Vexen woke up, his head aching, among other things. What exactly had he been thinking when he injected everybody with a surrogate heart serum? Yes, it was temporary, but what the HELL had he been thinking?

"It's alright," he told himself. "It'll only last a week." He looked at Marluxia and the flower clone, on either side of him, and buried his head in his slender hands, long ash-blond locks spilling forward. He wondered how the rest of the castle was faring...

Demyx Awoken. HE looked at the ceiling. "Hmm, today feels odd." He said as he jumped out of bed, already dressed. "hmm. I think i wanna go bother Vexen today." And with that, he fixed up his mullet, and dashed down the hall to Vexen's Lab.

Vexen winced as he got out of bed. There was someone at the door. He creased his brow as he stood up and tossed the blankets over Marluxia and the clone, praying they wouldn't wake up before whoever it was left. His body was too slick with sweat and sap to manage putting on his cloak, so he just tossed on a pair of black trousers and a white labcoat and went to answer the door.

"Demyx?" he queried, confused. Why would the musician visit him in the lab? No matter... he waved the boy in and offered him something to drink.

"Hi Vexen!" He said as he trotted in. "I got bored. So I decided to bother you today." Demyx said happily. He looked back at vexen. "Vexen, when i woke up, my tummy started turning and my body felt strange." He said as sat down on the floor. "Do you think I have a brain tumor?" He tilted his head to the side.

"No," the scientist replied. "If you had a brain tumor, your head would be hurting. I'd offer to examine your body, but I think that's a job better suited for a doctor rather than a scientist."

Why bother me? he thought privately. Why not one of the other members? He didn't voice his thoughts, but they showed up plainly on his face.

"Would you like something to drink?" he offered again, indicating the many exotic-colored, bubbling substances in beakers on one of his tables.

Marluxia stirred under the sheet that had somehow appeared over his head in the night. He thought he heard voices. Yes, he did. Vexen must have gotten up... was that Demyx?

Marluxia scowled and scooted closer to his clone, hugging it tightly. It let out an unhappy noise and turned around in its creator's arms.

"You're not Vexen," it stated. Marluxia pressed a slender, firm finger to the clone's lips: They had been hidden for a reason. Now all they could do was listen in on the conversation taking place between Vexen and Demyx.

"He can't get a tumor on something he doesn't have," hissed the clone, speaking its creator's thoughts aloud. Marluxia frowned at it and tapped its nose, reminding it not to let itself be heard.

"Take the drink... take it..." whispered the clone gleefully. He didn't know what exactly Vexen's tonics would do to Demyx, which was the main reason he wanted to hear the kid drink it. Maybe it'd raise his IQ.

Marluxia tightened his grip on his clone, willing him to shut up so he could hear what was going on.

"Nah, I'm good Vexen!" Demyx said as he stood up. "Hey Vexen." Demyx pondered as he looked over to Vexen's bed. "Why is there lumps underneath there?" He saw one lump move towards the other. "GAH! IT MOVED!" He screamed as he jumped on them and started to slap it. "i'll kill it for you vexen! Ima gonna save your bed!" He kept slapping them.

"No, Demyx!" screeched Vexen, lunging for the bed. "It's just... an experiment," he said, his face flushing. He couldn't seem to look the boy in the eye as he said this.

Marluxia tossed the covers off of himself and the clone and gave Demyx a long, healthy evil eye.

"What. Are. You. Doing?" he asked, biting each word out while the clone seethed next to him.

Demyx had jumped and then he had fallen out of the bed.

"Vexen! Marly is Stalking you! Did you know that HE was under you're bed?"

DAMN that racket! Zexion squeezed his eyes tightly shut as though it would shut the noise out in his ears. He pressed his pillow hard over his head.

Figures, he thought as the pillow failed to block out the noise and he recognised Demyx's voice. Coming from... Vexen's lab?

Frowning in curiosity, Zexion haphazardly tossed his cloak on over his pajamas and went to investigate the noise.

When he got to the lab, an odd sight greeted his eyes. Vexen was standing over the bed, what looked to be a panicked expression on his face. Marluxia and- wait, make that two Marluxias- were sitting up on the futon that passed for Vexen's bed, giving a high-as-usual-and-the-chemical-fumes-in-the-lab-probably-weren't-helping Demyx a healthy dose of the evil eye.

"What's all the fuss about?" the bluenet asked crankily.