"Those etchings in the wall," Zexion said with a murmur. "What are they based off of?"

He paced his room with a certain fervor, as if attempting to solve a mystery that had gone on far too long. Between sips of his coffee and the Lexicon in his opposing hand, he mumbled about the white walls fading to gray, and the windows being useless for any practical sense. Then, as if on cue, he stopped and crouched.

"This flooring. The design is similar to the walls, but there's a different air to it. Almost...aggressive? No that can't be right." Zexion sipped the last of his coffee.

A knock on the door signaled the entrance of Demyx. A man (although some argue he is but a child) of medium height, with blonde hair that shone gold under the lighting of Kingdom Hearts, the only natural light source in the world. He walked up to Zexion with a swagger in his step, something he often did far too much, especially in the presence of their superiors.

"Heya Zexy, sleep well? Oh, who am I kidding, you probably got zero sleep again, didn't cha?"

"First of all, don't call me that. Second, I couldn't sleep with this wall trying to close in on me." He pointed at the wall across his bed.

"Hey, I don't know what you're on man, but maybe that book is getting to your head." Demyx made a grab for the book.

Zexion twitched aside and stared Demyx in the eye. With a simple blink, Demyx etched a nightmare into the vision of the man, stunning him in terror. As Zexion blinked again, Demyx was released from his seconds-long personal torture. He backed away slowly towards the doorway as his look of fright turned to a smirk.

"About time we found your power, bookworm."

The first day at the Castle had been rough on Zexion. The Higher-Ups didn't know what to do with him, but the Leader felt an odd connection to the teenager, and decided to allow him into their ranks. Months have passed since then, with the latest member being a young woman by the name of Larxene. His "friend" Demyx was number 9, three places after him in the line up. Numbers didn't exactly refer to rank, but simply the order that they entered the Organization.

All the others had "powers," an ability they had innate to them alone. Demyx had authority over water, and his weapon was a Sitar, an instrument similar to a guitar. Axel, number 8, had power over fire, and wielded dual Chakram, weapons akin to shuriken. As for Zexion? His power had been kept a secret from the others. He thought himself a monster for his inhumane ability, for he had power over the mind. This power came with a price, as often his own sanity is pushed to the limit in an attempt to keep his mind distracted from its own works. He had remembered stumbling up to the Castle in his earliest memory, seeing black shadows surrounding him. He was unsure if they were his own imagination or actual beings, but he ran for the doorway regardless, entering in just in time for Demyx to notice the scared teen. Demyx had shut the gate and consoled the nearly crying boy.

Xemnas had caught word of Zexion's power during the morning, and the Castle was buzzing with gossip. Zexion was called to the meeting room, where he walked the length of the hall, receiving stares of fear from his fellow members. Xigbar had uttered something about locking his guns up at night for fear of taking himself out, but Zexion paid no notice.

Zexion assumed his chair and looked at the Leader with a curious expression. Xemnas was about to speak when an impulse came across him. He summoned a ring of twilight around the boy's eyes, essentially blinding him temporarily.

"Now that that's out of the way," he spoke with due authority, "We can discuss your training."

Zexion spoke without a tinge of expression. "Bring it on."

"Interesting, you are beginning to sound like Demyx. Ah, here's hoping you perform better than he did."

"Hey, I'm sitting right here!" The voice of Demyx echoed from the other side of the cylindrical chamber.

Zexion had actually seen them enter the room, but he wasn't about to let Xemnas know that. The ring over his eyes hadn't worked at all, for a reason he wasn't very sure of. Xemnas decided to send a small pulse through the ring for his attention.

"Yes sir." Zexion answered with swiftness. "But are you sure I need to learn to summon Dusks?"

The response created a stir and murmurs from the other members seated about. Xemnas raised his hand for silence as he spoke.

"Zexion, it appears you were able to read my mind after all. However, it will take more than a little magic to impress me.

Zexion called for Xaldin's attention. Xaldin looked at him with eagerness.

Huge mistake.

Zexion blinked, something the others couldn't see underneath the twilight veil. Within moments, Xaldin recalled an explosion of some sort, something he couldn't place his finger on. He felt a sharp pain in his chest, and screamed in terror. The room went dark as his Lances pierced his every rib with speed and power. He gasped for air and within a moment he had succumbed to the pain. Xaldin lay numb in his chair.

On the opposite side of the nightmare, the room gazed in horror at the man flailing in his otherwise empty chair.

Zexion blinked again as Xaldin saw the room as it was. He looked around and was overjoyed to see the people, a sign he was still alive. Larxene in particular had quite a look of puzzlement on her face. The room regrouped as all eyes faced Xemnas.

The Leader simply smirked and made a small chuckle.

"Training starts tomorrow," He said without a taint of fear. "Try not to kill anyone until then."