Ch. 1: Darkness Consumes All
The newer characters belong to me and the older characters from the game belong to SquareSoft and Disney
"You're hurting me." the voice of an angered teenager mused, her teeth grinding with pain and fury.
"That's the whole point my dear. How else do you except me to punish you? Tell me, how else?" Ansem questioned, holding the girl's scarred neck in his hand close to his face.
The girl breathed in the cold, dark air with a sharp, stinging sensation as the air hit her lungs. Her hands bled as she twisted them, trying to release herself from the rope that bounded them together behind her back. Sweat dripped down her face and stung her eyes as if they were being torched by a flame. She was so tired, yet never let a clue to her exhaustion find its way onto her face.
"You're very good at hiding your pain. You know that, right?" Ansem threw the girl down onto the stone ground that lined the castle of Kingdom Hearts.
"Only learned from the best." the girl answered, coughing into the ground. She pushed her body up and sat on her knees. "Are we quite finished now?"
"I suppose so. Unless you wish me to continue." Ansem laughed.
"No thank you." the girl's breathing was now long and hard as she spoke to her master.
"All right then. You are released." Ansem waved his hand over the trapped form in front of him and her bonds were cut.
The girl brought her hands in front of her and began to rub her wrists. She stood herself up and faced the man she despised and loved the most.
"Feel better?" he asked, smiling deviously at the young girl. "Say it." he urged. "Say it."
"Forgive me for my sins for I have done you wrong and deserve what I have just received." she forced. The words seemed as poisonous as the venom of a deadly rattlesnake to the girl.
Ansem smiled again, pleased to hear the words uttered from the girl's mouth.
"You are forgiven. Now what have we learned my child?"
The girl sighed in hatred, rolling her eyes.
"That I should never disobey the great and powerful Ansem, ruler of all darkness, again." she said, sarcastically.
She smiled at the man. If a smile was able to kill, Ansem would have dropped dead right there and then.
"Eh, eh, eh. Don't be fresh or you won't get your present." Ansem grasped his hand around the teenager's chin and shook her head side to side.
"What present?" she muttered.
Ansem let go of her and began to walk down the stone stairs that led him to two giant, wooden doors.
"Come!" he yelled from the bottom of the stairs.
The girl sighed in hatred again and did as she was commanded. She followed Ansem through the doors and down a blackened hallway. Tiny candles all along the walls illuminated the hallway with a pale, blue flame. At the end of the hall stood another pair of doors. Ansem opened them and motioned the girl to go in first. She stepped into the room and Ansem closed the doors behind him as he entered as well.
"You know, with the present you gave me last month, I could reverse all this." the girl mocked, crossing her arms.
"You could, but you wouldn't get the present I'm giving you now." Ansem answered, walking toward a weird looking machine.
"Oh. Is this present really that spectacular?"
"That all depends on your desire for power, my dear." Ansem turned toward the girl. "How far are you willing to go for power?"
"As far I as have to. You know this already. All I want out of life is one chance at complete and total power. Why are you asking me this?" the girl asked, confused to the direction of the man's question.
"I am now going to give you that power." Ansem whispered.
The girl's eyes widen and the tone of her voice changed. "What must I do?"
"Stand still my child." Ansem stepped closer to the girl and placed his hand on her cheek. "Don't be afraid." he whispered.
"It takes a lot more than you touching my cheek to frighten me." Nonetheless, she was scared.
Ansem's palm spread out on the girl's cheek. Suddenly, a dark green light twisted and circled around the girl. The light absorbed into her chest and straight into her heart. Ansem backed away and smiled.
"You now have the power to control the Heartless."
His words filled the teenaged girl with such joy and strength that she discarded the fact that pain surged through her veins from her punishment.
"The power to control the Heartless." the girl smiled, starring at her arms which she held in the air. She clenched her fists and let out a triumphant, "Ahhh!"
Ansem smiled to himself as the young girl rejoice over her new power.
"Why don't you try it out?" he suggested.
The girl turned her head to the side and an evil smile found its way onto her face. She faced forward and waved her hand through the darkness. To her satisfaction, three small Shadows rose from the stone ground.
"This is too good." she spoke slowly to show her complete satisfaction.
"I'm glad to hear you are pleased by your new power, my child." Ansem said. "Come with me." Ansem led the young teenager out of the room and back into his thrown room. He took her hand and walked toward the rock stairs. "I have a new assignment for you child."
"Okay. Do I get to kill people?" she questioned, smiling at Ansem. Her hatred had now been subdued and she gladly presented her gratification to her master.
"Well, you might have to. But, you may not kill the three I am sending you after." he answered.
"I'm to follow someone. That's it? I just get to watch someone?" the girl became a bit annoyed at this information.
"Yes. You have heard of this so-called 'Keyblade master', have you not?"
"You speak of him pretty often Ansem. How could I not know him? Sora isn't it?" she said.
"That's him. You are to find him and his dull-witted friends, and track them. Do not show yourself to them until I say you are to do so. Understand?" Ansem climbed the last step and sat down on his black thrown.
"I understand. Why am I doing this?"
"He has beaten me once. He shall not overcome the darkness again."
Ansem slipped into, what seemed to be, a state of remembrance. His very blood boiled at the notion that Sora was freely roaming the worlds while he sat back in Kingdom Hearts, unable to quench his thirst for the blood of the Keyblade master.
"Okay. Calm down. Don't go all homicidal on me Ansem. Well, at the moment don't. All right? I'll do this. When should I expect your word to show myself to them?" the girl asked.
"Give it a few days. I'll send word to you, then, let them know that someone is following them. Let them find you. You'll be given more instruction before you meet the idiots." Ansem freed the girl's hand. He motioned her to gather her things and leave as soon as possible.
The young teenager descended the stairs and walked over to the side of the room where a small chest was positioned. From inside the dark chest, she took a black, leather belt and fastened it around her waist. She then wrapped a black cloak around her slender yet built body. When buttoned, the cloak covered her dark blue jeans and blue, gray, and gold tank-top. Her black, fingerless gloves that covered only her hands were still visible. After adjusting her hood, her red and black hair lay gracefully atop her shoulders as two blonde braids fell on her face. Lastly, she picked up two short, black Keyblades from the chest and slid them into the seethes on either side of her belt.
Ansem watched as the girl left the room and exited the castle of Kingdom Hearts. Again, he smiled to himself as a wave of satisfaction rolled over him.
'Soon.' he thought. 'Soon I will be able to return the pain of death to a once favorable enemy.'
--
"Got'cha!" Sora dove onto Pluto just as the dog was about to duck out of sight again. "Give it here boy." he said, pulling the letter with the king's seal from the dog's mouth.
"Open it Sora!" Goofy yelled, trying to catch up with the young Keyblade master.
Sora sat down on the ground and broke the royal seal on the envelope. He opened the letter and starred at it in bewilderment and disappointment.
"What's the matter? What did the king say?" Donald said, catching his breath as he stopped in front of Sora.
Sora kept silent for a moment. "It's empty." he muttered.
"What!?!?" Donald yelled.
"What d'ya mean it's empty!? It had the king's seal on it. It can't have nothing in it." Goofy protested.
Sora's head sank down and he handed the bare letter to Donald. The magician examined the piece of paper.
"All that time chasing that dog around and for what. Nothing. Just a black piece of paper! I bet the king didn't even send us this. I bet this was a whole scheme." Donald sat down next to Sora, just as disappointed and tired as he was.
"Well, now what do we do?" Sora sighed.
"I guess we could... eh... no... well, we could..." Goofy thought for a moment.
"We look for that door!" Donald proclaimed, getting up from the ground. "Come on Sora. Pluto, you come with us."
Sora stood up slowly. Before following Donald and Goofy, he bent down and picked up the piece of paper.
'He wouldn't just send us a blank piece of paper. Something must have happened to it. But what? And how? What could the king be trying to tell us?' he thought, then folded the paper and stuffed it in his back pocket.
The three friends once again found themselves wandering down the small, dirt path, Pluto following not too far behind. Night fell after a few miles. They laid down on the soft grass. Donald and Goofy were fast asleep within moments. Sora, on the other hand, did not find sleep so quickly. He felt as though something was wrong. It was distant, but still, something was wrong. The fifteen year old Keyblade master held his chest as he gazed at the stars. The pain in his chest became more intense by the minute. Soon, it became so sharp that the simple act of breathing was difficult. A new surge of pain flowed through his body with every beat of his heart. Sora's limbs went numb and his mind went blank all except for one name. Kairi. That's when it hit him. Something was happening to Kairi.
Sora fell into a state of unconsciousness.
Memories of his island flashed across his eyes. Suddenly, he saw her. Kairi was standing in the shore of Destiny Islands just as night fell. She turned around and he could see tears streaming down her face. She began to walk down the beach, slowly, as she rubbed her arms to keep warm. Sora wanted to reach out to her, but his arms were still numb. He tried to call out to her, but no sound came. So, he watched her walk.
Unexpectedly, Sora saw a gold light appear close to Kairi. From the light came a person. The person wore a hooded black cloak which kept the figure hidden. It began to walk toward Kairi. As it reached Kairi, the figure outstretched its hand to the young girl. Then... it spoke.
"Kenya vash portel anie, Kairi."
Instantly, Sora realized that the voice belonged to a young woman. It took a moment for Sora to realize that the cloaked figure was speaking in a different language, though. The words were unknown to him. He listened harder to see if the figure would continue to speak in this language.
"I remember you." Kairi whispered, smiling. "Why?" she asked, innocently.
The figure kept silent for a moment. "Kenya vash portel anie." she said, sounding as though she was begging Kairi to do something.
"You're going to take me to him, aren't you?" Kairi asked, becoming concerned.
"Kairi, ganet avai. Shonoro mei. Kegin, kenya vash portel anie." the girl said, waving her arms as her tone became a bit annoyed.
"What do you expect me to do? Throw myself at you and yell 'Take me to him, please!'!? Why are you still listening to him anyway?"
The figure shook her head and rubbed her face. "Kairi..." the girl paused. "Do you want the worlds to stay like this!? Do you want your island to be swallowed again!? Do you want everyone and everything you ever loved to be taken by the darkness again!? Tell me, is that what you want!? Kenya vash portel anie!" she outstretched her hand again.
Sora was surprised to hear the cloaked figure speak his language. Several questions ran through Sora's mind at the same time. Where did the girl want Kairi to go? Who was this 'he'? And how does Kairi know this girl?
"There's no other way?" Kairi questioned, beginning to cry.
"Jedt." the girl sighed. "Kegin Kairi. Kenya vash portel anie."
Kairi took the girl's glove covered hand.
"Promise me you won't let him hurt me." Kairi said.
The girl didn't answer. She turned and led her into the gold light.
Destiny Islands faded away, but Sora remained unconscious. All turned black and silent. The silence was only broken when the voice of the cloaked girl returned.
"You promised you wouldn't hurt her!"
"...I lied."
The sounds of a cracking whip, countless screams, and a man's evil laugh then filled the air.
"You're hurting me."
The voice's faded away. Sora quickly became conscious again. He jumped up and was breathing hard.
"Kairi."
--
The room was dark and cold. The man stood there, watching the boy shiver in the sphere of dark blue light that was his prison.
"Consumed by the darkness, yet still searching for the light." Ansem used. "Such a pathetic child."
Two Shadows that stood as tall as Ansem rose from the stone ground.
"Tentor Ansem, cendel falor jenai." one of the Shadows said in a deep and scratchy voice.
"Do you hear that boy?" Ansem spoke to the silver-haired boy.
The young boy did not answer though. He had been unconscious for months, floating inside his light prison.
"She's found your stupid friend. It won't be long now. I'll have the true Keyblade and the heart of its master. And you thought you could overcome that darkness. Ha! You are just as pathetic as your friend is."
"Menog enos senow?" the other Heartless uttered in its strange language.
"Leave her be. She'll be dead in matter of days. She's no longer your concern. If she continues to struggle though, I'll have to deal with things my own way." Ansem answered. "She must not outlive the week." Ansem thought to himself for an instant. "What am I doing? There's nothing to fear. That room will drain everything she has from her. There's no possible way she will live for more than a few days. Send for a messenger!" he demanded after assuring himself all was well.
The Shadows dissolved into the floor. A few minutes later, a smaller Shadow rose from the ground and approached Ansem. Ansem took out a small note from his pocket and handed it to the Shadow.
"You know what to do." he said, still looking at the boy.
The Shadow nodded and left.
"You know what would be fun boy? If I released you to find your friends." Ansem smiled deviously to himself. "She's been dying to finish you off. Yes, I think that would do just fine."
Ansem waved his hand in front of the light and it disappeared. The boy dropped to the ground, still unconscious.
"Take your heart and leave." Ansem said.
He once again waved his hand through the air in front of him. The boy's body illuminated with a fiery-red light. It absorbed into him and the boy disappeared from the room.
"Now, to tend to that girl." Ansem vented, becoming annoyed.
The dark man walked out of the room and down a long corridor similar to the other one.
"Kairi, Kairi, Kairi. You've become such an annoyance." Ansem sighed as he approached a black door with a small glass window in it. He stepped up to the door and peered in.
The room was nothing more than the cold, rough terrain of Kingdom Hearts enclosed in four walls. The floor was made of jagged rocks and boulders. The room was the darkest shade of black. The air was cold and poisonous.
"You may be strong princess, but you're not strong enough." Ansem whispered.
Kairi sat in the middle of the room, shaking. Her eyes had a strange glaze over them. She rocked back and forth while holding her legs and staring at the ground. Her skin had turned pale and cold to the touch. The only moving thing besides Kairi's shaking body was the movement of her frozen breath through the darkness.
Ansem began to laugh at the sight of the pathetic form before him. What would silence him would change the course of the worlds for eternity. Nothing would be the same once Ansem stopped laughing.
Ansem watched as Kairi fell to side and lay on the cold ground. Her body seized up and stopped shaking. There was no sign of her frozen breath floating through the darkness.
"And there you have it." Ansem mused, laughing once again. "All hope for the future of the princesses has been destroyed. You were their last hope of ruling these pathetic worlds peacefully princess Kairi. There shall be no light where you wind up. There shall never again be even the smallest glimmer of light in the worlds once I have regained my full strength. Darkness will conquer all worlds! They'll be no stopping the inevitable this time. The final princess of heart is gone; completely consumed by the darkness." Ansem stopped to think for a moment. "Nothing will be able to stop me now. She'll make sure of it. She's such a stupid child. Thinking she'll be able to regain her father by giving into me. Her father is lost. Engulfed by the darkness. Never to walk amongst the living again. Such a meaningless effort. Over a year with me and still she understands nothing. But, she will not betray me. She has too much to lose. She'll obey my every whim without question. Thanks to her, all hearts will return to darkness."
And with that, Ansem left the door and strode down the blackened hallway, leaving the lifeless body of the last princess of heart in the hallow chamber to rot and decay.
AN: Yes, okay, I admit it. I killed Kairi. I'm sorry. It makes the story what it is though. And it's only the first chapter. It'll get better, I promise. Come to think of it, this was a very depressing chapter. Umm, oh well. Please keep reading! Thanx.