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X stood at the door to Medicine Pocket’s lab, his hand shaking ever so slightly as he raised it to knock on the door. They had left him a note on his desk earlier that day, saying they wanted to see him, and to come down. Though it was never specified where ‘down’ was, X already knew they meant their lab. From previous experience, X was quite sure he would become a lab rat. As long as they don’t dissect me, he had thought when he agreed to the meeting request. Now he was coming to regret that decision.
“The door is unlocked so come right in!” X swallowed and pushed open the door, carefully treading over the papers and objects splayed on the ground, glancing around the room. It hadn’t changed much since his visit last week, but he did notice the new bulletin board on the wall above the colourful couch in the back corner. The small window in the room allowed a bit of natural light in, but it was practically unnoticeable with all the lamps they had. A bit of dried blood clung to the edge of the sink, and some was slightly splattered on the floor. It seems the researcher was in a rush to clean it.
“Oh, X my dear friend! You’re just in time!” Before X could react, Medicine Pocket had one hand trapping him against a table, their other hand occupied by a syringe filled with a strange purple liquid. “Miss Sotheby taught me how to make a sleeping potion, and I just couldn’t resist improving it!” They waved the syringe around, looking at X with a triumphant smirk. “Of course potion making isn’t my strong suit, but I think I did pretty well! You’ll be the perfect test subject!” X grimaced and ducked under his friend’s arm, moving away to put some distance between them.
“Absolutely not, go find someone else to play your lab rat.”
“What? But you’re my favourite! You won’t die if that’s what you’re worried about, I’ve already tested it on an actual rat. It should be fine!” The smile disappeared from their face and was replaced with an annoyed look.
“No.”
"Pleaseeeee? I'll buy you a coffee!"
X narrowed his eyes. "You said that the past 6 times you experimented on me."
"But I mean it this time! I'll buy you coffee every day to make up for it!" There was a moment of silence before they added, "Well maybe not every day, I'd go broke in a month's time. But you know what I mean! If you don’t agree, I’ll get down on my knees and beg!”
X knew they weren’t serious about it, but still sighed as he walked back towards them, rolling up his sleeve. “Any side effects to it?”
Medicine Pocket brightened at this. “I knew you’d come around!”
“Just tell me before I change my mind.”
“I haven’t tested on an arcanist yet, but there’s a very very very low chance that side effects will occur. Even if they do happen, I doubt it’ll cause any permanent harm. Maybe throwing up? Possibly diarrhea? It’s nothing you wouldn’t be able to handle.”
“So the chance of side effects isn’t completely zero?”
“Well no, but like I said, it’s relatively safe. The potion’s main function is simple: you’ll just be asleep for a minimum of three hours, to a maximum of six, depending on how well your body will take it. Or maybe it won’t affect you at all, and I’ll have to re-improvise the entire thing again!”
“...I see.” X was regretting even stepping foot in the lab today.
Noticing the hesitancy in X’s voice, Medicine Pocket’s smile faded and their tone changed to a serious one. “Of course if you wanna back out, I won’t stop you. I’m not exactly right in the head, but I know better than to do something without consent.”
X shook his head. “It’s fine, I already agreed. Just get it over with.” He paused. “And uh, please don’t leave me lying on the ground if I do pass out.”
Medicine Pocket rolled their eyes and gently grasped his outstretched arm. “Obviously not. We wouldn’t want me stepping on you now, do we?” Their eyes shone mischieviously. “Unless you’re into that.”
“Ew.” X’s face contorted with disgust while his companion laughed. They released their grip on X’s arm momentarily, before seizing it again once they calmed down. X watched as the purple liquid in the syringe was injected and the needle was pulled out. He braced himself for the potion to take effect, but nothing happened. Medicine Pocket had the same confused expression. The two of them stood in silence for a while.
“Huh, I thought potions had an instantaneous effect. I guess it really didn’t do anything.” They looked a bit disappointed at the anticlimatic result. “Stick around for a bit. It might kick in later.”
X rolled his sleeve back down. “Sure.” He took a step towards the couch behind him, but was instantly hit with a wave of fatigue. Had the potion decided to hit him three minutes later? He tried to catch himself, but found his limbs weren’t responding. His senses were dulling, and he could barely keep his eyes open. He slumped forward and prepared himself to hit the hard floor. A pair of arms wrapped around his waist from behind, and a warm body pressed against his back, catching him midfall. Medicine Pocket. X relaxed and closed his eyes, giving in to the sudden exhaustion, letting his consciousness slip away.
He didn’t dream. He dreamed often, the best ideas for his inventions came from it after all, so he found it a bit strange. Instead, he found himself floating in a dark void, both aware and unaware of his surroundings. There was nothing, yet it wasn’t as awful as one may think. He had no senses, no feelings, no thoughts, he simply existed in that moment, as the only existence there was. He hadn’t stayed long, probably what felt like a minute or two, before he felt his perception returning.
The first thing X noticed when he woke up was that most of the lamps were turned off. From there, he could see out the window. The blue sky from earlier was now mixed with different shades of red and violet. He was laying down on the couch in the back of the lab with a familiar jacket laid across his body. Medicine Pocket was sitting at the foot of the couch, fiddling with some sort of object he couldn't identify.
"Oh, you're awake." They looked down at him, shoving the object aside. "How're you feeling? Can you get up?"
"I'm fine." X groaned and sat up on the couch, rubbing the back of his sore neck with his hand.
"Wonderful, so the potion worked well!" Medicine Pocket jumped up from their perch on the couch, ripping their jacket off of X's lap. They tossed it on and held their hand out to X with a grin. "Come on now, I still owe you a week's worth of coffee. You’re not planning to sleep so early, are you?"
X smiled back, accepting the hand extended to him. “After that? Of course not. You wouldn’t remember to buy me coffee if we waited another day.” It was probably quite late, and he’d have to head back soon, but he couldn’t care less. He drinks so much coffee that caffeine practically has no effect on him. Hanging out with Medicine Pocket without worrying about them doing something to him didn’t sound so bad.
Medicine Pocket didn’t retort like X expected them too. Instead, they held his hand. “If that’s the case, then go on a coffee date with me. Let’s kill some time together, my dear lab rat.”
X couldn’t find it in him to make a witty remark at the nickname. He simply nodded, and held their hand just a bit tighter.