Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts belongs to Disney and Squaresoft.
Just finished turning 17, and I'm quite tipsy, so I don't know if this is a good time for me to try to write. But I feel really bad that you guys are such loyal readers and I'm so slow at updating for you. I know how annoying it can be waiting for the newest chapter of a story you're getting into.
…> Would be Heartless speaking.
'…' Would be Ansem's thoughts.
To spice things up, here's another side of Ansem for you.
The sun was beginning to reach its peak as Sora walked through the warm sands of his beloved beach. The cool wind blew the scent of saltwater along his skin, and he moved his face into the breeze in habit. It was then that he noticed the dark silhouette beside a palm tree near the water. Of course it was easy to tell that it was Squall, hair blowing softly and Gunblade sticking crookedly out of the sand before him. He seemed to radiate a kind of shield around himself, warding off unwanted company. But Sora, used to such behavior from Riku, approached him unaffected.
"She'll be alright, you know..?" he said gently, not facing the man out of respect for his forced privacy. He received a glare in return, though softer than his usual responses, so Sora continued. "I know she can take care of herself, and I don't think Sephiroth would of taken her if he didn't need her for something. I mean, why not take Kairi? She.. Well you know. But anyway, I think he needed Yuffie's skills for something. We'll definitely see her again." He rested a hand on Squall's shoulder in reassurance before he turned and left the man in peace again.
Once the brunet had left him alone, Squall rose to his feet and stared out at the ocean. There was an unfamiliar tearing at his heart, but he knew well enough what it was. With a grunt of frustration, he slammed his foot into the sand, sending it everywhere. He picked up the Gunblade beside his foot and slung it over his shoulder. After another moment of watching the ocean creep steadily toward him, he turned and began walking back the way Sora had gone.
Glancing ahead, he could see the rest of the group lounging around on a stretch of grass. He stopped just inside the line of palm trees, watching them from the shade. He knew Cloud had noticed him there, but he looked away from him. He obviously wasn't feeling like socializing, so the blonde was willing to respect that.
Sora smiled to himself when he noticed that Squall had followed him back. Now everyone was ready to go but two, Kairi and Ansem were still missing. His smile faded when he thought of them. She had lied to him. He knew that now. It was Ansem that had taken her away from him, and leaving him for his enemy must have been one of the worst things she could have done to him. He was glad that she was happy, though. She had seemed a bit depressed before, even with the three of them back together, and all their friends living on Destiny Islands with them. When she thought no one was watching her, she had always looked like she knew something was wrong, but didn't want to worry anyone else. He had hated that about her, she always used to tell him everything, now he could barely get her to talk to him. He had only ever wanted to be close to her..
"Sora? Did you hear me?" He shook his head and looked up to find Riku standing a few feet in front of him. Looking past him, he saw that everyone else had left.
Riku laughed and smacked the side of his friend's head playfully. "I said we're leaving soon, I'm gonna go find Kairi, okay?" He gave the brunet a weird look as he nodded weakly in reply.
He watched as Riku turned and began walking down the street, the bright sunlight catching his hair beautifully. Everything seemed so peaceful. 'Must be something bad about to happen..' Sora thought darkly to himself. Things in his life were rarely peaceful.
He didn't notice Arashi walking up behind him until she spoke. "Ansem's not a bad person, you know." She said simply.
Sora jumped and turned to face her. She stared back at him with her bright green eyes, the wind through her hair the only movement. Her skin was so pale, she looked like death to him. So dark, but very beautiful, with her long ebony hair flowing along her shoulders.
"He's not evil. He may have done some terrible things, but he's not evil. The darkness can make you do thing. It make Riku do things, too. It takes over the heart, feeds on the emptiness. Because there's darkness in every heart, even yours. It just needs the room to grow." She gave him a small smile before taking his hand and leading him to the ship.
He watched Riku as he disappeared up the street, silver hair still shining. Maybe she was right. The darkness just got a better hold on Ansem. His exposure to the Heartless might have helped it along, too. But no one could really be sure, could they?
A dull thud sounded throughout the main cabin of the gummi ship. The shock of the noise woke Ansem, who was sleeping restlessly in a soft chair to the left of the walkway. Looking up, he noticed Tidus's dark shape picking himself up off the floor where he had landed.
"Sorry.. Didn't mean to.." He yawned, crawling back into his chair. He was snoring again in minutes, but Ansem was now wide awake.
He looked toward the clock above the ship's controls, 2:46 A.M. Standard Destiny Islands time. He still wasn't used to the slight time change, it only felt like ten o'clock to him.
He must have been sitting like that for an hour, just staring at the darkness around him and listening to the quiet sounds around him. Sleep was finally beginning to get a hold on him, and he closed his eyes, hoping that it would come quickly. It was then that he noticed the faint scratching sound.
Sitting up further, Ansem gazed around the cabin, trying to pinpoint the source of the noise. He couldn't hear where it was coming from, but it was definitely getting louder. Wanting to cover his ears from the horrible sound, he stood. Nothing in sight, just the sleeping forms around him and the small light reading 'auto-pilot' near the clock. Spinning around, the noise followed him, the scratching seeming to slide across metal.
Panic slowly began to well up inside him, and he brought his hands to his ears in frustration. His eyes widened at what he heard, the scratching was coming from inside his own head. The realization made his blood run cold.
Ansem…>
The scratching stopped, leaving the cabin eerily quiet, not even the sound of the others sleeping could be heard. Ansem looked around the ship in fear. 'Not here, please, not here..' he begged silently.
Did you really think you were free to go? >
'What do you want with me then? What use am I to you now?'
You are one of us, you always will be. >
'I'm not one of you! I never wanted to be! I only created you, I didn't want to become you!'
These are things you cannot ignore, Ansem. You were Heartless the day you killed them all. Don't you remember Hollow Bastion? You laughed with us. >
'No.. You made me do it. I never wanted to hurt them, they were my people. They came first, you were only research!'
You may tell yourself whatever you wish, but you belong with us. You belong to us. You don't have any place helping these people, come back to us. >
'I belong with Kairi, I'll never go back to you!'
You don't have a choice, Ansem, you will rejoin us, or you will die. You cannot survive in the Light, you've been infected with Darkness.>
'Kairi has the power to reverse it, I don't have to carry this!'
A Keyblade can only hold so much power. Don't drown yourself in such delusions. If you get too close to her, she will be drawn in as well. She will bring herself to us. Can you not see it? If you stay where you do not belong, you will bring death to them all. >
'If I go to you it will bring them all death! You think I don't understand what you're doing? At least as myself there is a chance of saving them from darkness!'
ANSEM. You misunderstand…>
The chill in the deep breathy voice pricked down his spine, causing him to shudder. A sharp pain exploded in his chest, making him cry out in surprise and pain.
"No.. What's happening..?" he begged the empty air, gripping his chest in agony.
Another sharp sting of pain wracked his body and he fell to the ground, blood staining his bare hands and dripping onto the floor. He ground his teeth to keep from screaming in pain as the agonizing sting ripped it's way down his chest into a horrifyingly familiar shape.
After what seemed like hours of pain, it subsided and Ansem crouched in his own blood, panting from the strain. He rolled shakily onto his back and stared at the ceiling, watching absently as dark figures closed around him. His eye's slid closed as he heard voices around him, some calling his name, others cursing.
You will both return to us. It's time for the revolution of the Heartless in this World. >
'Both..? Who else do you…'
He didn't have time to finish as the lights were flicked on and the dark shapes became the familiar faces of his new 'friends'. He could see Cid in the background, hand to his forehead, muttering every curse word he knew to the air. Tidus and Wakka stood closer, leaning over to look down at him, and Sora knelt suspiciously by his side with Keyblade in hand.
"What's going on, Ansem? What the hell just happened!" He growled, motioning toward the blood covering an area of floor around him. "I swear to god, if you-!" He was cut short by a shrill scream from down the hall.
A door burst open and Kairi rushed out in panic. "Ansem! Riku! He..!" She stopped in her tracks when she realized that he was now sitting his a puddle of blood, holding a shaky hand over his wounded chest. She clasped her hands to her mouth, eyes widening in horror.
"No, you too.. Oh god, what's happening?" She dropped to her knees, tears beginning to sting her eyes.
Ansem pulled himself to his feet, ignoring the loss of blood. He moved past Kairi to find Riku. The silver-haired young man was laying on his side against a wall, with Aerith and Arashi leaning over him in horror.
"..Riku. Are you alright?" He almost felt relieved, knowing that he wasn't the only one that jut had to experience the touch of the Heartless. But it also made him rather sad, no one should have to go through such a life as this..
He crouched next to the younger man, who was holding both hands against his chest and shaking.
His aquamarine eyes snapped open at Ansem's touch. "They spoke to me.. Told me.. I was infected by darkness. They said I have to go to them." His voice wavered and he choked.
"Don't listen to them, they live in a warped reality." He tried to reassure him, holding his shoulder tightly.
"He's lost a lot of blood…" Arashi said quietly, trying not to show that she was about to cry.
Ansem looked over to Aerith, "You know how to help him.." She nodded solemnly. He stood and walked back out to the front of the ship, pausing in the walk way to kneel beside Kairi's shocked form.
"Everything is going to be alright." he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and guiding her to her feet.
She swayed for a moment, looked up into his eyes, and shoved him away. He watched in confusion as she turned around and ran to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. The faint sounds of wrenching could be heard through the door, and Ansem signed.
"What the hell is going on? What did you do to her?" Sora demanded standing up and striding purposefully toward Ansem, who was still watching the bathroom door.
A deep, fiery anger built up inside him, and before he could stop himself, he reached out for Sora's advancing form, faster than anyone could anticipate. He had his strong hand wrapped clean around the boy's throat before he could react, lifting him none to gently from the floor, so only the tips of his toes brushed the carpet. A shocked gasp echoed around the room, as Tidus and Wakka tensed, and Cid looked up in interest.
"Sora. I didn't do anything to Kairi, and given the situation, I have more reason to think that you may have upset her. I'm getting rather tired of your behavior toward me, so this is how it is; I don't particularly like you, I don't need your help in whatever it is I need to do, and if you insist on not trusting me, then please keep it to yourself. In the mean time I request two things of you, you will treat me with as much respect as anyone else, and you will grow up."
Ansem dropped him back down and strode past him to take a seat near the front of the ship again. Placing his head in his hands, he tried to relax and think. There had to be a way to protect himself and Riku from the threat of the Heartless.
To his left he could hear Sora shuffled back to his own seat. He could practically feel the brunet's eyes bore into him in anger, and he heard Cid chuckle to himself before opening up a first-aide kit and handing it to Ansem.
The blonde man took a seat beside him as Ansem dug through the box, pulling off his shirt to examine the bloody Heartless symbol ripped into his flesh. Cid handed him a damp towel, and he quickly began cleaning his wound.
"So what the hell just happened anyway?" Cid asked, taking a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket.
"The Heartless are becoming more powerful, they seem to think that anyone once touched by them is obligated to return to help them fight us. That was merely a demonstration of the power they hold over people that have been 'infected'." Ansem grimaced in pain as his wound began to sting from the irritation.
Cid nodded understandingly before laughing quietly to himself. "Ya know, there have been times when I wanted to do that to the damn kid myself. You'd make a great father." He laughed openly now, receiving a confused look from Ansem and a glare from Sora.
"So." He stated once he was done laughing. "What do you think the plan should be?" He put his hands behind his head and relaxed back into the chair, placing his unlit cigarette back into his mouth.
Ansem thought for a moment. They were returning to Hollow Bastion, there were quite a few things they needed done. "Well, training is definitely important, everyone should train in preparation of whatever the Heartless and Sephiroth bring next. But we also need to find out where Sephiroth is hiding, and what he's done with Yuffie. I suppose we should just prepare ourselves, and I will research the Hollow Bastion libraries and try to find some kind of clue as to where he's gone."
Cid nodded again, "Sounds good. I'll see how I can fix this old bucket up for battle." He grunted, "Speaking of which, we've gotta be getting close to Hollow Bastion." He stood and walked to the controls, checking them.
Ansem turned at the sound of the bathroom door opening, watching as Kairi walked down the aisle to sit next to him.
"I'm sorry, I just felt really sick all of the sudden. Everything is getting really complicated." She whispered, bringing her knees up and wrapping her arms around her thin legs.
She watched as he finished cleaning the torn skin and applied bandages. "You sure do get beat up by the Heartless a lot.." She said quietly. "Why do they push you around so much?"
He turned to look into her soft blue eyes. "Because I was the most powerful, and now I am no longer one of them."
The look in his eyes almost made her shudder, they were so pained and hollow. Like a beaten dog, he was getting tired of it all, she knew that now. And why not? All his life has been about since the fall of Hollow Bastion was pain. She paused for a moment before leaning over and kissing his shoulder gently. He looked down at her and smiled.He sincerely hoped that she could protect him for the Heartless
But what if they were right, and the Keyblade of Light only had so much power? What if it's effects were temporary? What would he do then? She couldn't protect him forever. But he couldn't shake the feeling that maybe she could…
A/n: Sorry this was really late too, I had a lot to catch up on since it's summer now. Sorry I haven't finished with the art yet, too. I have a couple I need to put up, actually.