The Radiant Garden. A perfect utopia, where the people walked with smiles upon their faces, spirits soared, and the sun always shone. The garden pathways of the courtyard, made of an inviting cobblestone, wound gently through thickets of exotic and beautiful flowers. The amazing monochromatic colors played tricks on the eyes at first sight; the small trickling streams of pure water were clear as crystal.
Entering into the grand halls made of limestone and marble, one would come eventually to a large steel door; this door separated the underground laboratories from the rest of the world. A winding set of metal steps would lead to an hallway, placed beneath the gardens. If one turned right at a particular corner in this hallway, they would find themselves at the door to a peculiar room; the odd circular office that belonged to Ansem the Wise.
But for the sake of our story, we direct our attention in the opposite direction from Ansem's office. To the left, there was a grand laboratory, ceilings amazingly high for being this deep underground, fluorescent lights filling the room with an oddly tinted light. Beakers, test tubes, petri dishes, and containers were scattered across three tables at the far end of the room, completely clean at the end of the workday. Along the next wall was a series of strange contraptions - large, long tubes glowing with a pale blue light, mounted on a base of a contrasting dark blue color. Inside each of the containers floated around a captive heart; no doubt wrested from the Heartless that Xenahort had snuck past the doors without Ansem's permission. Monitors flashed messages at the vacant room from another couple of desks, computers left running through the night and chairs untucked so the owners could rush in and get straight to work the next day.
In the corner of the room was another small door, this one leading off to what appeared to be a common study. Six desks lined up in rows of three, each with identical lamps and chairs, were placed in the center of the room. At the head of the room, in the place where a teacher would stand if it was a classroom, was a corkboard, various notes, reminders, and observations pinned to it by the scientists. Dilan's messy and thick handwriting, and Ienzo's extremely neat print were pushed into the background of the board as most of the papers tacked there tonight belonged to Even; quick and scratchy notes to himself.
The walls were lined with posters and hand-drawn diagrams of the heart; a long list of experiment rules by Ansem, and photographs of Heartless, some old and crinkled with age, some fresh and new. The ceiling light was clicked off.
But there was one person still there tonight. One of the desks in the corner was still occupied, it's lamp buzzing with a slight static as it spilled light over the many documents littering Even's desk. The man aformentioned sat straight in his chair, idly brushing his fingers over a fat textbook as his eyes travelled down a long report. The bright green eyes were still wide open, bright, and hungry for knowelege as the small clock on his desk ticked past eleven PM. The young scientist brushed strands of blonde hair away from his face and leaned back; he had finally finished reading the essay over for the fifth time, but his brain felt like it wasn't accepting the facts very well.
Even straightened the collar on his white lab coat, plucked a pencil from the small container beside his lamp, and grabbed a fresh sheet of paper. His pencil was a fraction of a millimeter away from the paper when he stopped, and looked up.
The door at the other end of the room, which led to the scientist's lounge, had just opened a crack. A line of white light spilled out of the space made and travelled across the dark floor, then grew wider until the figure of Ienzo stepped out from the common room. Even looked up at the youngest apprentice. Ienzo, still a very young man just past his teenage years. The "kid" as Braig liked to joke about him, fooled everyone by appearance; silvery-blue hair swept cleanly out of his blue eyes, and innocent expression made him look much younger and less intelligent than he really was. Even knew much better than to judge a person by first glance, and he gladly acknowledged how astute Ienzo was - and then again he was pretty sure the youngest apprentice has many secrets he did not reveal to them.
Ienzo cocked his head slightly at the blonde.
"Even. You've stayed late... you know how Ansem gets angry about us staying after hours."
Even gave a smile and a sort of half-nod.
"Yes, I do know that... but I had something to finish, and I simply couldn't leave it until the next day... too intriguing." he murmured the last two words quietly.
Ienzo closed the door slightly behind him, white glow from the lights diminishing slightly. Even could then see he was clutching a white mug; he had probably been making himself some tea.
"Why did you stay late, Ienzo? I thought you went home, as the rest." he asked curiously.
"I..." the apprentice started, looking into the caramel-colored depths of his drink, before replying, "I got sidetracked reading in the lounge." He then gave a wide, reasurring smile.
"Ah, I see." Even murmured, pushing back his chair and getting to his feet. He gathered the papers on his desk into a pile and close his textbooks, then replaced his pencil and turned off the lamp. The room was instantly plunged into shadow as he did so. The academic observed Ienzo's outline twitch slightly at the darkness, his eyes moving around warily before he made a quick move back into the light of the lounge.
Even followed him, stepping into the light room and blinking furiously at the brightness. The room contained a coffee table; two squishy couches, an overstuffed armchair, and a small gas fireplace. At the other end of the room was a small utility kitchen; and Ienzo stood there, putting away his empty mug into the sink.
Even sighed, and collapsed onto one of the couches near the fire. In a moment, Ienzo had brought him a cup of black coffee, which he accepted gratefully. The young apprentice sat on the other end of the couch from him, pulling his legs up to meet his chin and gazing softly at him as if expecting critique.
The older man didn't say anything, but sipped his drink in silence. The clock on the wall above the fireplace was ticking nearer and nearer to midnight.
"Ienzo, maybe we should return home.. Master Ansem will be angry if he finds that we stayed..."
Ienzo nodded.
"You go. I'm... staying here for tonight."
"Why?"
"I don't want to face the dark rooms..."
"Understandable. I'll turn the lights on for you, so you can pass."
Ienzo gave a dull nod, watching him as he set his cup down on the kitchen table and departed back to the dark study. There was a part of him that feared a darkness... but there was a growing part in the back of his mind, like a tumor, that revered it.