Review Replies:
JesusRox7111: Haha, I wouldn't mind if you take some of my ideas. I would be honored to let you use them! Thank you very much for the kind review, and God bless you, and all of my other reviewers who stuck with me, as well.
Pride1289: That chapter was fun to write. NiGHTChild68 gave me the idea to use interludes once in a while. I have a couple other ideas that will appear later. They're mainly just to break up the dark parts of the story and keep the humor going. I'm glad you're liking Ienzo so far—he's too fun to write for when you do it right.
Mellow: Thank you very much—it's cool to see someone who's not a member read the story and review it. I don't get that often. I'm happy you like reading it soon!
Oni-Gil: I purposely made Ienzo like that in this story—my original idea was to have him be this innocent kidwho was just in bad circumstances but got taken up by Ansem. But then I saw everyone else doing it, so I scratched that idea and made Ienzo a bit more responsive, not really innocent, and clever of course. Xehanort is probably one of the harder ones to write for, and he'll grow into a different character as time progresses and they start the experiments.
Nobodies Have Hearts: Yeah, that's very true. Though, Ienzo can't win all the time. I made this interlude to show that. I've seen people portray him as perfect when I think he's far from it. Plus, I thought the picture of him losing something would be funny. He likes to win too much and is too stubborn to lose. That, and the picture of him hanging from a chandelier was just too funny to pass up.
I really do apologize for not updating for so long. I have the full explanation of why I didn't in my profile if you really want to know. My updates won't be regular anymore unfortunately—too much stress at home and stuff. Thank you guys for being patient with me, and thank you Silver Tears11 for beta-reading this chapter (sorry you couldn't do it Oni *insert sad face here*)
The Pendulum's Path
(Chapter Seven: At Wit's End)
It seems as though the other apprentices were called to stop searching as soon as they had started. All of them were called back to the dining all, Braig and Dilan having gone to Ansem as soon as they found the man. It was about ten minutes later before all the apprentices assembled again.
"Good, you found him," Even commented shortly, watching as the man glanced around the room. "Where was he?"
"Outside," Dilan answered, "He wanted to see the outside of the castle."
"Without telling one of us?" the dirty-blond haired man questioned sharply. Ansem held up a hand for him to stop.
"Enough; it is not a terribly big deal. After all, he is here now."
"I suppose so." Even had more to say on the matter, but Ienzo chose to step forward. He circled the man a bit, his eyebrow raised in skepticism.
"So," he started to say, his tone rather emphatic already, "This is the man with amnesia." He looked to Even for an answer, who nodded.
"Yes," he replied, "Dilan found him injured in an alleyway. He cannot remember his name, or anything else of interest it seems."
"Hmm…" Ienzo continued to circle him, pausing in front of the man as he stared at his face. He started to mutter to himself, though, the only words that Eleaus managed to catch were, "dazed look" and "seemingly confused."
"Who might you be?" the man asked him, looking puzzled and slightly apprehensive at being studied so critically.
"Ienzo," the other answered shortly, smirking a bit as his tone started to carry sarcasm in it. "And you must be the town drunk. It's a pleasure meeting you—you may go home now."
Even sighed at Ienzo's remark and cradled his head in his hand. "He is not the town drunk," he told the boy, "Dilan told us that he—"
"He shows obvious signs of being inebriated," Ienzo interrupted, "His eyes are dazed, and he's in a state of confusion. Those who drink a lot of alcohol can end up this way. The fact that he's injured insinuates that he could have been in some bar fight or—"
"This is ridiculous," the blond scientist interrupted him back, "If you had let me continue, then you would have known that Dilan could not sense any signs of alcohol on him."
"Not a surprise—usually those that have a hangover are in a weaker state than when inebriated. Like I said before, he may go."
"Not when he is a guest of my castle," Ansem interjected sternly, turning to the boy, "Ienzo, do be kind to our guest."
"Yes sir," Ienzo muttered, lowering his head to show respect. He seemed to mumble something else, but only Eleaus caught it, shoving him lightly for it. Ansem sighed, looking to his apprentices and the man as he thought of something.
"Where are my manners?" he asked rhetorically, chuckling slightly, "I should be introducing you to everyone. I am Master Ansem, ruler of Radiant Garden." He put his hand out for the other to shake, who gave him a weird look before doing the same.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Master Ansem," he said, taking his hand back hesitantly. His gaze then traveled to the apprentices, who Ansem started to introduce them respectively.
"These are my students, my apprentices. This is Braig, our expert in technology and history."
"I think we already met, but I'll go along with this anyways," Braig told the man, shaking his hand as well.
"This is Dilan," Ansem went on to say as he gestured to him, "A former guard of the castle. He also specializes in technology as well as in the area of physics. Though, I believe you are well acquainted with him by now."
"Yes sir," the man replied, still shaking the other's hand as an expression of formality. Nonetheless, he was not used to this.
"My first apprentice, Even," Ansem said, "Currently leads the research project. His expertise is in the field of chemistry and anatomy and physiology of the human body."
"Indeed," Even put in, shaking the man's hand, "Welcome to the castle."
"Thank you," the man responded, looking to the two others standing in the room. One of them, a tall, muscular man with red hair that he had seen last night, was looking back at him, his stare soft. The other, whom the man already knew as Ienzo, had his arms crossed and was continuing to give him a skeptical stare. Ansem directed his attention to the former.
"This is Eleaus," he told him, "I acquired him a few months ago from a prestigious college where he majored in metaphysics."
The two shook hands, neither of them saying anything. Eleaus then looked to Ienzo, who had now taken a liking to staring at the wall. Ansem took a couple of steps towards him, getting his attention once more.
"My newest apprentice, Ienzo," he said, taking the book away from the boy, causing him to look at the other. The man approached him, both of them staring each other down. Ienzo did not offer his hand to be shaken, continuing to give him a critical stare.
"I am not sure I like you," he said flatly, "Though, I never have been fond of drunks."
"What makes you so sure that I am a drunk?" the man asked back before anyone else could scold the boy for his rudeness once again. "Wouldn't that be similar to me saying that you are a lying thief? I have no proof for that."
"And he's right anyways," Braig whispered to Dilan, who immediately motioned for him to be quiet.
"True, I see your point," Ienzo went on to say, "Though, you will not get me to change my mind."
"Fair enough."
The two said nothing more to each other, the man looking to Ansem while the boy continued to stare at him. It took a moment for the silence that had taken over the room to remove itself, the king himself breaking it.
"Sir, I ask that you come with me," he intoned, "I will show you to the castle. Even, I believe you have work to attend to in the laboratory with the other apprentices."
"Yes Master Ansem, thank you for reminding me," the blond apprentice said, "Gentlemen, follow me."
Even started walking out of the room, the other apprentices following suit. Ienzo was the last to follow, prolonging his stare upon the man. Soon, all five of them were out of sight. As soon as they were, the king turned to the man, his eyes gentle.
"Come with me," he said, "I wish to discuss a few things with you as well as showing you around the castle. I do not want you getting lost, after all."
"Yes Master Ansem," he replied. He walked alongside the king as they went down another hallway, leaving the dining hall barren once more.
/_\
The apprentices reached the laboratory, three of them going to their different stations. Even stayed by Ienzo, who surveyed the room while Even looked down at him, trying to see what he was thinking.
"This is a rather small laboratory," he ended up saying at long last. The blond sighed, nodding in reluctant agreement.
"Unfortunately, it is all we have," he replied, "This is what Master Ansem offered us, so we took it. But that is in the past, not the present. What I need to know is how much you actually know about lab procedures."
"Just show me what you would normally do, and what you want me to do. I've never been in a laboratory before, so my experience is not as good as I would like it to be."
"Understood—I will just have you observe for the day and start tomorrow."
Ienzo nodded in simple understanding, Even going off to his reports. Braig looked over to him, putting a couple of washed beakers on one of the counters.
"So, what are we doing today?" he asked, "I've been bored out of my mind with just coming in here and doing the same thing day after day. It's like Master Ansem's lectures."
"Braig," Dilan warned, "I'm sure whatever Even has planned will be beneficial to all of us."
"There's a fine line between beneficial and boring, you know that."
"Then maybe you can suggest something that will not bore us but will actually be helpful-- any ideas?"
"I have a few," Ienzo put in, walking closer to the group. "We're all doing research on the heart, right?"
"Yeah," Braig answered, "Not the physical one, the philosophical one."
"Right; is there established knowledge?"
Almost all of the apprentices gave him a weird look, raising an eyebrow. Even put down his pen, giving the boy a skeptical stare.
"What do you mean by that?" he asked carefully.
"Well, what does everyone know about this philosophical heart? Has Ansem taught you all the same things, or have all of your different studies brought you different knowledge and you just collaborate?"
"Ansem taught us all that he knows," Dilan told him, walking over to him, "We use that as the base for the research. Any other knowledge we may have is pulled together."
"Ahh, I see-- that sounds good then. Then you're going to have to establish a few things for me."
"All right, I believe we can do that," Even said, putting his reports down. "What do you want to know?"
Ienzo gave him a sly smile, crossing his arms. He then walked over to him, putting his arms on either side of the desk. He looked down at Even, that smirk never leaving his face.
"How can you be so sure that this 'heart' actually exists?" he asked, his tone simple yet haughty. He then turned to face the others, waving his hands about as he talked. "You're basing this research on assumption and theory, not actually proven fact. How do you plan to expand this project without actual fact?"
"You are mistaken, for there is established fact that there is a metaphysical heart outside of the one inside of our bodies," Even stated, standing from his seat and walking around the desk to face the younger apprentice better. "Where do you believe emotions come from—anger, sadness and joy cannot possibly come from something physical."
"And yet they do," Ienzo argued, trying to meet Even's eyes. Unfortunately, his short stature did not allow him to. He did not let this bother him, for he continued to defiantly stare at the blond scientist. "The hypothalamus produces most of our emotions, which in turn makes our body react differently. Adrenaline boosts when we are frightened, our blood pressure low when we are depressed--"
"You're forgetting the fact that the hypothalamus is one of the hormone producers in the body and is merely a factor in the endocrine system. Hormones are chemicals inside the body that make it react to certain things, though, it can cause emotion. Are emotions physical? Can you touch them and find some sort of physical evidence of them in the body besides results?"
Ienzo stood silently, his arms crossed once more. Unhappy at losing the argument, he turned away from Even and walked around the room once more. The blond scientist relished in this, looking over to the other apprentices. Dilan seemed to have ignored the entire conversation while Braig gave him a grin. Eleaus shook his head at him.
"We are supposed to be teaching him, not arguing with him," he advised, "I'm sure you will be able to do that at a later time."
"Fine, fine," Even replied distractedly, "Ienzo, come here." The silver-haired teen gave him a short glare, though, he followed the order and approached the other. "We will start with simple laboratory procedure followed by proper data analysis and writing of reports. Is this enough for you?"
He only received a nod, deciding then to go on talking as Ienzo dutifully listened to him. This is what took place most of the day, the other apprentices adding their two cents occasionally. Ienzo chose not to say another word the rest of the day besides simple phrases, which let on that he was still angry with Even for defeating his argument. Nevertheless, he seemed to listen to everything that being was said.
/_\
Master Ansem was slightly wary as he walked down the halls with this new stranger. He was unsure of what to say, not wanting to offend the man in any way. Though, he was extremely curious about him. What did he remember? What did he forget? Where was he from?
More importantly in his mind, where were these memories hiding that he couldn't remember? Ansem immediately would say the heart—that's where memories were hidden. It was all a matter of unlocking them. However, how would you unlock those forgotten memories?
"Sir, you wished to speak to me about something?" the man asked, effectively bringing him out of his thoughts. Ansem looked to him, smiling and nodding his head.
"Yes, I did say that didn't I?" he replied rhetorically, "I wanted to discuss a few things with you that I'm curious about."
"I see… like what sir?"
Ansem chuckled at this. "You do not have to call me sir. A 'Master Ansem' will do just as well. But anyhow, I want to know about your memory."
The man looked slightly downcast at these words. Ansem could see this easily as they continued to walk on their way to the man's temporary room. He had not told him that that was where they were going yet. The man thought for a minute, looking serious as he did so, and shook his head.
"I don't remember a thing," he told him slowly, "I remember being in the alleyway when your apprentice found me and seeing a bit of the town as I was escorted to your castle. Before that, I have no recollection."
"That is what worries me most," Ansem responded, "Do you remember your name, any possible family you have, where you live, or anything else of importance?"
The man thought for a minute, his eyes going up and to the right as he tried to come up with an answer Ansem would like to hear—the king would be pleased if he remembered something. Alas, nothing came to him as he tried to think. He shook his head at Ansem.
"I am sorry," he said, bowing a bit. Ansem shook his head to this.
"You have no need to be sorry. It is not your fault for having a case of amnesia. At any rate, the infirmary staff at the castle will work on getting your memory back, perhaps even getting my apprentices involved."
"Your apprentices? I don't want to worry them Master Ansem. That isn't necessary."
"It will be if your memories do not show themselves and if my hypothesis is correct."
"Pardon?"
"My thought as to why you have no memories. They're locked in your heart somewhere, somewhere deep where you cannot reach them now. But that is neither here nor there."
The pair stopped in front of his room, the king opening the door for him. "I suggest you get some rest," he told him, "I am going to see if I can find someone who knows who you are. Maybe then we can get down to the bottom of this."
"Indeed." The man nodded and went inside of his room, immediately going to his bed. Ansem closed the door behind him, walking down to his office. That would be where he would spend the rest of the day, making calls to everywhere he could about this stranger in his castle.
/_\
"I believe that's enough for the day."
After several hours of being in the lab, Even finally called it a day. Now the time was being spent at cleaning up. Various utensils were scattered everywhere, chemicals on the tables that needed to be put away, and beakers that needed a good cleaning.
"Dilan, take care of the utensils," Even ordered calmly, "Eleaus the beakers and Braig the chemicals. I do believe I can trust you with those, correct?"
"Yeah yeah." Braig muttered, going over to grab them and bring them to the cabinet as Eleaus and Dilan went to their respective stations. Even went over to the main desk in the room, taking out his report. Ienzo gave him a curious look, going over to him and reading what he was writing over his shoulder. Even's handwriting was in small, italicized cursive, somewhat sloppy. Some parts of it were hard for the boy to figure out, having to squint to read something.
Even noticed this, looking over his shoulder sharply at him. Ienzo took a couple of steps away from him, a blank look on his face. The older scientist eyed him, a small smirk sneaking onto his features.
"You've been awfully quiet," he said playfully, "Can't stand losing an argument can you?"
Ienzo glared at him, saying nothing. Even was antagonizing him, mocking him because of his silence. He was not going to fall for the scientist's little game, who decided to continue talking.
"It's about time you learned your place. You expect that just because you come from nobility that you need to be respected and right. You certainly learned your lesson didn't you?"
"Even," Dilan butted in, his tone sounding exasperated as he cleaned one of the last utensils, "Do we really need to have this discussion? You got what you wanted—stop taunting the boy."
"Fine, fine…" Even relinquished his desire to stir a reaction out of Ienzo, which did not look like it was going to come anyways. He seemed to be almost blatantly ignoring what Even had been saying about him, his arm crossing over his chest with the hand from the other cupping his chin. He looked at the beakers Eleaus was cleaning in quiet discernment, the latter catching sight of his gaze and meeting it.
"Is there something wrong?" he asked. The other shook his head.
"No," he replied, "Though, I do have to ask you all something."
"If it's another one of your points that you're gonna argue with Even about--" Braig started to say. Ienzo, however, stopped him before he could get more out.
"It's not, trust me," he told him, his tone rather soft compared to his earlier one. "We're studying the heart right?"
"We already went over this," Even cut in, "Our job as apprentices is to help Master Ansem research the heart. What of it?"
"Then why aren't we researching it? I thought that we would be doing procedures on the heart itself, not looking at chemicals and seeing what types of reactions they make with each other."
Even sighed in response—Ienzo wasn't going to like this answer, especially since none of the other apprentices did. "We have been trying to do that, but it's not something we can prod with a needle and expect a result from. This is the metaphysical heart, not the physical one."
"Then maybe we need a test subject, someone with a metaphysical heart, to base our research on."
The older scientist raised an eyebrow at this suggestion. "A test subject? Do you really think people would be willing to do that? I also don't believe His Majesty would want to go that far in having a human subject for our research."
"Then where else are you planning to go with this research?" Ienzo changed his position, his arms now making random motions as he talked and walked around the room, desperately trying to think of something. "If Master Ansem wants anything to come out of this, risks need to be taken. I also bet you can find some person on the street to use as a subject—they wouldn't mind. Though, I don't think the man Dilan found would work."
"Why do you say that?"
It was Braig's turn to interject. "The guy has no memory of who he is. He probably wouldn't respond to any of the tests we do on him. His lack of memory wouldn't help us at all."
"True…" Even trailed off, going into a thinking position himself with his arms crossed and his head looking down to the floor. Then, as if a light bulb turned on in his mind, he muttered the word, "Aha," and looked to the other apprentices with a wide-eyed smiled, looking almost happy.
"What if the memories are in his heart somewhere? They could be deep inside of it, locked away by some sort of means. If we could figure out how to bring out those memories, then not only would that aid our research, but it would aid the man as well."
The apprentices stared at him, flabbergasted by his suggestion. Dilan and Eleaus seemed to wonder if this was Even they were talking to—this idea sounded ludicrous compared to his safe studies of chemical reactions. Ienzo looked skeptical while Braig wore a smile on his face as well, a grin that went from ear to ear. He sauntered over to Even, a bony hand on his chin in thought.
"Strange, whacky, almost completely illogical, and crazy to boot," he started to say, "I say let's go for it. What do we have to lose? Besides, we would finally get to do something useful in this lab!"
Dilan and Eleaus nodded in agreement to this—at last, something to research after this long slump of absolutely nothing happening. Imagine all the things they could do with this! What would they find? What if they got this man's memories back? It would be astounding to watch.
Ienzo, however, didn't seem quite so jovial and keen on the idea. He shook his head to this quickly, crossing his arms against his chest.
"No, that doesn't make any sense," he intoned, though, it lacked the harshness or candor, "Memories are kept in the brain—the hippocampus for example. I'm still not buying this amnesia act, though, if his memories are really impaired, then he would have to have suffered brain trauma or something of the likes."
This seemed to vanquish the joy of new research out of practically everyone's minds. Dilan and Braig looked a bit discontented. Eleaus, however, was watching Even out of the corner of his eye. How would the scientist respond to that? Would he ignore it and decide to carry on with the research anyways? Or, would he get into another argument with the boy that would go on for hours? He desperately hoped it would not be the latter.
Even's smile did not weaken on his face. Instead, it grew a little smug as he kept his gaze on the newest apprentice, who grew confused at this sight. In a very calm, albeit slightly sardonic tone, the foremost apprentice spoke.
"I'll leave that up to you then," he said, "You'll do all the research you can on seeing if this man really suffered any brain trauma. MRIs, CAT scans—anything you want to prove your point. If he suffered from anything —concussion, contusion, or something in his brain shows it— then you'll get to relish that you're right and our research will probably not continue. Though, if you're wrong, we'll test out our theory."
Eleaus's eyes widened—that was not what he expected from him. He glanced at Ienzo, wondering how he would reply. It seemed Even caught him a little off-guard with his answer, the young apprentice now trying to think. He looked the other in the eye, a smirk etching itself onto his face. He nodded towards Even, putting his hand out for him to shake.
"I will meet that," he replied. Even grinned as well, shaking the other's hand firmly. The other apprentices could not help but stare at this phenomenon—the two had just agreed on something. Not only that, but they didn't exchange callous words in between. They were both smiling even after they let go of each other's hands. Even stared back at them, knowing none of them expected that.
"We're all done here gentlemen," he told them, "I believe we can call it a day—dismissed."
All of them dispersed at once, Ienzo heading out of the laboratory immediately in the direction of the library. Dilan went in the same direction, though, it was safe to say they went for different reasons. The two that were left met Even's gaze again, both of them still a bit surprised.
"Nice job there," Braig commented, now wearing a smile himself, "I never saw that coming from you."
"Neither did I," Eleaus admitted, "You handled that much better than what I had planned out."
Even laughed lightly at this, a short laugh that startled the others a bit. "It was easy," he told them, "The boy wants a challenge. That's the only reason he keeps challenging me and the rest of us, even Master Ansem. If we give him what he wants, that will not only help us get this research project off the ground, but it will fill his need to be challenge. It will be a good test to see if he will be a good apprentice or not."
"That's for sure," Braig remarked. He then stretched his arms behind his head, yawning. "Well, I think I'll go see what our stranger is up to. See you two later."
He left the room right after he said that, going down the opposite hallway that Dilan and Ienzo did. The only two left were Eleaus and Even, who stared at each other once more.
"I had better discuss this with His Majesty to make sure he approves," Even said, "It would be a good idea if you came with me."
"All right then," the other replied. They soon walked the halls as well, leaving the lab with a less forsaken feeling than before.
(End Chapter Seven)
