"Remarkable. The similarity is uncanny." a rasped voice said. "That only means one thing..."
"I can take care of this in two seconds." Another voice- young, dark, and bitter- said. "Just say the word."
"No. She's awakening."
A young girl, with the appearance of a ten-year-old, opened her blood-colored eyes and adjusted to the darkness around her. Her short, light blond hair hovered over her shoulders and partially curtained her eyes. A white overall dress covered her body with a white short-sleeved shirt underneath and white flats with lace flowers at the tip. Her eyes shifted between the two beings standing over her: an old man, with yellow eyes and gray hair residing only as a goatee on his chin, and a teenage boy hidden underneath a bodysuit and a helmet.
The old man smiled. "Welcome, child. What's your name?"
The little girl realized she floated in the air. She turned her body and planted her feet on the invisible ground. "I don't know." she mumbled quietly.
"No matter. I shall give you a name." Tension radiated from the young man as the elder stepped closer. He lifted his hand and waved it between him and the girl. Golden letters appeared in the air: HALLIE. The letters swirled around the child; her eyes followed them in confused wonder. With each full revolution, the letters swirled around the girl faster. The old man snapped his wrist and the letters abruptly stopped, a large X in the center of the now scrambled letters.
"Born in darkness from the purest light... A new name and forgiven past shall be given to you: Ahllixe." the older man said.
Ahllixe focused her eyes on the elder, but in her peripheral, the teenage boy glowered with darkness. She whimpered and gripped the older man's coattails. He turned around and faced the teenage boy with a stern look.
"Vanitas, what troubles you?"
"Is the darkness affecting your deteriorating brain? Why are you showing her mercy? You know who she's from. We can't let her run around here." Vanitas said.
"Just because we know of her past doesn't mean we know of her future. You are missing one crucial detail, my apprentice: a new Nobody means a new heart."
The old man turned back to the terrorized girl and released the rumpled ends of his cape from her pale hands.
"Tell us a little about you, Ahllixe." he said.
Ahllixe turned to the elder man and nervously held her hands together in front of her. She looked down at the ground. "I hate what I'm wearing."
Vanitas raised his eyebrow underneath his helmet. "...What?"
"What is it that you don't like about it?" the older man said.
"I hate the color white; it's too bright for me. I prefer black. My favorite color's red, like my eyes!" Ahllixe said.
A smile crept on the older man's face and he nodded. He tensed his fingers and a pool of darkness opened next to Ahllixe.
"Are you gonna scare her to death? She's just a kid." Vanitas said.
"Watch." the elder man said.
A Shadow Heartless emerged from the darkness. It approached Ahllixe, antennae twitching. Ahllixe's eyes lit up.
"It's adorable!" she squealed. She reached out and stroked the Heartless's head. It purred and rubbed its cheek against her leg. "Can I keep it?"
The old man held his hands together behind his back. "Of course... Whatever you desire."
Ahllixe smiled and hugged the Heartless tightly. "I'm gonna name him... Veni."
The teenage boy clenched his already tight fists.
"An interesting name. What made you think of that?" the elder man said.
Ahllixe held the Heartless up to her face. "I don't know." She hugged the Heartless tightly her chest. "He looks awful lonely, though. I'll get him some friends!"
Ahllixe giggled and hugged her Shadow pet as another pool of darkness opened next to the first. Two more Shadow Heartless emerged from the puddle. Veni squirmed out of Ahllixe's arms and waddled to the other two. The two males widened their eyes.
"Ahllixe, did you do that?" the elder said, gesturing to the second pool of darkness.
Ahllixe glanced at the pool of darkness, then back at the man. "Yeah... I think so."
The elder felt the hidden eyes of his apprentice on the back on his head. "Vanitas, if you're going to glare at me, I might as well be able to see it."
Vanitas looked away and crossed his arms.
"Who are you people?" Ahllixe said. "Where am I?"
"It appears an introduction slipped my mind. We are in the Realm of Darkness, home to the abyssal creatures that live in it, including you and my apprentice, Vanitas. I am Xehanort." the elder man said.
"Xe... hanort." Her eyes squinted as the word rolled off her tongue. "That sounds familiar. Do I know you?"
Xehanort smiled. "Your past is just beginning to surface. For such a newly born creature, it is impressive. But you need no longer face your past. Come with me, and I will raise you like the child I wish I had. Come with me, and you will be free."
Xehanort held his hand out to Ahllixe. She lifted her eyes to Vanitas and gazed at him curiously. His shielded face remained turned away until he felt her eyes. His head turned and their eyes met. Ahllixe saw his hands ball into tight fists and explode with pulsing darkness. The glare hidden behind the dark helmet pierced into her. She whimpered quietly and hid behind Xehanort.
"Run along, Ahllixe. I'll catch up with you." Xehanort said, releasing the girl's hand and giving her a gentle nudge away from the two. She shifted her eyes between Vanitas and Xehanort before she and Veni disappeared into the darkness.
Once she was gone, Xehanort turned to his apprentice, his yellow eyes glaring at his apprentice.
"Are you insane?" Vanitas said. A blue creature of darkness emerged from the ground- an Unversed. "What the heck are you thinking, allowing to take her under your wing?! She's the Nobody of your granddaughter, which means she has access to her power. Let me kill her right now!"
"No, you won't." Xehanort said sternly. "Must I refresh that small, ignorant mind of yours? From the moment a Nobody take their first breath into the world, a new heart begins to form inside them to fill the absence of what they lost. Ahllixe is a newly-born Nobody, with the heart of a developing fetus. Who knows? Perhaps she is a replica of Hallie; perhaps she is the exact opposite. We won't know unless we observe her."
Vanitas scoffed. "Whatever, you observe her all you like. I want nothing to do with that... that thing." he said.
"Need I remind you of what the word 'apprentice' means? You respect my rules. Or do I need to remind you again of what happens when you disobey?"
Xehanort reached his hand out and summoned his Keyblade. Instead of pointing his Keyblade at the young apprentice, the sharp teeth were pointed directly at the Unversed. Vanitas glared at Xehanort, hoping he couldn't detect his trembling muscles. Vanitas growled underneath his breath.
"Whatever you say, Bossman." he mumbled, disappearing into a corridor of darkness.
The Unversed, a Flood, hissed at Xehanort. With a scoff towards the inferior creature, Xehanort thrust his Keyblade into it. The teeth of his Keyblade sliced through its chest. He lifted his Keyblade, watching the creature convulse painfully on the weapon. As the Flood dissipated into dark flames, an agonizing scream pierced the darkness. Xehanort dispelled his Keyblade and smirked.