The Chill of the Night ch. 2

  For the 13 residents in the Castle that Never Was, it was 2 in the morning. All of the Organization was sound asleep in bed, even Saiix, who was known for staying up to gaze at the soft glow emanating from Kingdom Hearts- except for one.
  Zexion put the finishing touches on a medium-sized cake. This was a huge step for the Cloaked Schemer, as usually on anyone's birthday he would be nowhere to be found. On top of that, Zexion and Vexen had a mutual agreement that the Chilly Academic shouldn't expect anything near a present on any of his birthdays. After all, he wasn't the type to care that much over a simple day of the year. Vexen didn't seem to show much interest in presents, either; he never complained, or really said anything, when the day came and went without notice. It was just another day as usual, unlike Zexion's birthday, where he would be dragged unwillingly out of his room and forced to 'celebrate' with party games and forced to eat cake. Most of the presents the Organization gave him were worthless trinkets or lame doodads, and infuriated number VI so much that trying to tease him the next day would result in the person getting horribly beaten up. The only objects he didn't completely destroy from that day were the books that he would find on his bed later at the end of the day's agony. He assumed they were from Vexen, as he would never give Zexion any present in person. Come to think of it, he didn't really bug VI at all on that dreaded day, just stood there watching at the side. The now-finished books lay in a box in the corner of a shelf in his room, completely unnoticeable.
  This year, it was different. Zexion had to give Vexen SOMETHING for what he assumed was his gift last year. He had found no book on his bed, and being too aggravated to care much of anything, he had tried to calm down by attempting to finish the book he was reading. When he had opened it, a small envelope fell onto his bed with a plop. Upon investigating, Zexy found that it was the one thing he actually desired that year--a brand new Savage Garden CD. After that he couldn't get rid of the feeling (or rather, the closest thing to a feeling) that he had to repay number IV somehow. He wasn't in the mood for giving him a 'present' though, so the cake was an effective way to get his agitation off his chest. You can't loathe with that kind of leech sucking at your attention.
  The cake finally finished, Zexion stood up and squeezed the tube he held. A small black dot of icing appeared on his glove. The only reason he knew it was there at all was because he could smell the sugar on his covered hand. Zexion then proceeded to lick it off. Mmmm...sugar. A rare treat, Demyx usually got to it first. Now the question was where to place it so that it wasn't inevitably destroyed by the others before his recipient discovered it.
  Zexion quickly decided that the refrigerator where Vexen kept potions, isotopes and other sciency things was the perfect place to store his gift. As so not to disturb the scientist, Zexion opened a dark portal to the laboratory.
  As soon as he stepped inside the lab, he knew something was wrong. First, a heavy wave of lethargy washed over him, so powerful the Cloaked Schemer almost fell over. 'This is completely unnatural' he thought to himself. 'Did one of his experiments fail again?' He walked over to the fridge, made room, and placed the cake inside.
  He sniffed the air. It smelled singed, the signature of a failed experiment. Still, if that was the case, then why did he have the feeling there was something more...?
  He inhaled deeply; there was definitely something else there. 'It smells like a creature....a person? I can't tell...it's nothing i've smelled before..' he mused.'Hmm...it's not coming from the lab...it's..it's coming from Vexen's bed!? It has to be below him...HAS to be..' Zexion sniffed again desperately; it was apparently directly on top of Vexen.
  Zexion silently ascended the steps to the scientist's room, his heart racing. What if something in his room hadn't exploded? What if whatever he was experimenting on escaped, and was about to tear him into shreds? What if it WAS a person? Zexion stopped with terror at the last question his mind had imposed. To see anyone with Vexen was a disturbing image...let alone.. He tried vigorously to erase the thought from his head, and finally entered IV's abode.
  The disturbing image quickly died as he saw the cause of the strange scent; a quiet yellow egg with brown markings glittered in the light of Kingdom Hearts, and rested softly on Vexen's stomach. A small part of him gave a sigh of relief; the Chilly Academic lay peacefully at rest, unharmed. Still..Zexion gazed at the egg,
his mind trying to grasp the reason it was there. He hadn't sensed its presence before anywhere in the castle. It wasn't a prank either; Axel had the annoying habit of pranking a random member of the Organization on their birthday each year. Vexen had never been the target of such before, making it possible; but Zexion sensed that whatever was inside the egg was indeed alive. Why was it there? Who put this here? He made no effort to move the yellow being; he had seen enough for tonight. Besides which, the scientist's reaction would give him more insight.
  He was now extremely tired; the effect of the wave had grown stronger as he had neared the egg, and it added on to his own drowsyness. Number VI used another dark portal to his room. He staggered forth a few steps, and passes out sideways onto his bed, falling into another rest plagued with nightmares.