W-Wow, guys. I didn't expect the first chapter to get such a positive response. I was scared to put up chapter two because I wasn't sure if the quality would be up to snuff in comparison. Nonetheless, here it is. I give you...chapter two!

Prototype

By FlikFreak

Chapter Two: The Boy in the Basement

Roxas couldn't believe his eyes. According to Pence, no one had lived in this house for ages. How was it that there was a living, breathing human being here? Well, at the moment he was asleep, but it was close enough.

The boy had to be around his age. He just floated there, eyes closed, arms at his sides. His light brown hair (which probably defied at least three laws of physics, judging by how spiky it was) bobbed a little as he hovered in place. Overall, the boy was also rather thin. His outfit was probably the strangest thing Roxas had ever seen, a red jumpsuit acting as a sleeveless shirt and a pair of shorts, a hooded short-sleeved jacket, oversized yellow shoes, and white, fingerless gloves. There was also a blue belt with a long chain dangling off of it in a loop, and a crown pendant on a chain around his neck. If this boy was from the past, he hid it well by appearance alone.

Stepping forward, Roxas noticed the wires connected to the boy's head, neck, back, and chest. There were various other connections as well. What was this boy here for?

Is someone there?

The voice again. Roxas swallowed, looking around the room for the source. "Um…yeah."

Who are you?

It couldn't hurt to answer, he figured. "My name's Roxas. Who're you?"

There was no answer. Roxas felt his gaze become drawn to the opened pod again, where the boy floated peacefully. There was a hiss, and the wires fell, leaving the boy to float on his own. Deep blue eyes began to open, still droopy from sleep. He opened his mouth, possibly to speak, but didn't say a word.

They stared at each other for a few silent minutes, in awe of one another. Roxas could hardly believe what he was seeing; it was so surreal. This boy was not only alive, but waking up from who knows how long a nap. He couldn't move if he wanted to; he simply stared in awe.

Finally, the mysterious boy stretched, yawning silently and flexing his fingers a few times, his eyelids still drooping lazily.

So tired…

Roxas then had a startling realization that it was the boy speaking to him. Gulping nervously, he backed away. "Y-You…you're…"

The boy tilted his head, eyes opening a bit more and causing him to look more awake. He slowly floated to the floor of the pod, landing with a near-silent tap. Roxas stepped back a few inches, but the boy only walked toward him, head tilted curiously. After a few moments, Roxas spun on his heels and took off running.

Wait!

He ignored the voice for favor of fleeing. The halls began to flash red, and a sound akin to an alarm began to go off. Roxas was vaguely aware of a set of footsteps following him, but he kept running through the halls and up the stairs to the library. The entire building seemed to be shaking – either that or it was just him. He was just beginning to head down the stairs when he tripped, falling down head-first. His skull hit the platform mid-way to the first level as he fell.

The last thing he noticed before he blacked out was a pair of blue eyes staring back at him.

There were two men standing in the dining room. Roxas couldn't make them out. He peeked out from behind the doorframe, careful to eavesdrop without being noticed.

"It's like a sponge," one of them said. "It's sucking up all of the energy in the house."

"I realize that," the older of the two replied. "It seems my calculations were incorrect. We may have to quarantine it."

"Quarantine…" the younger one echoed, one hand balling into a fist. "But wouldn't that mean…?"

"Yes. Just be glad it's the energy in the house that's being taken and not…" the man paused, glancing in Roxas's direction.

Roxas gasped, backing away. The younger of the two men started forward, and he felt only fear…

The sunlight blinded Roxas when he woke up late the next day. Groaning, he glanced at his clock. Ten in the morning…yep. Time to get up. Yawning, he stretched and sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and dully noting the pain in the back of his head.

Unwillingly, his thoughts drifted to the night before, and a slight panic set in. He had been in that room with the pod…staring at that boy. Why had he been wired up and confined like that? Was that voice in Roxas's mind really his? Was it really the right thing to leave him there? And just who was he, anyway?

Shaking his head a bit to clear his mind, Roxas got himself dressed and headed downstairs, grabbing a pouch of poptarts for breakfast as he went. He ripped open the top as he walked, breaking off the corner and popping it in his mouth.

"Hey, chicken wuss."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Oh, great, not now…"

Seifer, Rai and Fuu stood on a street corner, eyeing Roxas like he was the bringer of the plague. It wasn't surprising to the blonde – he got that look regularly from them. The leader, Seifer, crossed his arms and sneered. "Word on the street has it that you went to the old, haunted mansion in the middle of the night," he said.

"That place is off-limits, y'know?" Rai added.

Fuu's gaze was as stony as ever. "Forbidden."

Roxas scowled. "So?"

"Why were you there?" Seifer demanded casually. "Get dared by some little kid to see if there really were ghosts in there?"

No. Actually, he went into the basement, found out some kid around his age was locked up in some pod, and then took off running when the said kid woke up, only to be knocked out when he fell down the stairs. Oh, and then he somehow woke up in his own bed the next morning with no idea how the hell he got there. "None of your business."

Seifer opened his mouth to talk again when the sound of heavy footsteps approaching nearby cut him off. There, standing with his fists clenched and his eyes narrowed, was the boy from last night. Roxas's eyes widened. So he was real!

"This your new bodyguard, chicken wuss?" Seifer taunted. "Looks a bit scrawny to do the job if you ask me."

Obviously insulted by this, the boy lowered himself into a fighting stance. Seifer seemed mildly amused at this. "You picking a fight with me?"

The boy exhaled through his teeth, producing a mild hissing sound, and sneered. He gave a short, worried glance over to Roxas, causing the blonde to do a double-take and step backward.

"Let's get out of here," Seifer grumbled, turning away. "I don't feel like picking on freshmeat first thing in the morning. I'll deal with you later."

With that, the three walked away toward the sandlot. Roxas waited until they were safely out of earshot to speak again. "What was that all about?"

The boy, whose gaze had softened again, gave Roxas a concerned look.

They were picking on you, weren't they?

The voice again. So it was that kid. Roxas rubbed his head. "Er…could you speak with your voice, please? This is really awkward."

I can't.

…well, this was an interesting development. "You can't?" Roxas echoed. "Why not?"

I don't have a voice.

"Oh." Roxas stared at the ground. "…I'm sorry."

The boy shook his head, smiling. It's okay. I'll get used to it.

Roxas tilted his head. "You mean…you had a voice before or something?"

Probably. I don't remember anything before I woke up and saw you. I don't even know who or where I am. Only thing I know for sure is my name.

"Just who are you anyway?"

I told you, I don't know. If you want my name though, it's Sora.

"Sora, then," Roxas began. As quickly as he started, however, he stopped. Where was he supposed to begin? He had far too many questions for this boy, and it was obvious that the boy had questions of his own. It also struck him that he was taking this so casually; maybe because he couldn't think of any other way to handle it. "Um…what're you doing out here? Last time I saw you, you were still in the mansion."

You took off running. I was worried, so I followed you.

Roxas rubbed his neck. "That's the thing. I remember going down the steps, and I think I tripped or something…"

You hit your head pretty bad. I patched up what I could and brought you back here.

It took a few seconds to sink in, but when it did Roxas's jaw dropped. "You…you what?!"

Sora looked taken aback, waving his hands in front of him defensively. I-I couldn't just leave you there! You'd get in trouble, right? Besides, you got pretty hurt.

Anxious, Roxas began to back away. "Well, thanks, but-"

Don't go! Sora cried, reaching forward. You're the only one that's managed to wake me up! I…

He paused. There was a sudden heaviness in the air, or some kind of pull. He couldn't quite make it out, but it was somewhat depressing for some reason. He sighed. "Well, thanks for getting me home, but…I barely know you aside from your name."

"Um…Roxas?"

Roxas turned around hesitantly to see Pence standing behind him. "Um…hey, Pence. What's up?"

Pence quirked an eyebrow, approaching. "You were talking to yourself," he replied. "Or, well, you were talking and no one was talking back to you."

At this, Roxas turned back to glance at Sora. "You were talking to me, weren't you?"

He can't hear me, Sora replied, shrugging. Only you can.

Roxas felt his shoulders droop. "Oh…I see."

"Roxas?"

He turned back to his friend. "It's…a long story."

Pence waved it off. "You can tell me later. Who is this? A friend of yours? Relative, maybe?"

"His name's Sora," Roxas explained. "He…he was in the old mansion."

"But no one was in there when we went," Pence replied, blinking.

Roxas shook his head. "Not the first time," he began. "I couldn't sleep because that voice kept bothering me, so I got up late last night and went back alone. Remember that room in the basement? The one with the big pod in it?"

Pence nodded. "Yeah." A pause. "…that's where you said you were hearing the voice."

"Exactly. That's where Sora was. That voice was him."

"You serious?" Pence exclaimed. "He's like, telepathic or something?"

Roxas rubbed his head. "Something like that. He says he can only talk to me though."

Pence seemed more fascinated by this development than startled. "Wow. You two must have some sort of psychic connection or something."

Sora scratched his head. If we do, I'd sure like to know about it. I'm just as confused as you are.

"Are Hayner and the others here yet?" Roxas asked. "There's a lot of stuff I wanna explain, but I want to tell everyone at once."

"Yeah," Pence replied. "They're at the Usual Spot right now."

What's the Usual Spot? Sora asked, sending Roxas a confused look.

Roxas laughed. "You'll see," he replied, ignoring the strange glance from Pence. "Come on."

Abnormal Prototype activity confirmed. Locating source…

Source identified. Scanning…

Scan complete. Source location confirmed.

Source analyzed. Threat level: high.

Requesting permission to quarantine…

Introductions were awkward, but within a few short minutes Sora was welcomed among the group of friends. Hayner was still wary of Sora for a while, which wasn't helped since every one of Sora's comments had to be "translated" by Roxas, but he eventually waved it off and began acting a bit friendlier toward the strange boy.

Roxas went through the whole story: how he had woken up last night and gone to the mansion alone and found Sora in the pod. During the entire explanation, Sora remained silent, examining the three other people in the room with great interest (and earning a few looks in return), and only spoke up when the story came to how Roxas had returned home after being knocked out. Overall, the introduction was awkward and eerie, but Sora was accepted well enough for Roxas's taste.

"So, you don't know anything about your past?" Olette asked. When Sora shook his head, she bit her lip. "I'm sorry."

It's not all that bad…just kind of irritating.

"He says he doesn't mind," Roxas repeated.

"That's definitely weird though," Pence commented. "Not knowing anything about yourself other than your name…"

I'd like to know more, but I don't know where to start.

Roxas placed a hand on Sora's shoulder. "He, uh…said he'd like to know more about himself. Where do you guys think we should look?"

"I doubt we'll find anything if we ask around town," Hayner stated blandly. "No one's lived in that mansion for ages, remember? If Sora was found in there, no one in town's gonna know him."

"Then how about the library?" Pence suggested enthusiastically. "We could start with his name and go from there."

"That sounds like an idea," Olette agreed. "Maybe we'll find out more about the mansion, too."

Hayner didn't seem too happy about the idea. "Aw, c'mon! I don't even wanna think about setting foot in some boring library while we're still on summer vacation!"

"You don't have to come," Roxas pointed out. "We're not really doing an assignment anyway. Besides, if you really want to you can always go read the comic books they have in the back."

To that, Hayner grudgingly agreed.

Olette held a hand up. "Hold it. I'm all for this library trip, but is Sora going to go with us?"

Of course I am.

"Of course he is," Roxas said.

"Not on my watch," Olette protested. "Not dressed like that, anyway. Look at those clothes! They're obviously a size or three too small for him."

Uh-oh. The boys exchanged glances while Sora looked down at his shorts fondly. Olette crossed her arms. "We're not going to the library until we get this kid a new wardrobe."

Is this going to hurt? Sora asked, wincing and glancing at Roxas.

"Hopefully it won't," Roxas replied, not bothering to translate.

Olette wore a face of determination and stood upright. "Boys, we are going shopping."

Permission to quarantine grant—KRRRSSSHHHH.

Error. System override.

Permission to quarantine denied.

Scan failed. All safety functions disabled.

Warning. Assimilation imminent.