It was a while before I regained consciousness. I awoke in an immense bed, sunlight streaming from several mullioned windows. Ansem stood in front of one of these. I almost sat up, but became aware that I lacked a shirt. I pulled the covers up higher. Ansem turned slightly.

"So you have awakened at last," he said, smiling. "To forestall the inevitable, I arrived only a few minutes ago, the Heartless undressed you, I didn't do anything, and some clothes for you are at the foot of the bed."

I hesitated to move. Ansem nodded, still smiling, and left the room, closing the door behind him. I reached out and grabbed the clothes.

They were much like the ones I had been wearing, except I noticed they were of a thicker material. As I pulled the shirt over my head, I noticed a curious scar where my heart had once been. It was shaped like a rose in full bloom, complete with thorny vines tracing away from it and presumably across my back.

I finished dressing, and tried to find Ansem. I soon ascertained that I was in an immense castle, filled with strange machinery. I passed many a strange creature, guessing them to be the Heartless. Soon I began to wonder if I would ever find Ansem.

Then, almost as I thought this, Ansem himself stepped out of a door.

"Ah, there you are, Lokii," he said. "I was about to come find you myself."

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Hollow Bastion," he replied. "My home. Come, walk with me."

I needed no second bidding. Together we wandered the halls of Hollow Bastion. Ansem showed me around the castle. I knew I would spend most of my time in the library, though the rising falls captivated me as well.

After a while, we returned to these falls. I managed to catch and tame a Heartless Ansem called a Wyvern. I named him Tsubasa, and Ansem and I sat side by side watching Tsubasa torture the local rats.

We watched for a while. Then a pained look crossed Ansem's face, and he began coughing violently.

"Ansem?" I cried. "What's wrong!"

Ansem didn't answer, but coughed harder. Blood spattered the stones. He doubled over.

"Ansem!"

I grabbed his shoulders and held him tightly. Slowly, the coughing subsided, though Ansem's shoulders continued to shake. I held him as he leaned on me.

"What was that all about?" I asked softly.

He wheezed as he replied. "Do you… know a boy… named Sora?"

"Goofy looking kid with big feet? Yeah. I hate his guts," I replied. Ansem grinned weakly.

"We fought… and he injured me… quite badly. I had to… take the lungs… of a Heartless… and essentially… rebuild myself… I thought… I wouldn't survive," he explained quietly. "The lungs… fail occasionally." He began coughing again, but it didn't last long.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked.

"You already… have... by giving me… your heart. It was… much worse… before," he replied.

I continued to hold him. We stayed at the falls until nightfall; we then decided to head back up to the castle. Tsubasa winged slowly overhead as I supported Ansem on the way to the castle.

"Where to?" I asked.

"To your room…. The one you… woke up in."

Slowly, we headed towards the room. Once we arrived, I carefully helped him onto the bed.

"Where will… you sleep?" Ansem asked.

"Right beside you," I replied. Ansem smiled feebly, and was asleep within moments. I cuddled up next to him, and I was soon asleep as well.

Why was that one so much shorter? Because I was tired and wanted to go to sleep when I wrote it.

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