Author's Note: Hey there, folks. Welcome, one and everyone, to my first fan fic "Why do you Fear the Darkness?". This fic is about how the first six members of Organization XIII, Ansem's six apprentices, became the Nobodies we all know and love (?) today. I hope you'll like it. But, before we begin, I just wanted to mention that in this fic, I used the first six organization members' "real" names, as in their names before they became Nobodies. So that you won't get confused about which name goes with which member, here's a guide in the order in which they appear:

Ienzo is Zexion

Even is Vexen

Braig is Xigbar

Elaeus is Lexaeus

Dilan is Xaldin

Xehanort is Xemnas

Thank you for reading!

Edit: I went through and fixed some typos, repeated words, and inconsistencies regarding place names, ages and the like. Just thought I'd let you know! Happy reading!

Why do you Fear the Darkness?

Chapter 1

Arrival

10:30 PM, Hollow Bastion Castle, May 26, 12 years BKH I (before Kingdom Hearts I)

Lightning cut across the night sky over Castle Radiant Garden, illuminating the castle as well as the sleeping village. Rain pounded against roofs, bounced off windows, and caused a cacophony of noise.

But Ansem the Wise, ruler of the Radiant Garden, didn't notice any of this. He was in his study, at his desk, his head in his arms. He snored gently, lazily moving a hand to wipe his long yellow hair out of his face.

The study was in a round room with a high ceiling, small, but cozy. Charts, reports and other pieces of paper were pinned to the walls, littering the floor, and cluttering Ansem's desk. The study was a billboard example of intellectual disarray.

BOOM! Another flash of lightning and a clap of thunder so loud it sounded like a full-scale explosion. Ansem's eyes snapped open.

"Hmm…?" he muttered, still half asleep.

His gaze turned towards the window. Ah. It was raining. That made sense.

He yawned, stretched and brushed his hair out of his face. Ansem was a handsome man at sixty, tall and fit, with a long, clever face and, to the shock of many, bright red eyes. His hair hadn't even begun to gray yet. His lined face and wise aura were the only things that indicated his true age. He wore a white lab coat, indicating that he was a scientist.

He reached down and picked up one of the papers on his desk. It was a report he'd been writing, just before he'd fallen asleep. It was crumpled from having been slept on.

Ansem sighed.

"Fell asleep again, Master?"

Ansem turned. A young boy stood in the doorway, surveying him with an unreadable expression on his pinched, pale face. The boy had dark brown hair, long enough to tie in a ponytail, and dark eyes and brows to match.

"Ah," Ansem sat up. "Ienzo, it's you. Do you need something?"

The boy shook his head. At only thirteen years old, he was Ansem's youngest apprentice, and perhaps the most intelligent. He often liked to spend time with his master, discussing every scientific topic under the sun. Ansem assumed that this was one of those times.

Ienzo walked over and plopped himself down into the chair across from Ansem.

"The others are out," the boy explained. "So I came here."

Ansem picked up a pen and twiddled it thoughtfully between two of his fingers. The report had an ink stain on it, he observed. He sighed again. Just wonderful.

"Did…" he tried to rub off the ink as he talked, and only managed to spread it, "Did Elaeus go too? I thought you two were inseparable."

Ienzo watched Ansem efforts to clean the paper.

"Are you sure you don't want some white-out, master?" he asked. "It might help, you know."

Ansem waved the offer away.

"No, no, it's fine. Nothing a little cleaning won't get off."

Ienzo looked skeptical, but he didn't pursue the subject.

"To answer your question," Ienzo said, "Elaeus and the others went to some club." He crossed his arms and slumped down in his seat. "Some stupid club down in the village. No one under the age of eighteen allowed. Not that I care…"

The corners of Ansem's mouth curled. Poor Ienzo. He would never admit it, but he didn't like being the only child out of five grown apprentices.

"Don't worry, Ienzo," he dabbed at the smeared ink with a tissue. "Elaeus is just excited about being an adult. Soon he'll realize…" the ink on the paper smeared. "Blast! Soon he'll realize that being an adult isn't all fun and games, that your friends are important too. Confound it!"

In his efforts to wipe off the ink, he had upturned the entire ink jar onto the report, and it was now spreading across the surface of his desk. Ienzo jumped to his feet in case the ink came his way, as Ansem did the same.

"Confound it!" Ansem yelled again. All his reports would be ruined at this rate.

"I'll get the white-out, Master!" Ienzo yelled, running for the cabinet where it was kept.

"No, no," said Ansem quickly, looking at his desk sadly. "It's too late, the report's ruined. Get some cleaning rags. They're on the other shelf."

Heading for the shelf by the window, Ienzo changed direction mid run. Ansem put his head in his hand. An entire report … ruined. It hardly beared thinking about. He'd be up all night rewriting it, not to mention that he wouldn't have the use of his desk until it was cleaned up. That could take time.

'I hate being overworked,' he thought. 'It makes me so tired and irritable.'

"Ienzo!" he said aloud. "Hurry up with those cleaning rags!"

Ienzo had stopped, dead in his tracks, staring out the window. The rags hung limply in his hand.

Ansem walked over, more than a little concerned about his apprentice's odd behavior.

"What's wrong?"

The boy didn't answer. Instead, he pointed out the window.

Ansem followed his direction. He had to squint through the rain and trees outside his window. At first he didn't see anything. It was much too dark. He knew what usually lay just outside. Radiant Garden castle was right in the middle of the Great Maw, a wide, grassy plain surrounded by a long path, the Ravine Trail. Because of the chances of flooding, the plain was usually deserted during storms such as these.

Thunder rumbled, a flash of lightning illuminated the sky, and for a split second, Ansem could see what Ienzo had seen.

Someone, a person, though they were too far away to be seen clearly, was walking towards the castle.

"Oh, my…" said Ansem faintly.

The lightning passed. Darkness fell again. Ansem turned to Ienzo.

"Ienzo," he said slowly. "Go and get the guards… and Krista too."

Ienzo hesitated a moment, than headed off to do as his master bid. The last thing he saw as he left was his master, gazing off into the distance.

10:30 PM, The Great Maw, May 26

The first thing he remembered was walking, walking miles and miles. Or was it miles? He couldn't tell. He didn't know where he was going. He didn't really care. He only knew that he couldn't stop. He mustn't stop; to stop would mean death, or worse.

So he kept on. So weak that he didn't even register the people or places he passed, or whether he passed anything at all. His throat was parched; his stomach had stopped growling long ago, as if too tired to continue. His legs would surely break from the long trek. But even as he noticed the pain, there was still that will, that drive, to keep going.

He wondered vaguely, subconsciously, where he had come from. He wasn't sure. He wasn't sure of anything. He didn't even have a name to call himself.

Time passed, what seemed like forever to him, before he saw anything. Far across from where he stood, at the end of the plain, was an enormous building. An enormous building with many towers and windows. He knew it was a castle, though how he knew he wasn't sure.

His heart lightened. He was close. He knew that that castle was where his journey would end, at last. Despite his exhaustion, he began to run, his matted and dirty hair billowing out behind him, his cloak spreading like wings.

The rain started before he was halfway to his goal, and he was forced to slow his pace. The castle, he realized, was much farther away than it looked.

Great drops of rain plopped down upon his head, first lightly, then steadily harder. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled above him. He was drenched in seconds.

He was shivering. He hugged his wet clothes to his body and pressed on.

"I can't stop," he said to himself, his voice cracked from disuse. He clenched a fist. "I can't stop."

He trudged, slipping and sliding through the mud, stumbling over clumps of grass, leaning on trees for support. Despite his resolve, he could barely bring himself to put one foot in front of the other. He gasped as a blast of cold wind tore through him.

"Not much… farther," he panted.

"Halt!"

Noticing for the first time that there were people in his path, he was surprised into stopping. They all wore cloaks, cloaks that seemed looked much thicker and warmer than his. He couldn't see their faces. The man who had asked him to stop held a lantern.

He took this all in, then started to walk again. He didn't care that he was walking into the group of people.

The lantern-man seemed scared. He turned to his companions, than addressed the walker again.

"Halt!" he yelled. "Halt in the name of King Ansem the Wise! We are soldiers of the king! Halt, I said!"

Arms grabbed the walker by the shoulders. He struggled, kicked, screamed.

"Let me go!" he yelled, fighting with all his might. "Let me go! I have to get to the castle! I have to—,"

One of the soldiers knocked him to the ground. He hit the grass and mud with a slap and lay there as if stunned. Tears began to stream from his eyes, but it was not because of the blood running from his mouth. It was because, now that he was on the ground, he was too weary to get up.

"Leave him alone!" A croaky voice yelled at the soldiers. The man on the ground couldn't see who it was, but by her voice he could tell it was an elderly woman.

"Leave him alone!" She yelled again. "This man is obviously ill; leave him be!"

The man on the ground felt his consciousness begin to slip away. He reached out a hand, as if he could pull himself up, only for the hand to fall limply to the ground.

"I need to…" he said. "I need to keep going…"

Then his eyes shut.

10:30 PM, Radiant Garden Town, not far from Rising Falls, May 26

"Hey, Even! Catch!"

The tall, brunette youth turned just in time to spot a water balloon flying at his head. He gaped, balked, than came to his senses enough to duck. As a result, he almost fell face-down on the cobblestones. The water balloon burst harmlessly just behind him.

Shouts of laughter sounded in Even's ears. He clenched his teeth, got gingerly to his feet, and turned to face the older man who was laughing to the point of hysterics behind him.

"That wasn't funny, Braig," he said calmly, flicking a speck of dust from his gray cloak. It was already sodden from the rain, and now it was dirty from the cobblestones.

Braig, a tall man in his mid-thirties, just laughed harder. He had a hard, haggard face, decorated by a long, jagged scar on his left cheek; the result of an accident in his youth. He had lost his right eye in the same accident, and the socket was covered by an eyepatch. His hair was dark brown, but beginning to show streaks of gray. He wore it long and braided. Despite his fearsome appearance, he was immature. Very immature.

Unlike Even. Even was Braig's opposite in every way. His light brown hair was always neat and clean, and his white, sun starved skin shone. He was almost always calm, and he was something of a leader among Ansem's five apprentices.

"Come on, Even," said deep-voiced Elaeus, coming over and putting an arm around him. "It was pretty funny; you should have seen your face!"

Even grumbled and shrugged off the younger man's arm. Elaeus, in his usual fashion, didn't seem to mind. He was a big, burly young man with bulging muscles and a knack for athletics. His hair was frizzy and red, cut close to his scalp, and he was sprouting sideburns. Despite his size, Elaeus was known for being non-confrontational.

Even addressed Braig.

"Where did you even get water balloons, Braig?" Even asked icily. "It's raining."

"Aw, come on, man," Braig protested. "I was just havin' some fun."

"I wouldn't call throwing water balloons in May "fun," would you Dilan?"

Even addressed the fourth man in the group, who was standing off to the side, seeming not to acknowledge the discussion at all. Dilan was taller than his friends, and his black hair hung very long. It was tied in a ponytail behind his head.

"Dilan?" Even said again when his friend didn't acknowledge him. "Dilan?"

Dilan started and turned around.

"Oh, sorry," he said quickly. "I wasn't listening. What is it?"

Even shook his head. Dilan had been distracted like this all night

"Oh, I suppose it doesn't matter," Even said with a sigh. "It's about time we headed home anyway."

He turned toward the direction of the Upward Falls, the other following along behind him. Braig ran up beside him.

"Aw, Even…" he whined. "Why do we hafta to go back to the castle? The night's still young! We haven't done anything fun yet."

"In case you didn't notice," Even said, his voice dripping with annoyance. "Every business in town is closed."

Elaeus sighed behind them.

"Yeah. I guess we picked a bad night to go out."

"So disappointing," said Dilan absently.

Even privately agreed. He still hated to think that they had walked all the way from the castle, in the rain, only to find the whole town closed.

"So," Elaeus said. "Why is everything closed?"

"Why else?" replied Dilan. "Floods."

"Yes," Even said. "I heard the alert is particularly high tonight. The shop owners want to be out of the way in case something happens."

"Hmph," mumbled Braig. "Way to ruin our fun."

"The world doesn't revolve around you, Braig," Even said through gritted teeth. Braig was really beginning to grate on his nerves. Not that Braig didn't always grate his nerves, but today was especially bad.

"Probably because he missed his hourly drink," Even though scathingly.

"Hey," Elaeus said quickly, with the air of someone trying to divert an argument. "Would you look at that, we're here."

The four apprentices stopped. Sure enough, the bridge that crossed Rising Falls lay before them.

True to its name, Rising Falls wasn't your average waterfall; it fell up as opposed to down, disappearing mysteriously as it reached the top of the cliff. It flowed from a deep chasm of clear water in the lake below the bridge. The water from the lake was the castle's power source.

The apprentices crossed the stone bridge. The crossing always unnerved Even a bit. He was afraid of heights, and the upward flowing water made him dizzy. He was glad when they reached the stone archway on the other side.

Here, they boarded an open-air elevator, which carried them across the Great Maw, miles below, and to the castle, some way off.

As the elevator neared its destination, they sensed that something was wrong. For one thing, their master, Ansem, could be seen waiting for them at the front door, and he didn't look happy. He wore a grim expression on his face. Ienzo stood beside him, looking worried. Ienzo rarely showed his feelings.

"Do you think we're in trouble?" Elaeus whispered nervously.

"For goodness' sake, Elaeus," Said Even, exasperated. "We're not children."

Dilan squinted.

"Hmm … he doesn't look angry," Dilan observed. "More like… pensive."

"Nice word …" said Braig, trying, and failing, to lighten the mood.

The elevator glided to a stop. The four apprentices piled off of it and onto the rain-slick marble path. The path wound around the front of the castle. The front doors were just off to the right. The apprentices looked at each other, than headed over to where Ansem and Ienzo stood waiting.

"Master," said Even, taking the lead as he always did around Ansem. "Master, is something wrong?"

"Is everyone alright?" Dilan asked, uncharacteristically nervous.

"Yes, yes," said Ansem distractedly. "Don't worry. We're all fine, but something has happened. Come inside, boys, you must be freezing."

Ansem turned and pushed against the doors. As if in answer, the great oak doors creaked open to allow them in. Ansem strode inside, the five apprentices filing in behind him.

As usual, the warm, cavernous entrance hall was filled with servants, bustling back and forth and to and fro, doing whatever servants do. A few came forward to take the "young masters'" wet cloaks and store them away. Even was dismayed to see that a stream of water had dripped down his white shirt. Elaeus heard him mutter "water balloons" and something a bit less polite.

Without a word, their master turned and gestured for them to follow him up the staircase. The apprentices followed him up the stairs and past a small, red-headed girl sitting on the bottom step. Elaeus winked at her. She grinned.

Ansem led them through a side door and into a long hallway. He stopped and turned to face his apprentices.

"I wanted to talk somewhere private," he said. "The household is in enough of an uproar as it is."

"What's going on, Master?" Even asked.

"That's what I'm about to tell you," he cleared his throat. "Ienzo and I, well, Ienzo really," he smiled at the young apprentice, "spotted a man in the Great Maw."

"So?" said Braig, examining his nails. "What's the big deal?"

Even glared at Braig. Ansem simply nodded his head as if Braig hadn't been rude.

"It's a 'big deal' because this man is not from around here. He doesn't look like a local, he looks like a foreigner, and he is very badly injured, as if he walked a very long way."

Now the apprentices were interested. Elaeus looked at Ienzo, who nodded as if to confirm that this was true.

"But," said Dilan. "Where could he have come from? Our world is not very large. This castle, the town and the surrounding areas are the only things on it."

"Do you think he's from another world?" Elaeus asked, his voice shaking with excitement.

"I don't know," said Ansem. "I suppose it's possible, but it would be odd. We're not even sure if there are other worlds out there, and if there are, the paths that connect them closed long ago."

"Where is the man now?" Ienzo asked softly, barely audibly, but Ansem heard him.

"He's being cared for by the healer as we speak."

"Can we go see him, Master?" asked Even. "I'd be very interested in meeting him."

"That's another thing I planned to talk to you about," said Ansem. "No. You may not see him. Not until he is well."

"But… Master!" Ienzo protested.

"He's very ill," Ansem said firmly. "The last thing he needs is people popping in, waking him up and asking him a lot of questions."

"But …"

"I'm afraid that is my final word on the matter."

Ansem turned.

"You may see him when he is better. I'm about to go check on him, I will let you know his condition later on. For now, I suggest you boys get some rest."

He headed off in the direction of the infirmary.

The apprentices knew it would be no use arguing further with their master, and, disheartened, dispersed for their individual rooms. Only Ienzo and Elaeus stayed behind.

"Hey," said Ienzo. "You going to bed?"

Elaeus walked over. He could tell from the tone in his friend's voice that he was up to something.

"Now, Ezo," Said Elaeus, using Ienzo's nickname. "You aren't planning to sneak out to the infirmary after Master leaves to see the patient, are you?"

Ienzo glared at him.

"What do you take me for?" he asked. "Of course I plan to go see the patient. Would you like to come?"

Elaeus grinned.

"Fine, fine," he said with a sigh. "I'll come, but only so you won't be alone when we get caught."

"We're not going to get caught."

The two friends headed off towards the way their master had left.

"So," said Elaeus when they were some way down the hall. "You found the guy first. That's pretty impressive. Did you see him up close?"

"No," said Ienzo, heaving a sigh. "I saw him from the window. He looked like a little speck."

Elaeus ruffled his hair.

"Hey!" yelled Ienzo. "Careful!"

"Sorry, Ezo."

The younger boy smoothed his hair back into place.

"And stop calling me 'Ezo' -- you want me to start calling you 'Elly' again?"

Elaeus laughed. Ienzo couldn't help laughing a little bit too.

"But anyway," Elaeus went on. "About this guy, do you know what he's like at all?"

"Well …" he thought a moment. "According to the soldiers who found him, he's totally insane. He acted crazy when the soldiers tried to bring him in, fighting and screaming nonsense …"

"What does Krista say?"

"I haven't talked to her yet," Ienzo sighed. "She whisked the guy off to the infirmary before I could. The guy had passed out outside."

"Too bad."

"Too bad indeed," Said Ansem

The friends jumped, they looked at each other.

"Should we run?" Elaeus' expression said.

Ienzo shook his head.

"No point," his face clearly said.

"Hello, boys."

Ansem stepped out from around the corner. Ienzo cursed himself for not thinking to listen for his master.

"Having a little night-time stroll, are we?" he asked, circling them.

The friends looked at each other. They looked at Ansem.

"Maybe," they said in unison.

"You weren't trying …" Ansem began "You weren't trying to got see the patient, were you?"

They looked at each other. They looked at Ansem.

"Maybe."

"The jig is up boys," Ansem chuckled. "Go to bed."

He headed down the hall again.

"Oh, and I'm going to have guards patrol this corridor, so don't think of trying this again."

The friends groaned.

"Oh, well," said Elaeus when their master was gone. "Don't worry, Ezo. We'll see the guy eventually.

"I guess…"

Elaeus yawned.

"Anyway … I'm gonna head to bed," he turned and walked the opposite direction. "See ya tomorrow."

"Bye."

Ienzo stood by himself a moment, his arms crossed in front of him, thinking. Than he turned and headed for the library.

So, there's the first chapter. Expect the next chapter up this time next week. Please review. Let me know if there are any typos. Oh, and no flaming, please. Try to make the reviews constructive. Thanks!