17 DAYS OF HELL

A Kingdom Hearts fanfiction

Kingdom Hearts is property of Square Enix and Disney

This fanfiction is purely for entertainment – please do not get offended

Enjoy…

PROLOGUE

It was quiet in Castle Oblivion. Too quiet. However, this bothered IV; also known as Vexen, very little, as he was currently too engrossed with pouring the correct amount of liquid into the half-filled test tube he was holding. He bit his lip and took a breath before proceeding once more. His hands trembled as he slowly poured a single drop of fluid inside. Once the drop entered the tube, the reaction began. The original liquid, which was a morbid shade of black, now bubbled and began to turn into a brighter shade, which was very similar to purple. His emerald eyes widened as he watched, fascinated, as the fluid settled down.

"Perfect," he said, voice no louder than a whisper. "This will teach that insufferable fool, XI, a lesson."

Vexen turned, making sure he was careful with his soon-to-be-new-best-friend. He had no doubts that his concoction would be a failure. He felt too giddy for it to fail.

"Finally, after all the verbal abuse I've had to endure from that … that nobody! I've had enough of his believing himself to be better than me. I am of a higher rank … I am IV. He is XI. (Maybe XI failed maths and believes XI to come before IV?)"

A laughed escaped his lips. For a being who had no heart and could not feel emotion, he felt strangely happy at the thought of what his potion would do. It was ingenious. All this time he had been throwing his insults directly at Marluxia, who could quite easily throw each one back until the cows came home. No, Vexen decided, I needed to find a different approach – one, I believe, to be most pleasing.

A smile crossed his face when he mentally envisioned the look of Marluxia's face when he discovered that his beloved flowers would self-combust when sprinkled with water.

He laughed…

And laughed again…

And once more for the record.

Too occupied with attempting to make Marluxia's non-existence hell, he failed to see a smaller nobody walking his way. He didn't hear the slate-haired being greet him. Nor did he see the other's bright eyes narrow as he muttered about not even receiving acknowledgment from Vexen let alone a proper greeting from him.

Vexen was thrown from his reverie when he felt himself collide with the hard ground. He grunted as he rubbed his head and slowly pulled himself to his knees. He was about to see who had bumped into his when he noticed that he was empty handed. Where is it? he panicked. He looked around hurriedly to the right and to the left. His eyes widened in horror as he saw the vial lying abandoned on the floor, empty.

"What-"

"Vexen! What is the meaning of this? And more importantly – what is this stuff!" yelled Zexion, member VI, in a strangely calm manner He was sat on the floor, pulling at his damp hair, which was beginning to clump together. The younger nobody used his right hand to wipe all the liquid from his face. He stared at his glove and narrowed his eyes. The smell was musky and somewhat acidic, which made his eyes water ever so slightly.

Zexion stared, the steely glint in his eyes causing Vexen to answer immediately. "I'm sorry, Zexion," he said, slightly annoyed at the loss of his work. "I did not see you there."

The academic wondered briefly how long it would take to recreate his potion. What exactly had been used anyway, he wondered. During his excitement, he failed to write down each ingredient that was used. They should still be on the side, Vexen recalled. Yes … he would use whatever was on the side and hope for the best. The result may turn out to be better than expected, he smirked.

"Vexen," Zexion said in a low voice. "I asked what it was."

The blond haired man pushed himself from the ground, brushing off any dust that was attached to his coat. Once he was sufficiently satisfied that his coat was free from dirt, he directed his vision to Zexion, who was slowly standing up himself.

"There are no worries, Zexion," Vexen said in a confident voice. He over-linked his arms and smirked softly. "That is, unless you are a flower."

The slate-haired male arched a fine brow and directed a glare towards the Chilly Academic. "Are you trying to articulate something?"

Vexen laughed and waved his right hand. "Of course not. You misunderstand me, Zexion." He conveniently decided to ignore the look that crossed the Schemer's face as Vexen suggested he was wrong about something. "The potion was made for Marluxia's plants."

"And just what exactly were you planning to do to Marluxia's weeds, Vexen?" Zexion asked, dragging his fingers through his hair.

"Yes, Vexen," came a smooth, rich voice from being the blond nobody. "What exactly were you planning to do to Marluxia's flowers?"

Vexen narrowed his eyes and turned swiftly. He had not heard the other appear behind him, however, when one can instantly teleport in a mist of darkness, footsteps are usually unheard of.

"How long have you been there, Marluxia?" he demanded.

Marluxia shot an authoritarian glare at Vexen and let a fugitive smile flit across his face. "Long enough to know that you plan on conspiring against me."

"Conspiring?" Vexen laugh. "I would hardly call it 'conspiring'."

"Oh? What exactly would you call it then?"

Zexion watched as IV and XI went about their usual banter, which would habitually end with Vexen storming out and shouting about how nobody in the castle respects him. He was surprised that Vexen hadn't discovered how repetitive this was. I have work to do, he reminded himself. He would need to report his findings to Xemnas…

…However, he would need to remove this dried substance from his hair and face. He only hoped that he would not grow a second head. If he did, or anything of the sort happened, Vexen would be spending the next millennia believing he was a Persian cat named Moxie.

Only time would tell.

He turned steadily on his heels and began to walk away, leaving the two nobodies to argue over nothing. He managed to walk a few yards when his knees suddenly gave way and he felt himself falling to the ground for the second time that day. The only difference this time was the fact that instead of meeting the white ground, he met darkness.

"I'd hardly classify 'conspiring' as wanting to rid the castle of useless flowers," Vexen snorted, pulling his arms tighter around him.

"Hmph! Today is the flowers, Vexen, but what about tomorrow … and the next day?"

Vexen grinded his teeth together. Why did Marluxia have to ague with him constantly? He was one of the original founding six, not Marluxia. Why did the Superior have to put him in charge of Castle Oblivion? The power has rushed straight to his head…

A sigh escaped his lips as he looked anywhere other than that disrespectful dog. When had Zexion disappeared? he wondered, unable to see the Schemer. Then again, Zexion was aloof at best and would come and go as he pleased. Shame. He had hoped that the other may have offered his assistance.

His eyes scanned the white corridor when something caught his eye. At first he was uncertain of what it could be; however, having stared at it for a few seconds longer, Vexen realised what was lying motionless on the ground.

"Zexion!" he shouted, his tone similar to that of concern, if he were able to fully express this. He forcefully pushed his way past Marluxia, a smile creasing his face as he did this, and dropped to his knees next to Zexion.

Marluxia crossed his arms and observed silently, his eyes fixated on the sight before him. Whatever it was that Vexen had created must have been powerful for it to take Zexion down, he thought. True, he had not had the pleasure of observing Zexion to his fullest potential – or any potential as a matter of fact, the Assassin realised. He had not witnessed Zexion using his abilities for anything other than slight, mediocre reasons. This thought always crept into the back of his mind. Just how powerful was Zexion? Would he be the one to stand in his way of taking over the organisation?

Marluxia stared towards Zexion. I will have to keep an eye on him – just in case…

"Well, from looks of it he just fainted," Vexen said.

Marluxia looked up and wondered slightly whether Vexen was talking to him. He wondered why the academic felt the need to inform him of the Schemer's condition – he really did not care in the slightest.

He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off when Vexen stood up suddenly and said, "Stay here with him – I will be back soon."

The Graceful Assassin was about to inform IV of his place and that he had no right to be delivering orders to him, however, said academic was gone.

Walking with soft steps, Marluxia crouched beside the prone being and rested his chin on the palm of his hand. He stayed this way for almost a minute before pushing himself up and turning away. This was not worth his precious time. It was not his job to baby-sit younger members, despite the fact that Zexion had been a member before he had.

The mauve haired male created a dark portal and stepped towards it, casting one last look at the male on the floor…

His eyes widened as he made his way to where Zexion had been lying, the portal forgotten. It was fairly obvious now that there was no being on the ground. What had happened whilst his back had been turned? He had heard no sounds … meaning that another nobody had not come here.

Marluxia knelt down. "Odd. I'd always assumed that when a member of the organisation faded, they would take their clothes with them," he said, taking notice of the black robes that were discarded on the floor.

Had Zexion somehow passed over? It seemed very unlikely, but there was no other explanation that Marluxia could create. Zexion could not have regained conciseness and teleported out.

XI moved forward to grab the garments but swiftly pulled his hand back, as if it hurt. He did not move from his position next to the clothes.

"Did – did I imagine it?" he spoke aloud to no one. He had seen something move in Zexion's clothing. What though?

There is only one way to find out, he decided. Without hesitation, Marluxia grabbed a handful of black and pulled back, eyes widening in shock at what stared back at him.

"What on Earth…"

He stared, his mouth open ajar. Had any of the organisation members seen him, he was certain they would instantly laugh at his confounded expression. However, he was certain that his reaction would have matched the others, had they pulled Zexion's clothes aside to discover a sleeping baby, with a thin head of slate hair, curled into the warm security of the coat.

TO BE CONTINUED:

NEXT CHAPTER: DAY ONE

AN: Okay, I'm not sure where this idea came from - it just suddenly appeared in my head while I was at work last week. Actually, to tell the truth ... the whole change to baby and aging each day was inspired by a Saiyuki fic I read a while back. If I could remember it ... I would credit it. However, I've seen lots similar :)

Just to let you know ... as stated above too ... this is a humour story - characters will be taken slightly out of character. Plus this is my first Kingdom Hearts story - that might be why too :)

Bye

-Bexii