Extra: Ansem's Inquiry
During The Interference Chapter 2: The 2nd Day
For a while, neither of them wanted to say anything.
DiZ sat at the computer terminal, staring into nearly twenty different monitors displaying information that only he was concerned with. Riku stood at the back of the room, his Organization cloak obscuring his entire body. The latter repeatedly tossed an orange pouch up and down to pass the time – the munny pouch he'd... obtained from Roxas in the data world.
Finally, Riku swiped the pouch from the air and said, "Is it really that hard to make a beach?" His voice was not his own; it was much deeper. But then again, his current body was not his own either.
"We'd be giving the enemy another entry point," DiZ explained shortly.
It made enough sense for Riku, but he held up the pouch for DiZ to see. "And this?"
DiZ rotated his chair to face him. "We can always buy some sea-salt ice cream," he pointed out. He laughed, knowing how juxtaposed the statement was with the situation. At this point, they needed some levity. But soon, he was back to business and facing the computer again. "Objects from that town must be kept out of..." He trailed off abruptly.
Riku wasn't sure how to react to that. "What is it?"
The older man was silent for a long time. Riku could tell there was something serious going through his mind – DiZ was usually prompt with some kind of intelligent answer, no matter the subject, no matter what pains he was currently undertaking. This was unusual behavior.
Finally, DiZ said, "I nearly said 'the real world.' Which reminds me..."
DiZ pressed a few buttons on the interface that Riku couldn't see. He heard something shift behind him and turned around.
The projected image on the wall behind him was no longer that of streaming data, but a snapshot of the mansion's grounds. The position of the hidden camera was such that they were just able to see over the gate and into the forest entrance beyond. And what Riku saw startled him immensely.
Three details stood out.
First of all, nearest to the forest were the local teens known as Hayner, Pence, and Olette. The real ones, not the simulations in Roxas' alternate data world. They were obstructed by a barrier of some kind, not at all unlike the ones that appeared during certain Heartless or Nobody encounters, forcing you to defeat all of them before continuing. But why would those three encounter a combat barrier?
Secondly, there was a solitary Dusk weaving through the air in mid-attack. Nobodies near the mansion were never a good sign to begin with, but the fact that the Nobody was in conflict with something other than them was significant.
And then there was the detail that confused Riku the most. Frantically trying to avoid the Dusk's attack was an unfamiliar teenager with brown hair. In his right hand, he held a strange weapon of sorts. It was round and darkly colored, but it had a sharp blade. Was it some sort of shield?
DiZ noted Riku's reaction. "Quite telling, is it not?"
The young man lifted his hood to clear up his frame of vision, revealing the head of the same Ansem Riku had been possessed by. The silver-haired, dark-skinned man stared at the image with yellow eyes.
As DiZ said, the image was extremely telling. Riku was having trouble stopping himself from jumping to conclusions as he tried to piece the information together. The kids, the barrier, the Nobody, the shield... All of it meant something big, Riku could feel it...
Suddenly, the image zoomed in on the unfamiliar teen and the shield. At the computer, DiZ said, "Do you know who this is, Riku?"
"Not at all," was Riku's honest answer. He'd never seen the boy in his life.
DiZ slowly stood from his seat and walked over to Riku, moving to stand beside him as they analyzed the image together. "That," he said, "is the stranger who dropped into this world the morning before last. His name is Alexander."
He looked over at Riku and gave him an empty smile. "Can you figure out the rest?"
Riku was feeling nervous. With the Organization closing in and Sora's reawakening so close at hand, an information bombshell was the last thing he thought he needed. But he gave DiZ the benefit of the doubt and started turning the gears in his mind.
All three details – Hayner's group, the Dusk, and the battling Alexander – suggested an unnerving explanation.
"...This is no random encounter," Riku started, looking to DiZ for his approval. The wise man gave him a nod and a smile, so he continued with the mental exercise. "The Organization usually stays out of the locals' sight, but this was a special case. They... think this Alexander is a threat?"
"Very good," DiZ replied.
Riku wasn't feeling terribly proud; he was still in the dark on this. "I don't understand. Who is this guy? Why could he threaten the Organization?"
DiZ turned around and started walking back to the computer terminal. "Alexander possesses several... let's call them 'traits'... that could ensure the Organization's victory or destruction." He suddenly laughed. "Yes, even I am tempted to kidnap the poor boy and learn from him."
"Learn what?" Riku demanded, his patience beginning to wear thin. "What makes him so special?"
With that, DiZ found himself cornered. He could not dodge that particular question.
Sighing, he turned once more to face the young man from the Destiny Islands. "In all candidness," he said, "I'm not sure you are ready to hear it. I know I wasn't, when I was given the knowledge. This one boy throws our entire existence into question through his mere presence. And with each passing hour, he finds another way to undo everything we've learned about the secrets of the universe."
DiZ fell silent in thought. Then he said, "Look once more at Alexander."
Riku looked back at the image, which was still zoomed in on the teenager. A minor mosaic effect had occurred due to the low quality of the image, but it wasn't bad enough to obscure most of the finer details.
After a while, Riku found himself regarding Alexander's weapon again. It was definitely a shield, albeit one with a blade around the rim. It looked much like something Goofy would wield, except smaller and much sharper. The front of the shield, however, boasted a very peculiar design. The base color was a dark green. Taking up most of the center space was the barbed heart symbol that denoted the Emblem Heartless. And in the very, very center, in the middle of the Heartless emblem, was a small keyhole.
Riku did a take. "What?"
DiZ pretended not to notice him. "Alexander, whether by his own power or by the whim of Kingdom Hearts, has been granted a weapon. A weapon in the likeness of the Keyblade, but entirely unique as well."
"You don't mean..." Riku mumbled, hoping that DiZ wouldn't say what he was thinking.
The fallen philosopher let the sentence trail off unfinished. "Everything we know about the Keyblade has now been thrown into question, thanks to Alexander once again." Sitting down at the computer once more, he added, "Do you know what the most incredible part of this is?"
DiZ smiled, something he didn't do often of late. "He has absolutely no idea."