Prologue
Thunder.
It sounded, loud and clear, distant yet close, like a gong ringing.
"Oh no…"
The fog rolled in, hiding the world, the hopes, the dreams…Lightning! And after came the rain, the cold, stinging, merciless rain…
"Not again…"
Now he was floating. Floating, with the sensation of falling, but he knew better by now. It was darker than eyes closed, with no hint at how long he has been there. Dipping under this layer of darkness, he alighted in a grassy field, where spring is very much alive. But, who is that cloaked figure, standing on that cliff over there? No, I know this! Why can't I remember who that is! Unwillingly, he heads toward the loner.
"Who are you!" his voice trembled, "Show yourself!"
"You know me…" the figure replied, slowly turning around, "I am you."
"NO!" he cries as he wakes with a start. He is gasping for breath, his hand unconsciously grasping the area where his heart should be. He pulls himself out of bed and runs for the bathroom. Is it true? Could it be true? He cautiously peers at the mirror; there's nothing wrong. He sighs with relief and hastily rinses his face. He does not want to go back to bed anytime soon.
If I go back to sleep, I might go back… Back to where it was lonely and cold, where you breathed in nothing but despair. What is this he was feeling? Fear? Impossible. To feel you need a heart.
What could all this mean? The male had been having this same nightmare for a whole week now. Every time it was the same. The thunder, the lightning the rain, the abyss, the field, the figure, his eyes. I am you, the other had said and it was true. But his eyes had been a deep shade of red. Blood red.
Axel calls it a nerdy hideout. Xemnas calls it a mess waiting to happen. Demyx calls it certain death or, at least, frogs hatching out of your ears. Whatever you called it, Vexen's lab sure did cause the Organization a lot of grief. It was poorly lit, with one, sputtering light bulb responsible for illuminating the vast expanse of the room. Machine parts, test tubes, specimens, and dangerous-looking vials littered the floor. Papers, more test tubes, and Bunsen burners cluttered the tables. The lab always had a faint smell of bananas, due to a failed experiment a few months back. And, 50% of the time, it had a blonde scientist scurrying around, his latest experiment in play.
"Ok, so this goes in here, stir that; Yipes! That's overcooking! Oh, there's my molecular disintegrator! Um, yes! That needs to be minced, put that over there and that's. still. burning! Ok, keep it together. 3 cups of this and a touch of magic over there and-Lexaeus! Could you take that pot off the stove for me? My hands are tied!"
"Sure thing," Lexaeus moved the pot Vexen instructed him to. He cast a suspicious glance into the boiling liquid before moving back to stand next to Zexion. The duo would sometimes stand by and "supervise" Vexen while he worked on an experiment. In truth, they carefully observed the procedure so if something went wrong; and it usually did; someone else would have a cure that actually wanted it fixed.
"So, what exactly are you working on this time, Vexen?" Zexion inquired.
"Oh, well, you see. It's a -AAAH!" Vexen yelped in surprise as a nearby flask exploded and started spewing purple bubbles. He ran over to it to transfer it to a different container as a microwave on the far and of the room began emitting smoke. Vexen darted from station to station, strongly resembling a bumble bee.
Zexion sighed. "I'm going to get something to drink." He started up the stairs.
"Zexion!" Vexen called after him, "bring me all the diet coke you can carry!"
Apparently, now he was a delivery boy. Zexion inclined his head towards Lexaeus who shook his head in reply. He continued up the stairs and exited.
Lexaeus went back to watching Vexen flit around the lab, now pouring a bit of each substance into a single test tube. He reached the end of the assembly line, wafted the fumes to his nose, and gagged visibly. He produced a small flask from somewhere in his coat and added a few drops to the mixture. The test tube's contents now glowed neon green. He corked it with a triumphant "Hmph!"
"It's finished!" he unnecessarily announced.
"So, what DOES it do?" Lexaeus asked.
"Well," Vexen began proudly, "It's a personality switching potion. It will switch the personalities of whoever comes into contact with it. If it gets into one of our enemies, Sora for instance, he will have his strong and loyal nature changed with someone's who has low priorities, preferably. Maybe Xigbar would be the best one to have in this situation. Moving on, when Sora loses his will to fight, he will be defeated in no time. Then our world will be one nuisance shorter!"
Lexaeus worried about the way Vexen was swinging the substance around. "Does it work?"
Vexen's face fell slightly at that. "I'll have to test it out." He glanced over at the clock. "OH NO!" he exclaimed, "Luxord and Xigbar will be done with their game soon! They would be perfect test subjects!" He ran up the stairs with Lexaeus tailing him. Vexen flung open the door-and collided straight into Zexion, whose arms were laden with Diet Coke.
Demyx was also present at the scene; absent-mindedly listening to his Ipod, and so was Larxene; who had a bag full of cosmetics she was carrying up to her room. The test tube crashed on the floor, concealing the all in a thick green mist.
When the fog cleared, multiple things happened at once. "O M G Vexen, what the hell? You made me drop all your STUPID coke! You are SO gonna pay for that!" Zexion screamed at him. Vexen, who would usually bite something back, remained indifferent. Larxene, as if noticing her hairstyle for the first time, began bouncing up and down singing the Bumble Bee Tuna song. Demyx face-palmed and headed for the library. "Thi-This is AMAZING!" Lexaeus exclaimed, "This is a breakthrough! Congratulations Vexen, you really ought to send me that ingredients list!"
Roxas RTC'd from his mission. He was proud of himself for getting it done so quickly. Axel wouldn't be done with his for a while, so the keyblade-wielder decided to watch T.V. As he walked through the hallway, he bumped into Zexion. And Zexion just plain out exploded at him. "Don't you Ever touch me again or I swear, I will personally murder you!" he cried, shoving Roxas into the wall. Roxas, stunned at what happened, cautiously continued on. He saw Demyx approaching. "Hey Demyx!" he cheerfully greeted but Demyx promptly ignored him, engulfed by his book titled simply, Genetics. Roxas was thoroughly disturbed now. Demyx? READING! He proceeded down the corridor, half expecting a landmine to go off. Just his luck, Laxene came next. He braced himself but all she did was pat him on the head. "Hey, little dude!" she smiled as she unwrapped an oreo cakester and popped it in her mouth.