Chapter VI: Ruptured Barrier
"Humans... You live in a small world and box themselves in rooms even
smaller..."
-Amy Acker
***~~~***
It was early in the morning. Very early. Nobody was awake, except for the castle sentries that patrolled the corridors, but they wouldn't hinder Ansem's experiment. Only a few minutes earlier had Ansem selected a Heartless. It was a small black creature, something a child may find "cute". It had glowing yellow eyes, and wriggling antennae. These breeds of Heartless (Ansem learned earlier that there were many different kinds, such as the feline variation from his experiment, and the wizard creature that interrupted dinner) were shockingly small for such dangerous creatures, but Ansem knew to keep up his guard.
The Heartless' antennae began to vibrate intensely, and it ran off into the depths of the castle. Ansem pursued the creature with no immediate hurry, just merely following it. The Heartless passed through the castle chapel, and into a room that Ansem hadn't noticed before now, which was very plain. The Heartless stopped- its journey was done. Rather than taking it back for study, Ansem merely conjured a small wave of energy, and sent it towards the Heartless, which dissipated in a cloud of black smoke. From the smoke rose a glowing "heart", that vanished with the smoke.
Ansem was disappointed. The Heartless led Ansem into an abandoned room. But-
"Hello, what's this?" he muttered to himself. A solitary door stood there, set into the wall of the room.. The door had a large keyhole, and a doorknob. Ansem pondered for a few moments what lied beyond the door, but couldn't think of anything- he'd never known of this room's existence, let alone the door and wherever it lead... After thinking of all possible outcomes, Ansem opened the door, and began the Hollow Bastion's slow decline into darkness.
***~~~***
Squall was better in a few days after his incident. Nobody believed it was accidental, so Squall was placed in the worst possible place: the insane asylum, or, more like, the jail. And that was where Laguna was.
Squall just stared at Laguna, and Cid too, who were in separate cells. Squall was placed in a cell across from Cid's with clear view of Laguna. After the guards left, Squall broke the silence.
"You know, everybody up there thinks you're dead," He said simply. Laguna looked at him wryly, and Cid scratched his head in confusion.
"Y'mean to tell me that Ansem didn't tell anybody he put us here?"
"Ansem put you here?" Squall asked. Now it was his turn to be confused.
"No, of course not. Vivi Oruntina tricked him in here, he said the prison was made of candy. Naturally Laguna went into that cell, curiosity claimed the poor fool." Cid's little sarcastic rant confused Squall even more.
"Really? Because I think Laguna would be foolish enough to fall for it," Squall replied. Cid threw his arms up in exasperation and Laguna looked at the floor forlornly.
"I want candy..." Laguna whimpered. Squall grunted to himself. He truly wished the Heartless had finished him off- nothing was more tortuous than this.
***~~~***
Ansem had returned from sending the Leonhart boy into prison and was tired. Kairi was tucked in bed, asleep. Her nanny, Ma Dincht, had told her a story earlier that afternoon, and it was Ansem that had to tell her what foolishness it was. The story entailed of a chain of worlds all being destroyed and recreated by the light in childrens' hearts. Ridiculous. Once Ansem told her the story was nonsense, she stopped worrying about it and went to sleep.
Ansem was on his way to his laboratory, when he saw it. A single falling star. Falling from the sky. It was fairly large, a jet stream of light. But more followed. Soon, the sky was filled with the falling stars. The stars came alarmingly close, one hitting the castle chapel, the other hitting the catacombs, both leaving gaping holes. But Ansem was too mesmerized. Once the meteor shower was over, Ansem noticed something peculiar- every star in the sky had vanished...
Ansem proceeded to his laboratory and quickly scrawled on a scrap of paper:
"To study the Heartless behavior, I picked one out for observation. It wiggled its antennae and, as if sensing a target, headed deep into the castle. In the deepest part of the castle, its antennae began vibrating, as if searching for something. Suddenly, a strange door appeared. I'd never known of its existence.
It had a large keyhole, but didn't seem to be locked. So I opened the door.
What I saw on the other side mystified me.
What was that powerful mass of energy. That night I observed a great meteor shower in the sky.
Could it be related to the door that I have opened?"
Ansem filed the page as "Report, Page Five".
***~~~*** The next day, Ansem rounded up some more Heartless, to try and find that door again. They all lead him back to that same room, to that one door. After disposing of the Heartless (by use of a very sharp lance), Ansem opened the door once more. After staring at the lights and colors that lied beyond the door, Ansem closed it and rushed back to his lab.
***~~~***
The days following Squall's incident, Ellone didn't say much. She and Squall hadn't said much in the hospital room, and that is what was tearing her up inside. The last real conversation they had was a bitter one.
What if he had died? Was it her fault? Ellone couldn't handle all of the guilt. She merely stayed in her house, sobbing, and didn't come out.
***~~~***
Sephiroth didn't get to sleep a whole lot, but he got some sleep. As luck would have it, he was awake for the meteor shower. Such a fascinating occurrence! Sephiroth wondered what it would be like to able to control the stars. To bring love to the world, or bring destruction at whim. Such power... If only he could have it...
***~~~***
Ansem wrote even more sloppily than the last time, on the page that would be titled, "Report, Page Six":
"A massive core of energy lay beyond the door sought by the Heartless. It may be the ultimate goal of the Heartless. But what is that energy? I have devised a hypothesis, based upon my observations of the Heartless.
The Heartless feed on other's hearts, and they yearn for that energy core. That thing beyond the door must be a heart, too--the heart of this world. There is no proof, but, having felt that immense energy, I am certain. That was the heart of the world.
The Heartless are trying to take hearts not only from all living creatures, but from the planet itself. But what do they mean to do with the heart of the world?"
"Humans... You live in a small world and box themselves in rooms even
smaller..."
-Amy Acker
***~~~***
It was early in the morning. Very early. Nobody was awake, except for the castle sentries that patrolled the corridors, but they wouldn't hinder Ansem's experiment. Only a few minutes earlier had Ansem selected a Heartless. It was a small black creature, something a child may find "cute". It had glowing yellow eyes, and wriggling antennae. These breeds of Heartless (Ansem learned earlier that there were many different kinds, such as the feline variation from his experiment, and the wizard creature that interrupted dinner) were shockingly small for such dangerous creatures, but Ansem knew to keep up his guard.
The Heartless' antennae began to vibrate intensely, and it ran off into the depths of the castle. Ansem pursued the creature with no immediate hurry, just merely following it. The Heartless passed through the castle chapel, and into a room that Ansem hadn't noticed before now, which was very plain. The Heartless stopped- its journey was done. Rather than taking it back for study, Ansem merely conjured a small wave of energy, and sent it towards the Heartless, which dissipated in a cloud of black smoke. From the smoke rose a glowing "heart", that vanished with the smoke.
Ansem was disappointed. The Heartless led Ansem into an abandoned room. But-
"Hello, what's this?" he muttered to himself. A solitary door stood there, set into the wall of the room.. The door had a large keyhole, and a doorknob. Ansem pondered for a few moments what lied beyond the door, but couldn't think of anything- he'd never known of this room's existence, let alone the door and wherever it lead... After thinking of all possible outcomes, Ansem opened the door, and began the Hollow Bastion's slow decline into darkness.
***~~~***
Squall was better in a few days after his incident. Nobody believed it was accidental, so Squall was placed in the worst possible place: the insane asylum, or, more like, the jail. And that was where Laguna was.
Squall just stared at Laguna, and Cid too, who were in separate cells. Squall was placed in a cell across from Cid's with clear view of Laguna. After the guards left, Squall broke the silence.
"You know, everybody up there thinks you're dead," He said simply. Laguna looked at him wryly, and Cid scratched his head in confusion.
"Y'mean to tell me that Ansem didn't tell anybody he put us here?"
"Ansem put you here?" Squall asked. Now it was his turn to be confused.
"No, of course not. Vivi Oruntina tricked him in here, he said the prison was made of candy. Naturally Laguna went into that cell, curiosity claimed the poor fool." Cid's little sarcastic rant confused Squall even more.
"Really? Because I think Laguna would be foolish enough to fall for it," Squall replied. Cid threw his arms up in exasperation and Laguna looked at the floor forlornly.
"I want candy..." Laguna whimpered. Squall grunted to himself. He truly wished the Heartless had finished him off- nothing was more tortuous than this.
***~~~***
Ansem had returned from sending the Leonhart boy into prison and was tired. Kairi was tucked in bed, asleep. Her nanny, Ma Dincht, had told her a story earlier that afternoon, and it was Ansem that had to tell her what foolishness it was. The story entailed of a chain of worlds all being destroyed and recreated by the light in childrens' hearts. Ridiculous. Once Ansem told her the story was nonsense, she stopped worrying about it and went to sleep.
Ansem was on his way to his laboratory, when he saw it. A single falling star. Falling from the sky. It was fairly large, a jet stream of light. But more followed. Soon, the sky was filled with the falling stars. The stars came alarmingly close, one hitting the castle chapel, the other hitting the catacombs, both leaving gaping holes. But Ansem was too mesmerized. Once the meteor shower was over, Ansem noticed something peculiar- every star in the sky had vanished...
Ansem proceeded to his laboratory and quickly scrawled on a scrap of paper:
"To study the Heartless behavior, I picked one out for observation. It wiggled its antennae and, as if sensing a target, headed deep into the castle. In the deepest part of the castle, its antennae began vibrating, as if searching for something. Suddenly, a strange door appeared. I'd never known of its existence.
It had a large keyhole, but didn't seem to be locked. So I opened the door.
What I saw on the other side mystified me.
What was that powerful mass of energy. That night I observed a great meteor shower in the sky.
Could it be related to the door that I have opened?"
Ansem filed the page as "Report, Page Five".
***~~~*** The next day, Ansem rounded up some more Heartless, to try and find that door again. They all lead him back to that same room, to that one door. After disposing of the Heartless (by use of a very sharp lance), Ansem opened the door once more. After staring at the lights and colors that lied beyond the door, Ansem closed it and rushed back to his lab.
***~~~***
The days following Squall's incident, Ellone didn't say much. She and Squall hadn't said much in the hospital room, and that is what was tearing her up inside. The last real conversation they had was a bitter one.
What if he had died? Was it her fault? Ellone couldn't handle all of the guilt. She merely stayed in her house, sobbing, and didn't come out.
***~~~***
Sephiroth didn't get to sleep a whole lot, but he got some sleep. As luck would have it, he was awake for the meteor shower. Such a fascinating occurrence! Sephiroth wondered what it would be like to able to control the stars. To bring love to the world, or bring destruction at whim. Such power... If only he could have it...
***~~~***
Ansem wrote even more sloppily than the last time, on the page that would be titled, "Report, Page Six":
"A massive core of energy lay beyond the door sought by the Heartless. It may be the ultimate goal of the Heartless. But what is that energy? I have devised a hypothesis, based upon my observations of the Heartless.
The Heartless feed on other's hearts, and they yearn for that energy core. That thing beyond the door must be a heart, too--the heart of this world. There is no proof, but, having felt that immense energy, I am certain. That was the heart of the world.
The Heartless are trying to take hearts not only from all living creatures, but from the planet itself. But what do they mean to do with the heart of the world?"