"I can't believe you guys! You can't be left alone for five minutes without creating disaster!"

"Oh come on. Like you never made a mistake?"

"Like you're one to talk! This is your fault! You weren't even supposed to be here!"

One morning at the Mysterious Tower, the Sorcerer, Yen Sid gave a magic assignment to Masters Sora and Riku along with Bryan to assist and refresh his own abilities. Potion making wasn't exactly a skill that could be utilized on the fly as a key bearer but Yen Sid wanted all his students to be familiar with of course combat skills as well as the various forms of magic. He wasn't going to force advance studies on them but if they chose to do so on their own, the basics were necessary first.

Just like how some powers and knowledge were only available to Keyblade Masters, there were some magicks that also were reserved for certain ranks and skill. So, Sora, Riku and Bryan were meant to work on a moderate level potion together. Bryan wasn't really enthusiastic about potion making but some things you had to learn whether you wanted to or not because the teacher said so. Only, Lea had come in and insisted that he help and learn too. The other three tried to make him leave but it was no good. This was a project for Masters but Lea didn't want to be left out. And that's where the trouble started.

At first, apart from Master Yen Sid saying the project was for Masters only, the others reasoned it couldn't hurt for Lea to be there. This was a group project, what could it hurt if the group was just a little bigger so long as they still all worked together? Then they discovered Lea had a rather lackadaisical mindset when it came to potions. It couldn't be that different from cooking, right? For example, the complete omission of salt from chocolate chip cookies did nothing to worsen or ruin the recipe. Same went if you put in two teaspoons of baking soda even if the instructions called for one and a half. So you'd have a slightly puffier cookie, big deal.

The same mentality could not be applied to potions. In potions, the margin of error without disastrous results was usually very small. And sometimes the details of a potion in regard to an ingredient or how it was prepared were often unorthodox but could not be done any other way if expected to get the correct result (such was a good example of a time when Rachel complained about a potion that wouldn't boil unless you played Hot Cross Buns on the recorder. And she didn't know how to play). This they discovered rather quickly. But up until the time came to actually sample the finished brew did they question that something might not be quite right. The color, smell and consistency were very close or exactly how the book said it was supposed to. Then came time to actually try it.

Sora was the brave soul who volunteered to sample their work. According to the book, the potion they made was supposed to shed most magical maladies caused by a number of spells. The book described a full-body, tingly, euphoric feeling that would last a few seconds if not afflicted by any kind of magic. So the others waited for a moment after Sora drank the small glass of potion for him to report if the described sensations were in fact what they should be. Only…Sora went a little glassy-eyed and non-responsive. Then the lethargy went straight on through to loopy.

At first it was amusing. Yeah, proof they'd messed up somewhere but nothing serious happened as a result. But it didn't fizzle out after the first few minutes and Riku and Bryan were getting concerned that something other than Sora trying to catch imaginary butterflies could be going on. They went over the potion steps over and over trying to figure out where they'd gone wrong so they might pinpoint what was causing Sora's odd behavior and if it was something they should be worried about. But as far as they could tell nothing had been done so obviously incorrect it should be doing what they were seeing now. So, not wanting to admit defeat just yet (and desperately not wanting to show such an obvious failure to Yen Sid when he returned) Bryan called Rachel over to assess the problem. As a learning practitioner of higher magicks she might know what happened and how to fix it. And it didn't take long to figure out it was Lea's fault.

"And what color did it turn after you stirred it for the third time?"

"Metallic bronze, just like the book said." Riku said. "And it started to smell like coconut and cut grass as expected at that time too."

"And you took it off the heat after seven minutes?"

"Seven minutes exactly and it fizzed just like it was supposed to." Bryan continued.

"Who mixed the fetris oil and the gletrol?"

"I did," Lea said. "Before that chopped brown stuff and after the pink powder that smells like kerosene."

"Uh-oh."

"What?" Bryan glanced over his shoulder at Sora; who, presently was spinning in circles with his arms spread out making 'weeee' noises.

"Did you pour the oil into the gletrol or the gletrol into the oil?"

"Huh? I don't remember. What difference does that make?"

"I'll bet anything that's where you went wrong."

"Didn't we say for you to go away, Lea?"

"So this is his fault?" Now it was Riku's turn to look concerned at Sora. He'd bumped into the wall from spinning without looking and was lying on the floor, flapping his arms around like a clumsy backstroke.

"Oh come on, how could that make that big a difference?" Lea defended.

"It makes all the difference! Magical and chemical compounds can be very particular! It's like mixing hydrochloric acid and water! If you pour A into a jar of B you're fine, but if you pour B into a jar of A it explodes! To make this potion work properly you have to pour the gletrol through a standing amount of fetris oil!"

"What is a fetris anyway?"

"Will you be serious!" Bryan snapped at Lea. "You weren't even supposed to be here. Now the potion's messed up, Master will be back anytime to see what we've done and on top of that you've doped Sora!"

His description wasn't that far off. After pretending to swim on the floor, Sora had gotten up and ran back and forth across the room, jumping up to catch something just beyond his reach. He kept checking his clenched hands to see if he caught it then did it again when he found nothing. The mild hallucinogenic effect didn't last long but was quickly replaced by what could be best described as an anesthetic high.

"Hug!" Sora said mistily.

He leaned heavily against Bryan's shoulder but didn't actually raise his arms to hug. Maybe he thought he was but however the potion was affecting him made it so some parts of his brain were disconnected.

"Somebody fix him," Bryan said dully.

"I'll give you a hug if you want," Lea said, amused.

"Yay!"

Sora skipped over to Lea with his arms spread. Only his depth perception must've been on the fritz too. He leaned in for the promised hug but stopped too soon. Lea didn't step up to help. He just held out his arm and caught Sora with his hand as he fell forward. Lea chuckled.

"Sora, you're a little defective right now."

Sora looked up at him with the most pitiful look you could imagine. He looked like a toddler that just had his ice cream stolen.

"And I didn't get you anything." He whimpered.

"This is even better than when he's tired."

"I can't believe it messed up that badly." Riku sat at the workbench, elbows on the table and hands clawed through his hair. "This isn't going to be permanent, is it?"

"Shouldn't be." Rachel answered.

"How long will it last?"

Lea of course asked that more out of a selfish desire to be amused for a bit longer. Bryan recognized this immediately and gave Lea a shame-on-you glare that was masterfully ignored. Lea made a tiny fireball and it danced and jerked around in his palm. Sora followed it with his eyes with the same attentiveness of a cat watching a laser pointer.

"How much did he drink?"

"Not quite a full glass," Riku gave the small glass on the table a push with his hand to bring Rachel's attention to it.

"About an hour? Maybe?"

"Not enough time to brew it again and have Sora snapped out of it by the time Master comes back to check on our progress," Bryan growled.

"No need to be so sour," Lea said casually. He extinguished the fireball and Sora started looking around for where it had gone. "We can call this a learning experience. Failures are sometimes necessary in order to get better."

"Like you're one to talk!" Riku scolded. "This might not have happened at all if you had left when we told you to! Or you could have just watched. Observation is just as good a teacher. This was a Masters project and we-."

Riku's scolding might have had a chance to drive home his point if not for what happened next. His less-than-dulcet tones got Sora's attention. Sora then scampered to Riku's side, firmly hugged him around the neck, laid the side of his face against the side of Riku's head and started petting his hair.

"Kitty," Sora cooed mistily. "Nice kitty,"

It was about that point when Lea completely lost it. Bryan put his face in his hands and shook his head. Riku grumbled a bit. Sora gasped and continued petting his hair with fervor.

"No! No, no, kitty. Don't hiss. Let's be friends. Best friends…" He trailed off a bit but continued mumbling dreamily about being best friends with the soft kitty.

"That's it!" Rachel declared.

"What is?" Bryan asked her.

"I'm out. Good luck. I'm done."

"What? I thought you were going to help us!"

"You've passed the point of no return, little brother. Riku, love ya but you gents are on your own. I'm outta here."

"Wait!"

But it was too late. With a dramatic jump and a puff of magic Rachel transformed herself into a tiny hummingbird harpy. Her shiny feathers sparkled as she moved in the light. Without another word she buzzed hastily and noisily to the open doorway. Only, about the same time as she reached the door, Master Yen Sid came from around the other side. With reflexes none present thought possible, Yen Sid held up his hand and,

"Umph!"

Caught Rachel as she tried to fly away. The sorcerer held his long fingers like a cage, like the way you might try to keep a butterfly from getting away without hurting it.

"Why were you in here? And where are you going in such a hurry?"

"No reason! Not going anywhere special! Just leaving!"

Rachel slipped between his fingers and made a hasty retreat like a tiny feathered rocket. It was then Yen Sid turned back to the open doorway and the boys froze (except of course Sora who was still under the impression Riku's hair was a cat).

"So…who would care to explain what has happened here?"