Written for kh-worldsconnected fanzine event on tumblr. The theme was "time." The beautiful cover image was made by redbrocade on tumblr. I hope you enjoy the story! Xoxo
The Enigma
"Riku." The man's harsh tone echoed in the vast, white room. "See to it that the witch no longer has access to the computers."
The blindfolded boy spoke plainly in response, but he visibly tensed at the shoulders. "Naminé meant no harm,"
he insisted after briefly glancing at the Nobody. Her head hung low. She stood so still that it seemed as though she wasn't even breathing.
Riku paused to acknowledge the tension, and then continued on, "And there's no reason to call her a witch, DiZ." It was the first time he heard him call her that. It filled him with rage, but why? Perhaps it was because when he looked at Naminé, he could only see Kairi. Or perhaps it was because Naminé just didn't deserve it.
DiZ turned away from them both. "I've heard enough," he said before walking away without another word.
When he was gone, Naminé shyly looked up to Riku.
"I was only adjusting the temperature inside the pod," she said quietly. Defensively. "I saw Sora shivering, and-"
Riku abruptly placed a hand on her shoulder. He just nodded. "I know, Naminé."
And for a brief moment in time, Naminé could have sworn that she saw the trace of a smile on his face. He hadn't smiled in a while.
She looked back down, as if she never saw it. "I don't know why...he always calls me that." Her voice shook. "I don't know why I have these powers. I just...do."
Riku was quiet. Then, without another word, he vanished through a dark corridor.
"It was uncalled for, DiZ."
"Do not get so defensive over a Nobody, Riku." There was utter hatred and a hint of disgust in his voice when mentioning the word Nobody. He walked on swiftly through the mansion hallway as if hoping to get away from Riku, who trailed him persistently.
"That doesn't give you the excuse to call her a witch," Riku continued. "She's only trying to help Sora."
DiZ suddenly halted. "Have you forgotten who is to blame for Sora's current condition? Do not be so quick to defend the witch, Riku. She is the one to shatter the boy's heart in the first place."
Riku crossed his arms. "She was manipulated into doing that. She's trying to help Sora now, and that's all that counts."
"Only a fool values the present over the past," DiZ said darkly.
"You're saying I should value the past more? So I can become a bitter old man like you?" Riku retorted. "No thanks, but I think I'll pass."
DiZ gazed at the abstract painting on the wall. "You know nothing," he commented, and then calmly walked away.
The blindfolded boy, left standing in solitude, huffed. His blood boiled. He couldn't understand why he was suddenly letting his temper get the best of him until he considered that, perhaps, DiZ was right.
Naminé drew. She drew Roxas and his friends, and she smiled to herself in satisfaction. The three of them always looked so happy together, up on that clocktower. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and studied her drawing. Something was missing. Upon further examination, she realized it was the ice-cream. The ice-cream was missing. How could she have forgotten it?
Before she could draw it in, the white door creaked open. In entered Riku, solemnly.
He made no attempt at a greeting and instead went straight to the point. "What do you know about DiZ?" he asked as he invited himself to a seat to the end opposite of Naminé.
Naminé looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?" she asked as she placed the blue crayon down onto the sleek, glass table. It rolled a bit before stopping.
"Anything you know about him. About his past." He spoke with apathy, to mask his anger.
His indifference always intimidated her. The blonde Nobody shifted slightly in her chair. "I only know as much as you do, Riku," she clarified. "If not less."
"Not even his true name?" Riku pressed on.
This caught Naminé off guard. "I always thought that DiZ was his true name."
Riku slightly shook his head, but he made no attempt to explain himself. He merely stood, thanked Naminé for her time with a simple nod, and walked out.
DiZ never trusted Riku. It was as simple as that. He knew that the boy's agenda differed from his own.
The boy was also incredibly rash and reckless. DiZ was certain that Riku was prepared to do anything, even double cross him, if it meant somehow helping Sora restore his heart. How then, could DiZ learn to trust him? And yet, how could he not when they both desperately needed Sora to awaken?
Sitting alone at his computer, DiZ absent mindedly typed away at a project he'd been working on for some time.
The glowing, blue computer screen displayed blueprints for the machine. A machine to reverse Xemnas's precious Kingdom Hearts. DiZ frowned at the thought of the Organization's leader: Xemnas.
Xehanort's Nobody.
DiZ's hand subconsciously formed into a fist, and he banged on the table. The monitor mildly shook in place upon impact.
He continued to create the plans, typing away like a madman. Xehanort had to be defeated. It was what he deserved. The sound of the keyboard was amplified in the large room. Xehanort… DiZ abruptly froze, fingers still spread out across the keys. His own apprentice. His colleague. His friend. How could he?
The sound of footsteps growing closer caused DiZ to continue typing away, as if nothing was bothering him.
"I need you to fetch me some materials to build this machine, Riku," DiZ said sternly, without bothering to look away from the screen. He typed without thinking, typing random keys, really, just to stop thinking about Xehanort.
For a moment, there was no response.
"And while you're out-" DiZ glanced over. He cut himself off when realizing that he was never addressing Riku to begin with.
"Naminé," he stated coldly. "You were told to keep away from the computers."
The girl brought her hand nervously to her arm. "I made a mistake," she said courageously. "I wasn't able to save the warmer temperature setting. Sora's still too cold. I-I was wondering…if you could fix it."
The sharpness in DiZ's tone vanished. "I beg your pardon?" He was just confused.
"Earlier the temperature inside the pod dropped, so I tried to make it warmer for him. But I wasn't able to fix it," Naminé explained.
DiZ curiously opened a new program. He inspected it closely until cocking his head back a bit. "I see," he remarked, more so to himself than to Naminé. He typed two keys and nodded in approval.
Naminé, taking it as her cue to leave, turned. But before she should take a single step, DiZ continued to speak.
"I do not understand how you were able to catch something as insignificant as an error in temperature without manually opening the files in the computer," he mused.
Naminé hesitated. "I was just talking with him. I saw him shiver. That's all."
"You take time to speak with the boy?"
Naminé averted her eyes. All the time. "Only sometimes."
To her surprise, DiZ said nothing in response. He continued to work as if she wasn't even there.
Naminé quickly walked away until DiZ stopped her at the doorway.
"It is a good thing you talk to the boy sometimes, Naminé," DiZ said, in a tone she'd never heard before. "I, for one, would have never realized that our Keyblade wielder was cold."
Naminé relaxed a bit at what DiZ told her. It was almost kind of him.
Riku considered apologizing for snapping at DiZ, but he decided against it. If anything, DiZ would mock an apology and deem it insincere and childish. With this in mind, he walked right into the computer room and acted as if he never even called him a bitter, old man.
"You wanted to see me, DiZ?" All he could hope for was for DiZ to pretend nothing happened earlier too.
To his relief, he did just that.
"I have prepared a list of items I will be needing for my machine," the man in red explained. He handed Riku a short list consisting of different metals, tools, and other materials.
Riku, who was after all still blindfolded, took the list and stuffed it in his coat pocket without giving it a second glance - or a first one, at that. "What's the machine for?" he asked immediately.
DiZ studied the boy. He looked so stiff. "You do not trust me, do you, Riku?" he asked, deflecting the question with his own. The two were so stubborn.
Riku had a blank expression on his face. "I don't see why I should when you don't trust me. What's the machine for?" he asked again.
This caused DiZ to laugh half heartedly. "I suppose you have a point."
Riku crossed his arms. He asked a third time. A last time, he internally vowed. "What's it for?"
DiZ returned his attention to the computer screen. "It is a machine designed to speed up Sora's progress."
And that was all he had to say, despite it not being the truth, to get Riku to disappear into a corridor of darkness.
"Do you know what I had to go through to get you that orichalcum and adamantite, DiZ?" Riku asked with a hint of aggression. He recalled the moogle's insanely inflated prices for the rare materials.
DiZ ignored him and scanned the various objects spewed across the table. "That will be all then, Riku," he said dismissively.
Riku crossed his arms. Was that the closest thing to a thank you that he'd get? Most likely. Words of gratitude didn't seem to be in this mysterious man's vocabulary. Riku looked ahead curiously to the man. "Is there anything else I could do to help you with the machine?" he asked.
DiZ pondered for a moment, but eventually just shook his head. "I will take it from here."
Riku nodded. "Alright. Is there anything I can do for Sora?"
The man began sorting the parts, vaguely acknowledging Riku. "There is nothing you can do for the boy," he said sternly. "For now, I suppose all you can do is wait."
The silver haired boy took a step forward. His conscience abruptly got the better of him - perhaps by simply thinking of his goofy, kind hearted best friend.
"DiZ," Riku said, without taking the time to think about how to word it. "I'm sorry for earlier." And as soon as he said it, he wanted to take it back.
DiZ froze in place. His hand hovered above a screwdriver hesitantly. For a moment, it was quiet.
Riku couldn't help but to wonder what was going on inside that man's head. He was able to see through many people's motives, but DiZ always befuddled him. Riku stood still, awaiting a response. Just, how would DiZ react to an apology? The thought intrigued him, but for some reason it also made him grow terribly anxious.
DiZ's response was dry. There was a hint of shame, too. "I too, am sorry, Riku," he said, with no explanation to follow. Then he made his way out the door, cape flowing dramatically behind him.
Riku thought about it for some time. The words replayed over and over in his mind. Just what did DiZ have to be sorry for? Surely, he wasn't sorry for calling Naminé a witch. DiZ absolutely hated Nobodies. He would never apologize to one. The day he apologized to one would be the day DiZ was no longer DiZ.
Riku continued to wonder. DiZ had nothing to particularly be sorry for. Did he?
He entered Naminé's room and mused out loud.
"Would DiZ ever apologize...for anything?"
Naminé, who stood by the curtains, turned to him. She opened her mouth to speak, but then Riku continued.
"He really isn't the type of person to," he said, frustrated to not know why he did. "So why would he? Especially when he had nothing to be sorry for?" he brought a hand to his chin in thought.
The Nobody considered it.
Then, Riku went on. "Maybe, he did do something. Do you think he did something to me, and I didn't even realize it?"
Naminé, no longer willing to input her thought, waited for Riku to answer his own question.
"Maybe it has something to do with that machine," Riku said. Then, just as swiftly as he entered, he dashed out.
For a brilliant man, DiZ's password wasn't all that difficult to guess. Riku just rolled his eyes underneath his blindfold as he typed in the man's favorite ice-cream flavor into the computer.
But before he could hit enter, a thought came to him. Maybe, just maybe, DiZ meant for his password to be so simple. Perhaps the man wanted Riku to be able to access his computer.
Riku just shook his head at the thought. No, he thought. He was simply overanalyzing things that weren't meant to be.
Once the computer was unlocked, Riku hurriedly searched the files on the screen, lifting the corner of his blindfold and all to see the screen.
He eventually found a file titled Blueprints. Without wavering, he double clicked and waited impatiently as the loading screen appeared.
Halfway through loading, a pop up message appeared that read Enter password to continue. With a raised eyebrow, Riku typed sea salt ice-cream into the white box.
Immediately after confirming the password, red letters covered the entire screen that read INCORRECT PASSWORD. Then, without as much as a warning, the screen went black.
Riku stared ahead with widened eyes. He slowly let his blindfold fall back.
He sat there in the swivel chair. He wondered whether or not he spelled the ice-cream flavor correctly, but he knew that he did. He checked the spelling and spacing of the phrase at least three times before confirming.
So why then? Why did DiZ keep his computer so easy to unlock only to have its contents virtually inaccessible? Was it to highlight how secretive he was? Or to demonstrate how unwilling he was to trust others?
All the unanswered questions further raised Riku's suspicions. The more he wondered, the more he wanted to know. What did DiZ want? Who was he?
"I am fully aware that you were looking through my computer, Riku."
Riku wasn't surprised. He said nothing.
"I locked my plans and projects once I saw how easy it was for Naminé to access my files. But did you find everything that you were looking for?" DiZ asked, well aware that Riku found nothing.
Riku continued to embrace silence. He was attempting to stay calm, but visibly failed to.
DiZ continued work on his machine. He too kept quiet.
The silence somehow evolved into a test of pride. Who would stay silent the longest? Who would give in and speak first?
The two stubborn fools stayed quiet and would have stayed as such for all eternity if Naminé hadn't come rushing into the room.
"T-There's something wrong with Sora," she said urgently. "Please, DiZ, can you help him?"
Sora was the reason for the three of them - Riku, Naminé, and DiZ - to be together in the first place. They all had different goals, different objectives, different plans, but Sora was the chain that linked them all together.
So at the mention of Sora in possible peril, both Riku and DiZ put their petty pride behind them and jumped into action.
DiZ dropped everything - literally dropped his wrench - and stood straight. "What is the issue?" he asked rapidly, already making his way back to the computer room as Naminé and Riku pursued on either side of him.
"The pod was malfunctioning, I think," Naminé explained. "It looked as if it were about to open. And if it were to open, Sora would…"
"Sora would wake up too early," Riku finished, to which Naminé nodded.
DiZ took a seat and began typing. He was incredibly invested in addressing the issue and so he paid little attention to Naminé and Riku.
Taking note of DiZ's lack of attention, Riku sneakily attempted to look over the man's shoulders when he typed in his password. Unfortunately for him, DiZ typed much too quickly, and Riku could only determine that the password started with an X.
DiZ's eyes moved from left to right as he read the green text on the dark screen. The text was largely confusing to Naminé and Riku, who tried to read it, as it was mainly composed of terms they'd never heard of.
"Can you fix it, DiZ?" Riku asked eventually.
"An internal error," DiZ mumbled to himself. "Of course. I should have suspected such as soon as there was an error regarding the temperature."
Riku gazed distantly at Naminé. Her eyes were locked on the computer, but she seemed to be focusing on something entirely different. It was as if she were in another world. Then, Riku looked back to DiZ. When he saw him, hunched over at the computer like a shadow, he briefly sensed a trace of sadness hidden somewhere in that bitterness.
"Sora's alright now," Naminé assured as she interlocked her fingers. "But, Riku…" She was frowning.
Riku had a hand placed on Sora's pod. He was still.
"Are you alright?" Naminé asked.
The blindfolded boy slid his hand off the chamber and turned to the Nobody. "Why wouldn't I be?" he asked with a small shrug to follow.
Naminé looked to Sora. "DiZ's homeworld was called Radiant Garden," she said suddenly.
This took Riku by surprise. "Radiant Garden?" he echoed.
Naminé nodded. "That's right," she said. And she didn't explain why or how she knew. "He was the ruler there."
Not knowing what to say, Riku just stood there. He thought he had Naminé all figured out, but perhaps she knew more than she was willing to say all along.
She shifted the conversation back to Sora. "If things keep going smoothly, Sora will be awake soon," she said with a smile. "You'll be there for him when he wakes up, right, Riku?"
Riku nodded. "I've been teaching myself to control my darkness," he explained. "So that when Sora does wake up, he and the others don't have to see me like…"
Naminé smiled. "You'll be with your friends again soon."
Riku turned back to Sora. "Yeah," he said, allowing himself to relax.
The machine was as enigmatic as its inventor. There were many buttons and flashing lights and knobs and levers. It was fairly large and oddly shaped. It contained a miniature galaxy at its core with stars that danced and all. And as soon as DiZ was finished with it, he asked Riku to take it and put it away into storage like it was trash.
"Take it where I no longer have to look at it," DiZ ordered. He turned back to his computers and went about typing.
Riku, perplexed, did as he was told. He hauled the heavy machine to the storage room and left it in the corner. He was tempted to fiddle around with it, but his willpower was strong. He left it, untouched, and departed.
There it sat for days, and when days turned to weeks, and when weeks turned to months, it served no purpose other than to collect cobwebs and dust.
"Don't imply that I regret it, because I don't, DiZ." The tall, hooded man sat on the couch with one leg crossed over the other.
DiZ sat at the chair across from him. "You do not regret willingly succumbing to the darkness you worked so hard to overcome?" he rephrased as he brought an intrigued hand to his cheek.
"When we first met, I told you that I would do whatever it took to make sure Sora woke up. Don't pretend to act so surprised," the man continued.
DiZ stood. "You're as foolish as ever, Ansem," he remarked distantly, speaking to both the man in front of him and to himself. DiZ looked away. "I must work on my machine," he said abruptly. "Where did you leave it?"
It took a moment or two for Ansem to recall what DiZ referred to. When he realized that it was the machine from long ago, he curiously tilted his head a bit."Didn't you say that you were finished with it?" He spoke accompanied by slightly sophisticated hand gestures.
"There are minor adjustments to be made," DiZ explained as he rested his hands behind his back.
"So be it," Ansem replied dryly. He stood. "It's in the storage room. I'll go get it for you now before I leave."
"No," DiZ said, too urgently, too immediately. "Do not go near it. I will fetch it myself."
Ansem put his hood down. "...If you insist. I guess this is goodbye then?"
DiZ nodded. To Ansem's surprise, the man extended his hand to him.
"I wish you the best, Riku," he said simply. Genuinely.
Ansem, not knowing what to say, took the man's hand and shook it firmly. He wanted to ask about the machine again, but he already knew that DiZ would never tell him. If he wanted to know more, he'd have to figure it out for himself. And that was just what he intended to do before he left the mansion.
Sea salt ice-cream. Throughout the year, the system password always remained sea salt ice-cream.
Ansem caught himself smiling a bit. He was never a big fan of the stuff, (he was more of a strawberry man himself) but DiZ and Naminé really seemed to like it. He remembered one particularly hot summer day when DiZ surprised both him and even Naminé with a bar each. It was quite uncomfortable and incredibly awkward for the trio to share ice-cream (they ate in total silence!) but something about that moment made Riku feel so warm inside, despite the ice-cream being so cold. He scolded himself for being so sappy, but he couldn't help it.
His smile disappeared when the files on the screen began appearing one by one. He eyed the file that was still titled Blueprints.
Ansem selected it. As it loaded, he thought of possible passwords starting with the letter X.
He had various ideas as to what it could have been. He lived with DiZ for a little over a year, so he figured that he knew him much better than before.
He waited for the message asking for the password to appear halfway through the loading screen, but it just never did.
Instead, the file loaded completely, and a short document appeared on the screen.
DiZ must have removed the password protection, but why would he? Was it an act of carelessness, or was it done on purpose?
Ansem snapped out of the short period of confusion and read eagerly.
The screen read:
Theory of Substitution
Classified File
I have discovered that there are many forms of darkness. These many forms can be broken up into two branches - one I call Natural Darkness, and the other I call Artificial Darkness. As the name implies, Natural Darkness can be found throughout the worlds in a natural state, such as the pure darkness in a person's heart. Natural Darkness is essential to maintain harmony. Artificial Darkness is what people create themselves. It stems from greed, corruption, jealousy, etc. and can take many forms. This darkness manifests like fire until the heart succumbs to it.
I initially could not comprehend why someone would willingly allow Artificial Darkness to consume their heart. That was before I realized that the heart itself is ultimately an enigma.
My theory is that, like matter, any form of darkness cannot be destroyed. Still, while it cannot be eliminated, perhaps darkness can be transferred from one person to another. Perhaps one person can be rid of it if someone else takes it.
My machine can surely test this theory of substitution - with altered blueprints and this newfound knowledge, of course. I must begin effective immediately, before time runs out. Anything could happen, to myself, that is, but so be it.
His future depends on it.
The report made little sense. Ansem stared ahead, stunned.
He read it a second time. A third time. A fourth.
He heard footsteps. Surely DiZ's, since Naminé was long gone.
Before standing up in a panic, Ansem gazed at the report again. Then, swiftly, he shut it off and vanished.
He walked about aimlessly through the colorful, swirling corridor of darkness.
He did not know why DiZ would remove the password from the file.
He did not know that DiZ intended to rid him of the appearance of Xehanort's heartless.
He did not know that by doing so, DiZ would ultimately cast himself to the Dark Realm in exchange.
He did not know that DiZ's heart was already decided.
After all that time, he still knew nothing.
He did not even know that the ever eluding enigma was a friend all along.