24.

Best Laid Plans

The lab was colder than Ienzo remembered.

How many hours had he spent here as a boy, perched on somebody's knee or getting in the way? And even then, despite the fact that not much could be done with the architecture of the room, there were always books, and cups of tea, and laughing people to make the room feel less sterile.

It was cold-literally and figuratively-and empty, and silent other than the hum of the cooling fans, the ventilation.

"What is it you need?" Xemnas asked him.

Ienzo considered. He'd never done this without wires before, so it might be more complicated than he'd thought. "Watch the doors. Let me know if someone's coming. I can't keep up an illusion if I'm in there."

It shouldn't be easy to trust Xemnas, and to a degree it wasn't-his heart was racing, and he hadn't been able to sleep at all the night before. The only piece of good news in all this, relatively speaking, was that he'd started his period. One less thing to worry about. The thought of it was at the forefront of his mind; not because it was necessarily worse than he remembered, but because the last time he'd done such work, he'd been pregnant.

Xemnas tapped in the password. "It's DoorToDarkness, for future reference," he told Ienzo.

He almost groaned. "You're kidding."

A smile. "My father is nothing if not literal." He touched Ienzo's shoulder. "What do you need from me?"

"Keep watch. If someone comes… wake me." There was a chair nearby; Ienzo dragged it over. He held his hands over the keys and let the magic flow under his skin.

The sensation was not so overwhelming now that he was used to it, but to be on the other side was odd. He looked around, taking in shelves of books that served as a metaphor for files. Where to begin?

"Ienzo? Is that you?"

The relief he felt was immense. "Tron. Thank goodness." It was dark here; he squinted.

"Oh, so good to know you're okay. The…" He gestured to Ienzo's stomach. "Everything's… okay?"

"A little girl. Almost seven months old."

"Oh, that's good. That's very good."

There was something smooth about his tone. Something odd. Off-putting. "Come into the light?"

Tron did so. He still wore a neat suit, but it was different, flecked through with threads of red that looked more like cracks. His expression was pinched, pained, and he moved with difficulty. "Hello, user," he said. "I'm afraid you are-unauthorized-"

"Tron?"

"Another user is-accessing critical data-" He twitched. He mouthed the words "I'm sorry."

"Xemnas!" Ienzo screamed. "Wake me up! Wake me up now!" He hadn't realized how dependent he'd become on Cid's interfacing with him to get out . He tried to run from Tron, but with a glitch he was thrown against one of these shelves, a pair of hands around his throat.

"I'm-sorry-user-I'm-interfacing-accessing-memory-"

Ienzo struggled, feeling Tron flicking through his mind, but this body could not breathe . Had Xemnas betrayed him? Why was this happening? But why would Xemnas betray him if-

Amalia flickered in his mind's eye. The image flickered… and held. Tron's grip loosened around his throat, and he fell. "No. No. Please. No."

"Terminal-upload-copying-fifty-four percent-"

Ienzo pushed Tron hard, but the program just slumped over. "Do you know what you just did?"

Suddenly, with force, he found himself back in his body, which was in the process of being thrown. Ienzo hit the wall hard. His ears were ringing, and his vision grew blurry. He thought maybe he'd broken a rib or two and gasped for breath. He saw a crumpled brown-and-silver mass near the computer-Xemnas-and a pair of black boots approaching him.

"You've been a very naughty boy, haven't you, Ienzo?" Young Xehanort asked. "Both of you."

"How did you-"

"A program is not a person. All you have to do is mess with them a little , and they'll hand you everything you need to know on a plate." He stepped on Ienzo's chest, pressing hard. "So naturally, when you began to be friends with my brother, who has always suffered so dramatically from middle child syndrome… well, it was only a matter of time, right?"

"What will you do?" He had to gasp the words.

"Well, considering the wealth of information I just accessed… I have a lot of work to do. Wouldn't you like to see your family, Ienzo?" He pressed harder, and Ienzo's vision started to darker. "Wouldn't you like to hold your little baby again? I can do all that and more. Yes. I think they'll all be quite comfortable where we can see them."

"Don't hurt her-"

Hands snapped to his throat. "You have no right to tell me what to do."

Darkness.

A cold, wet cloth was being pressed against his throat. Not hard, but enough to be disorienting. Ienzo gasped a little.

"Easy. Easy." Xemnas's voice. "You're hurt. Don't move."

The air smelled musty, and his body felt wrong , his power dead, heavy. His chest ached tremendously, and so did his throat. He tried to swallow. His vision wouldn't quite focus.

"Seems to me several ribs are broken, and you may have a concussion. You were also strangled until you lost consciousness."

"Where-" He tried to ask, but all it sounded like was "wh".

"We're being kept in a cell in my brother's lab. Fitting, is it not? Try not to speak. You may damage your vocal cords further."

Ienzo tried to sit up, but the pain almost made him cry out. Xemnas eased him back down onto the small cot.

"Do you think you can drink some water? I've no idea if it will help, but-" Water running, a cold metal cup being brought to his lips. "At least we have this much."

The cold water both hurt and felt good to get inside of him. "S...sorr…"

"There's no way you could've anticipated this, Ienzo."

"Tron… corru…"

"He was quite proud to tell me he's been watching you for some time. I promise I had no idea."

"My… my ba…"

"I do not know if my father pursued them. If they're smart, they might be able to get away. But knowing him… the whole city watch, Heartless, would've found them with ease. I like to think my father would not kill an innocent child. Not if she might be of use."

He felt a thick rush of tears, and the added swelling in his throat made him unable to breathe for a moment. Xemnas dampened the cloth around his throat again. "I'm trying to figure this out. Somehow. There are still people on our side. You must rest."

"I can't… My dau…" He coughed, so hard and for so long his vision went gray, between the broken ribs and the swelling in his throat. He tasted blood. Xemnas turned him so that he might spit it into the empty cup.

"...I just hope there's no internal damage."

There was the sound of muffled beeping, and a metal door sliding open. Ienzo was so dizzy, and nauseous; definitely concussed, he decided hazily.

"My father desires an audience."

"Brother-"

"You are no brother of mine."

"At least give the child a potion. He can barely breathe."

"As if I would trust a single word that comes out of your filthy mouth. Come. Get up . I'll drag you if I have to."

Ienzo swallowed blood. "Hel… help…"

Xemnas eased him gently to his feet. The man flinched when he took Ienzo's weight-he must've been injured somehow too-and when he set Ienzo on his own, his whole abdomen ached from the lack of support.

Young Xehanort grabbed his wrist roughly and towed him out of the cell. Every step, every breath , hurt, and he wasn't completely convinced he would stay conscious. He tried to bear it, if so to beg for his daughter's life, and in a strange fugue he found himself in the throne room.

"My dear prince. " There was venom to his words now. "Well. I should've known better, shouldn't I? You played your cards almost perfectly . Were it not for my son's vigilance, you could've wrought a whole lot of havoc, couldn't you?"

Ienzo's vision was blurry. He took a few stumbling steps forward and knelt, despite the wave of agony it caused him. "F-forgive…"

"We're beyond that, I think."

"P-please don't hu-" He spat up more blood. He heard a muffled scream to his right, and the sound was so familiar that fear washed through him. As slowly as he could without causing himself pain, Ienzo turned towards the source of the noise.

Demyx. Crumpled at the foot of Young Xehanort's throne, his hands bound. Ienzo just barely saw Braig behind them, his expression stony.

Xehanort smiled. "I'm sure our guest needs no introduction. You have quite a close relationship, don't you? It's alright. Say hello. Go to him."

Demyx dashed over to him. "Ienzo. Ienzo. You're so-" He could do little more than dab the blood off of his face.

"Wh-when did he-"

"They got us last night. All of us. At once."

"Whe-"

"She's okay. She's okay, Ienzo. He left her with Even."

"...Enough chit chat, I think."

Demyx knelt and helped Ienzo lean against him. He pressed Ienzo's hand, very subtly, against his pocket. Ienzo could feel the outline of a knife. No doubt that in the panic of their capture Demyx had been too worried about the baby to use it. Ienzo tried to work it out with small twitches.

This wasn't going to be easy.

There were Heartless guards, even if Braig decided to help them. Even if Xehanort truly was as frail as he looked-and Ienzo was sure he wasn't-there was also the matter of his son, glowering behind him, his own power not to be underestimated. Ienzo was wounded, his power jammed, and potentially all Xehanort would have to do was whisper before his whole family was killed.

But what else could he do? He was found out. Surely that wouldn't mean leniency. And honestly? He'd rather everyone be dead than forced into a life of suffering and servitude. The knife slid into his hand, and he forced it up his sleeve as Xehanort spoke.

"You've caused me an awful lot of trouble, with your antics," Xehanort began. "So much so that I can't even justify keeping you as a pet. You've made it personal, so I shall do the same in turn. Child?"

But he was not speaking to Ienzo-all of a sudden there was another muffled cry and Demyx was pulled away from him. Young Xehanort dragged him across the stone, and despite Demyx's struggling, it was fruitless. He threw him down at his father's feet.

"What do you want?" Ienzo forced out painfully. He glanced at Braig. Do something, he thought desperately.

"Ienzo, it is not nice to hurt people who have treated you well." He grasped Demyx by the hair. "It's a shame. You could've been useful to me too. Seeker blood. You must be close to the last of your kind, no?"

"Fuck you," Demyx spat, and Xehanort kicked him hard in the groin. "I'll kill you," he continued. "I'll ki-"

It happened so fast that Ienzo could barely see it; all he knew was that suddenly Demyx was bleeding heavily from a spot below his heart, curling and convulsing on the cold marble.

"Rather annoying, that one," Young Xehanort said.

Xehanort came closer to him. "You see, Ienzo, you need motivation ," he continued. "You agree to help me, truly help me, and I'll heal him. I'll heal you both. Your child, your filthy family , will be safe. There is no need for suffering. It is counterproductive to what I want. You could usher in a new era of knowledge, of equality ."

"D-don't-" Demyx forced out. "Don't-"

"Shut up, boy. Kingdom Hearts could be ours . Your power, our strength. Decide quickly, Ienzo. It seems you're running out of time."

The proper thing to do would be to submit. Agree absolutely, yes, just stop the bleeding. Try to con his way out of this. But seeing Demyx twitch on the ground drowned out all reason, and something snapped. Ienzo screamed. Heat bled out of him, forcing against the jam, shattering it, a wave of magic making his skin burn. The sight of Demyx's blood only made the burn worse, scalding, needing to get near him to heal , his whole soul crying out in agony. Suddenly it became clear why it was called soul binding.

"I told you he would not see reason," Young Xehanort spat. "Why do you keep going after and after what will never succumb to you?"

Ienzo reached for the knife. Xehanort grasped his face. "This pain will pass, boy. This world can be… great again. I can shepherd in an era of-"

"Like hell you will." It took the rest of his physical strength, but Ienzo took the knife, and all of his power, and he forced it outward, the Heartless guards to shiver and collapse and he forced the metal up through flesh and bone- Xehanort collapsed, and the blood ran hot against Ienzo, but he didn't care. He saw Braig grasp at Young Xehanort's head and slit his neck. He could barely feel his body in this strange maelstrom of pain and numbness. He dragged himself over to Demyx, who had gone pale and still. "No." He slapped at his face. "No, no, no-"

"Zo," he slurred.

"It's going to be okay. You're going to be okay." He held his hand over the wound and pulled. Healing Isa had been easy, with the magic from the birth, but he was fighting the jamming, and his own weakness, and he could not feel his own body, though somehow he felt like he was on fire -

Amalia needed Demyx.

The thought of her gave him enough strength to heal the wound-

"Zo?" Demyx's voice was stronger now, and suddenly Ienzo was being the one cradled. He couldn't see, he couldn't move -

"I killed him. They're dead," he whispered.

"What's wrong-why are you-"

"Too much…" He heard more than felt his teeth chattering. "Too much magic-"

"How do I fix it?"

"Can't."

"What do you mean I can't?"

"Can't-"

Then, the sound of footsteps and another voice- "Braig-? Ienzo? "

"Even-how did you-you're covered in blood-"

"Not mine-don't worry about that-"

"Dad?" Ienzo forced out.

"Child…"

"What's wrong with him?"

"He's in… shock. I need…"

For a long while, everything just stopped.