--
"Hey, brat, wake up!" Hojo hissed, kicking the boy who was asleep against the wall in the stomach. The boy, Zexion, immediately awoke and began to cry in pain.
"Shut up!" Hojo hissed, kicking him again. This, naturally, only caused him to cry even louder.
This hurt! Why was this man hurting him? He didn't do anything, did he??
"I said shut up!!" Hojo hissed, yanking Zexion up from the ground and dragging him down into the basement, Zexion stumbling the whole way.
Once there, Zexion was tossed into a huge room with a one way mirror thing. The lab was stark white, and the room Zexion was now in looked similar to the one in Professor Utonium's lab from the Power Puff Girls; you know, where they did those simulation things?
Zexion, in his confusion, stopped his crying. He looked around the room and wiped his eyes while sniffling. Where was he? He was confused! Where was mommy? And daddy? Where was he?? He looked a little bit mad at him earlier… Did he bring him here because he did something naughty? Was he a bad boy?? He didn't even know what he did wrong…
All of a sudden, the scary man's voice came out of nowhere! "Experiment one, Slide once," Was all the big speaker on the ceiling said. Ess-peer-ment? What's that? It sounded scary… Zexion hoped it wasn't; He was already scared en—AH! WHAT IS THAT!?
Zexion screamed when a huge orange and black striped kitty jumped and screamed in his face. The whole room had turned into one tropical jungle. There were thick threes everywhere and a few animals, including the big kitty! Zexion screamed and started crying in fright, taking no notice in his newly wet pants. He immediately tried to crawl away, but at that moment and huge furry monkey came after him too! Zexion screamed at the sight of it too.
He crawled hastily in another direction—The big monkey was just about to get him, it was catching up! It was right there when all of a sudden it disappeared. So did the kitty, and the whole jungle scene.
The speaker started talking again. "Experiment one, slide one complete. Effects: Soiled pants, crying and deathly fear. Experiment one, slide two now commencing," It said.
This time, the whole room became black. Oh n-no! Not the dark! Zexion hated the dark with a passion! It really scared him. Mommy had always been there to comfort him but now she was nowhere to be— gasp! Mommy! She was here!
She didn't say anything though, as she walked up to him. "M-momma…" Zexion cried, crawling towards her for comfort… But something was wrong. Did she just walk through him?! He turned around to find here— but she was gone. In her place though, were scary squeaking noises. He continually looked around for their source, only to find none. He turned around once more— and all of a sudden, all these scary flying black things were flying in his face! They were squeaking and flapping in his face! Zexion didn't like it one bit and started screaming and waving his arms to get rid of them, but they wouldn't go away!! Why wouldn't they go away!?
--And then they were. The room became white again, and Zexion's eyes were starting to irritate from so much crying. "Experiment one, slide two now complete," AH! Oh, it was just the speaker… "Experiment one, slide three now commencing…"
--
Afterwards, Zexion had cried all his tears out and had managed to crawl to a corner with his tail between his legs. He had been through five 'terrains'; forest, cave, underwater, snowy mountain and hurricane! He was lucky, though. This woman, a servant maybe?, had come down at one point. "MAKE IT SHUT UP I'm trying to watch my bleedin' show!" She had snapped, causing the scary man scowl and stop his ess-peer-ments.
But after that… He pulled Zexion out of the big room and dragged him into another. In there, Hojo jabbed his arm with a syringe. Within a few moments, Zexion's insides began to burn! He also began screaming; louder than any time before! But that servant woman came down again, and within moments he had another needle in his arm; except this time, in those next few moments, he was out cold.
--
Things went on like this for another five years. Zexion had long forgotten who his real parents were. He had only been one, so of course his small infant's memory could remember nothing but pain and suffering. Hojo and Clarissa were his parents now. They didn't adopt him, oh no. Hell, Hojo and Clarissa weren't even married. He just grew up believing that's what they were.
Everyday, he would be dragged from his room in the attic, have a few shots injected into him or a few random beatings for 'tests', then be kicked out to school.
He had started school this year, but only because Hojo didn't want the law to come over to force him and then find out about things, and then he'd lose his lab rat. He had been given an IQ test as well, and the results were… Extraordinary. The boy was a genius, to say the least! So, instead of being put into kindergarten, he was put in the second grade.
By that time, the boy was thin; too thin. He was used to only getting one meal a day, and his body was barely adapting to the situation. The only other food he got was a bag of skittles. Hojo had injected a bag of the candies with a liquid once and given it to the boy, and now his life almost literally depends on them. So Clarissa makes sure to give him a bag every day.
--
Zexion was really shy. So when he stood up in front of the class, he hid behind the teacher part way. Everyone there was at least two years older than him… And they all looked so chipper. Did they not get as experimented on as much? Don't their daddies do that to them too? Why do they look so happy? ...He must be a failure. A small, pansy, who can't take his beatings like a good child does. He's sorry for putting his family name to shame… What is his family name?? He didn't know… Oh, the teacher was talking to him!
"Zexion, what is your birthday? We put our birthdays on our birthday wall so we can celebrate them when the day comes!" She smiled down at him. Birth-day? What in heaven's name was that?? Zexion looked up at her in curiosity. "A what?" He asked, in a whispered tone. "Your birthday! You know, they day you were born?" She asked.
There was a snort and some stifled laughter from the class. "He doesn't know what a birthday is? What the hell? What a loser!" A girl named Larxene spat, cackling at the poor boy. "Larxene! Principal's office, now!" Miss Schanacker snapped, putting a protective arm around Zexion. Once Larxene was out of the room, the teacher looked to Zexion again.
"I… I don't know…" He said, his gaze shooting to his shoes. Miss Schanacker is sympathetic though. "She pointed to a small table that had three other people sitting at it. "Why don't you sit with those three, Roxas, Namine, and Xion?" She suggested, and Zexion quietly shuffled off towards the table, sticking out like a sore thumb the whole time.
--
At break time, Zexion stayed at the table eating his daily bag of skittles. He had brought a book he had borrowed from the local library, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, to read as well. It was then that a boy came walking up to him.
"Hi there, I'm Demyx!" He said, grinning and waving. Zexion was shocked. He looked at Demyx for a while, taking in his appearance and accidentally neglecting to say hello back—he wasn't allowed to talk that often at home, so he was used to not talking at all. After a moment he looked into his bag of skittles, considering sharing them.
'But, Zexion, these are your life line!'
'But they could make you a friend!'
He looked back up to Demyx, who looked annoyed. "Want some?" Zexion asked, holding out the bag to him.
"No way! I don't share things with people who's hair and eyes are a girl's color! I might get yer germs and turn purple like you!!" Demyx yelled, running off.