"Axel..." A middle aged bleached blond man with a strong British accent stood in the doorway of the dining hall where Axel was currently searching. He turned to Luxord with a defeated expression on his face.

"...What did Roxas do?"

Luxord pulled a pack of what looked like brand new cards from his jacket pocket. He opened the small box to spill the contents out onto the table. The once plain black and white cards were now dashed with vibrant crayon colors. Larxene, who was sitting at the table with a mirror and brush in hand, gave Axel the same disappointed look as Luxord.

"That kid..." She said in a low growl.

"I'll just buy Luxord a new pack of cards so calm down. I just wonder where he got the crayons-" Axel mused to himself. "Namine..."

"No!" A tiny helpless sounding voice came scurrying into the dining hall. The girl took small timid steps, her eyes focused on the ground the whole time. Namine cradled a handful of her crayons. All of them were broken. Water filled her eyes as she realized her most prized possessions were destroyed…. Well, pretty much her only possessions.

"He broke all of them..." She held the crayons out nervously to Axel. She knew that many of the Organization members had a strong dislike for her but she wanted this fixed as soon as possible. Her weaker structure also made her a prime victim to verbal and physical abuse. Although Axel had never laid a hand on her.

Strange? Yes. In the back of her mind she knew it had something to do with the fact that her and Roxas were close. Axel wouldn't want to hurt Roxas by harming her.

Not to be mean or anything but internally Axel had a huge grin on his face.

"No one cares about your damn crayons! We have bigger problems!" Larxene snapped at the other girl.

"But he-"

"Does it look like anyone cares? Now go!"

"I promise you I'll buy you more." He put on his best sympathetic face. Very false sympathy. He was quite glad that Namine finally had at least one reason to dislike Roxas now.

Namine dejectedly turned on her heel and headed for the door when she received a 'get the fuck out' stare from Larxene. As the tiny girl reached out for the door handle, the doors was slammed open by another person on the opposite side first. Demyx came in from the hall clutching his sides from laughter.

"Has anyone seen Marly lately?" He wiped a tear from his eye. "He looks like a cat that just got thrown into a swimming pool."

"So you think these charades are funny?" Luxord said.

Demyx nodded with a laugh, thinking back to the vision of a water logged Marluxia. Luxord smirked as he dug through his pocket. He found what he was searching for and threw it onto the table right in front of Demyx.

"Have a laugh at that then."

Demyx's mouth opened wide and his lower lips gave a quiver. Laying in front of him were four cord-like strings bent and coiled around each other. They looked as if they had been completely torn off of his instrument.

"M-m-my new sitar strings!" He touched them delicately almost as if they would crumble should he touch any harder. He turned to the others with a sudden serious air around him.

"He must be found now!"

xXx

By that afternoon there was only one nobody that had thus far managed to stay away from the horror that was Roxas's hyperactivity. That one nobody was Zexion. The only one who was smart enough to high tail his behind out of the way as fast as possible... Well his version of getting away was secluding himself in the library for the day and keeping as quiet as a mouse.

The lilac haired teen cuddled into his over sized reading chair with a blanket draped over his legs and his face hidden behind a book. Just him and his sweet solitude. Lucky for him the previous day when Demyx had kitchen duty left him with plenty of alone time to finally get two days worth of work done. So he dedicated his work free day to his stack of unfinished books. He had to admit though... another cup of coffee really would have gone well with what he was reading. With a groan he stood from his comfortable position and summoned a portal to lead him to the kitchen.

'It's almost dinner time, they had to have caught that brat by now...'

Our little bookworm couldn't have been any more wrong. After Zexion was long gone Roxas snaked his way in and out of the library within a matter of seconds, taking with him Zexion's beloved stack of books.

xXx

Somewhere in the dormitory wing of the castle a glass dropped and shattered against a marble floor.

"That's it! I have officially had it with that thing you all call a child!" The normally levelheaded Zexion slammed the door to the upper hall bathroom closed rather violently. Xigbar, whose room was directly across from that bathroom, peeked out the door just in time to see Zexion storm down the hall in a fit of rage. The older man raised an eyebrow.

"Throwing a temper tantrum?"

Zexion threw a glare back at Xigbar. "That abomination threw my books in the toilet! Just wait until I find him!"

Xigbar glanced into the bathroom Zexion had just left. Indeed it was just as the teen said. Several hardcover books where sticking every which way out of the toilet. On the marble floor, small glass remains of Zexion's cup lay carelessly covered in sticky coffee that was slowly beginning to dry. He probably dropped it out of shock when he saw his books in the toilet.

"So where in the worlds are you goin'?" Xigbar called after Zexion who was already halfway down the hall.

"To take care of that kid myself!"

Zexion's nose let him know exactly where Roxas was and where he had been. As a matter of fact if he tapped into his powers to help the others earlier then Roxas would have been found a long time ago. Helping Axel on his self proclaimed day off was unfortunately the last thing on his mind... But this?

This was now personal...

It was apparent that as Zexion followed Roxas's scent the toddler was traveling from high to low. He started out in the upper floors and was running downstairs. Finally Zexion reached the lowest floor, walking along a hallway with a single door at the very end. The door leading to Vexen's basement laboratory. Roxas's scent overpowered his senses the closer he got to the door.

Loud booms exploded from the room prompting Zexion to throw open the door and rush inside.

"I have you now!" He skidded to a stop at the bottom of the stairway just in time to see Roxas giggle and run away from his mess. A small bubbling vial was left in his wake. More concerned with the safety of Vexen's fragile chemicals than the kid, Zexion rushed to the table to add a nullifying liquid to the concoction before it got out of hand.

The bubbling mess ceased for the time being, luckily not spilling over onto the open notebook that lay next to it. Zexion sat back in Vexen's lab chair with a defeated sigh. Roxas got away unpunished and his books were ruined... He knew this was going to be a horrible day from the-

Zexion's elbow landed on one of the pages of the notebook left on the table making the page crinkle. He smoothed it out with his palm, trying not to look down at the page for the sake of eavesdropping, but found that quite impossible.

"What?..."

From the brief glance Zexion took of the notebook he couldn't help but continue reading. He knew it was bad to put his nose into someone else private studies, especially a superiors. They were all notes on Roxas, which didn't come as a surprise to Zexion seeing as Xemnas had assigned Vexen to research possible causes to what befell Roxas. They were all observations on his behavior for the most part dated for the past few days.

Zexion didn't smell another soul within range, and once he was sure he was safely alone he idly flipped through the pages of Vexen's notebook. Everything seemed in order; Vexen even seemed to be the closest to-

Zexion's eyes suddenly widened as he read. For detailed at the very top of the first page was the draft of an aging potion. Written in plain black and white English next to the list of potion ingredients was Axel's name. Oddly enough though the fire wielders name had a big strike through it as if that experiment was canceled, but right below it Vexen had written:

"Change of plans.

Potion was administered to XIII at approximately 6:17pm.

Roxas"

That night...

"What are you laughing at?" Zexion said with a hint of suspicion.

"Nothing that concerns you. Just sit back and observe the calamity unfold."

xXx

"We're never going to find him Axel. It's almost dinner time and he's already hit everyone in the Organization!" The Melodious Nocturne drug his feet as he trailed behind Axel. They both had literally been running around the castle after their hyperactive friend all day with no luck. Every couple of minutes someone new came to them with a complaint. Every time a member came storming up to them with a new one Roxas was already long gone from the scene of the crime.

"I know," Axel stopped outside of his own bedroom. This search just needed a new approach. "but this whole time we weren't thinking like Roxas. He obviously wanted to hit every member in the Organization. So who is the only member he has yet to hit?"

Demyx counted up on his fingers. Associating every member with his or her corresponding prank.

"...You?"

"Exactly." Axel confidently opened the door and stepped aside for Demyx to see.

Just as he expected there Roxas lay. Passed out cold on Axel's bed with a chocolate-coated face and equally covered hands. Clenched tightly in his right hand was a bar of melting chocolate. Axel gently pried the candy bar from his friends hand and brushed some stray hair from the toddlers face with a relieved smile on his face. He ushered Demyx from his room.

"We should just let him sleep it off for now."

"Yeah... You better buy me some new sitar strings man!"

Axel poked his head out of the door. "You'll get them when I feel like it."

The door was slammed leaving Demyx to scowl about that being the last time he helped.

Once Demyx was gone he pulled a tissue from the box on the stand beside his bed and proceeded to wipe Roxas's face clean. He affectionately ruffled Roxas's hair. Even when he wouldn't admit it to the other members for fear that they would become furious, he was extremely proud of everything Roxas did. He was too much like his older counterpart for his own good though...

But Roxas was happy today. The same or not, that was good enough for him.

xXx

After a while of searching through the lab Zexion was able to find the exact potion Vexen had used to de-age Roxas. A ghastly smelling vial filled with a yellow-ish sticky liquid. Suddenly Vexen's scent of weak chlorine overtook Zexion's senses. He quickly composed himself, grabbing the vial and the notebook from the table.

"Damn Neophytes... All they do is cause trouble for this Organization! Xemnas is better off ridding us of them..." The older man muttered to himself as he descended the stairs after dinner. The florescent lighting, clean white walls and sparking marble floors assured him that now at least he was away from those troublesome younger members. His eyebrow rose slightly when he noticed Zexion sitting idly in his lab chair.

"Number six, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Vexen went about his tasks as normal, for the most part ignoring the others presence. Zexion was possibly the only younger member he could stand. Not only was he a member of the original six but, for being only eighteen, the boy had more intelligence and common sense then most adults did. Zexion often helped him out in the lab, so he didn't see anything strange about him coming down. He just wasn't expecting him that day was all.

"I sensed Roxas down here earlier so I thought I'd stay and make sure he didn't come to cause any trouble." Vexen accepted Zexion's reasoning without any questioning. "And speaking of XIII..."

The lilac haired teen pushed the rolling chair away from the lab table and over to Vexen, who was searching through cabinets for his latest experiment. "I think it's time for you to end this little experiment now." He pulled the vial from his pocket, dangling it before Vexen's face.

"How did you get a hold of that?!" Vexen snatched the vial from his hands.

"When were you going to confess that Axel is innocent?" Zexion let the chair slid back as he stood up.

Vexen lowered his voice with a smirk apparent on his face. "Since when do you care so deeply about Axel's well-being?"

"I don't, but," Zexion crossed his arms, one hand under his chin. "as an Organization we are supposed to be held together by a rope with no kinks. With everyone thinking Axel is to blame for this mess many are turning against him even worse than they previously had."

Vexen gave a 'humph' as he walked away from Zexion and back to his lab table. Axel's well being, whether good for the Organization or not, didn't concern him.

Not one who enjoyed being so rudely ignored, Zexion followed. This experiment of his needed to end and Zexion was about to see to it that it did. It only caused trouble in the Organization. He didn't know if he was the only one who was seeing this or not, but the nobodies seemed to change when Roxas was around... and he didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. It didn't matter, good or bad, it wasn't supposed to happen.

"You know, I don't have to bring the Superior into this..." Zexion watched as Vexen's back grew ridged at the mention of bringing Xemnas into the situation. "Stunts like this could get you turned into a dusk."

"I'm listening." Vexen turned around with hesitation.

"Good," Zexion pulled the vial back from Vexen. "You tell Axel this whole thing was your doing, work out a plan to fix this and I promise you the Superior won't see any of this." The manipulative teen held the notebook and vial securely in his possession.

A/N –

Oh Zexion. You and your big old head :)

Read, review... and complain to me about how there was no Zemyx in this chapter :)