A/N: I'll admit, I didn't originally plan what goes on here when I started writing this story. But recently new ideas came up and gave me a new direction to go.
Lycan
KAIRI: What happened to my brother?
Ienzo was walking through the castle corridor in deep thought.
A lot of strange things had been happening lately. Between the Ryu's betrayal, Kai's dark powers, Sephiroth going mad. Just what was going on here? If that wasn't concerning enough, after the Sephiroth fiasco, Kai had gone missing. It's been two days, and still no sign of him anywhere. Nearly everyone had begun to believe the young recruit was dead. Ienzo felt really bad for his sister, Kairi.
But that wasn't the only thing he was concerned about. His caretaker, Even, had been acting rather strange lately. He'd been a bit more eccentric than usual, he hadn't been paying the boy much attention, and he seemed to be invested in some secret project he's conducting with Xehanort. Ienzo was getting worried. He was wondering just what was going on with him.
Soon he heard voices from around the corner.
"So have you checked on Cloud Strife yet." That voice sounded like Xehanort.
"He's still in a coma after that scuffle with Sephiroth." That was Even speaking. "But you were right. It appears that traces of Sephiroth's darkness are lingering in the boy's body."
Ienzo peeked around the corner and it was indeed Even and Xehanort, speaking while they're stroll down the hall. Curious, Ienzo decided to follow them.
"I see." Xehanort said touching his chin. "And how long do think that darkness will linger?"
"I estimate a week, maybe ten days." Replied Even. "Why do you ask?"
"I wish to see if it's possible for one person's darkness to be permanently infused into another person's heart."
"Ah, another experiment, is it?"
'Another' experiment? thought Ienzo. Just what exactly have they been doing?
"Indeed." Xehanort continued. "I think I'll call it Project Diablo. And if we play our cards right, everyone, Cloud included, will assume Sephiroth is the one responsible for his...affliction."
"Oh ho! I like the way you think!" Somehow Ienzo did not share Even's enthusiasm at the idea.
"Thank you. But for now, we should finish the preparations for Project Lycan. The stasis pod won't keep the subject alive forever. And once we take him out, we'll have to work fast or else he'll succumb to his wound and the experiment will fail before it even begins."
Project Lycan? Ienzo wasn't sure he liked what they were doing. Still he continued to follow them, staying out of sight, until he came to their lab. Ienzo quietly entered and peeked around. He saw the two scientists tinkering with some machine. He couldn't quite make out what it was, except for some pointy appendage. What are they don't with that thing?
He then started walking around, trying to get a better view, until he bumped into something. He looked and let out a gasp at what he saw. It was a stasis pod, probably containing the test subject in question, but it was the person inside that startled him. No, it couldn't be!
Unfortunately for him, his gasp did not go unheard.
"Well, what have we got here?" Ienzo jump as he turned to see Even staring down at him. "You've got a lot of nerve snooping in here, Ienzo. You naughty boy."
"Um... sorry... I was just... um." Ienzo stammered.
"Is there a problem?" Xehanort approached.
"Apologies, Xehanort," answered Even. "Ienzo here decided to poke his nose where it doesn't belong."
"I see."
Ienzo trembled in fear. He knew he was in trouble. "I-I won't tell anyone about this, I-I swear I won't!"
"Indeed you won't," Xehanort walked up to the boy, before smirking. "Because you'll be assisting us." Before Ienzo could respond, the man coated his hand in darkness and placed it on the boy's head, putting him in a trace. "You are a very smart boy. Your ability to take in knowledge surpasses most kids your age. A true researcher in the making. We are conducting a series of projects involving taking the darkness in a person's heart and manifesting it in a physical form, but without turning them into Heartless. And we could use a third brilliant mind helping us. What do you say, Ienzo? Surely you are curious as to what these experiment can produce, are you not?" He then removed his hand.
Ienzo stood there blankly for a moment before his face morphed into a stoic expression as he held his chin. "Yes," the boy said. "I would indeed like to know how this plays out. And I would be honored to assist you."
"Excellent. Now then, let us get Project Lycan underway."
Lucky Holt.(1)
The school's number one junior reporter. She'd written the best articles over the years. Only she'd gotten to interview Kai Hikaru, the youngest recruit in the guard. What an honor. She'd also been the only student to have a front row seat for the tournament where the very same boy nearly met his end at the blade of his comrade.
Now, the girl found herself in the caverns below the city. Her pink hair bounced as she walked, glittering in the light of the crystal-filled walls.
No one had been down here in years, and what a mystery that held.
The girl wrote down every word as it came into her head, crafting a masterful piece for the front page. She'd always been better at writing than talking, or so some people said.
As she walked, silence filled the air, until a great crash broke it to pieces.
The girl jumped, running towards the noise. In the wall of a cavern she saw a gaping hole leading to a white and gray room. From this stumbled a creature, snarling, dangerous... It looked up, staring into her eyes, and she saw fear that mirrored her own.
Then the creature ran. Voices came from the hole in the wall, so the girl jumped behind a rock, watching as Braig, one of the guards came out. "That kid is more trouble than he's worth. Xehanort, he's gone."
"Catch him then," a silver haired man stepped out as well. "Kai must not escape."
Kai? That thing was Kai Hikaru?! Everyone thought he was dead!
The girl turned to make a dash for the exit, but as she did so, her foot caught on a loose stone, and she stumbled to the ground.
"What was that?"
Before Lucky could stand, a pair of black boots appeared before her and she found herself looking up at the one-eyed guard. "Wellll, if it isn't the pride of the school. I remember you, little Lucky Holt. You came to interview me once for a story."
"P-p-p-pl-please d-don't hurt m-me..."
"And there's the stutter I remember." He grabbed Lucky by the arm and threw her put from behind the rock. "Xehanort, there's another subject. And who knows, she might be our little lucky charm." The guard took off as Xehanort stood over the girl.
"P-p-p-pl-please, I-I d-didn't do a-anything."
The man grabbed a handful of her pink hair, making her scream. "I know, but you've seen far too much. Hmm, your timing is incredible, as I have just the right test for you."
He dragged her towards the hole in the wall. Lucky struggled, he stutter vanishing in her panic. "N-NO HELP ME!"
The creature Lucky saw was ran through the town. Fortunately, it was in the section that was destroyed by Sephiroth, and no one was around at the moment. The creature paused as it held its head in pain.
"S-So...dark..." It barely managed to growl out. "So... cold..." It then started flailing its arms around. "So...much...PAIN!" It knocked down a one of the abandoned houses.
It then let out a very loud roar. The whole town shook, almost as though there was an earthquake was happening.
It then slumped onto the ground before it stared off to a certain direction. "L...Light..." It then ran of to that direct, as though it was drawn to something.
Poor little girl. Ever since Kai's disappearance, Kairi had fallen into a depression. She doesn't want to believe her brother is dead. She she was trying her best to hold onto hope that he might be alive. But such hope was fragile.
Her friends had taken her to the Recruits' training ground in the Outer Gardens, hoping to cheer her up, but she's been hardly responding to their attempts. Rydia tried to give her flowers, Palom and Porom tried to get her to play ball, and Serah and Yuffie tried to get her to watch the Recruits sparring. Nothing. She just sat there, staring at the ground in sadness. Her friends just didn't know what to do.
Meanwhile, the Recruits were in the middle of there daily sparring sessions. Lightning was sparring with Zidane, while Squall was sparring with Bartz, and Lea with Isa. Cloud was still in the hospital in a coma, and Tifa was visiting him. Laguna was still recovering from his injuries, so Dilan was standing in for him as supervisor. Everyone was still a bit shook up from Sephiroth's attack. And Kai's uncertain fate wasn't helping to ease their minds.
Everyone was just going about their business, when suddenly a loud roar echoed, shaking the ground beneath them. Everyone stopped what they doing, startled by the roar.
"What was that?" asked Bartz.
"I don't know," answered Dilan. "But it doesn't sound good."
Kairi had also been startled by the sound. She was really frightened. However, for reasons she couldn't put her finger on, that roar felt like a cry for help to her.
Before anyone could question it further, an explosion caught everyone's attention. They turned to see a gaping hole in the town's wall. But it was what blew that hole that really startled them.
Approaching them slowly was what looked like a demonic, bipedal, lupine creature about the same height as the supervisor. Its skin looked like it was made of black muscle tissue. Its claws and fangs were red and razor sharp. It's eye were glowing blue. It had a crimson mane along its spine until it formed a tail. It appeared to have a red slash mark across its chest. And lastly it was emitting a dark mist around itself. It paused for a moment, holding its head for a second, before letting out another roar.
"Oh come," Lea said exasperatedly. "Can't this town have a break from some kind of crisis?"
"What is that thing?" asked Lightning.
"I...don't know," answered Dilan.
"Whatever it is," said Squall, "it doesn't look friendly."
The creature then held his head again, before glancing passed the Recruits and toward the civilian kids. "L...Light..." it growled.
"Did...that thing just talk?" asked Zidane.
The creature then started walking forward again, but Lea wasn't gonna let it come any closer. "Oh no you don't, wolfie!" He pull back one of his chakrams, igniting it with fire magic.
Isa however did not think a head on attack was the right move. "No wait!"
Unfortunately, it was too late and Lea threw the chakram at the wolf. It managed to strike its shoulder, causing it to stagger back a little. However, almost immediately, the dark wolf creature roared again unleashing a short dark whirlwind. It's glowing blue eyes had also turned red; it was enraged now.
It lunged at its attacker, only to be intercepted by Dilan. The guard held the creature back with his lance. However, the wolf opened its mouth and coughed up a blast of darkness point blank in his chest, launching him back.
Lightning then began firing bullets at the beast, which barely fazed it. Zidane dove towards its legs and swiped one of them, causing it to stagger, but then he got whipped by its tail. Lea and Isa tried to attack from the left, only to get swatted by it arm. Bartz then attacked with a copies of both Squall's and Lightning's gunblades, but he barely made dents in the skin of its arm it used to defend before he got shoved away. It then swung its claws, launching waves of dark energy at Lightning and Squall, which they dodged.
"This thing is tougher than it looks!" shouted Lightning.
"Then we should hit it with everything we've got!" Squall exclaim before raising his gunblade into sky, coating it in energy and expanding it into a larger energy blade. "Blasting Zone!" he brought his blade down on the creature. But the beast caught the blade in its claws. It struggled for a moment before it threw the attack onto the ground. It then lunged at Squall while he was thrown off balance and punched him in the face, sending him flying.
Lea then charged fire in his chakrams and they started levitating from his hands. "Dancing Flames!" He then telekinetically started swinging his flaming weapons at the wolf. It was having a hard time defending itself from Lea's attacks. But then it got angry and slammed its paw at the ground, creating a straight-line shockwave sent Lea flying.
Isa then ran straight at the beast, channeling energy all around himself. "Crushing Frenzy!" He then leapt up and brought his longsword down. The wolf actually dodged for once, cause the boy's attack to smash a small crater into the ground. But Isa didn't stop. He repeated his attack three more times, all of which missed. He then threw his sword at it as hard as he could, only for it to catch it in its jaws and breaking it in two. It then kicked the boy in the gut, sending him flying.
"Hey Bartz! Double team!" called Zidane.
"You got it, Zidane!" Bartz answered as he conjured copies of his fellow recruit's daggers.
Both of them then gathered energy before leaping toward the beast as they spun with their daggers. "Grand Lethal!" The creature found it difficult to defend and dodge against two at once as they kept striking it back and forth. It took a lot of hits before it managed to stop their attacks cold by grabbing them by their faces and then throwing them far away.
It then turned its attention to Lightning, who was charging up her magic heavily. She then raised her arm. "Thunderfall!" And then a rain of lightning bolts started to come crashing down onto the wolf. It fell front first as it was zapped over and over. It was struggling to move. But then a crimson aura surrounded it and it just stood up, in spite of the lightning storm, gather energy its claws and threw them forward, unleashing a dark wind gust that blew the girl away.
"Claire!" called Sarah as she rushed to her sister's side.
The creature breathed heavily as it began approaching the little kids, until...
"Cyclone Sphere!" the beast was blasted backward by a ball of wind magic. Dilan jumped in front of it.
What followed was a series of Dilan and the wolf beast slashing at each other. The experienced guard was able to hold his own, but the beast's primal rage was proving very resilient. Dilan soon decided he needed to finish it now. So he charged wind power into his lance. "Tempest Javelin!" He then threw his lance at the beast, impaling it in the chest. Dilan was surprised that it wasn't a through-for-through stab, but it knocked it on its back nonetheless. The tip of the lance was embedded in the red slash mark on its chest.
Dilan thought he had won for a moment until that red mark sudden glow and started spewing crimson mist. The guard stared in shock as the beast stood up, grabbed the lance and pulled it out of its chest. It let out a roar as darkness surround it. It the coated the lance in darkness before throwing it right back. Dilan got grazed in the side, but then the wolf lunged passed him, slashing him in the chest. Dilan fell to the ground, struggling to get up.
As every fighter in the vicinity was struggling to move, the creature fell on one knee, one paw holding its chest, and the other holding its head. Contrary to what it may have looked like to others, everyone's attack had really done a number on it. It all only added to the pain it had already felt before the battle.
"So...dark...so...cold...so...much...pain!" Once again it turned it attention on the kids.
Yuffie, Rydia, Palom, and Porom, fearful for their lives, turned tail and ran. Kairi paused for a moment before following suit. Unfortunately, the beast leapt over to them, shaking the ground as he landed, cause them all to fall over. It then towered over one particular kid: Kairi. The girl looked up at the wolf beast, all the while paralyzed with fear.
"L...Light..." the beast growled as it reached its paw out to the little girl.
Sarah, from where her sister was struggling to get up, saw what the beast was doing and called out. "KAIRI!"
It was at that moment that the creature stopped in its tracks. "K...Kai...ri..." Kairi snapped out of her stupor when it said her name. "Kairi..." Its glowing eyes turned from red back to blue as it took two steps back.
Kairi stood up, her hand over her heart, as she just stared at the monster in front of her. After what felt like a minute she suddenly said, "Kai? Is that you?"
Everyone then just looked at her like she had grown another head or something. But before they could question what gave her that crazy idea, the beast started growling as it looked at its claws before gripping its head again. Its red mark then glowed again as it let out one more roar before being covered in a cloud of darkness. Soon the dark shrunk, and the beast was gone. In its place though, was a crimson haired boy with blue eye, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts, and had an unusually dark-red scar across his chest, into which the darkness receded.
Everyone gasped as they realised who this was. It was none other than Kai.
"KAI!" shouted Kairi as her brother collapsed on the ground. She rush up to him and started gently shaking him. "Kai! Kai! Please be alright!"
Kai groaned as he turn himself on his back. He opened his eyes. It took a second for his vision to focus, but he could see her. "K...Kairi..." he spoke.
Kairi then bursted into tears as she hugged him. "Big Bro! I'm so happy your okay!" She then started sobbing. "I thought...I'd never see you again!" She started crying onto her brother's shoulder.
Kai slowly got up, hugging his sister back, before holding his head, which was having a migraine. As everyone finally got up and approached, Kai asked, "What...what happened to me?"
"You mean beside turning into some kind of werewolf?" asked Lea.
"I...what?" Kai said stunned.
Meanwhile, Braig was watching from afar. He had arrived just in time to see the beast start a fight with Dilan and the recruits. While he was contemplating on whether or not he should intervene, he did however want to see what Lycan could do. He almost stepped in when it approach the girl, but it seems even in beast form Kai couldn't bring himself to hurt his little sister.
However with all these witnesses, he was afraid this could become a problem. Unsure what else to do he decided to warp back to the lab to report what happened to Xehanort.
Kai was taken to the castle infirmary, and was having his scar examined by His Lordship.
Ansem the Wise was so relieved to hear Suzaku's son was alive. But what Dilan reported had happened disturbed him. Kai turning into a creature of darkness. What exactly happened to him?
"What do you make of this, my lord?" asked Aeleus.
"I am unsure." Ansem answered. "It's like this scar is coated in some dark shell. Kai, can you tell us what happened to you?"
Kai held his head as he collected his thoughts. "Sephiroth had burned half the town. Zack went after him, and Cloud, Tifa and I followed. Sephiroth overpowered Zack. We tried to fight him ourselves, but we were outmatched. Tifa was knock out cold, Zack was killed saving Cloud from the enemy's attack, and Cloud was tortured by darkness before he fell unconscious. I...I used the power of darkness on Sephiroth, but even that was useless against him. Then I was slashed in the chest, and falling down a pit. After that...nothing. I only remember the darkness, the coldness, the agonizing pain...and the desire for light. Not to mention the uncontrollable rage I felt." He looked at his sister standing next to him. "Next thing I know, I find myself standing in front of Kairi."
"You're right about that uncontrollable rage." said a bandaged up Dilan. "It was about the only thing that kept that beast going."
Ansem rubbed his chin in thought. How could this have happened?
"This is quite fascinating," said Even. "A teenaged boy disappears after a battle against a rogue for two days, comes back in the form of a dark lupine, but then turns back to normal after a fight. Oh ho! Imagine the possibilities!"
Kai then glare at the scientist. "Is this a joke to you!? I almost killed my comrades back there!"
Everyone was unsettled by what they saw when he yelled. But Even brushed it off. "Will you calm down? Your eyes are turning red." He held up a mirror, and Kai was stunned to see that his irises had turned blood red.(2) It didn't take long for them to return to their normal sky blue though. "Anyways, you weren't consciously in control then. However, assuming you have the power to turn into that beast at will, it could prove to be your most powerful weapon."
Ansem however did not like the idea. "Putting trust in a power we don't understand the nature of is most unwise."
"Then perhaps we should study him," suggested Xehanort. "Perhaps if we run some tests we can figure out what we are dealing with."
"Absolutely not!" Ansem declared. "He's a boy, not a lab rat! And further more, I will not allow you to potentially make this worse with your...experiments!"
Xehanort frowned. "Very well. But I do suggest that Kai learns to control this power."
Kai scoffed at this. "Oh sure! And risk hurting people again?! I don't think so!"
"It's your best option I'm afraid. After all, who knows when the beast will suddenly let itself out?" Xehanort chuckled as he and Even exited the room.
Kai then looked at his sister nervously. "Kairi...I..."
But the girl quickly shushed him. "Don't say a word." She then hugged him. "I don't care what happened to you. I'm just happy my big brother's back."
The boy could only hug her back. Still he couldn't help but think about what Xehanort said about the beast inside possibly running amok.
KAI: It was just my luck. Now I had a real monster inside me. What was I supposed to do about that?
Meanwhile:
"That went well," said Xehanort as he Even, Ienzo, and Braig walked into the lab.
"I'll say," replied Even "We were lucky Kai didn't seem to remember being in the lab. We seriously need to work on our containment measures. Another incident like that and people will really start to get suspicious, especially Master Ansem. He already gave you a warning after he discovered the Heartless in the lab. I'm not sure how long it will be before he figures out what really happened to Kai. If he suspects that you or the rest of us had something to do with it, he'll surely come snooping around and discover our Chaos Program."
"Indeed." Xehanort pondered. "Sooner or later it may become necessary to remove His Lordship from the picture in order to continue our research."
"Perhaps," said Ienzo, "if we do get rid of him, we could lockdown the castle and make sure nobody comes snooping."
"An excellent suggestion, Ienzo. Of course, we'll need to bend a couple of his most trusted guards to our will."
"Aeleus and Dilan would be the perfect candidates for that."
"What about Laguna?"
Braig scoffed at that. "That goodie-goodie buffoon? He'd be about as useful to us as an untrained monkey. We'd be better off locking him out."
"In any case," said Xehanort. "once Ansem the Wise is out of our way, Kai and his sister will be ours for the taking. We'll be able to study them further."
Braig then chuckled. "You should've seen how strong that kid was as a beast. And just how he was able to take down an experienced guard and a bunch of rookies on pure rage alone."
"Indeed. It would appear we succeeded in turning the boy's rage and will to survive a near death experience into a weapon. Project Lycan(3) was an overwhelming success." Xehanort chuckled. "How I can't wait to see how the beast grows."
"Still I find Lycan's behavior after breaking out quite curious," said Ienzo. "What made him seek out the recruits in the first place?"
Xehanort looked at the young prodigy. "It wasn't the recruits he was seeking out. Whether it was Heartless-like instinct, or out of a desperate desire to end his pain, he was seeking a particularly strong light. A light that belonged to his own sister."
"Ah yes, I see. Do you think it was that light that brought Kai back to his senses, or was it just their sibling bond?"
"Whatever the case, Kairi's light will be worth looking into when the time comes. But for now, we should continue the Chaos Program."
"Agreed," said Even. "I was thinking of making a portable version of our Darkness Transformer. I'll make it simple enough so that even Braig will be able use it. This way he can sneak into the hospital use the device on Cloud and warp out before anyone notices."
"That's not a bad idea, Even. Get on that! And make haste, we wouldn't want Sephiroth's darkness to vanish before we can test it. In the mean time, I'll start making preparations for Project Insetto. Wouldn't wanna keep our newly captured subject waiting too long."
Speaking of the newly captured subject, poor Lucky was trembling in her cell right now. She didn't know what they had planned for her, and it terrified her. And then there was that creature. Was that really Kai Hikaru?
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a creepy laugh that mad her jump. "Scared, are you?"
"Wh-wh-who's there!" Lucky stuttered stand up and walked over to the door to her cell, looking out its barred window.
The voice, coming from the cell across from hers, chuckled before saying. "So...you're their next test subject, huh?" She was startled when she saw what looked like a black reptilian claw grab one of the bars of that cells window. "Did you happen to see Hikaru? If so then tell me...how ugly did they make him!" Lucky was then frightened when the speaker's face showed itself. It was Ryu Kurai, the boy that tried to kill Kai. Everyone thought he was dead. But what really startled her was the fact that the left side of his face had patches of black scales, heck his left eye had a slit pupil, like a snake. He gave the girl a scary grin as he said, "But then again, the real question right now is, how ugly are they gonna make YOU!?"
The deranged boy then laugh insanely as Lucky grew more fearful about her fate.
A/N: I'll admit. I didn't originally plan on Kai being experimented on. But after deciding to have Ryu exerimented on, not to mention Sephiroth and Cloud, I thought it'd be a waisted opportunity not to have him be a subject too, especially after Xehanort had taken interest in Kai's darkness. Heck, it was just recently that I decided to expand the experiment idea even further, resulting in the Chaos Program. And I have plans regarding the subjects of this series of experiments. I had actually invite a couple of friends and fellow authors to make there own OC's for this Program, Lucky Holt being one of them.
Footnotes:
(1) This character is courtesy of fellow fanfic writer, Kristen Verne. In fact this whole scene was written by her.
(2) This particular detail I had only just thought up. Eyes turning red when angered. Yang Xiao Long anyone? XD
(3) In case you haven't figured it out, Lycan is short for lycanthropy, a term used to describe the condition in which a human can turn into a werewolf. Or perhaps your familiar with the Underworld movie series, where the term Lycan is used in place of werewolf.