The Eleventh Hour
By Lynx (of Organization VI)
Rating: Uh, T for Teen, I guess.
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or its characters; they belong to Disney and Squeenix, respectively. No money's being made, le cry.
Summary: For Riku, his future was the same as his past.
Notes: Basically, a much more lengthy expansion on a drabble I wrote a month or so back. A lot of the ideas, theories and reasoning I need to credit Rebmakash for, because she's the smart one and thinks up all the cool stuff. I just add a lot of words onto it.
There will be KH2 SPOILERS APLENTY in this fic, so be warned.
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Chapter Eight – THE EIGHTH HOUR
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TICK
"I don't like this. Something about it seems wrong."
Sora replied with a tad bit of exasperation. "Come on, Riku. We went over this. It's the best shot we've got."
Riku pulled at his coat sleeves. "I know. I just...I don't like being back here is all."
'Back here' happened to be Castle Oblivion. All six had returned to the world, thankful that it was still present, but less thankful to be exploring its depths once again. The laboratory basements were still just as cold, but now a bit of unusual heat staved off the chill. King Mickey and Donald kept a watchful eye on their carefully-prepared spell: a ring of fire slowly circling the ice pillar Vexen was frozen in. The enchanted flames were designed to burn slowly, so that the ice would melt at a steady pace and not harm the man trapped inside.
They were letting Vexen out after all.
Just that fact alone kept the group pretty silent, let alone the consequences such actions could bring upon them. Riku was especially restless: he moved from walking back and forth across the room to sitting and watching the fires work, but couldn't feel satisfied either way. No matter what he did, melting the ice pillar would take too long and not long enough.
However, the ice that encased Vexen was old and brittle, and started to chip off in chunks rather than actually melt. The sounds of the cracking ice prison eventually caught the attention of everyone present, and even Donald and the King had to move to avoid the falling ice. The image of Vexen was becoming clearer and clearer.
Kairi finally cried, "I think I saw him move!"
The ice pillar started to crumble at an alarming rate, almost shaking. Sora and Riku jumped to their feet, and Riku knew they both had hands mentally on their Keyblades. All six stumbled back as the Vexen within suddenly came to life, shuddering as the remaining ice fell from his body.
He stepped out of the circle of ice nonchalantly, brushing the leftover frost off his sleeves as if he'd merely been awoken from a quick nap. Then he caught sight of them, and the indifference turned to a frown. He cast his eyes around the rest of the ruined laboratory, and the frown deepened into a scowl. "Oh, dear."
The reaction confused Riku, but Sora was the first to reply to it. "Are you Vexen from Organization XIII?"
Vexen gave him a look of sincere distaste. "Merely a replica of Vexen. Created and designed to carry on his work in the event he believed an untimely demise was nearby." He turned away from Sora's questioning gaze. "I can only surmise that, being you are the ones that have awoken me, Vexen met his untimely demise suddenly and unexpectedly."
"Vexen's gone. All of the Organization were destroyed many years ago," Sora said firmly.
"I'm not stupid, Key-bearer," the Vexen replica spat. "I have eyes. I can see you're years older than the memories Vexen last left to me."
This piqued Riku's interest. "You said you have all of Vexen's memories? Do you have all of his knowledge, too?"
Vexen began to sift through the equipment left around the lab, seeming to ignore the other six in the room. "It would be rather pointless for Vexen to create a replica intended to carry on his research and then not give it the necessary knowledge. Honestly. I do wonder how the Organization was defeated by the likes of imbeciles like you."
"Who're you callin' imbeciles?" Donald sputtered.
For once, Sora seemed more concerned with getting to the point. "Listen, Vexen...replica. We need something from you."
"I'm sure you do," Vexen grumbled, stacking a pile of broken test tubes to the side of his desk.
Riku knew what was coming, but still had to swallow hard at Sora's next statement. "We need you to make another replica of Riku."
This seemed to finally catch Vexen's attention. He turned to face them again with an all-too-sinister smile. "A replica?"
Sora's voice sounded more defeated. "Yeah. A replica that's exactly like Riku, with his memories and everything."
Vexen walked up to Riku, looking at him with patronizing eyes. Riku suddenly felt he was being stared down upon, despite being taller than the man, and he resisted the urge to pull out his Keyblade. "I don't recall that last experiment ending so well. I can't imagine what would compel you to try it again."
Riku glared back at him. "That's not important to you. All that matters is that it gets done."
Vexen backed off from the gaze, looking only slightly intimidated. "The scared little boy has become a man, I see." He wandered back over to his desk and fiddled with the frost-covered instruments out of nonexistent habit. "Of course, why should I bother to help you? What's in it for me?"
Goofy finally spoke up. "If we don't get another Riku to fix the time paradox, all the worlds will disappear!"
"And that means you'll disappear too," Sora added.
Vexen gave a curt laugh. "Is that supposed to be incentive? I'm nothing but the replica of a Nobody, the remains of a cast-off shell. I have no ties to this world or any world out there. The Organization is gone. Why does it matter whether I exist or not?"
Riku swallowed back something hard in his throat. He was afraid this would happen, even more so than Vexen attacking them. But Sora persisted. "Well then, what do you want in return?"
The chilly academic's replica shot them a cold smile. "I was created for one purpose: to continue Vexen's research. You must allow me to continue and experiment with hearts and memories, unhindered."
At first the request didn't sound unreasonable. But then Kairi finally caught on. "Wait, but...not experiment on real people!"
"Book studies will be useless without testing my theories," he spat back.
The King looked especially distraught. "It was messin' around with the darkness in peoples' hearts that caused all the trouble in the first place."
"Would you rather have it that all the worlds and their inhabitants vanish?" Vexen sneered. "Or maybe, you would rather lose your friend than put innocents at risk?"
Sora was about to shout back, but Riku responded first. "This is my choice. I don't want to do this...but I don't want the alternative, either. I'm taking the middle road."
Vexen raised one eyebrow at the statement. He glanced back to the other five as if to question whether this was true. Sora looked frustrated, but determined. "Okay, fine. But you can't leave this world! No going off to other worlds and messing them up."
"We'll see what my needs require," the academic sneered, and Riku grew angry because he knew Sora couldn't counter that.
"So you'll do it?" Goofy asked when Vexen said no more.
"I believe I will."
"We'll be here watching you the entire time to make sure you don't do anything weird to Riku," Sora warned.
"You gotta get going, the worlds are already starting to disappear!" Donald quacked.
Vexen sniffed in disdain at the magician. "If you expect me to do this quickly, then you'll have to stop gawking and assist me. You expect me to get any work done in this mess?" He gestured at the trashed laboratory.
Kairi sighed, and gave a tug on Sora's sleeve. "Come on. Let's clean up this place so that he can get started and we can get out of here faster."
As they got to work cleaning the broken bits of equipment from the tables, Vexen approached Riku for a closer look. He pressed a thumb against the side of his head as if measuring something, and Riku flinched at his icy touch. The Nobody replica grinned.
"Yes. I believe this will be quite enlightening."
TOCK
"They're all out here, Xehanort. I know Ienzo has been interested to meet you."
He nodded in response, barely paying attention to Ansem's words. After two whole weeks in Radiant Garden, he still felt compelled to burn every last detail of the world into his memory. The long hallways with their wide windows and drapes, the boxes of flowers cascading like waterfalls from the windowsills, the musty smell of books in the library...all of it felt new and not-new. He didn't necessarily like being around the people, but the world itself provided endless exploration.
Ansem swung the door open and led him out to the grand garden; a large veranda landscaped with trees, fountains, a huge pond and seemingly endless flowers. Five young men were spread around the patio, apparently engrossed in their studies. They looked up at Ansem's approach.
"Gentlemen, this is your new fellow apprentice, Xehanort." Ansem gestured towards him, and he looked towards the ground. "He'll be starting in his studies tomorrow, so I thought it would be best if you all introduced yourselves now."
The others nodded in understanding, and Ansem smiled. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go prepare your permanent room." He walked back into the castle, leaving Xehanort with the five who were supposedly Ansem's apprentices.
He looked them down carefully. Like him, they wore white lab coats and ruffled collars. And while they all looked to be about his age, they varied greatly in size and shape. No one said anything for a moment, and he realized it would probably help more if he smiled.
The one nearest to him stood and gave him a cautious grin. He had long black hair tied back in a ponytail, and looking a little rough around the edges...perhaps raised in a poorer home. "My name's Braig."
The others took that as the cue to introduce themselves. The second was a large man, with broad shoulders, heavy eyebrows and sideburns. His dark brown hair was even longer than Braig's, and tied back in braids. He was currently occupied with trying to balance a long wooden staff on two fingers while walking along the edge of the fountain. "I'm Dilan."
The third was sprawled on a blanket on the grass with piles of books around him, enthralled in whatever he was reading. He looked to be the oldest, perhaps in his thirties, although it was hard to tell with his platinum blond hair hanging across his face. "Call me Even."
The next was seated by the fountain, reading a book as well, although he managed to look up and offer him a warm smile. Like Dilan, he was a huge man with broad shoulders and a sharp chin. His hair was much shorter, though, and bright red. He removed his small reading glasses and said simply, "Elaeus."
The last apprentice looked to be the youngest, perhaps seventeen or eighteen. He had abandoned his books to climb the nearest tree, and was currently making his way to his third branch. His hair was dark blue, and unkempt bangs hung in his face. At realizing it was his turn, he shot him a grin. "And I'm Ienzo."
"Braig, Dilan, Even, Elaeus and Ienzo," he repeated, nodding at each one in turn. They didn't seem too hard to remember.
Ienzo hopped down from the tree and approached him, looking curious. "And your name's Xehanort, right?"
Xehanort felt a little odd with this young man approaching him, especially with how short he was. But he nodded anyway. Ienzo scoffed. "That's a weird name."
Before Xehanort could even recover from the surprise of such a statement, Even barked back, "No more weird than 'Ienzo'! Mind your manners!"
Elaeus butted into the conversation. "Don't mind them. So, you'll be studying under Master Ansem as well?"
"He asked me if I was willing to study with him, and I said yes. He said he was conducting research on the heart, and that he could help me recover my memories."
"If anyone can do it, Master Ansem can," Dilan piped up, executing a quick turn on the fountain's railing and catching his staff in the other hand.
Braig didn't seem so easily impressed. "He just let you in like that, huh? Well then, you must be pretty intelligent, or have some incredible skill. Master Ansem doesn't let just any old guy learn under him."
"So, where does your expertise lie?" Dilan asked, and demonstrated his own by spinning the staff behind his back.
This was why Xehanort hated talking to most people in Radiant Garden. They kept asking so many questions: (Where are you from? Where did you grow up? Who are your parents? How old are you?) But he could only answer them the same way. "I don't know."
Dilan asked, "Is there anything about yourself you do know? Besides your own name."
Xehanort frowned. Even the name he wasn't sure about. He faced away from them, pretending to study the scenery. "I know I like fruits. I know I like night better than day." He paused, and pointed at the large pond in the middle of the garden. "I know I like that pond because it makes me think of the ocean."
"Maybe you like it 'cause you used to live by an ocean," Ienzo suggested with a shrug.
Even snorted. "Impossible. There's no ocean in this world. We've only read about them."
"Now who's the dumb one? I heard from Master Ansem that they found him in the desert. There's probably an ocean on the other side of it where he lived," Ienzo said.
Xehanort walked further into the garden, away from the apprentices. He hated being reminded of that, because it always brought back the nightmares. Realizing that they may have made a mistake, the other five left their books and caught up to him. "I told you to keep quiet!" Even hissed to Ienzo under his breath.
"Hey man, sorry if we upset you back there," Braig apologized.
"It's nothing," Xehanort mumbled, focusing on the pond. "I'm just thinking."
"You know what I'm thinking?" Dilan said in a low voice, more to the other apprentices than him. "I'm thinking if Xehanort is going to be studying with us, he should undergo some kind of initiation. You know, to really work with Master Ansem's best and brightest."
Braig seemed to like this idea. "Especially since he got into this inner circle so easily."
Xehanort glanced between them, suddenly not liking where this was going. "What are you..."
Dilan grinned mischievously. "Since he seems to like the pond so much, I say we take him to see it close-up!"
"What—"
Then suddenly Dilan and Elaeus hooked their arms around his shoulders and began carrying him to the pond, with Braig leading the way. Even ran behind them yelling at them to stop this foolishness; they'd just ruin their coats, while Ienzo ran beside them and laughed.
But as they pulled him to the pond with the intention to throw him in, Xehanort's mind panicked. He knew this was just supposed to be fun for them, a joke; but he was suddenly fighting for his life. All he knew that two strong men were grabbing him, dragging him against his will—
"Stop it! Get off of me!"
--Pulling him away from everything, he couldn't fight them, couldn't even see their faces. And if he let them take him, it would end, end before it even began...
"I said GET OFF ME!"
Something boiled up inside him and exploded outwards, moving fast from just a feeling to physical force. Dilan and Elaeus were sent hurtling away from him as if they weighed nothing. The blast was so powerful that it knocked Braig, Ienzo and Even off their feet as well.
He opened his eyes very slowly, after realizing that no one was touching him. He saw Braig, Dilan and Elaeus sprawled on the ground, their white coats grass-strained from the fall. They looked up at him with eyes filled with shock, maybe even fear.
He realized they were looking far up at him. Staring down, it finally came to him that he was touching nothing: his shoes hovered several feet off the ground. Now no one laughed, and no one smiled.
That is, no one except Xehanort.
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