A/N: Dear God. I can't do anything on time. I offer my most sincere apologies to all of you who bother reading this, and I have been so frustrated at my procrastination and at my stupid honors high school classes that result in me making mounds of note cards that are depleting oxygen and causing the hole in the ozone layer to grow larger with every passing day. Biology sucks, and this, my friends, is why I have never been particularly science-centric. Ugh.

But I had to update this; I'd rather let myself rot before this goes down the drain. To make it up to all of you, I made this chapter just slightly (and I do mean slightly) longer than all my others have been so far, and I make a solemn vow to start updating faster. Right after I get back from Disney World, which I am leaving for tomorrow night. Thanksgiving break is so undoubtedly awesome.

Oh yeah. And he meets Ariel in this chapter. Does that help save me from being speared onto a pitchfork and having my organs roasted on a torch? I sure hope so.

I'm so happy with all the reviews I've been getting on this story so far. xD It's great to know that so many of you are enjoying this. I like hearing what people say about my writing, and I would especially like to thank Vixen for being so supportive and not bringing out those aforementioned pitchforks in regard to how slow I've been updating this. I met her in person, folks, I really did. It was a grand honor on my behalf and I nearly squealed for half an hour straight when she showed me an edited picture that she got printed out at the nearest Wal-Mart in support of Waterlogged. I dedicate this chapter to her partially because of that, and partially because she was just about ready to strangle me for leaving off at such a cliffhanger in the previous chapter.

Also, you can blame my slow progress on Death Note. L-addiction is unhealthy, folks. But oh so rewarding; no matter the fact that he probably unknowingly is making the number of teens with juvenile diabetes skyrocket. And Ouran High School Host Club is lovely, too. Mmm, Kyouya...

But I digress. Here is your latest chapter in Waterlogged; I do hope you all enjoy! Reviews are still much appreciated. They keep my lame excuse for a social life going. x3

Meetings

As Nobodies, religion is an uncomfortable matter of discussion for us. We don't often mention it to any of the other members, and it's never brought up in meetings. Since we've discovered the meaning of the 'afterlife', it would seem that we all just don't see fit to discuss the Lord and his plans for us. I mean, once you're dead, what's the point?

It's really rather sad, though. Aside from my memories of my own stark-naked butt running through the house with wild dreams of achieving rock-star fame, I'm pretty sure I came from your average religious family. That is, we went to church and stuff. I was Christian, I'm certain of that much. I was never one of those people who shoved religion down other people's throats, though—since when do I ever shove anything down anyone's throat? Aside from my music. If you don't like hearing that, then I'm afraid you're screwed.

It was fun while it lasted. I recall something about being in my church choir; Mom always loved hearing me sing. Which is funny because no one certainly loves it now. But I suppose I really can't complain. I'm lucky to even be a part of the Organization. They're my family now. And this is the way we do things. Then again, those church picnics were a lot of fun too. I never did get around to learning much of the actual Bible, though—I couldn't tell you the differences from Noah and George Lopez.

Yeah, that'd be a riot. Can't you see it now?

"Name one person in today's world who you can compare to Noah."

"…Um, George Lopez?"

Pause. "And why is that?"

Oh crap. "I, uh, don't know…are they both Mexicans?"

Insert loud and obnoxious buzzing sound right here. I said that my mother was proud of my singing voice; I never did claim to have the best grades in the world. That alone would have not only gotten me kicked out of whatever Sunday school I went to, but I'd have received a big, fat F in Social Studies, too. I'm not so great with accuracy about ethnicity, as you might be able to tell.

I was a pretty happy-go-lucky kid. For all of you who believe that I couldn't possibly be any worse than I am now, just think: dying really has an impact on a person. This is practically me depressed. Some days, I really regret having taken up Xemnas on his offer for me to join Organization XIII. I mean, I could be making so much money elsewhere. Like in a Zoloft add. The only one who could possibly rival my initial cheeriness is Roxas on one of his sugar highs. And even then, it's doubtful whether Zoloft would allow him into their commercial or not.

Would they count Mountain Dew as an illegal drug in his case? TV studios usually aren't allowed to promote drug endorsement on TV. Roxas plus any sugary, cavity-causing beverage would violate several federal laws right off the bat.

No. My Zoloft job position would be untouchable, even by the Key of Destiny.

Now, where was I before I started talking about Noah's Ark and Mountain Dew? Oh, yeah. Religion. The big, bad, scary topic that (most) everyone is afraid to confront (most) anyone else about. Especially in my little cult. I make it sound serious and imposing and threatening, eh?

Like I said, none of the members talk about it much anymore. It would surprise me whether any of them even believe in God any longer. Ever since death, most of them have simply gone atheistic—which is totally and completely understandable. When you look at it from a Nobody's perspective, well, why shouldn't they? We're the ones with the short end of the stick over here. Nobody told us that we'd be going on after death without a heart. Without a soul.

And it makes one wonder: what did we do to deserve this?

Sure, Larxene's a sadist and Axel was either a former arsonist or a guy who just really had a fetish for blowing stuff up. …Come to think of it, the majority of my fellow Nobodies aren't what you'd call 'normal'. But then we bring up the whole let-he-who-is-without-sin-cast-the-first-stone topic (Oh, would you look at that? All those years of Bible study really did teach me something. Mom would be proud). Were we really all so bad in our past lives that we deserved this? God must really have some major beef to pick with us.

Then again, it's been repeated by Xemnas and countless others that we were chosen for this purpose because we were the strongest. We're supposedly the best. If our hearts weren't strong enough, then we wouldn't look like we do, wouldn't be who we are. There are many Nobodies. But apparently, we're the only ones capable of any thought process. This is the closest we come to crossing back to the other side.

When one considers that we're basically being punished for being strong, it's no wonder that everyone in the group (so far as I know) doesn't believe in God anymore. Or any higher power, for that matter. No one wants to think that their omnipotent superhero hates them and oh-so-graciously bestowed this curse upon them.

But what about me? Well, we've all seen that I'm different. I've certainly never discussed faith with my 'friends', but if, say, a stranger off the street came up and asked me…I'd have to say that I still believe in God (And I am sure that my fellow Nobodies would then proceed to taunt me accordingly to the fact that I am supposed to be killing random passerby instead of holding a conversation with them). Is it possible for there to be another 'other side'? I sure hope so. That'd be nice, actually. If this whole Kingdom Hearts plan doesn't work out, and everything goes on, I think I'd like to discover that I was right all along; that there's still a place without problems and grief and stress. And with hearts. The only thing I wouldn't be able stand would be seeing another hollow chest cavity. That'd just be a little too cruel.

I'm sure you all are about ready to steal Xaldin's weapons of stabby death right about now, though. Sorry. I'll move right back along to where I last left off in my strange, underwater vacation.

Well, I found the source of the voice. And the entire reason for my going off and discussing religion with you at the beginning of this chapter is so I can truthfully tell you: there is a God. Or some mightier deity. It honestly doesn't matter whether we're talking about God, Zeus, Allah, or Kira here. I can just promise you that there is some supreme power out there, and they are kind.

I can't honestly tell you how long that I had to search before I came across the source of that miraculous voice. It truly brought the meaning of a 'siren song' into perspective—I nearly swam headfirst into about three rock structures, if my memory serves me right. It was a good thing that my ears are more reliable than my normal sense of direction, otherwise I would truly have gotten lost in the big expanse of blue.

On several occasions, the voice actually stopped, which was enough to almost send me into a state of hyperventilation. If that voice had stopped for good, I would have been hopelessly lost for the rest of my not-quite life, as my luck seems determined on being bad, though my intentions are always good. I probably could have wandered on for the rest of eternity in the blue void and never so much as stumbled across my stolen Gummi ship again. Axel, on the other hand, could probably have teleported to my exact location on a sheer bout of instinct, made some snide remark at my expense, and then found my only means of transportation and taken off in it to leave me stranded. In two minutes.

Fortunately for myself, the pauses in the voice were never very long, and always it started up again soon after. The singer sometimes seemed as though she began her song again from a slightly different location, which led me to wonder just why she kept stopping in the first place. The pauses and breaks seemed to be more for convenience I realized, as though they had reason to be suspicious of something. Or someone.

Along with the fact that it would leave me stranded for all time should the voice stop before I reached it, I also felt an inexplicable sadness at the loss of the song. It had been years since I'd heard something so…nice. Despite my inexplicable knowledge about Middle C and pitches and whatever all else the music world has to offer, I've never focused much on the thought of it being used for therapy. I always was just convinced that if such a thing ever worked we would have tried it on Saïx and his anger-management issues a long time ago. 'Custom742' my butt. That guy holds a grudge for far too long.

And I would suggest that we try such therapy methods, should they ever have been successful, on Larxene as well. But she'd probably get mad. And blow up whatever means were used for playing said therapy music, again. I recall that we tried taking her to a professional shrink once, who really just turned out to be Vexen in one of his white coats. It is now that I vacantly start to wonder if perhaps Xemnas' fetish-obsession with all things cut in half is really him reminding us of our non-existence as Nobodies, or if perhaps he's just suffering from a decided cheap attitude.

Either way, as one might imagine, our little Nymph got mad. Not many experiments present in the old nut job's lab survived that day. Axel snickered and drawled out commentary. I cowered appropriately.

Back to what I was saying before: I did manage to stumble across the source of that miraculous, awe-inspiring voice before my heartless cavity of a body grew aged and crumbled away into nothingness. Not that I'm sure how much aging it takes before we crack apart like dry mud. I don't exactly like to think about it; such thoughts are better left to Marluxia, who had always been graced with his natural affinity for things relating back to the earth, including mud, as well as his natural gift for makings all his words honeyed and sweet. Even when such words were often better than any blade for stabbing one brutally in the back when one least expected it.

I found her just as I turned around another corner, and to my great surprise, such a meeting came with a butting of heads. No…literally. As in, I just happened to turn when she just happened to turn, and our foreheads collided in one rather painful series of events. Both of us staggered back (if it is at all possible to stagger underwater, that is…) and my gloved hand flew up to my poor forehead which, if you'll recall, had already been grievously wounded on the dashboard of my—that is to say, Lexaeus'—Gummi ship. As the pain shot through my cranium, my eyes jammed shut. Much more of this and I was going to have a permanent indentation on the skin covering my skull, which would match quite nicely for when Larxene and others of the group take to calling me mentally incompetent.

I know I'm not the brightest crayon in the box, but I still have just a teensy weensy bit of dignity. Being made fun of isn't all that pleasant, and leave it to me to be the supplier of ammunition for all of it.

I could tell right away that I must have found whoever had been singing, so at least my head wound had bore me some fruits for my pain; the lovely sound had been brought to an unexpected and untimely halt by the collision. That could only mean that whoever the poor other victim was in this headfirst clash had been the source from which the melody I'd been hearing had continued to flow from.

"Ouch, that hurt! Oh, I need to get home soon. Sebastian'll kill me if I'm late for rehearsal one more time…"

Unusually, the inexplicably sweet tone that had been in the unknown girl's song was still with her in her normal speaking voice. For those of you with little vocal knowledge or who aren't at least musically inclined, please know just how rare that is. When you hear anyone from a rock star to an entire choir singing, voices just don't normally sound as they would were someone holding a natural conversation with you. The entire purpose of singing is to disguise our imperfections in speech in such a manner that it makes it art. A thousand times a day I have acknowledged that my own speaking voice is far too nasally, almost whiney; I just happen to be skilled at covering it up whenever I am given a rare opportunity to sing without the threat of being disemboweled.

My curiosity further sparked as it mixed with the initial tug that such a voice had given me in the first place, I opened my eyes.

What I saw before me wiped out any atheistic thoughts that might have unknowingly plagued me in the depths of my sleep thanks to Xemnas' brainwashing and Saïx and Xaldin's constant affirmation of such apathetic beliefs. What I saw before me wasn't just a girl—or a mermaid, actually, as she had a tail just like my own and seemed to be several times more at ease with using it. She was a goddess who just happened to have wound up in this big, blue world, probably by a series of events much more intriguing than my own had been thus far.

It wasn't just the fact that her cheeks were tinged with the blush that comes not from humiliation but childlike excitement, or that her scintillating hair fell down to her back like a thousand rubies all joined together, or even that her upper torso was clad in nothing but two seashells like the classic buxom siren that every hydrophilic young man dreams about at least once. All of those things were not the main cause for why my throat suddenly closed up, my eyes widening even as I courteously averted them when I realized just how much those sea shells (or, more accurately, what they covered) could draw attention.

It was the way that she was staring at me out of those eyes bluer than the ocean itself while she rubbed subconsciously at her own forehead. She looked irritated and frantic and beautiful all at once, and I was (possibly for the first time in my life or my non-life) struck speechless.

A curious feeling seemed to be pounding from within the hollow space that is my chest cavity, and the fluttering sensation I felt down in my gut is what I think some people refer to as 'butterflies in the stomach'. The sight of this one red haired beauty had suddenly given me belief in several different gods at once. Vaguely I can now recall Luxord mentioning that there are supposedly such types of pagan deities in one world in particular, and that although certainly not perfect, they purportedly possessed gifts and abilities far above those of the average mortal. I would have left then and there and found my stolen choice of transportation at all costs if only to go pay these alleged gods a tribute, but that would mean looking away from her. And that was something I wasn't willing to do just yet.

Faced with a beautiful red haired mermaid who looked more than slightly annoyed at the fact that I had ran (swam) headfirst into her, I managed to self-consciously stammer out the most intelligible thing that came to mind: "My bad." It was better than gobbledygook, which had been my second choice.

Her eyebrows, which were akin to the color of her tomato-red hair, furrowed at this. Either most of her mermaid friends weren't as divine as she came across, or the girl was wondering if I was mentally competent. I wasn't entirely sure that I had an answer to the latter at this particular moment in time.

Without warning, her facial expression abruptly changed to offer me a pearly-white smile in place of the rather aggravated stare from before. Even though it had seemed impossible, she looked even prettier when she smiled. It caught me further off guard, for you see, I never did once suffer to any sort of crush back when I actually had a heart. Although always polite, I had just never succumbed to puppy love. I wasn't sure what a first crush was supposed to feel like, or if it was entirely possible for me to be feeling anything at all. If only Xigbar could see my face now.

Whoa, little dude, try and stay out of her pants for now, would you? You've only just met.

Xigbar, she's not wearing pants!

…You've got to get me a picture of this.

What?! But—no, you don't understand! I wasn't even thinking like that in the first place!

You're seventeen. Sure you weren't.

This didn't help with the beet-red stature of my own face. Even from thousands of miles away, across all of interspace, Xigbar was still finding cruel and unusual ways to humiliate me. I found myself almost writhing shamefully under her smile, feeling as though I didn't deserve it. I tried to keep my eyes from wandering too far up or down, finally finding solace in a lone piece of seaweed trapped underneath a mound of pebbles.

One good thing about my both my active singing interests and my overactive imagination was that it made it easy to picture almost any of my friends with me, even in my loneliest moments. I could see them in my mind's eye, or hear them, I should more accurately say. That was good for not forgetting people. But it was really bad for when you wanted to make a good impression on a girl that's already got you gawping like an idiot and all you had was perv-speak from Xigbar reverberating throughout your brain. Yes, apparently he's reached the point of achieving his own language.

His language just happens to consist less of world(s) domination and more of altogether perverted things. And the guy is, like, almost double my age, I'm sure. How wrong is that?

Sometimes I just have to wonder about myself and the people that I call 'friend'.

It was then that I realized the beautiful mermaid before me was speaking again and I kindly put my thoughts on pause. Not that it was an action that took a lot of effort, as most of my thoughts seemed to consist of an oh-so-original "Uhhh…" Wonderful. All that was missing was a little stream of saliva trailing down my chin and I could come across as some sort of new marine vegetable.

"Hey, it's all right—I should've watched where I was going, too," the girl admitted without the least trace of the hesitation and embarrassment that I felt. When the only response that I could manage to that was an uncharacteristic nod and clearing of my throat (And I'm so certain that every female out there in the worlds has been waiting all their lives to hear me cough up phlegm. Right.), she seemed only to study me over as though for the first time. I knew that I'd certainly done my fair share of studying her from my very first glimpse.

…That was not meant to sound the way it came out. Gosh darn it (hey, I'm not as big on profanity as my cohorts are, okay?), I bet I've been spending too much time with Xigbar.

Her smile widened a little, and had I been in possession of a heart, I think it would have skipped a beat. Or, you know, just melted into one big puddle of soppy, lovesick goo like the rest of me. Although I didn't realize it at the time, I was ready to go jump off the nearest undersea canyon at the smallest order from this unknown girl.

Whatever her impression of me was, her assumption didn't seem to be what I had feared it might: that I was dorky, unattractive, and so therefore unappealing as a result. It was all the things that I knew myself to be, though I would never admit it, for maybe I didn't want to admit to such an immense lack of confidence either. They say laughter is the best tonic to everything; I would assume that it covers up any deficiencies in self-reliance. I certainly do laugh a lot.

She actually went so far as to look pleased to meet me, which was a completely new concept to me when I am faced with twelve other members who all act as though my being alive (sort of) is a sin some days. "I don't think I've ever seen you around here before. Where are you from? What's your name?"

Never before had I had a problem with speaking my mind when I could be certain that my life wasn't on the line for it. Humiliation was nothing new to me, but in front of total strangers? Eccentricity was my identifying quality, being myself was simply what I did best even when I should have been busier thinking quietly to myself and pondering our very existence without hearts, as Xemnas would probably prefer.

I had been grateful for this sudden vacation. Never mind that it was supposed to be a learning experience; I was about as concerned with my behavior as a five year old is when they succeed in swiping a piece of candy from their local gas station. If no one is there to teach them any better, then they simply can't feel repentance. And technically, I'm not supposed to be able to feel anything anyway. Whereas it's doubtful that any one of my fellow members of Organization XIII would spend even five minutes worrying about behavioral problems, were they in my position, I didn't worry for a completely different reason. They were all strong and apathetic. I simply believed in the power of an individual to the point where I tended to disregard rules just a tiny bit more than I should have.

But suddenly her innocent, curious questions had me feeling ashamed of my exile. As big as I am on honesty, telling the truth didn't seem like the right way to go in this case. It wouldn't make her smile widen. Then again, didn't lying just make me worse?

Either way, she couldn't possibly handle the truth: that I was a rambunctious, noisy, unscrupulous seventeen-year-old who was stuck in a heartless limbo and therefore had no choice but to steal hearts in the hope of regaining what I had been denied. Normal people don't tend to take well whenever we get around to stating our occupation. Apparently Xaldin, when visiting one of his favorite worlds, miscalculated his distance once, and ended up closer to the nearby peasant village of the aforementioned world than the large, imposing fortress that was supposedly all but impenetrable from his descriptions.

The Whirlwind Lancer claims to be intrigued at the infectious spread of feelings like hate and rage in this world, but I'm fairly certain it's all got to do with a secret love for singing silverware and dancing brooms. My idea of research is to go consult Zexion whenever faced with one of life's questions that prove to be a bit tricky, as he is most likely to answer me and has little real temper despite his lack of patience. And according to him, inanimate objects in this world that Number III seems so infatuated with talk and move around like any other person would (apparently due to some curse from long ago). The minute that he mentioned their tendency to spontaneously burst into song, I found myself wondering exactly why Xaldin would waste his time in such a place.

As you get spontaneous songs in every Disney-esque world, I chalked it up to fetish and let the question rot from that point on.

Anyway. The end result was apparently a lot of screaming and shouting from the aforementioned townspeople and quite a bit of accusation of witchcraft. Xaldin got chased out of town to a rousing chorus of "Kill the beast!" (and I do mean chorus as in 'from a song', too; that's apparently how obsessive the Disney worlds can be when it comes to accordingly finding a song for every moment of every scene) which I found remarkably appropriate. I did not ever tell this to Number III though, lest my eyeballs be in danger of being speared and/or shish-ka-bobbed.

I've always been the one most nervous about killing people. My regard for human life used to be so strong—the first few times that I was ever sent out on a mission, I stopped sleeping for a week straight. I never did admit this to anyone save for Xigbar, but I cowered under my bed covers that entire seven days. My usually ravenous teenage-boy appetite (being perpetually stuck at the age of seventeen means that, unfortunately for the rest of the members of Organization XIII, I eat like some weird crossbreed of a starving cow and pig and never feel completely full afterwards) was turned against me, and it was the only time that something ever truly made me feel as queasy as my one bout with alcohol ingestion did. Even then my old friend poked fun at me for it—but somehow his tone lacked conviction. I think he's one of the few that truly could understand my predicament. Heartless and cynical and crude he may be; but emotionless Xigbar is not.

He never has filled me in on the details of his own early days as a Nobody, but I've recently begun to infer that perhaps his first days weren't quite so comfortable either. He's been with Xigbar since day one in the whole study of the heart's essence and watched our once well-meaning leader turn into the raving lunatic—well, the man does seem to stay out under a full moon a lot and worship it, even if it's a heart-shaped full moon—that he is today. A lot of things have probably been harder for him than they are for me. That's just one more reason that my unquenchable optimism doesn't allow me to dwell in the depths of self-pity very often.

I found a sudden urge to cry out that my name was Edym and I was a rock star well on the path to fame and fortune and that I had come from some small little town where dreams really did come true, and possibly then I could continue on to ask if she perhaps had a boyfriend. Oh, and I would include that I definitely did not go sick my dancing minions of doom and destruction on various worlds to rip people's hearts out of their chest cavity for my own personal gain.

As it was, my brain had yet to get a jumpstart recovery and I was left staring blankly before finally blurting out at least half of the horrible truth; luckily my mind had not abandoned me so much that it would allow me to spill the beans on my unfortunate current occupation. "I'm Demyx, and I came from…er…ah…" I'm sure she found my coherency to be astounding and breathtaking all at once. If you count inhaling H2O as breathing.

But she only beamed, which made me further melt into a pathetic, insoluble puddle at her tailfin. "Erah? Oh, darn it—I've only gotten to visit there once on a business trip with Daddy, and that was only when I was nine…but it's nice to meet you, Demyx from Erah!" the red head babbled.

I put on a forced, nervous smile. Thank the kind deities for dumb luck and unfamiliar underwater geography.

She never seemed to run out of things to talk about, which I would have realized was a quality that I like in a girl had I had any experience before to compare. As it was I could only hold on to her every word as she opened her mouth again, like she was some sort of all-knowing wisdom spirit. "My name's Ariel. I really hope I didn't cause you any trouble, and…" Her sentence trailed off as a shadow of worry passed over her unblemished face. Although I could certainly see no one around, she was apparently as worried as ever. "Look, I'm really sorry, but I've got to go now! I can't be late again. Maybe we can talk some other time?" As quick as lightning, she was pushing off with her tail and starting to glide away from me, her abilities much more efficient and expert than my own, although maybe that was just because she had probably grown up her whole life here under the sea rather than been thrown into it fifteen minutes ago.

For unknown reasons, a wave of frantic anxiety hit me full-force. I didn't want her to leave just yet. I had only just met the girl and to have to split up and go separate ways would put an extremely depressing start on what was supposed to be an exciting vacation. Or lesson-learning experience. Plus, it would probably result in me getting hopelessly misplaced in this big, wide world.

"Ariel, wait!" I called, swimming after her. Without meaning to, my hand brushed against her wrist as I subconsciously reached out; whether or not she had planned to stop, the sudden flush on my cheeks from the contact must have confused her to the point where she was curious enough to listen to what I had to say. I tried my best to keep eye contact with her, but she seemed so authentically innocent and doe-eyed, and whenever at all I tried to avert my eyes elsewhere without reverting back to mere scenery, I could still hear Xigbar's taunting voice in my mind.

I let one hand rub my head woefully. "Why did it have to be seashells…?" I groaned.

Apparently I didn't utter this inaudibly enough, for she cocked her head to the side. "Hmm?"

"Oh, nothing!" This came out more like a squeak than actual human speech, and from that point on eye contact was no problem whatsoever. It was probably better that she not think me to be some creepy pervert; my eyes were practically bulging from my cranium, but it wasn't because of any dirty thoughts, I swear to you. More than likely it was just from my humiliation at my own lack of communication skills.

I opted to change the subject. "I was sort of, um, lost before I ran into you. I've never been away from…Erah before, and my family isn't around to give me any directions." Referring to the Thirteenth Order as my family left a funny taste in my mouth. It was like calling a tiger at the zoo your house cat, or saying that some pop star was your sweetheart even when you had never met them personally.

Past that, I wasn't sure of what to say. It would seem rude to come directly out and ask her to show me around. I definitely didn't want her to feel forced into anything, especially not if my head-on collision was making her late for something important. There were several questions that she could possibly have asked from my inexplicable presence out in the middle of nowhere, and I found myself dreading what would happen if she actually inquired any of these things from me.

But the one thing that did seem to occur to her as unusual more than anything else was what I had been least expecting. "Your family isn't around? You mean, they just sent you here by yourself?" Her bright blue eyes that seemed such a contrast to her red hair widened considerably. It was as though this was something that she had never so much as heard of, as though I had told her that my father ate puppies for a living or something of that sort. Which I wouldn't put past Xemnas (or Saïx), but I thought it wise not to tell Ariel this.

She looked me up and down several more times and made a tutting sound of disapproval in the back of her throat. Her head shook slowly, but she looked as compassionate as a schoolgirl that found a lost, half-drowned kitten out in the rain. And suddenly, she was smiling again. I was rather caught off guard by her sudden and unexpected mood changes, but at least I wasn't required to say anything else that might make me look like an idiot in front of her. "You can come with me! I bet Sebastian won't mind having someone listen a little ahead of time! That silly old crab is always going on and on about how he wants someone's honest approval," Ariel smiled proudly, as though this was the best plan the world had ever been graced with.

I personally was just grateful that she hadn't turned down my small request. I did happen to wonder just where it was that she needed to get to in such a hurry and why she had called this mysterious Sebastian a crustacean. Mutely I nodded my head to show that this sounded good to me, and before I could register much of what was going on, the young mermaid had me by the wrist this time. We started swimming off so fast that I nearly tumbled head over tail through the water, and only Ariel's forward momentum kept me moving onward and in a relatively straight line.

It was odd that a sort of silence should descend upon us then, as I had never been known for a lack of things to say, and this stunning, goddess-like figure ahead of me didn't seem like the quiet type either. But it did at least give me a chance to appreciate the finer scenery that I had missed out on in my earlier panic about the Gummi ship and my need to find the source of the wonderful voice. Everything was hued in a shade of blue, more or less, and colors were about ten times brighter. Colors. It was all so different from the World That Never Was and Xemnas' paint-deprived fortress of impending kismet that I simply couldn't drink in enough at once.

I had always wanted to end up in a place like this. Colors were more my thing than bland shades of black, white, and gray. Once I had even tried dyeing my cloak for myself, but that had apparently interfered with the Superior's dreams of universal sameness and I was considered a hostile, rebellious child who needed to be stopped at once. I was hollered at for twenty minutes straight and given a lecture in which I understood none of the Xemmy-speak, and ever since I've just stuck to my Gummi ship for self expression. I didn't even trust coloring up my room, since Vexen can be rather a snitch when he wants to and has a bad habit of snooping around the place when he thinks no one notices.

Marine life has always fascinated me—no doubt a trait from my younger Somebody days; I had vivid recollections of sticking my nose against glass panes in a trip to the aquarium and loudly remarking that I wanted a pet whale for Christmas—and there were fish all around, whichever way one looked. I was so setting out on a search for a whale now at the first opportunity. My cohorts could deny me a dog all they wanted, but I'd like to see them say no to me keeping a four-ton pet here.

Presently, I finally found myself craving some sort of conversation. My brain might still be half-dead, but it would be better if I showed that I wasn't mentally unstable. Not completely anyway. "I liked your voice," was the only thing that I could come out with, and I felt like smacking my head against the nearest rock formation. Other guys complimented a girl on her hair or her eyes, both of which were as gorgeous as Ariel's personality in this case. Who went around complimenting someone's vocal cords at the first opportunity?

Aside from me, that is.

"Thanks. I just needed to sing something without having Sebastian jump down my throat about tone and pitch," Ariel sighed. "He's such a nagging clam sometimes." Her nose scrunched up into a rather cute position, and although I was now wondering if clam or crab was to be taken in the literal sense, I was suddenly brightening as well when she didn't seem to shy away from the subject of music. Even better was what the red-haired girl stated next:

"This music rehearsal is going to be such a snooze-fest."

A smile twitched at the corners of my mouth. I didn't want to come across as showy or stuck-up, but music is my forte—you, friendly reader, should know that I don't exactly have many of those. "So that's what you have to go to? A music rehearsal, I mean?" The excitement just couldn't be kept out of my voice.

"Yeah. Sebastian has some new musical and he always forces me to star just so he can keep a closer eye on me…" As though she had suddenly said too much, she cleared her throat and turned to glance back at me once again. "Why, did you have something in mind?"

"I just thought I might show you a little good Sitar music all the way from Erah."

A/N: I liked quite a few things in this chapter, even if I believe the previous one is still my favorite. Erah...hmm. I pulled that out of my butt, I'm pretty sure. I'll bet it's a really fun place though, if Demyx lives there. It's probably as close to getting high as one can get without actually taking drugs.

Poor little Demy-wemy. So insecure around a girl. And yet I love him for it. xD I'm probably going to be flamed so much in this chapter (all of these flames so far have made me laugh) for bad characterization, but oh well. The medicine I'm on makes me almost constantly drowsy in a weird sort of way, so forgive me if my writing skills have hit rock bottom and grabbed a shovel.

Sorry to all you Xaldin fangirls, but I just can't bring myself to like the guy outside of Vixen's marvelous fanfictions. Not after he went and ordered Axel to go kill Roxas and threw a spear at his head. Grrr. So yes. A song-and-dance fetish is officially why Beast's Castle was the Lancer's world of choice.

If any of you were at all offended by the religious references, I do apologize once again. I'm not trying to offend anyone here; I don't even have an actual religion myself. Christianity is widespread here in Alabama (though perhaps that won't make a difference soon as I might be moving away from anyone and everyone that I know here and down to Arizona where the unfamiliar dry climate will probably make my eyeballs shrivel up and fall out of their sockets) and I have to at least act as though I'm in agreement with most of it lest I should be burned at the stake. But I suppose I'm a little bit of everything--I don't have a specific religion, as I would rather prefer taking in my views about it from all sorts of different ones and putting it all together for myself.

I'm not trying to start any major debates or bring anyone insult here, folks.

On a lighter note...xD I love Xiggy. He's such a perv. And he's the best ninja-pirate-surfer-dude EVER. If I could and if I was more original, I would dedicate an entire fanfiction just to him. Maybe one of these days I'll be able to. Alas, my brain is dying right now.

TIME FOR REVIEW REPLIES:

(In response to: Constance Greene

Gargantuan is undoubtedly one of my favorite words at the moment. I have no idea how I even learned it in the first place, but love it I do. Big words are fun.

I will definitely have to check out on this fic of yours. xD I swear I wasn't copying. It just randomly occurred to me and I'm happy to see that it wasn't some completely stupid idea of mine that no one else could understand and thus flopped as a result. It's always good when ideas latch on and spread like wildfire.

Ho humm. Demyx is sort of like a bad luck magnet. I think someone shoves him under ladders in his sleep. ...Roxas and Axel probably make a game out of it, actually.

Welp, I hope to hear from you soon. You are a major cause of improvement in my writing, especially so far as length goes.)

(In response to: Viktor Mayrin

OH, VIKTOR. You and only you can I forgive for the chatspeak. Then again I constantly slip into a few minor phrases myself every now and then, so I really have no right to talk and will promptly shut up on that subject.

You know I would have gotten you the Gummi ship if I could. Really and truly. No matter the fact that the post office would probably think I was planning on blowing up the country or something. I would have found a way. Somehow or other.

Le gasp! So you're ninteeen now? ): I feel so young. Grah. Maybe that'll be a good thing when I'm eighty and you're eighty-five.)

(In response to:)

xD Yes. I am.)

(In response to: CSOmeg

I'm glad you think so! I was really hoping that random scene I pulled from my mind would provide some amusement to people. x3 And peer pressure is bad, kiddies. DON'T LISTEN TO IT. ...Except when it comes to Death Note. As annoying as Light is, everyone should watch at least some of Death Note. If only for the wonders of L.)

(In response to: goddess of trix

Egad. I apologize for all these slow updates. Let's put the blame on Pence. Yes, Pence sounds quite nice. Stupid teapot. ...xD; You'd get it if you watched an old video of mine up on YouTube. Heh. Beauty and the Beast songs are fun.

And I should so get my new Skittles commercial idea patented and sell it off. You know they'd sell so many more if they used that one. It would at least get attention if nothing else.)

(In response to: Serenityxiii

GREASEH-WA! I missed youuu here on fanfiction. xD God, we're going to take over the whole internet, aren't we? You, me, and Vixen. That would be the best face-to-face meeting in the history of meetings.

I swear I'll put more Roxas references in there soon. And I'll review your fic soon. -has no idea why it's taking me so long-

Ha, I've got so many random ideas for this fanfiction that we never slipped into our roleplay. xD The next chapter's going to have me snerking, I can tell.)

(In response to: Anthrax Pretzels

Ah, you too?! I can't stand when people act as though there's absolutely nothing whatsoever in beween Demyx's ears. I mean, the kid was nice to Sora. Nice. What's so stupid about that? Sora was the dumb one in the Hollow Bastion situation if you ask me. Squeenix ruined what little respect I had for him after that. Now I'm a decided Organization XIII and Riku fangirl and I doubt anything'll change that.

But yes. :) I'm glad you enjoy my style so far.)

(In response to: Vixen2004

-tacklepounceglompcling- VIXEN, VIXEN, VIXEN. I updated, seeeee? Well, of course you do. Otherwise you wouldn't be reading this. I swore I'd get around to it before the new year if I had to kill myself in the process. Typing can be dangerous when you have a five month old kitten crawling all over you and nipping at your fingers because he's a freak.

Oh my Kira. Xemnas meets Edgar Allen Poe. That would forever reshape the literary world. We all know Xemnas would get more fangirls out of it. And then he and Saix can swap their emo poetry and pink bathrobes!

Only Xemnas probably only has half a bathrobe. ..

Barf the rainbow FTW.

:3 I'm glad you're starting to like Xigbar. You make me enjoy Xaldin against my will. It is payback at its fullest. (Actually I've always loved Xigbar and just express him as I see him and had no intentions of changing your mind, but am happy nonetheless.)

I so wish you were coming with me to Disney World. D: It just won't be as much fun if I'm thinking "Gee, it would be so much better if Vixen was here..." the whole time.

And I hate you too, only not really. Because our hatred still cancels each other's out so we're back to not hating each other. My logic is flawless.)

(In response to: mynameisriku

...Living is nice. :D Please let me live, because I updated again, even if it was probably the slowest update I've ever done.

And Lexaeus is wonderful. He needs more love, poor guy. Just like Demyx, his intelligence is underestimated far too much.)

(In response to: Kyllex of Darkness

Hey Kyllex! xD I'm so glad you liked it. And late reviews are fine. I mean...just look at how long it took me to update this at all. Hocrap.

Oh, and I did get your message on DA, and am thinking about joining the club. x3 I haven't made up my mind yet but that's only because I hardly ever do anything on there and don't want to be a boring club member.)

(In response to: starshinesoldier

Thanks. And I hope to get my updating act together soon.)

(In respone to: Flame Rising

xD Normally I'm not one for chatspeak, but, oh wow, I just can't resist: LOL. This made me laugh so hard. I don't know if you were being serious or not, but I went into a fit of laughter. Insults amuse me, as I get enough of them off the internet and had no idea that people might feel so strongly about me on the internet too.

I'm sorry for insulting the clowns, honestly. But I'm afraid I won't be stopping updating and posting stuff. Sorry if this bugs you, honestly...xD I know I probably butcher the English language; you should see what I do to Spanish.

:D Thanks for making my day, dear. I'm bad at card games so I think I'll pass.)

(In response to: Bishieluver01

I don't think I'll be big on alcohol when I actually reach legal age. My father is, and he wouldn't have a problem in the least with me sneaking a glass of wine every now and then, I'd bet, but it just doesn't appeal to me. But dacqueries are good. At least, the non-alcoholic kind that I've tried. :3)

(In response to: olivia deloach

Thank you! But no, that's not the castle I'm referring to. Castle Oblivion is the one on the side of the road in Chain of Memories. The one in KH2 in the World That Never Was doesn't seem to have much of a name. xD; So I put my oh-so-impressive originality to use.)

(In response to: Crimson-Eyed-Angel99

Why thank you! I've tried so hard to go in-depth in this fanfiction; more than I ever have in the past, anyway. x3 And I'm a big fan of humor, so I couldn't help but make Demyx throw in amusing comments at any opportunity.

Hee. And no, Demyx was only seventeen (at least in my mind) when he died, so he couldn't have been a wine taster at all. Silly Demy. Little liar, too.

And Lexaeus is such a great big lovable guy. I want a plushie of him.)

Okay...whew. I think that's it. If there's anyone I've forgotten, I'm sorry. xD I'll try to get back to you ASAP. Reviews are still majorly desired and appreciated for this chapter, but I'll spare you anything mandatory by instead inserting cheap advertisement here:)

If you get the chance, you should check out these authors:

Vixen2004
Constance Greene
Serenityxiii
Viktor Mayrin
xcgirl08

Oh. And check out "Virtues of Alcoholism" and "Do the Math," two of my other recent fanfictions I've started up, if ever you get the chance. The latter features an interesting character, and Riku's point of view...xD And the former has Jack Sparrow. Not much more to ask for, right?

Honk if you think I should so go up to the nearest Ariel at Disney World and shriek to anyone within ear range that Demyx loves her!