Disclaimer: I don't own anything. No songs, nothing!

Summary: Okay. The apprentices are going to Misty Lake to investigate some disappearances that've been going on. People would go swimming in the lake, with or without people with them, but they never get out. The boys are going to investigate but will they be able to save one of their own? New feelings form as they discover the Secret of Misty Lake…

Pairings: Not telling: - P)

Secret of Misty Lake

It was a boring day in Radiant Garden. At lest it was for Ienzo. Being so young Ansem had him only doing reports on things like flowers and the weather, he was only 14 but he had intelligence beyond compare! None of the other apprentices really respected him, and he'd been there nearly a year too. It was New Years Eve today and at midnight it would be a year. All he did besides write dumb flower reports was deliver stuff, which sucked! To top it all off, every time he makes a report or gives an answer, right or not, Even points out every flaw and problem while Dilan and Braig make fun of how short he is. Sometimes, he thinks it's just not worth it.

Ienzo wasn't very tall with bright blue eyes. He had light blue hair, that had a silver tint, and his bangs have a slight curl on the right side. His skin was pale.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise over the intercom that caused the boy to be so startled to fall off the bed, flat on his face. He sat up and tried to listen to what Ansem was saying.

"Attention students! There have been some problems of disappearances at Misty Lake, so tomorrow we are all going to check it out. Good day!"

Yes! He finally got to help with something actually important. This causes for a celebration!

Turning up his I–pod, Ienzo turned it on shuffle and listened to some songs.

'Ohh!' he thought 'I love this song! Where is your boy tonight? I hope he is a gentleman, maybe he won't find out what I know! You were the last good thing about this part of town!

"Okay boys! We are going down to Misty Lake to check out the disappearances but be warned, never go any where without someone with you. Other than that, there's no other ru- Where's Ienzo?" Ansem the Wise was a kind, caring person, but stern when need be. He had light brown eyes and dirty blond hair that went to his shoulders. He was pretty tall.

None of the members moved. Ansem studied them for a few seconds, searching their facial expressions. It took a bit of time, but eventually Braig burst out laughing.

"Is something funny, Braig?" Ansem asked cocking an eyebrow.

"Oh, I can't take it any more." He said, some giggles breaking in. "He's probably in his room trying to get the dye out!"

"What dye?" Ansem asked.

"It was hilarious! I put hair dye in his hair while he slept, but not just any hair dye, the color's hot pink! You should have seen it. Though it was a close call, he nearly woke up twice." Braig burst out laughing again, falling on the floor clutching his stomach.

Ansem sighed. Sometimes Braig could be so immature. "Listen, I'm going to see if Ienzo alright. While I'm gone, Braig, I want you to think about what you've done." And with that, Ansem trudged up the stairs.

Ansem knocked on the door of Ienzo's room. "Ienzo," He called. "Are you okay?"

"Ansem sir?" A voice called back. The door opened to find Ienzo standing there, eyes watery and usually blue hair bright pink. "I need help. I can't get the dye out."

Ansem nodded. He felt pity for the small boy; he knew life here was a mini hell for him. "Come on, let's try & get the dye out." He led the boy to the bathroom down the hall to attempt to destroy the colorful dye.

So after 3 bottles of shampoo, 18 water douses, & 2 hours later they finally got the color of his hair to almost his real color. It still had a pink tint to it though. It was 10:00 o'clock and they all needed to get to Misty Lake.

Before we continue this story, there is on thing you must know & remember always:

It's called Misty Lake for a reason.

The reason is, sometimes fog and mist will show up. Not just that light stuff either; oh no It was so thick you couldn't see you own hand in front of your face. It will show up at random times too. One moment it's clear and sunny, the next it's all gray outside. Even weirder is the mist is only on the area of the lake, it never carries anywhere else. People some times get lost in that fog. On guy drowned. It was old man Rogers, bless his soul. He still had a good 6 years in him, too.

Anyway, before I left off everyone was at the lake. It was very big, but if you squinted hard enough & stood on your head you could see just barely land on the other side. Just barley. The lake was surrounded by forest so there'd be lots of animals around.

Everything was thing was set up. Sure they weren't making much progress, but everything was going smoothly. That was until…

"Hey Ienzo, could you come over here a sec? I want you check something in the water." It was Braig. He was standing over by the docks. Being the naïve boy he was, Ienzo ran over.

"What is it?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Look into the water & tell me if you see anything." Ienzo leaned over the edge and looked.

"I don't see anything Braig." He said shaking his head.

"You just need a closer look. Here, let me help you." And with that, he pushed Ienzo into the water. It was an odd sight to see a 14 year old, who looks 7, and soaking wet in a lake with blue hair sticking to his face, while nearby a 17 year old rolled around on the grass, laughing his ass off.

"BRAIG!" He yelled, attempting to pull himself onto the docks but was too slippery to do so. "Help me up."

"Okay, okay. I'll help you up." He stuck his hand over the dock.

Ienzo was hesitant to take it but realized everyone else was no where near the site so he took the hand. About halfway up, Braig let go so Ienzo fell in the water again.

"BRAIG YOU JERK!" It echoed all around the forest, causing Even, who wasn't very

far away, to come back.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't little genius boy playing on the lake." He said with a smirk on his face. Ienzo was swimming over to the edge, pulling himself out.

"I wasn't swimming, Braig pushed me in." Ienzo said, trying to dry himself.

"Is this true. Braig?" Asked Ansem, who seemingly popped out of no where.

"Yup, and I know I'll get in trouble but it was so worth it."

Ansem walked over to Ienzo, giving him a towel. "Now, Ienzo I want you to go to the castle, go change & dry off. As soon as you're ready come back here." The shivering boy in front of him nodded and ran off.

As soon as he was gone Ansem turned to Braig. "Now as for you…

Ienzo was in his room. He had taken a shower, dried off, & gotten dressed already. He was sitting on his bed, his face in his knees. You could hear muffled sobs escaping his mouth. He hated all of it. The pranks, the names, being called out at for every little mistake, it was terrible. He was just a kid, what did they expect? Yeah, he makes mistakes but that didn't mean he was useless! Sometimes he regretted be coming an apprentice.

More sobs echoed around the room as he cried his eyes out. A few minutes later, the sobs stopped. Some tears still ran down his face though. Quickly he snapped up his neck, tears flew away from his face. Grabbing his guitar, he headed for the roof.

-------------------------------------(What happened after Ienzo left)-------------------------------

Ansem turned to Braig. "Now as for you, I want you to go back to the castle and apologize to Ienzo about everything you've done to him while he was here so far. Don't complain about it either! I'll deal with the rest of your punishment later. Now go!"

Braig mumbled a yes sir and ran toward the castle, but as soon as he was out of eye shot he slowed down to a walk. At the pace he was going he wouldn't make it there for 20 minutes. Why'd he have to apologize any way? It wasn't his fault Squirt couldn't take a joke. It's not like he got hurt or something either!

Surprisingly, 20 minutes had gone by & he was standing in front of the kids' door. It was slightly open, so he peaked in to see what he was up too. There, sitting on the bed, was Ienzo crying his eyes out. He looked so much smaller & more fragile than he should have. Maybe… he had gone too far this time. Braig felt a bad feeling in his chest. Guilt?

All of a sudden, the punk snapped his head up causing tears to fall away from his face. (A/N Have you ever watched the TV. show Naruto. You know that episode where Hinata is crying & suddenly her head goes up and tears come off her face? That's what this looks like.) He jumped off the bed and shuffled around under it. After a few seconds, he pulled out something big, and squiggly shaped. Clinging onto it, he ran to the door.

Braig immediately jumped back, franticly, trying to find a place to hide. He couldn't let the kid find him spying! Jumping around a corner, he turned just in time to see Ienzo running toward the stairs. Following the boy, he saw they were headed for the roof.

When they got there, the 14 year old sat on the edge while the 17 year old hid around a corner. Finally, Braig saw what the thing the other boy was holding was. A guitar! It was grey with black 'n' white yin – yang signs on it. He started playing a tune that was soft loud at the same time. yet It got louder and the kid started singing. He had an amazing voice that was… ohhh! It was so good I can't describe it!

There you go
You're always so right
It's all a big show
It's all about you

You think you know
What everyone needs
You always take time
To criticize me

It seems like everyday
I make mistakes
I just can't get it right

It's like I'm the one
You love to hate
But not today

So shut up, shut up, shut up
Don't wanna hear it
Get out, get out, get out
Get out of my way
Step up, step up, step up
You'll never stop me
Nothing you say today
Is gonna bring me down

There you go
You never ask why
It's all a big lie
Whatever you do

You think you're special
But I know, and I know
And I know, and we know
That you're not

You're always there to point
Out my mistakes
And shove them in my face

It's like I'm the one
You love to hate
But not today

So shut up, shut up, shut up
Don't wanna hear it
Get out, get out, get out
Get out of my way
Step up, step up, step up
You'll never stop me
Nothing you say today
Is gonna bring me down
Is gonna bring me down

Will never bring me down

Don't tell me who I should be
And don't try to tell me what's right for me
Don't tell me what I should do
I don't wanna waste my time
I'll watch you fade away

So shut up, shut up, shut up
Don't wanna hear it
Get out, get out, get out
Get out of my way
Step up, step up, step up
You'll never stop me
Nothing you say today
Is gonna bring me down

Shut up, shut up, shut up
Don't wanna hear it
Get out, get out, get out
Get out of my way
Step up, step up, step up
You'll never stop me
Nothing you say today
Is gonna bring me down

Bring me down
shut up, shut up, shut up
Won't bring me down
shut up, shut up, shut up
Bring me down
shut up, shut up, shut up
Won't bring me down

Shut up, shut up, shut up

…

…

The song ended with on final note, his voice rang through Braig's ears. The good thing was he got it on video! Don't you dare ask where he got the camera, 'cause I don't know… Don't hit me! Uh oh! He's leaving.

Ienzo had gotten up and was running down the stairs. It had been half an hour already and he needed to get back. He stuffed the musical instrument under his bed. Dashing down the hallway, he was about to head out the door (Braig was following all the way.) when a small red – headed figure blocked his way. It was very short with red hair that was cut short and just barley covered he ears. It wore a purple tank – top and a green skirt. Her eyes were blue. It was Ansem's 6 year old daughter, Kairi.

"Where ya goin'?" She asked innocently, rocking back & forth on her heels.

"I gotta get to the lake, Kairi. I can't if you don't move" He started to walk past her when she latched onto his arm.

"Don't go." She whined. "I'm bored and everyone left."

He sighed. He was going to have a tough time with this. "Kairi! I have to go- and No! I can't take you with me!"

"Please!" She begged. Kairi looked on the verge of crying. Suddenly she brightened up. "If you don't take me with you I'll tell everyone about the fact you play the guitar on the roof at night!" She said, a smug grin on her face.

His eyes narrowed. "You scheming little… Okay, okay! You can come with me, but if your dad askes it was your fault."

"Yay!" She yelled, letting go of his arm and doing a little dance. "Plus, it's not like you'd hurt me. We're friends."

"Kairi, you're the only friend I have in this place." With that, he picked her up on his back and started for the lake.

Once they got back, no one was around. The only people there were Kairi, (who was still riding on Ienzo's back) Ienzo, and Braig (who was following Ienzo some distance away.) Ienzo sat Kairi down in an arm chair, while he sat on the dock. Braig hid in the forest. All was quiet. They all sat in that position for go - only - knows - how - long.

Suddenly, there was a slight ripple in the water. At first Ienzo dismissed it as a fish. It was a few seconds, and then it happened again, this time bigger. Intrigued, Ienzo leaned over the dock. Another wave, bigger again, happened. It seemed closer than before. Ienzo turned his head to face Kairi, who was lying on her back in the grass.

"Hey Kairi," he called. "come over here a minute." The small girl hopped up and ran over. "Kairi, watch the water. Ripples keep appearing. I think something big is in there, jugging by the size of the ripples." Sure enough, the ripples came again, bigger & closer then before.

"What is it?" Kairi asked.

"Dunno. Whatever it is, it seems pretty big." He had just barley gotten the words out of his mouth when a huge figure with a long (probably 40 feet) neck popped out of the water. Both children screamed at a high pitch note that no one had though possible. Yes, both of them. Even though one was a boy. A boy with a squeaky voice. The long neck creature's…. neck (?)…. came crashing down. Ienzo pushed Kairi on the main land just in time, but he was still on the dock and fell in. It happened so fast, his inhaler in his pocket fell on the ground next to the red – head.

Ienzo bobbed up & down in the water while attempting to get on land. Braig was is the trees still, to shocked to do anything but record it all. Meanwhile, in the water the big creature with gray skin, which looked suspiciously like the rumored creature from Lake Lockness, came up again. Ienzo had just gotten on the broken dock when it grabbed the back of Ienzo's shirt and pulled him up with his mouth. It was pulling them to the middle of the lake! Fog was starting to drift in, making it hard to see. Right before they went under, Kairi let out a long, terrible scream.

That scream brought Braig back to reality. He dashed forward next to Kairi, bending down next to her.

"Kairi, I need you to find your dad and give him this video camera." He pushed the camera in to her hands. "Tell him to watch it & take him back here. After he watches tell him what happened. I'm going to get Ienzo back."

"Wait! Don't leave me here alone!" She wailed.

"Kairi, you wanna help him don't you?" She nodded. "The only way you can help right now is if you give that camera to your dad. Now go." He pushed her toward the forest. She ran off. Seeing the boy's inhaler by his feet, he snatched it up. They might need it later. He turned around and dived into the lake. Braig swam out to the middle, to a deep breath, and dived in to the murky depths...

------------------------------------(What happened with Ienzo)-------------------------------------

Ienzo didn't dare open his mouth or eyes, while under water. His air was running low, if they didn't go up soon he'd pass out. Suddenly, he felt the water going a different direction around him. They were going up. He felt himself break the surface, creature still holding on to his shirt, and was hoisted into the air, then was gently set on the ground. It was hard, like stone or rock. Opening his eyes, he saw he was in a cave. Not much to it but somehow light was there, not that it made any difference.

Sitting up, he found the monster was gone. He sighed; there was no way he was getting out of here now. He sat there for a few minutes, not really moving. He had no idea how to get out of here since he was not the best swimmer and would probably drown without any help. Ienzo continued to dwell on these thoughts when he suddenly realized he was having a hard time breathing. Darn his Asthma! He reached for his inhaler in his back pocket. When he couldn't find it, he got a little more nervous. Breathing was becoming harder for him and his vision was becoming dark around the edges. Gasping for air, he fell to the floor. He couldn't see anything anymore, but he swore that he heard a splash & someone calling his name, right before he fainted.

------------------------------------------------(With Braig)--------------------------------------------

(A/N Okay, since I've been writing this for 5 days now, I'm just gonna skip to the part where Braig's head pops above the surface & shorten the descriptions some. 'Cuz I'm lazy: - P)

After a minute of swimming through under ground caves he found, Braig found an air hole. Swimming upward, his head broke the surface. He took a gulp of fresh air that he desperately needed and looked around. Okay, let's see what Braig sees. Rock, rock, rock, stalagmite, rock, rock, Ienzo on the ground, rock, ro- Wait a minute! Ienzo! Turning his head, he saw the small boy, soaking wet, on his stomach breathing harshly. He jumped out of the water, calling Ienzo's name.

The kid was completely unconscious. Turning him over, he realized Ienzo was having an Asthma attack. Panic struck him. Reaching in his pocket, Braig took out the small boy's inhaler. Tilting his head back, he stuck the inhaler in his mouth and pressing the button to let the medicine flow. Almost immediately the blue- haired boy staring breathing easier. Even though it was only for a split second, at one point he actually thought Ienzo could have died. Shacking off that thought, he decided that he should wait until Ienzo woke up. Picking Ienzo up bridal style, he sat against the wall with Ienzo in his lap.

After a while Braig dozed off, only to awaken to a rumbling noise to wake him up again. Looking around, he saw the creature coming back. Before it saw them, he scooped up Ienzo and hid behind a rock. Subconsciously, he held Ienzo tighter to his chest as it came up. The rumbling must have caused bats to wake up in the back of the cave because black blurs were flying around the, I'm going to call him Locky, Locky's head. (Don't ask me what bats were doing in there because I don't know.) He stretched his neck, snapping at the bats; so far Locky actually hit the top of the cave causing some holes. Apparently, the green bushes that fell through meant the holes lead to the forest.

A way to escape!

The creature let out a deep growl/cry thing as it fell to the cave floor. There was blood coming out of a crack in the skull. A loose piece of rock fell on his skull, causing it to bleed more. Well, if it wasn't dead before it is now. All the shaking must have woken Ienzo up because he stirred in Braig's arms, cracking open his eyes. He looked only half -conscious, so Braig didn't bother talking to him as he place Ienzo on his back, who held on tightly, and made his way over to the wall. He started climbing to the holes in the ceiling, which was actually really easy since Ienzo only weighed about 75 pounds.

Once he made it to the wall, he pulled himself & Ienzo through without any complications. Ienzo had passed out again, so Braig just carried him on his back. They were in the forest, not to far from the camp. Before 10 minutes was up, they were just outside the camp. From where he stood, he could see Kairi just finishing to show Ansem the tape. The bond man looked shocked at first, but his expression soon changed to worried as he said something to his daughter and she waved he hands in the air saying something Braig couldn't make out.

Stepping out of the trees, he made his way over to the man and girl as Ienzo shifted on his back. They both looked relived to see the two boys as Kairi raced over to them, yelling about monsters, best friends, and holy water. And something about cussing out Even… Any way, she was yelling things no one could understand (Though Braig could have sworn she said a cuss word about twice!)

He gave a nod to Kairi and walked over to Ansem, thrusting Ienzo into his arms. Ansem took the boy and just smiled. They all walked back to the castle in silence, including Kairi, who looked ready to fall asleep. Now, as Braig lives in a 2 bedroom apartment, he thinks back and realized Ansem never bothered to ask what went on during that hour and a half they were gone. So Braig never told. It just made him wonder because… Ansem had a knowing smile on his face all year.

Ienzo was out for the rest of the day. He would wake up sometimes but that was only for a few minutes, then he was out again. Braig was almost the same was only out for an hour. The other apprentices were out until 10:00 and didn't even hear about the lake thing. They never did. And they're supposed to be smart! Morons….

The small boy finally woke up somewhere around 11:45. As I said earlier, it was New Years so in 15 minutes it would be January 1st. He crept out of his room to look for Braig. He had been told what had happened in the cave and that Braig had saved his life, he wanted to thank him for it.

Creeping into the 17 year olds room, he saw Braig sitting on the balcony in his black pajamas, Ienzo was wearing silver ones. Silently, he walked over to the balcony. He hit a game board on the way, causing a loud pop and Braig to look at him. It was now 11:55.

"Hey." Said Braig, turning back to the stars. "You okay? You gave m- us a scare."

The younger nodded. "I know you saved me back in the cave. I wanted to… thank you. I'd probably be dead right now if you hadn't of helped." Ienzo walked over to the balcony and leaned on it, gazing at the stars.

"No problem… I actually wanted to apologize o you really. I've been teasing you all year. Sorry…"

The blue haired boy gave a small smile. "S'okay."

The town below them suddenly rang out with booming voices for the count down to January 1st.

30…

29…

28…

"So, do you think we could, ya know, start over?"

"Alright. It's a new year after all." He smiled.

20…

19…

18…

They both looked up at the same time to look at stars, but something else caught their attention. Mistletoe. Right above them. They caught each others eye, but quickly looked away blushing.

The older one spoke first. "Um, there's mistletoe above us. Well… you know the tradition…."

"Oh, yeah, I guess we should do it and get it over with."

"Yeah."

10…

9…

8…

They were starting to lean forward, nervously.

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

Just when they were only inches apart, Ienzo pulled back. Braig heard a mumble of "Sorry, I gotta go." As the younger rushed off.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Braig let out a sigh as he watched the fire works in the air. Oh well, there was always next year…

Braig doesn't live alone in that 2 bedroom apartment. In fact, every night he falls asleep in bed, there's always a blue haired boy with a spunky attitude in his arms.

Okay, I know some parts my be a little sucky but you would be tired too if you worked on this thing for nearly 2 weeks. At least it's done. I had this in my for almost a moth so I just wrote it. I act on impulses people, not sense. Common sense is the most uncommon thing n the world. Review!

The song at the beginning was Where is your boy tonight? By Panic! At the Disco!