Stuck

Summary: After a lab accident, Zexion finds himself looking after the new servant and maid. The problem is, one is an arrogant idiot while the other is a snappy loner, but can he put this all in his advantage?

Disclaimer: I do not own KH.

I'm saying this just so some of you know: there will not be any pairings in this fanfic. There will be no ZexionOC, or any other 'real' character and original character pairings. This is just something I thought up in my free time... the truth is, I've been thinking of KH Zexion-centric fics since February 2007...

Chapter 1: Accidents and a Strange Place

"Are you sure this will work?"

Zexion, the Cloaked Schemer and the sixth member of Organization XIII, eyed the four beakers on the tabletop warily. The first was indigo and smoky, and radiated so that, if not for Vexen's ridiculously cold laboratory temperatures, it would melt anything within a two-feet radius. The second bubbled and looked identical to blood, but Zexion knew better; it smelled worse than blood (more like rotten eggs than rust). The third was as clear as water, but again, with his superb sense of smell, Zexion detected that it was anything but that. The last was... strange, to put it in words. The liquid was swirling, as if it was being stirred, and the color was constantly changing. It smelled like different herbs mixed with milk and... tomatoes. The beakers that contained the liquids were all half-full and in the center, and there was a larger beaker which was supposed to be where all of the items would be put in.

"It is merely a theory, so I'm not sure, but there's a high chance that this will succeed," answered Vexen as he read over his notes again. "The only step left is mixing them together at the same time now. Zexion, you pour in the indigo and red ones while I pour in the others."

It was only four hours earlier that Vexen had dragged Zexion from his haven (i.e. the library) to help him with an experiment that would have been out of question to perform by oneself. Well, 'dragged' would be an overstatement, since it only took Vexen about fifteen minutes to persuade the Cloaked Schemer. But that's beside the point. After four hours of toiling away in creating the potions and chemicals at hand, we finally reach the time right now, where Zexion is questioning whether or not to trust his 'friend'.

Despite this, Zexion nodded and walked over to the other side of the table. He glanced briefly at the shelf next to him. If this did not work, and causes an explosion instead, then all of the dangerous chemicals next to him would probably erupt as well, and Vexen's lab would be demolished. He was particularly worried about the brown, swirling liquid that smelled like a burning candle in the flask that was directly to the right of the large beaker, since it was almost full to the brim. Shaking his doubts out of his head, he snapped the safety goggles back on his head and pulled his gloves on tighter. Lifting up the two beakers, he looked up at Vexen, waiting for him to give the cue.

Vexen took in a breath. "All right... pour it now—"

BANG! "Hey, Vexy, we're back!" yelled Xigbar, most likely just to annoy the old scientist, and slammed open the laboratory door, and slammed it shut again. He and Xaldin had been on another mission, scouting to find more recruits (even though the total member count was already a total of 13 or 14).

Still pouring the liquids, Vexen jumped and accidentally hit the shelf, shaking it, and the brown liquid in the flask Zexion saw earlier tipped over. The brown chemical poured into the beaker while both Vexen and Zexion looked at it in alarm while still pouring the liquids.

"Oh, great," muttered Zexion as Vexen cursed under his breath.

BAM! The chemical exploded, pushing Vexen and Zexion back, away from each other. Zexion was actually sent flying and landed on the ground, hard. Somewhere in the lab, beyond the chaos, he could hear Vexen crying for help and the door opening. He thought he saw the bulky silhouette of Lexaeus near where the door should've been before he blacked out.

¤-¤-¤-¤

Selene Bromine was, to say the least, irritated beyond belief.

The currently navy-haired girl was sitting, or rather, squatting in front of a large castle that seemed to be floating. Her mahogany eyes were surveying the castle, her frown deepening as she confirmed her whereabouts and thought that the pain that was going through her arm was enough to prove to her that this was most definitely not a dream. Her black sweat jacket was stained with mud, though she could really care less, and she was sure her face looked just as dirty.

The fact that a specific person named Lio Brighton was next to her was enough torture, actually. He had short auburn hair, complete with bangs that ended just under his eyebrows, and golden eyes. He was gritting his teeth as he stared up at the castle, which both of them knew was the Castle that Never Was. He, too, was soaked in dirt, mud and the like, from his shoes up to his hair, though they appeared in odd patterns. Selene didn't hate him or anything, it's just that they were bitter rivals and for her to be stuck here with him of all people... it was just really, really agonizing for her.

"So... how the heck did we end up in the World that Never Was?" asked Lio between grit teeth, standing up. Bits of dirt and mud fell off of him and smeared on his hands as he brushed his clothes to try and look more presentable. "For me, everything went by in a blur."

"Do I really have to tell you?" asked Selene in a riled tone as she too stood up and brushed herself. She ran her hands through her now swallowtail-like hair that refused to stay straight down. "Because I myself don't know half of it."

¤Flashback¤

"Lio, you're a complete idiot in science, you know that?"

"That's because you're great in it!"

"...you know, we learned how to do this last year."

"..."

Two teens were squabbling in a science lab, with a beaker in between them filled with a brownish liquid. The female had short, black hair that was tied in a mini-ponytail that barely reached her shoulders, and her brown eyes were fixed in a glower at the boy. The male had short dark brown hair that were parted in the middle of his head, and light brown eyes stuck in a glare for the moment.

"Come on, let's just get this over with," grumbled Selene as she stirred the brown liquid, adding a small amount of powder to it, causing it to turn a little blue. "Class will be over in fifteen minutes, and we've only finished half of the experiment." She sighed. "Why, of all people, did the teacher have to pair me up with you?"

Lio mumbled something that she couldn't catch before saying, in a more audible tone, "And I didn't want to be with the resident loner of the school anyway. Even if you're super-smart you never to speak to people."

"Yeah, and proud of it," retorted the girl, rolling her eyes. It was true; she didn't talk to people most of the time, and didn't bother socializing with her classmates unless it was necessary. Some don't even recognize her voice. She only voluntarily talks to the teachers and adults, since, to put it in her words, 'they're the only ones who can speak ten sentences and make sense.' Whether that proves she has a mature or picky mind is uncertain, but it wasn't hard to conclude that she was pretty strange. The former option (maturity) is more likely, however, seeing that her manner of speaking was more sophisticated than the average teenager.

"Whatever," grumbled the boy, rolling his eyes. He looked back at the directions. "Let's see... it says here to add some crushed Buddleia flowers. How the heck is that supposed to help us in this lab?!"

"Just do it; don't ask questions," growled Selene, though she was thinking the same thing. However, she just kept on doing her part of the lab, which was to do the mixing that a 'group 2' was supposed to do. She heard Lio mumble about not getting things at all, and she simply rolled her eyes this time. Glancing at his hands to make sure he was doing things correctly, she noticed that he was measuring the yellow items incorrectly.

"Hey, Lio, it's 5 grams, not 25 grams of Buddleia flowers," she stated, shaking her head. Too late, he already put in the yellow crystal-like powder.

Wait... crystal?

"LIO, YOU IDIOT, THAT'S SULFUR, NOT BUDDLEIA!!" she yelped, staring at the beaker in horror. His head jerked up in alarm, but not before the heated beaker exploded right in front of him. "AND DUCK, YOU MORON!" she yelled frantically, tackling him to help him move out of the way. It was in vain, though. As soon as she touched him, it felt like a thousand hands were squeezing the life out of her as she tensed her muscles. After letting out a strangled gasp, everything went black.

All that was left for the shocked class to stare at were a few shards of glass and a smoking magenta liquid.

¤End Flashback¤

"...oh, right," sighed Lio, sitting down on the ground in contemplation. "But that just raises a bunch of other questions that I'm thinking up..."

"Don't worry; I can already think of ten off the top of my head," responded the girl, frowning. "Like how did we get here, why did we come here, and how is this place existent? I thought this is supposed to be a video game, not real life." For a while, the two teenagers sat in silent, lost in their own thoughts, faces unreadable. They weren't bothered by the world's inhabitants, but they didn't bother the natives either.

After a while, Selene looked up at the castle, startled. She just came to a realization, and it wasn't one that she was particularly happy about. As she gazed at the yellow heart-shaped moon in the sky of this world, she concluded that it was the only possibility.

"Hey, Selene," said Lio, snapping her out of her thoughts. She turned to him, and found that his face looked a little paler. "If we're in the World that Never Was almost unharmed, with changed appearances, then do you think...?"

Selene remained silent, knowing exactly where this conversation was going. "Yes," she murmured quietly, standing up. Her eyes were distant but hard, irritated but distressed as she stared at the flickering lights of the castle and the area around it. She felt Lio get up beside her, his eyes reflecting the look in hers.

"Are you sure?" he whispered, looking as if he wanted to blink back tears. "Is there no mistake?"

"If I was wrong, then we should be panicking right around now," she answered coolly. She started walking towards the castle in dream-like steps, her unbound hair flowing harshly behind her. "Yes," she whispered again. "We're nobodies."

¤-¤-¤-¤

Zexion groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. The light was blinding him, and the chatter had died down from around him as soon as he moved. As soon as his eyes got adjusted to the light, he turned his head to the side to find that Vexen was already there impatiently with Lexaeus and Xemnas. This time, he inwardly groaned. No doubt the Superior would want an explanation as to why he's in this state right now... hopefully, Vexen had already explained to him. From the look on Xemnas' face, Vexen did.

"Awake, I see," stated Xemnas. "Number IV had already told me what had happened, and the reason why you were knocked out for the last six hours." Zexion looked up at the clock behind the two elders, and found that it six hours did indeed pass. "But tell me," continued the Superior, "did any changes occur that you are aware of."

"I did not detect anything while I was unconscious," answered Zexion, who couldn't help but emphasize the last word. "I apologize, but I have no idea what happened in the past six hou..." He stopped talking abruptly, glancing out the window. His eyebrows furrowed, he pushed aside the curtains more to get a better view of what was outside. With Vexen and Xemnas silently watching in the background, he stood up (nobody would've guessed he was unconscious mere minutes ago) and opened the window. A small gust of wind blew in, causing Zexion to involuntarily shiver. Nevertheless, he was able to confirm his suspicion as he saw two dots in the horizon.

"What is it?" asked Vexen, raising an eyebrow. "Have you discover something?"

"...yes," answered the schemer, eyes squinting to get a better look at the two objects in the distance whom were slowly getting closer. "Two new nobodies."

There was a brief silence in the room as the other two took in this information. Swiftly, Vexen was in front of the window after five seconds and he, too, squinted his eyes. "Merciful darkness, he's right," he breathed, the Superior coming up beside him. (Okay, I couldn't think of anything other than 'merciful darkness'...) "We have indeed found two new full-fledge nobodies."

"Interesting," said Xemnas, nodding his head. "We will have to recruit them; strong nobodies are hard to come by these days." As soon as he said that, though, one of the figures fell over and didn't get up. The other immediately ran to his/her side and was futilely trying to revive him/her.

"...Number VI, go and tell Number IX to meet them and, by any means necessary, recruit them," he commanded, then paused. "You go along with him. I wouldn't want him to burn them alive and make them fade beforetime."

"Yes, sir," grumbled Zexion automatically in a monotone, and opened a corridor of darkness.

¤-¤-¤-¤

"Selene! Wake up or I'll resort to punching you!" yelled Lio, shaking Selene's shoulders roughly. No response, except for her strained breathing and irregular pulse. Wait, but they weren't supposed to have hearts... well, whatever the reason that caused them to have pulses, she was still unconscious and being alone in a new world wasn't a calming feeling. Truthfully, he wasn't alone since there were other nobodies around and Selene had merely fainted, but he felt alone. Wait, but that was wrong too, since they weren't supposed to have emotions...

Lio shook his head to clear his thoughts. Apart from all the controversy he was feeling inside revolving around the states of nobodies, he was slightly worried about his companion. Sure, they were rivals, but that didn't mean that he didn't feel compelled to help her. Beside, she actually looked vulnerable and helpless in this state instead of her usual pensive and cold-air-emitting self, which made it easier for him to help her. After about five more minutes of using various methods to wake her (including punching, nudging her with his foot, poking her with a stick, yelling in her ear, flicking her forehead and pulling her hair), he finally checked her pulse again. To his alarm, it was slowing down, and, scared out of his wits, seriously considered doing CPR. Until...

"She's in a worse state than I thought," observed a voice behind him. Lio jumped up, alarmed, and readied himself for an attack. Instead, he was met with the sight of two men in black cloaks. The silver-haired one who spoke earlier, was already giving her a pondering stare, as if he was able to assess a person's health simply by looking at them. The blonde rolled his eyes.

"Zexy, if this is worse than you thought, then what did you exp— OW!!" yelled the younger as a book collided with his head. Unfazed, Zexion withdrew his book and it disappeared, waiting to be called for later use.

"I've told you not to call me that," he scolded. "You and Axel annoy me to no end..."

"...uh, can you two please tell me where the medication is? I think Selene is dying," stated Lio in a voice calmer than he felt. "Unless you have some method of reviving her, that is."

"We'll get your friend back in due time," answered the calmer man, hoisting Selene up like a sack of potatoes. Lio blinked and looked aggravated.

"Hey! Don't do that to her—" He was cut off when Zexion hit him with his lexicon and knocked him out.

Rolling his eyes, he turned to Demyx. "Hoist him up and follow me. We're bringing him to the Superior. He's in the infirmary," he explained curtly. He opened a corridor of darkness and Demyx followed right after, grumbling something about not being told the whole mission in the beginning.

¤-¤-¤-¤

"So I take it that the potion did work despite the added element?" questioned Xemnas, eyeing the Academic.

"I'd hate to say this, but I'm actually grateful that Xigbar barged in at that time," grumbled Vexen, and nodded. "I didn't think that creating a temporary corridor would be that easy... but it took a toll on those two." He glanced back out the window, where the four nobodies had been moments before. "I imagine that an added 'bonus' to using the corridor would mean that the body and heart are separated. I have no idea where their hearts have gone to, but I believe that something strange would have happened to them as well."

"Whatever the reason, we'll have to survey those two closely. Who knows who they were before this... and who they are now?"

¤-¤-¤-¤

A/N: How did you like it? Were the characters too OOC? I would appreciate it if you told me if I made some mistakes in the concepts... just don't comment on Lio second-guessing the states of nobodies. I have a reason for that. But anyway, should I continue this? ...and is this idea already taken by somebody?

This is the first KH fic that I'm posting even though it's probably the... seventh or so that I've started. KH fic, that is. I also started a bunch of other fanfics, but the chance of me posting them are slim to none.

I honestly have no idea why anybody would need crushed buddleia flowers in a science class, nor why they would want sulfur.

I'm trying to keep this Zexion-centric and not Lio- or Selene-centric. I have a very general outline right now of the story...