A BEST FRIEND'S HEART
Ventus. Slight jealousy plucked at his heart at even the sound of that name. How could Lea make friends so easily? He was so outgoing and everyone loved him. Classmates, all the teachers at school, even Isa's own parents seemed to prefer Lea. But who could blame them? He was kind-hearted, funny and extremely intelligent for someone who refused to try. His only flaw was that he always put himself first, but that made him who he was. And who he was was not the reason Isa was jealous. It was that "joke" that left lea's lips while talking to Ventus.
"Sure hope you don't have friends like him."
The only thoughts that could enter his mind at that moment were that of paranoia and envy. Did Lea prefer this random boy they'd just met? He was forced to cover his pain with fake laughter. Lea never interacted like that with Isa the first time they met. Was he more special?
"Isa, what's up with you?" Lea asked, interrupting his gloomy thoughts.
"Oh uh… nothing. What makes you say that?" Isa stammered.
"Well you've been really quiet, quieter than usual, since we talked to that boy" Lea announced. "And you've had that troubled look you have on since then too."
Isa realised he was just being paranoid. Lea hadn't even remembered that boy's name. He could destroy the idea Lea falling out with him for Ventus. And he even recognised his upset look.
"I'm fine Lea. Just me being paranoid as always," Isa smiled, standing from the wall they were sitting on in Radiant Garden next to Ansem the Wise's castle. "That ice-cream wasn't so good today. It was saltier than usual."
"Mine's was fine. The perfect balance of both," Lea enthused. He stood from the wall, licking his fingers, and disposed of the stick that once held sea-salt ice-cream. "So, when d'ya wanna retry our mission?"
Ah, the mission. They'd already failed it at the start of the week. The plan was to simply break into Ansem's castle and investigate whatever the hell they were doing in there. They passed the first part of their mission- breaking in. They had planned to just wait until someone left to sneak in but when they were going to the castle doors, they witnessed a huge unversed break through one of the castle gates. They had found their entrance. But when they entered and explored a little, they were spotted by a blonde-haired scientist and were escorted 'gracefully' from the premises by two strong door men. One thing they did discover though was how to find the main laboratory. They would have explored it, if it weren't for the annoyed scientist who bumped into them.
"Do you really think we should be snooping around their business? They seem like pretty powerful people. They could kill us or have us arrested or something!" Isa rambled.
"C'mon! One last time! We know where we need to go now!" Lea pleaded. "And I have a genius plan. One that will not fail. Don't you want to find out if that rumour is true about that guy they supposedly found in the gardens the other day there? You know, that Xehanort?"
"Fine, so what's this genius plan of yours then?" Isa sighed.
"You tell me," Lea grinned.
"Right, I'm out," Isa laughed.
"Fine, erm… We wait outside the castle until night and pretend to be attacked by the Unversed and simply go to the castle door and ask for help. Simple," Lea listed.
"That isn't that bad a plan but there are two flaws," Isa said. "The unversed are not around anymore. That's why we wanted to find out about that guy because the monsters seemed to disappear just before he arrived here. Also, what will happen when they find out that we lied?"
"Good point. But we can just pretend to be attacked by the new monsters we've heard so much about. And the answer to the second is that we run like hell," Lea enthused.
"Fine then. We'll just wing it," Isa gave in. "After all, we only live once."
Xehanort was on his daily walk with his old friend Braig on the grounds of Radiant Garden. The two were always very secretive and would keep the other apprentices in the dark to their plans.
"So, what's the next step?" Braig questioned. "You know, you said yourself that you were going to take other paths. Would you like to enlighten me?"
"Ansem tells us we should stop these experiments but I've reached a great hypothesis of something we could create," Xehanort informed.
"What, like with the heartless?" Braig asked.
"Even more powerful," Xehanort stated. He could tell Braig wanted to know more. "When I was in the Dark Realm not too long ago I…"
"Oh Xehanort, Ansem told you not to go to the dark realm," Braig warned.
"He knows nothing of those realms and is simply too afraid to go past what he already knows," Xehanort snorted. "Anyway, as I was saying before you interrupted me, I discovered a certain creature which I took back to the secret lab to experiment on. I realised that the creature was linked to the heartless and had no hearts and after much consideration I have come to the conclusion that when a person loses their heart they create two other creatures. The first being the heartless and the second being what I'd call a Nobody."
"So what's so special about the nobodies?" Braig asked.
"Well, the type of nobody I found was not exactly special. When I traced back to its heartless and original somebody, I saw that the somebody was simply a dull person who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But what he did not have was a strong heart."
"Your point being?" Braig yawned.
"Well I believe that if we find someone with an extremely strong heart- especially one of darkness- we could create something even better."
"So what will we require? How will we know if someone has a strong heart?"
"We look for the obvious example. Someone who is taken over by their envy or anger." A certain blue haired boy caught Xehanort's eye. He saw a red-headed boy join the boy and then added, "Or someone who keeps another close to their heart." Braig tried to follow Xehanort's gaze. "Braig, I think we've found our subject."
Darkness had crept across the sky of Radiant Garden as Lea and Isa hid behind the wall they sat on earlier at the castle. They had painted their faces with bloody scratches and their arms with painful bruises. They waited for the opportune moment.
"Hey mister master, why are those kids you saw out there earlier stalking behind that wall?" Braig smirked, looking out the castle basement window.
"Send some of those heartless we've experimented on to bring them in here. Instruct them not to kill the kids. We need them alive for now."
Lea always looked up to Isa. He was like an older brother and he would never dream of losing him. He noticed Isa's jealousy towards anyone Lea interacted with but he couldn't understand it. He would never leave Isa to make another friend. To save Isa from over-analysing the situation with Ventus earlier, he pretended to forget the boy's name. That wasn't true. He had it memorised.
"Wait Isa, what's that?" Lea whispered in a panicked tone. Isa followed his gaze of horror to see a swarm of strange shadowy creatures skulking their way through Radiant Garden towards them. And there was no escape.
"Lea, just don't panic! We'll fight them off. We only live once," Isa instructed, picking up a snapped branch from a tree and snapped it again. He handed one half to the fear-stricken red-head. Lea accepted it and tried to regain his courage.
The dark monsters crept closer while Isa and Lea prepared their ambush behind their wall. Isa began to do a silent countdown with his fingers, mouthing the numbers from five to one.
"CHARGE!" Isa screamed as they both jumped to their feet and commenced their battle. The little creatures were a lot stronger than they looked and the sticks seemed to cause them little to no damage. Lea's emerald eyes shone with fear. Isa's blue hair glistened in the silver moonlight as he whacked one of the creatures repeatedly with the branch. Eventually it disappeared into the darkness from whence it came. He panted and continued the actions he had adopted. Lea looked to him and copied his every move, destroying one with a mighty swing. Isa smiled proudly over at him but then had to go back into action. As Lea waited for that small glance of approval, he failed to notice a slightly larger heartless approach him and pounced on him, knocking the boy to the ground. The creature tore at Lea's skin with its sharp claws, leaving bloody scratches all over his arms. Isa heard Lea's struggles and instantly ran to his side and threw the larger monster roughly into a building about half a mile way. He didn't know he was that powerful.
"LEA!" he screamed and crouched at his side. Lea did not respond. His green eyes were tightly closed to hide the horror of what he was experiencing. Isa had forgotten about the other heartless he had not slayed. Isa began to cry and tried to wake his friend. The creatures snuck their way over to the two, sinking to the ground when necessary and pounced on the oblivious sky-blue-haired boy but he just gave in and let the shadows consume them both.
The creatures were not smart enough to drag them to the castle so they returned back to the castle to hint to Braig to follow them. He took the hint reluctantly and followed the wavering creatures that pranced from place to place. They lead Braig to the two injured boys. He scooped Lea over his shoulder and headed back towards the castle. At the castle he met Xehanort.
"Where is the other one?" he wondered.
Braig huffed and began to head down to Even's Lab with the red-headed boy still over his shoulder. "Did you really expect me to get them both? As if!" he sneered. Xehanort stormed out and ran to outside to the boy's aid. The rain had started to fall from the blackened sky. The rain battered off the gravel as he sprinted to him, feet echoing on the ground. He kneeled down beside the rain-soaked boy and removed his lab coat to wrap it around the shivering boy. The moonlight lit the boy's pale face as he slowly struggled to open his crystal blue eyes. Xehanort noticed Isa's beauty in the moonlight as he lifted him into his arms and returned quickly to the castle. Isa's eyes shut over again as Xehanort carried the boy to Even's lab. He gently placed the boy down on a bed in the lab and tried to dry his face and hair with a towel. Even sauntered into the room, startling Xehanort. "Now, I don't want them to get hurt any further until we know if they are the perfect candidates," Xehanort warned the blonde haired scientist. The green eyed man smirked.
"Who do you think I am, Xehanort?" Even smiled. "Now, is there a reason why these two were chosen?"
"I have a feeling that one of these boys has a powerful darkness just waiting to be released," Xehanort informed. "And, seeing as they are obviously good friends, we know they have strong hearts."
"How will we know that they are the candidates?" Even queried.
"I will have my plans, Even, but first we will separate them," Xehanort answered. "Then we find a way to release their hearts that will work." Even smiled deviously.
Lea forced his eyes open to reveal to him unfamiliar surroundings. His mouth tasted like potions. His eyes searched the room. The walls were a bright white and he seemed to be in some sort of lab. He presumed this because of the diverse collection of potions and other chemicals labelled in beakers and test-tubes across the room. He saw Isa lying in a bed across the room from him. Where were they? Had they finally managed to get into the castle? He had to tell Isa. He struggled to his feet and staggered over to where Isa lay. He shook him.
"Isa!" he whispered. "C'mon we made it in. Not exactly the way we planned but we did it!" Lea shook him again who was still resting peacefully.
"He'll need more rest," Even said calmly, entering the lab, startling Lea. "No need to be scared child. The two of you were attacked by heartless but you're safe now."
"Who are you? And what are heartless?" lea questioned.
"I am Even, a scientist in Ansem's castle, which is where you are," Even explained. "And heartless are those creatures that attacked you. Can't you put one and one together!?"
"Sorry mister I just was wondering what they were," Lea shuffled his feet.
"Wait a minute, you're those kids that broke in here, aren't you!?" Even raised his voice. "I didn't recognise you last night but I knew there was something familiar. Well, are you going to explain yourself? Or shall I inform Xehanort and Ansem of what you two did!?"
Xehanort! So it was true! They did find someone called Xehanort!
"Sorry sir. We just wanted to become apprentices here," Lea lied.
"Is that so?" Even smiled, intrigued, and sensing opportunity. "Well, you're in luck, boy. We were just discussing our need for a helping hand, and two are better than one."
'No way' Lea thought. This was better than he imagined. Not only would they be able to explore the castle, they could stay there forever. And with his best friend.
"Are you serious?" Lea bounced. "Please say you're serious!"
"Child, I'm always serious," Even spoke. "And I assume your parents will not mind?"
"No, I'm sure they won't. They always wanted me to be a scientist," Lea grinned.
"And the other boy's parents?" Even queried, checking his fingernails.
"They probably haven't noticed he's been gone all night," Lea confessed. "They won't mind. But we're probably better getting in touch with them. Just to make sure."
"Fantastic," Even muttered, evidently bored. "Now, leave him to rest and we'll get you introduced to the rest of the group." Lea nodded and followed the man into a lift. They waited for about two minutes before the lift opened at the second floor. He followed the man down a never-ending corridor until they reached what looked like a cafeteria. There were three large dining tables for only a small amount of people, but maybe they were expecting others to arrive. Lea saw Ansem and a silver hailed man sitting at one table in deep conversation, and the other four people were at the other table. He had saw Ansem before because his parents knew him. In fact, everyone knew him. His apprentices, on the other hand, were only rumoured to exist. And lea had obviously seen the door men on numerous occasions.
Even sat with the four apprentices opposite a small silver-haired boy. He signalled Lea to sit in an empty seat beside the small boy and opposite one of the familiar door men. Lea obeyed this command and smiled awkwardly at the towering guard opposite him who recognised him instantly. He was the one with the gingery hair, and the other sat beside lea. And the final apprentice who sat beside the ginger haired guard sat another guard who he'd never seen before. He was much skinnier and smaller than the other two and sported an eye patch which covered one of his golden eyes and what looked like a somewhat fresh scar. Lea spotted Ansem and the silver-haired man get to their feet. The silver haired man left the room quickly while Ansem approached our table.
"Well, I hope they've all introduced themselves, lea," Ansem chortled shaking lea's hand. Suddenly all the apprentices, except Even, at the table reached over to greet him at the same time, each mentioning their names. "One at a time! I am Ansem, lord of this castle."
"Hey kiddo, my name's Braig," said the eye-patched man, shaking the boy's hand. "Welcome to Hell! Nah, I'm just kidding. You'll love it here."
"I'm Dilan and that's Aeleus," mumbled the large, dark-haired guard who pointed at the ginger-haired guard. The other nodded.
"Hello I'm Ienzo," murmured the small boy, dully.
"Well everyone I'm Lea, get it memorised."
"We hope you will enjoy it here, lea," Ansem smiled, sitting at the edge of the table. "But you must remember this: the work we do here is very serious and mustn't be discussed in the outside world. It does not leave this castle unless I tell you it can, understand?" Lea nodded in agreement. "Now Lea, if you'd like anything to eat all you have to do is ask Dilan nicely before lunchtime starts. Today though you've missed lunch but if you're hungry you have permission to leave the castle for lunch. Anything else you want to know?" The others left to get back to work.
"Thank you, sir. Who was the other apprentice, may I ask?" Lea wondered.
"Oh, he is Xehanort," Ansem spoke. "He's off to check on your friend. I'm sure he'll introduce himself later. He seems rather pleased that you two have arrived. He must need extra help with his experiments. Anything else?"
"Just one thing. What do we do here?"
"Research of the human heart, with volunteers of course. Now I need to get back to work but just come to my office if you need anything." *****
Isa opened his blue-green eyes to confusion. His mouth tasted strange. Like chemicals of some sort. Wait, a white ceiling? This wasn't right. He sat up abruptly, only to be greeted to a silver-haired man reaching over to him.
"Don't move so quickly," the man instructed slouched over the boy. He grabbed Isa's shoulders and gently placed him back down on the bed. "You were injured pretty badly." Isa obeyed the man and allowed him to place him back on the bed. The man sat back on the chair beside the bed that he must have been sitting on before Isa shot up. "If you want to rest again, it's fine with me. You were really unwell during the night."
"I was?" Isa puzzled. The man nodded. "Sorry if I seem rude but, who the hell are you? And where am i?" He started to panic at the absence of his friend. "And where's Lea?"
"Don't worry, boy, he's fine," reassured the silver-haired man, laying Isa back down on the bed after he panicked and sat up again. "You really need to relax. I am Xehanort, apprentice of Ansem the Wise," Xehanort replied, with a tone of distaste at Ansem's title. Bells rang in Isa's head of the name Xehanort. Wasn't that the one Ansem was rumoured to have found in the gardens shortly after the unversed disappeared? Wait, he was still talking. "So Lea is downstairs with the others, but you needn't worry about meeting them yet. I'm the one who will be here for you when you have troubles. I will take care of you."
"Thanks. So where am I?" Isa asked. Xehanort smiled.
"You must listen. I just said that less than a minute ago," he laughed. "You are in Ansem the Wise's castle, of course! If you want to be an apprentice here you'll need to be a lot sharper." Isa sat up yet again, causing Xehanort to jump to his feet to rest him again.
"Apprentice?" he yelled, shocked. He could sense a hint of annoyance in Xehanort.
"Please, lie down and stay down!" he ordered, before calming himself a little then apologizing. "I'm sorry. I'm just concerned for your health. And, as I already explained, Lea has signed you both up to be apprentices here. Wasn't that your dreams?"
Isa sensed Lea had told them they wanted to be apprentices. It must have been part of another plan. He nodded in agreement, forcing a look of excitement on his face. He cheered. Please believe me, he thought. It wasn't completely a lie, but it wasn't really what they came here for. "Sorry, I just feel really weird. And my chest hurts a little."
"It'll be okay. I told you not to sit up so much. You are not completely yourself after the attack. I suggest you rest," Xehanort advised, sinking into his chair and picking up an extremely thick book from an end-table beside the bed. "I will be here when you wake." Isa watched the man open the book elegantly at a page near the end that was saved by a bookmark. "Don't tell me you want me to read you a bed-time story," he mumbled from behind the book. Isa laughed weakly. "Because I will if that is what you require."
"No I'm fine. Would you not be bored if I dozed off and left you here alone?" Isa smiled.
"Of course not. I have all I need," he said pointing at the huge book. "Plus, its better you heal now, rather than you get worse later and end up back here. Now, get some sleep."
Isa sunk his head into the pillow and slowly drifted off into a deep, much-needed sleep. At this moment, Even stormed into the room, yelling.
"Even! Shhh!" Xehanort whispered angrily. "I just got him to sleep. He woke up."
"He woke up?" Even yelled. Xehanort shushed the fuming man again. His yell changed to a harsh whisper, "He was meant to be in a deep sleep till at least tomorrow!"
"Well, he did," Xehanort stated quietly. "We know Lea is almost full of light without verification from experiments. You can just tell. But, did the experiment go as planned on Isa? He said he felt 'weird'."
"Better, I'd say. He's the perfect candidate. He has the friend, the heart and the darkness." Even smiled. "It's just waiting to be released. We just need to make sure he doesn't move too much or get too stressed. How will we explain the scar on his chest?"
"Simple. He'll just think it's from the heartless attack. Now, you must remember to keep this silent from Ansem," Xehanort warned. "If he knew we were experimenting on the boy with no permission he would have our heads and probably shut down the lab."
"But we have the secret lab downstairs," Even insisted. "We can use that lab."
"But we don't want to result in that happening," Xehanort added. "We may lose some of our important research in the process. We can only keep a certain amount of copies."
"Understood. Now, will we need to experiment on Lea?" Even queried.
"No. We know the part he has to play," Xehanort droned. "We just need to watch that Isa heals properly, and keep him on potions or else he'll be in lots of pain. Then, we find a way to release their hearts. Oh, and also, we need to research what we think their elements may be when they turn to Nobodies, if our guess is right that they will gain powers. And also…"
"Certainly, sir," Even smiled. "I'm sure you can manage that for now. I have been summoned to assist Ansem for a while. Have fun." Even glided from the room, leaving Xehanort in the calming room, with the only sound being Isa's relaxed breath as he slept, and of course his own. He gazed at the sleeping boy and felt a pang of guilt. The poor boy had no idea what was to become of him. He was just off in his dream world so innocently.
Night approached again and Isa still slept. Xehanort had just finished reading his book for the second time and decided that he too should rest. He stood to pull the curtain in the room to hide the lights of Radiant Garden from disturbing Isa's sleep. Before he managed to close them, he noticed how the moon gleamed through the window on the boy's face. He looked different, just slightly, but he noticed. There was something else about this boy, and if his estimation was true, it would be better than perfect. If it was true, the boy could get power from the very thing they ultimately aimed to get. Perfect.
"So, how come Isa is still recovering?" Lea moaned. "He looked fine to me." Lea found himself in a sitting room with most of the others. He had spent the day either ghosting Braig or Ienzo, depending on whether he was learning how they did science or the ins and outs of guarding the castle gates and Ansem's room. He enjoyed the company of most of them and seemed to click instantly with Braig, even though he talked of things that had no relevance what-so-ever.
"Xehanort told us he needs to rest," Dilan informed.
"And what the old guy says, goes," Braig smiled. Old guy? He didn't look that old. But Lea only saw him for a second. "And don't disagree with what goes, Flamesy-locks."
"Hold on a minute. Flamesy-locks?" Lea puzzled. "Why did you call me that?"
"Don't be offended, it's just your hair looks like fire, that's all," Braig laughed.
"Just try to ignore him," Ienzo mumbled. "The stars know we all do." Braig looked to Ienzo innocently, and then he ruffled the blue-eyed boy's hair.
Suddenly, Even strutted through the door, silencing everyone.
"Even, how's Isa?" Lea asked worriedly. "Is he ok?"
"He is fine. Just leave him at peace." Even gave a slight nod to Braig, which Lea saw. Lea witnessed Braig's face light up with a devious smile, his golden eye glinting in the light. Braig stood and swaggered out the room towards the lifts. Lea chased after him.
"Lea, come back here!" he heard Even shout from the sitting area. Lea caught up with Braig who was waiting on the lift to open.
"Hey little man, what are you doing following me?" Braig asked cautiously. "I have some business to discuss with Xehanort, alone."
"Just… tell me what's up with Isa!" Lea panted. "I saw that nod Even gave you." The lift opened and Braig stepped in holding, lea out of it.
"Isa will be fine. He is very important to us, just as you are Flamesy," Braig re-assured. "He needs his Zs so he will recover properly." The lift shut on Braig's arm but he reopened it to hear Lea argue back.
"But he looked okay! What are you hiding from me?" He said, teary-eyed.
"Look Lea, we are hiding nothing from you that the others know. Isa is fine. He even woke up earlier than expected. But he must rest to help his stitches. I am going to see Xehanort simply because I am his oldest friend. We go way back. Now be a good boy and go back to the group," Braig rambled, patting his head and catching the lift door from closing on his arms again. Lea sulked but then had another argument.
"But I thought Xehanort showed up here just the other day there, in the gardens with no idea of who he was! And everyone knew he wasn't from here coz everyone knows each other in Radiant Garden!" Lea yelled. "If you knew him before that, surely you could have known where he was from and you'd be from there too!"
Hey, smart kid, Braig thought. I can't tell him about the master Xehanort thing. Don't think he'd appreciate that.
"Well I was still the oldest friend. I was… the first person he made friends with since arriving here… look I have to go Flamesy," Braig stammered, allowing the lift doors to shut, leaving Lea at the shut door.
"Bastard," he whispered, storming back to the sitting room.
The others were all conversing with each other. What was Braig hiding?