Maybe he was dreaming and Riku had slipped some kind of drug into his dinner. Though the idea seemed unlikely, it would explain the horrific circumstances that were playing out in front of him.

"Come on pipsqueak, let's hear something!"The shockingly electric blonde with razor sharp antennae barked from her place by the clearly secondhand electric violin. Set against the far wall of the cramped quarters he could only guess belonged to someone's seldom used garage.

He couldn't speak. His throat had turned to stone the moment he saw all their faces. It would have been one thing if they looked like normal people, he was used to seeing that back home, but each person was more bizarre than the last.

Suddenly he felt someone's hands at his waist and a voice at his ear. "Come on dude, you don't wanna make me look bad in front of my band". Zexion couldn't turn around to see who was speaking but he didn't have to.

"Xigbar, can I just go? I've changed my mind," Zexion muttered so softly he worried Xigbar hadn't heard him.

Xigbar whipped Zexion around to look him in the face, all humor that was originally there was gone. All that remained was a cold cynical stare from one ice blue eye.

"Look here kid. I think you're cute and you have a good singing voice, but you have to convince the rest of these guys. " A small smile cracked across his sinister features making the scar on the side of his face more defined.

Zexion was turned back around to face the waiting audience, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Maybe he could sing to a bunch of strangers if he couldn't see them. He started out slow and quiet, internally praying that if this was a dream he wanted it over as fast as possible.

"She's got a target painted on her back,
And keeps a list of the qualities a good girl lacks.
She bites her lip and tips her bottle,
I take a drink cause the truth is hard to swallow.
Oh, oh, oh"

Zexion cracked one eye open and saw a half-smile on almost all the members faces. This gave him the courage to stand up straighter and sing louder so that they could see what he was capable of.

"Sex and white lies,
Handcuffs and alibis,
She lays her halo on the pillow where she sleeps...
Her heart beats, red wine,
My toxic valentine.
Lays her halo on her pillow that used to be mine.
Oh, oh."

Zexion could barely contain how much he was enjoying the attention that this questionable congregation was giving to his most impressive skill. He sang as powerfully and as beautifully as if he were on a stage in front of millions, like his cousin, instead of in an unfamiliar garage with a group of complete strangers.

As he sang the last verse he could feel the adrenaline that had coursed through his body begin to stop taking effect. By the end of the final chord he had resumed closing his eyes and began doing somewhat of a retard shuffle with his feet, making the chains on his pants jingle with the slight movement.

He was almost knocked face first onto the ground when a big hand began beating his back with such strength it felt like he was being pelted with boulders between his shoulder blades.

"Good job kid", boomed a broad shouldered giant from behind Zexion. This huge man must be the owner of the hand that had sent tremors through Zexion's body.

"Eh, he's ok, he's better than Saix I guess." The electric blonde from earlier sneered, without any sincerity behind her words.

There was a murmured agreement across the room that Zexion was better than they had pegged him to be.

Xigbar stepped forward from where he had been leaning back against the stereo system.

"Alright guys do you think this kid has what it takes to be our lead singer? Give me a raise of hands for those who think he does."

One by one hands started to go up. First the dark haired giant's, then a man with black dreadlocks and insanely long sideburns, next a bleach blonde guy with multiple ear piercings, even the critical bug-haired chick raised her hand. A guy with girly pink hair and a froufrou wardrobe to match did the same, then with slight reluctance a fiery haired guy with odd tattoos on his face raised his as well.

A wide smile broke across Xigbar's face. "Well then it looks like we're all in agreement. All we have to do now is - ". A loud crash was heard throughout the room as someone nearly broke down the door. A flood of light blinded all those who had been sitting in the dark enclosed space making recognizing the person who had just broken into their meeting quite difficult.

It was Zexion who saw the party-crasher first, but the facial expression on the Melodious Nocturne he had met in class was not angelic.