A/N: Hey guys! Before I start, I just want to say the chapters might be coming out slightly slower (as in not every day), because I started a new class this week.

Now, here we go with another chapter. This one centers around a certain character I'm sure a lot of people have been wondering about… and no, the number placement was not done on purpose. Wow…

Well, nothing more to say here. ONWARD!

…

Chapter Nine: Demyx

"Show yourselves!" the boy with the Keyblade had yelled, the blond girl next to him. The first to appear on the castle wall was the Superior. As his portal faded away, he held up his hands, commanding the remaining five members of the Organization to appear behind him.

Demyx did as was expected. As his portal faded, however, his eyes became riveted to his little sister.

"O-Organization XIII," Aurora, had gasped in surprise. Something inside of him cracked at the fear in her voice, and the way she took half a step back. Demyx gritted his teeth beneath his hood. He knew if he stepped out of line, though, the consequences would be dire.

The Keyblade wielder glanced back at his friends as the duck and dog ran up and nodded. The fear on Aurora's face was replaced by determination, and Demyx felt a little better. Roxas, before he had left, had mentioned that Aurora was strong. He hadn't been too sure, remembering his little sister as a fragile, withdrawn girl… but seeing it now, he realized that Roxas had been right.

"Good. Now we can settle this!" the Keyblade wielder yelled. Fear clawed up Demyx's throat. He knew the power of the Organization. He had been with them for the past six years. They wouldn't…

(Aurora would be killed!) he thought, almost in a blind panic.

"What a shame… And here I thought we could be friends." The other's laughed at their leader's words, but Demyx knew if he opened his mouth, he'd start yelling at Aurora to run. Suddenly, the other Organization members summoned their portals. Realizing he must have missed some subtle sign from their leader, Demyx did as well.

"Hold it!" Aurora yelled, a strength in her voice that Demyx had never heard before. He glanced back at her as his portal surrounded him. Her eyes were narrowed, anger covering her features.

Then, Hollow Bastion was gone. He was back in the common room of The Castle That Never Was.

"Number IX," the Superior suddenly said from behind. Demyx jumped slightly, and turned to him.

"Sir?" he asked. A quick glance around told him that the other's had went elsewhere. In all honesty, he had meant to appear in his room. The Superior must have hijacked his portal.

"Remember what we discussed just after Number XIII had taken Aurora from the Castle," the man said, before vanishing.

A chill rolled through Demyx, and he lowered his head.

"Right…" he said softly. The Superior nodded dismissively, and Demyx trudged off to his room.

…

About a week later, Demyx was sent on a mission to Olympus Coliseum. He had done missions to this world countless times, but this time, he was to go into the Underworld.

And to have full power there, he needed the Olympus Stone. Stealing that was easy enough, as was entering the Underworld without dying.

The reconnaissance mission in the Underworld itself was anything but easy.

The Heartless here were more powerful than what Demyx was used to dealing when going solo. A mission like this would normally require two Organization members, but after the disaster at Castle Oblivion, then Roxas and Axel defecting… well, they were a little short-handed.

Demyx sighed as he defeated another group of Heartless, his muscles aching slightly. He de-summoned his Sitar in a burst of bubbles as he stepped through a door, and leaned against the wall.

"Man, I'm beat…" he muttered, closing his eyes and rubbing his left shoulder. A stress knot had formed there, sending a dull ache down his arm. "Just a little longer, then I can…" his voice trailed off as he felt a warm gust of wind suddenly burst over him from the right. He slowly opened his eyes and turned his head.

A HUGE, three head dog was crouched next to him, bearing its teeth. Demyx froze except for his eyes widening.

It suddenly growled, a thunderous noise erupting from it, and Demyx broke. He took off, back out the door. From the corner of his eye, he noticed a group of people heading right towards that door.

"Run, run away!" he hollered, before diving through a portal, which took him to a different part of the Underworld.

It was another large chamber, but this time, Demyx was careful to make sure he was alone before relaxing.

(I'll just hide out here for a while…)

A while turned into three hours. Demyx himself had lost track of time, losing himself in his memories of home, six years ago. The dinners he spent with Aurora and his parents, the times he'd take Aurora down to the river and they would play in the water, playing covers of popular songs with the band he formed with his three friends…

(What I wouldn't give…) Demyx thought sadly.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him.

"Huh?" he muttered, turning. To his surprise, it was the Keyblade wielder and his two friends, the duck and the dog.

"Ah! You!" he gasped, turning fully to face them as he remembered that he had orders that pertained to them. He reached up, pulling his hood down. The Keyblade Wielder's eyes widened slightly at this.

"Wait a sec… Roxas?" Demyx said, hopeful that it would be that easy. The surprise quickly morphed into confusion on the boy's face.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"Roxas?" Demyx tried, a little more insistently this time. More confusion met his words, and Demyx sighed. "Oh, it's no use," he said, keeping up the carefree mask that was second nature now.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" the boy asked as Demyx reached into his pocket. They had gotten a second set of instructions which he had written down, because he couldn't remember them for the life of him.

"Let's see, here…" he muttered. "'If the subject fails to respond, use aggression to liberate his true disposition'… Right," Demyx said as he rolled his eyes, remembering now. He put the paper back in his pocket. "Did they ever pick the wrong guy for this one…" he muttered.

"You're bizarre," the boy said, crossing his arms. Demyx searched his pocket for a moment, before pulling something else out: the Hero Stone.

"He's gotta be the thief!" the dog suddenly exclaimed, pointing at Demyx.

"Now that's just plain rude!" Demyx replied, before holding the stone up, absorbing some of its power. Light swirled around him for a moment. He put it back in his pocket and summoned his Sitar. The Keyblade Wielder and his friends summoned their own weapons.

Demyx, for his part, didn't want to hurt the boy. Especially since he seemed to be friends with Aurora. So, instead, he decided on another way to 'use aggression.'

"Dance, Water, Dance!" Demyx yelled, playing a complicated riff on his Sitar. Water clones sprang up from the ground and began to attack the trio.

The boy managed to slip past those an attempted to attack Demyx, who blocked the stroke with his Sitar.

"You're Demyx, right?" the boy suddenly asked. "Aurora, your sister, she asked that we try to save you."

Demyx faltered, stumbling back from the boy, unable to believe his ears. Here he was, attacking them, and this boy was talking about saving him? Because Aurora had asked them to?

"Common, Roxas, you know only one thing can save us," Demyx said. (Kingdom Hearts. That's the only way I can regain my heart, and return home…)

"I don't…" the boy was confused once more. A water clone attacked him, throwing him away from Demyx.

"Sora!" the dog yelled, before bashing it with his shield. The boy, Sora, nodded his thanks, before turning back to the clones, helping the other two take them out.

"Not bad, Roxas!" Demyx called once the three managed to take all of his clones out. He was still shaken from the prospect of Aurora asking the boy to save him, so, rather than face them himself, he stepped back. "Roxas, come back to us…" he pleaded, some of his desperation leaking into his voice, as he portaled away. (After all, you're the only one who can work with us to complete Kingdom Hearts…)

…

"Your mission didn't go as planned?" Number VII, Saïx, asked as Demyx appeared in front of him.

"I have intel on the Underworld. But then I ran into the Keyblade Wielder," Demyx admitted.

"And you failed to bring out his true disposition," the Lunar Divine answered. Demyx didn't answer, simply rubbed his shoulder.

He was pretty sure the stress knot was a little bigger, and a little tighter.

"I'll be in my room," Demyx said, turning away from the man.

"I hope you didn't go easy on him because he's friends with her. Don't forget what will happen if you betray us too."

Demyx stiffened, freezing mid-step.

"I know," he said softly.

"I just wanted to be sure," Saïx said. "I'm sure you don't want your baby sister to get hurt."

…

A/N: And I'll just leave it at that, heh. The next chapter will be a long one…