Chapter One

Existence

"Xehanort!"

"Yes, sir?"

Xehanort hastily made his way into the room, followed by Braig, and halted when he saw his master's stern face. Ansem spoke coldly, "I hear you are still carrying out the experiments?"

"Who… how…?" Xehanort stuttered, and looked at Braig, hoping perhaps he had an explanation. Braig, however, stared at Ansem with his jaw dropped open. Ansem saw his expression, and roared, "CEASE THIS FOOLISHNESS AT ONCE, XEHANORT! Do you know what you might do to yourself?"

"In any case, your memory's as blank as it can get."

Hidden away in the corner of the room was Ienzo. "You've been experimenting too!" Braig exclaimed. Xehanort looked at Ansem, who simply sat down and threw Ienzo a bag of munny.

"I could use some ice cream," said Ansem. Ienzo nodded, and departed from the room.

"Sir, we are on the verge of discovering the ways of a heart!" said Xehanort.

"What of it?"

"Sir-"

"Xehanort, I am leaving," said Ansem, "You recall the visitor the other day, King Mickey, I believe? I am off to explore of what he told me. Do not touch my reports, Xehanort, I trust you will cease your experiments?"

"Yes, sir…" said Xehanort.

"Do you promise?" asked Ansem.

Xehanort looked at Ansem with eyes full of sudden hatred. Just the other day, he was his best apprentice, and now….

"Yes, sir," said Xehanort, looking away.

"Very well," said Ansem, getting up. He lifted up a heavy suitcase, and left the room.

Braig, his arms folded, walked to the computer room. Then, walking over to the CD shelf, he began to shuffle the covers.

"Let's see…" he murmured, "Computer games, TRON Instalment Disc, Ah… here we are…"

Braig brought out a disc entitled, 'Experiments on the Heart'. "Braig, you numbskull!" snapped Xehanort, "Give me that disc now!" But Braig had already inserted the disc into the mainframe, and pushed Xehanort back with one arm.

The program window popped up, and Braig laughed. However, something caught Xehanort's attention – a document he had never seen before!

"Braig!" he exclaimed, "Open up that file!"

Braig followed his orders, and then – they saw there a diagram of the heart.

"It seems like a simple, regular, biological diagram," said Braig, "It doesn't show the emotion zone of the heart, just how it works."

But Xehanort did see something interesting – there were small, hazy waves of darkness encircling the doodle. He moved the cursor over it and clicked. A window popped up and asked for a password.

Xehanort began to type. "Sea… salt… ice cream…" he said, "Enter."

The password worked; and a window popped up.

"Braig!" called a strict voice from behind. Dilan stood at the door with his arms folded, "Have you been tinkering around with the master's reports again?"

"No more of this 'master nonsense'," said Xehanort, "I've found his more treasured report! I am your new master now!"

"What kind of recklessness is this?" asked Dilan. He saw a greedy look in Xehanort's eyes – it was not – it could not be – that was not the Xehanort they all knew! It seemed as if a bunny rabbit had suddenly become a wolf that lusted for power. Xehanort laughed, and then he snatched a piece of paper, sat down, and began to research on the heart, writing down his own version of the Ansem reports, and telling tales which had happened to his former master.

"From today onwards," he said, standing up and showing Braig, Dilan, Even and Aeleaus his first 'Ansem Report', I am the new Ansem!"

"Uhh…. Excuse me," said Ienzo, with an ice cream in one hand, "Where'd master get to? Where do I put the lolly?"

Months passed with the new Ansem studying the heart. Travelling the depths of Hollow Bastion, he found many things to interest him, particularly, a door.

Ansem was working on his fourteenth report when he accidentally discovered a room with a throne in the centre. For the next two weeks, he had disappeared from sight. When he returned, he reacted casually, and said he wanted his own heart experimented on. Ansem then sought to discover the darkness in his heart, by carrying out an experiment.

"Are you certain you want to try?" asked Ienzo.

"Hmph," said Ansem, "Before that fool everyone calls 'wise' returns, we have a chance to change this world. The power of darkness won't be useless after all; the creatures – the Heartless – shall rise with power, for it is I who will command them, and rip each world off into oblivion, tear them asunder, and ascend as the most powerful being of darkness there ever was. I shall discover the legendary Kingdom Hearts, of which our foolish master used to speak, and I shall use its powers to traverse the crossroads, and lead myself into everlasting darkness!" Ansem walked into the pod as Even set the settings.

"Pull the switch."

Ansem's heart began to shine, and dark clouds shrouded the room. Small Shadows began to spawn from the ground – Darkballs began to appear out of thin air, Neoshadows dropped from the roofs….

"The level…" said Ienzo, looking at the monitor, "This is critical!"

"Kingdom Hearts," laughed Ansem, "If that fool is ever to return…"

Darkness began to shroud him….

"If he attempts revenge…"

It had gone up to his neck now, and a grave symbol had formed where his heart once stood.

"THEN, I, ANSEM, SEEKER OF DARKNESS, WILL DESTROY HIS PETTY POWERS!!!!!"

The entire pod broke apart - the room was filled with darkness, and as it cleared away, all that was left was Heartless.

But Ansem, however, stood up, weakly. He was different – he was a Heartless, but had kept his human form.

But at that moment, six creatures were born. They looked like ordinary humans, but, in fact, could not understand one thing – they felt as if emotion had been snatched away from them.

Ansem, Braig, Dilan, Even, Aeleaus and Ienzo were all crouched down on the floor of an empty library. Ansem stood up and looked at a small image that lay hung there – he saw himself or someone like himself, laying crouched as a stowaway on a ship. Darkness was encircling his hand, and he seemed ready to strike any moment.

Ansem blasted the images to pieces, and they shattered and fell on the floor. He saw that the pieces all formed into a symbol – the infamous Nobody symbol we all know – lying there. He looked back and saw that Ienzo had found an old cloak lying there on the ground – a black coat with a hood.

"Ienzo!" said Ansem, "Give me the cloak."

Ienzo obeyed, and as Ansem put it on himself, he ordered Dilan, "Dilan, make six more of these cloaks, I am uncertain of what we are, but we WILL find out. We have lost our hearts and become Heartless, and these Heartless are somewhere, but we seem to have formed something different from a Heartless."

A white creature approached Braig.

"What the-?" exclaimed Aeleaus. "That," pointed Ansem, "Is one of us. I feel a hunch…"

Ansem crouched down and looked at the creature, "Gather all you know of your kind, let them know, that we, Organization VI, are your new masters! We shall call our kind 'Nobodies'!"

"Perhaps we ought to have new names," said Even.

"Right you are," smiled Ansem, "Vexen."

"Ve- what?" said Braig.

"His new name, Xigbar, and what's more, Dilan, you shall be called Xildan."

"Can we change it to Xaldin?" asked Dilan.

"I'd be insulted if you didn't," said Ansem, "Aeleaus, I do hope the name Lexaeus isn't too offensive?"

"Not at all," said Lexaeus.

"Good," said Ansem, "Ienzo, is Zexion good? It is? Good, and I-" he paused, "Am Xemnas."