It's alive! Whew, it took me a long time (literally) to figure out where to go with the next chapter. I'm really, really sorry about the delay, but I'm quite pleased with how this chapter turned out.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the kingdom Hearts series.

Axel, once he had come back from swimming as 'punishment' had stayed in his room and refused to come out, other than to go and smuggle food out of the kitchen.

Roxas was in the kitchen a few days later, staring at a cup of orange juice, silently wondering when Axel would stop lurking in his room. It was boring, eating Sea-Salt ice cream all by himself on the clock tower after missions. Roxas glanced up to see who else was in the kitchen with him. Xaldin, Marluxia, Zexion and Demyx. Roxas decided not to pester Xaldin, as he was currently frowning at Marluxia, who was sipping some tea, humming to himself. Zexion was working on something at the table he sat at, next to Xaldin.

Roxas picked up his glass and walked over to join Demyx at another table, where he sat alone, playing his sitar.

Demyx glanced up to see Roxas join him, and offered a smile at the other blond, "Hey Roxas."

Roxas smiled back, "Hi Demyx." He set the orange juice down as he sat, silent a moment as he gathered his thoughts. Demyx left off playing his instrument, as though sensing that Roxas wanted to talk.

There was a short silence, before Roxas sighed and spoke up, "Have you seen Axel come out of his room?"

Demyx frowned thoughtfully, "Well…I saw him in the kitchen late last night…" He looked back at Roxas, "What? Are you worried about him?"

Roxas shrugged, "I guess so…I didn't think he'd mope around so much…it wasn't that bad a punishment."

Demyx laughed, "Maybe to you and me it isn't, but to Axel it is. You know, what with him having control over fire and all that."

"…" Roxas glanced over at the kitchen door, as though expecting Axel to come through it after talking about him.

Demyx dismissed his sitar, "Well…do you want to go check on him?"

Roxas finished his orange juice and stood up, nodding, "Yeah…" He paused, then eyed Demyx thoughtfully, "You want to go too?"

Demyx cast a discreet look over Roxas' shoulders, and the young teen cast a casual glance over his shoulder. Marluxia was eying them with an indiscernible look in his eyes.

Demyx stood up and opened a portal, "Uh, yeah, let's go…" Demyx stepped through the portal, muttering under his breath as Roxas followed him, "…before Marluxia or Larxene decide to do something to us."

121

Demyx and Roxas exited the portal near Axel's room, and walked the rest of the way to the red-head's room. Both stopped short when the door opened. Expecting to see Axel, the two were taken aback when Saix walked out of the room instead. Roxas and Demyx shot each other concerned looks.

Sai halted just outside the door, glancing back into the room, presumably staring at Axel, "...I expect for you to start resuming your missions. There is no time for idling." Saix shut the door and turned abruptly, fixing his gaze on the two blonds, both of whom tensed instinctively. Saix approached them silently and halted a short distance from them. He eyed them thoughtfully, before coming to some internal decision, "Roxas, Demyx…I was about to go look for you…" Saix indicated Axel's room with a slight hand motion, "Take Axel and go investigate Agrabah. There was a report last time that a large Heartless had been spotted. Take care of the Heartless if it is still there, then report back to me." Without waiting for either to respond, Saix swept off down the hall, presumably to go dish out more missions.

Demyx and Roxas looked at one another, "..."

Sighing, Roxas walked the rest of the way to Axel's room, and knocked on the door, "Axel?"

Demyx slunk up to stand next to Roxas with a sigh, "Oh man, I should have hidden in my room today. I don't like these types of missions."

There was movement behind the door, before it opened, revealing a harried and annoyed Axel. Seeing that it was only Demyx and Roxas, Axel relaxed somewhat, a small smile visible, "Hey, thought you were Saix coming back to scold me and all that. What is it?"

"…"

Roxas and Demyx stared at Axel for a moment, before Demyx spoke up tentatively, "Didn't you hear Saix talking to us?"

"Hmm? Did he now? What about?" Axel transferred his gaze to Demyx, awaiting a response.

"Um…well, you see…Saix told us that we needed to go to Agrabah, to see if there was still a large Heartless there or not…" Demyx explained, drifting off to glance at Roxas expectantly.

"Well, good luck on your mission then," Axel said, turning to go back into his room.

"Axel, Saix said that you're going with us," Roxas stated, enjoying the look of surprise cross Axel's face when he looked over his shoulder.

Axel looked away and heaved an annoyed sigh, "What? Why do I have to go? Last time I checked, you two don't need a babysitter."

"Come on Axel, you need to get out of the castle anyway," Roxas responded, deciding not to comment on the babysitter comment, "Saix would find out if you don't go with us."

"Damn," Axel sighed again, then opened up a portal, "Well, let's go and get this over with." The red-head walked briskly through the portal, followed by Demyx and Roxas.

121

An hour of searching later and still no sign of any large Heartless. The three had disposed of other minor Heartless as they scoured the city. Luckily, none of the locals were in sight as they searched. Another sandstorm had struck the city, apparently.

Axel paused atop scaffolding, blinking as some wind threw some grains of sand into his eyes, "See anything yet?"

Roxas, below the scaffolding and in the shade, let out a breath, "Nothing, just roasting down here right now."

Demyx, inspecting an abandoned shop nearby, cast a glance over his shoulder at Roxas, "Really? Huh…I guess it is hot…want me to cool you down?"

"No thanks Demyx…I don't want to get drenched. I'll be fine." Roxas was about to say something else, when a roar rang out from outside the city.

A large Antlion Heartless was headed in the direction of the city.

Axel saw it from the city exit, and twirled his chakrams as he leapt down from the scaffolding and ran out the exit. "Come on you two!"

Demyx dashed after Axel, and Roxas, with a mumble curse at the weather, ran closely after the Melodious Nocturne.

121

The Heartless vanished with one last roar, before it was gone, heart released.

Axel blew out an exaggerated breath, "Whew! That was a good workout, huh? Better go tell Saix before he decides to give us more missions for the day." Axel vanished through a portal, followed closely by a weary Demyx and Roxas.

121

Back at the castle, Axel went to find Saix, while Roxas and Demyx retreated to the lounge to rest. It was mostly empty, except for Xigbar, who was resting on a couch with his eye closed.

Demyx and Roxas sat on chairs on either side of the couch, and Xigbar opened his eye, waving lazily at Roxas, "Hey kiddo, how'd the mission go?"

Roxas slumped in the chair, sighing, "We found the Heartless and dealt with it, but we got scotched in the sun for awhile beforehand. Not that Axel minded…not sure about Demyx though."

Demyx settled comfortably in the chair, summoning his sitar, "It was hot, but I cooled off with water."

Xigbar laughed shortly, turning to look at Roxas again, "Why didn't you let Demyx cool you down with some water?"

"I didn't want my cloths to get soaked…" Roxas responded moodily, slumping further down in his chair, "…Maybe I should have let him…"

"Where's Axel?" Xigbar began, pausing a moment, before saying, "Oh, he went to tell Saix, right? Huh, glad I didn't get a mission today."

"Lucky you." Roxas responded coolly, "Have you been lazing at the castle the past few days?"

Xigbar laughed again, "Laze about? As if. No, today's my first day off in two weeks. I'm resting up as much as I can. No doubt I'll be sent off on another mission soon…"

Axel walked into the lounge, stretching and yawning alternately. He spotted Xigbar and grinned, "Hey Xigbar, enjoying some time off?"

Xigbar merely smiled lightly and leaned back more comfortably on the couch. Closing his eye again, Xigbar sighed, "Yeah, as much as I can before the next mission."

Axel sat down on an open chair and looked over at Roxas, who seemed to be grumpy and tired, "What's wrong Roxas?"

"…"

"…" Axel frowned thoughtfully, before standing up and leaving the room, with a "be right back." There was a silence between the remaining three Nobodies, until the door to the lounge opened again, and it turned out to be Saix, not Axel.

Saix said nothing of the sight of Xigbar taking a nap, instead focusing his yellow eyes on Demyx, who tried to shrink out of view, well aware that he was still holding onto his sitar. "Demyx, if you have so much free time, then go make yourself useful and investigate the Underworld. The last report you handed in was not detailed enough." Saix turned and left the room.

Silence…then…

"Xiggy! Help me!" Demyx whined, dropping to the ground and looking pleadingly up at Xigbar, who still had his eye closed.

"What's so bad about investigating Demyx? I thought you liked recon better." Roxas wondered aloud.

Demyx looked over at him, "It's not that it's hard…it's just…the Underworld is…I dunno…creepy…I don't want to go there alone again. Plus, the last time I went, I couldn't summon any water. I could only bash the Heartless over the head with my sitar…"

Xigbar opened his eye at this, and glanced down at Demyx, faint interest showing, "You couldn't use your element?"

Demyx fixed a pleading look on Xigbar again, "Yeah, I couldn't. That's why I don't want to go alone. Please help me?"

Xigbar sat up with a light sigh, "Okay, okay. Let's go before Saix comes and stops me."

Demyx dismissed his sitar laying nearby and stood up, "Thanks!"

"Yeah, sure, let's get going. See you later kiddo," Xigbar aimed the last sentence at Roxas, who scowled irritably. Xigbar merely smirked and walked through a portal, followed by a very grateful Demyx.

Roxas was left alone in the lounge. Roxas sighed and leaned back in the chair. Alone again. He closed his eyes, enjoying the momentary silence, and ignored the footsteps that came into the lounge. When they stopped and no one spoke, Roxas opened his eyes questioningly, and saw a sea-salt ice cream dangling in front of him. Roxas glanced up and saw Axel leaning over the chair with a smirk. Roxas took the offered ice cream, mumbling his thanks as he took a bite out of it, shivering. He watched as Axel dropped down into another chair and tentatively bit into it. There was a silence between them as they enjoyed their salty sweet ice cream.

Roxas finished his first, and twirled the stick idly as he watched Axel finish his. Roxas glanced around at the otherwise empty room, then at Axel, "So, where is everyone else?"

Axel looked around for a moment, "Well…where are Demyx and Xigbar?"

"Mission." Roxas stated.

"Ah, Saix dolling out missions again. Hmm…bet Demyx begged Xigbar for help."

"Yep."

"Thought so," Axel said with a grin. He looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully, "Let's see…Xaldin is off on a mission…Vexen, Zexion and Lexaeus are down in the labs…Saix is probably wandering around somewhere in the castle…" Axel frowned, "Marluxia and Larxene are in one of their rooms…Don't ask me why, because I don't know, nor do I want to know. Xemnas' probably holed up in his office, doing whatever it is he does in there…Huh, not sure what Luxord is up to…"

"What about me?"

Axel and Roxas both looked up and saw a platinum blond haired man enter the lounge and sit down on a chair between Axel and Roxas. He turned to Axel, "What about me now?"

Axel shrugged, "Roxas was just wondering where everyone was at the moment. I just wasn't sure what you were up to."

"I see." Luxord responded, before fixing his attention upon Roxas, "I've just returned from a mission. Recon at Port Royal."

"Get anything good on that place?" Axel wondered aloud.

"I'll need to go back for another go at recon, but I believe I've gotten the gist of the place." Luxord answered, making himself more comfortable on the chair he sat on, "Although one piece of information I found out does not really matter to the Superior."

"Oh? What would that be?" Axel turned in his seat to grin at Luxord.

Luxord smiled back pleasantly, "Chairs here are much more comfortable." Seeing Axel grinning still, Luxord continued, "In any case, I've found that the port appears to have a few taverns that were obviously not approved of by the authorities, but whenever they close on tavern down, another one opens." Luxord paused, stroking his chin thoughtfully, "Men that frequent those taverns appear to enjoying getting drunk and …" Luxord paused again, looking to one side at Roxas, as though trying to decide how much to say in front of him, "…engage in illicit activities with women who sometimes are in the taverns. All of them seem to be having a good time while they are drunk. When the authorities run into them, they, however, are not, and do not appreciate it."

"…Like when you and Xaldin raid the alcohol storage in the castle?" Axel questioned with a smirk.

Luxord declined to answer this.

Roxas frowned, "Were there any Heartless there?"

"I saw a few. They don't appear to be overrunning the world just yet. Which is surprising, considering the circumstances some of the people find themselves in."

"Anyone in that world other than drunks and authorities?" Axel queried, although he seemed amused by the thought.

Luxord thought for a moment, before nodding, "Well, there are ordinary citizens as well, most of them are just smart enough not to go out at night…There were also reports of pirates in the area, even though the port doesn't exactly welcome them. I ran into one fellow who was quite drunk and trying to find someone who stole his ship. Said he needed a crew to get it back," Luxord shrugged lightly, then smiled wryly, "He ended up passing out, still holing a bottle of rum."

"What'd you do?" Roxas wondered, while also thinking about how he would react to seeing someone outside the organization drunk.

Luxord shook his head, "I was merely there to observe. Someone took his rum, and when this pirate woke up, he wondered why his rum was gone. I decided to keep out of view. He seemed rather upset."

Axel frowned, "And…this is useful how?"

Luxord smiled at Axel, "It is helpful, because this pirate could prove useful if he finds a way off the port. We could hide aboard a ship and see if there are any Heartless hiding on any islands that may be in that world."

"Maybe…" Axel muttered, and then brightened up, "Hey, you should take me and Roxas with you next time you go. It could be a party!"

Luxord smiled again, "If Saix didn't know you went. I don't think he or the Superior would approve of Roxas going there…"

Axel waved a hand, "I could always talk to him and get him to let us go."

"How so?" Luxord asked, pulling out a deck of cards.

"You know, persuade him with my charming personality," Axel responded with a flippant grin.

"Meaning…you'd bother him until he gave in, just to shut you up?" Roxas added in a serious tone.

Axel's grin widened, "That's one way of putting it."

Luxord shuffled the deck of cards absentmindedly, as he frowned thoughtfully, "Speaking of Saix…I haven't seen him today."

Axel twisted in his seat to look at Luxord again, smiling still, "You didn't report back to him. Nice."

Luxord managed a small smile, "It wasn't my intention, as he wasn't where he said he'd be."

Axel was about to say something, when he froze, appearing to listen intently to something. Then, without warning, he dove behind the couch, out of view of the lounge entrance, taking a startled Roxas with him.

Luxord appeared to be amused at Axel's actions, but busied himself by looking at some cards, his face now neutral.

Moments later, Saix prowled into the lounge, frowning ever so slightly when he saw that only Luxord was in the room.

Luxord acted as though he had just noticed the Luna Diviner, "Ah, there you are Saix. I was just wondering where you had gotten to. I decided staying in one place would be best, instead of wandering the castle."

Saix eyed Luxord silently. Then, with a nod, asked, "What of your mission?"

"I surveyed Port Royal, but I have yet to see if anything is hidden amongst the sea. Heartless numbers are few, for the time being," Luxord added, "I would need to go back once, if not twice, as the area was fairly large and busy. It was difficult to remain discreet."

Saix took this in, before nodding again, "Very well. Be sure to get as much information possible next time."

Luxord nodded once in agreement, before going back to shuffling his cards once more.

Saix headed for the exit, but paused in his steps and glanced over his shoulder, yellow eyes narrowing slightly at the couch, "Axel, if you're trying to avoid getting another mission, you're not doing very well. Stop hiding behind the couch like a child."

There was an annoyed 'tsk' sound as Axel stood up from behind the couch, shaking his head as he did, "Hey, that's a bit harsh, don't you think?"

"..."

Apparently, Saix didn't think so as he stalked back into the room to deal with the redhead.

Yeah, that's the end of this chapter. I do have a fourth chapter in the works, and hope to get that one up much sooner. I hope there aren't many mistakes in this chapter like the previous two.

So, until next time, thanks for reading and/or reviewing!