Past Pain, and Executions

I do not remember the face of my mother. She died most likely after I was born, and my father, a Judge in the Archadian Army, did not speak of her. From the time I can remember, he looked after me. My name was Ramenui, and I was the son of Judge Ghis, the commander of one of the Imperial Fleets. From almost the day he could walk, Ramenui was subjected to all sorts of training by various tutors and trainers that he saw more than his father, who was always away doing some kind of work for Emperor Gramis, and later his son Vayne. Fencing, martial arts, political science, great philosopher's works, and Imperial law codes…all of them were poured into Ramenui's head. He was going to be a Judge after all. He believed wholeheartedly in this goal his father had set for him…and endured the training without complaint. Then one day, he met her. Nell. She came from a noble house of Arcades, just like he did. The two met at a dinner party on one of the rare days that Ramenui's father was home. Nell was a sweet girl…one who definitely had a heart. She and Ramenui were the same age: thirteen. Nell had a terrible secret however. She was not of Arcadian blood like all others. She was a Rozarian who had been adopted by her noble parents…and the Rozaria Empire was the mortal enemy of Arcades. But the two, Ramenui and Nell developed a friendship. It was the first real friendship that Ramenui ever had. They would go on long walks and occasionally visit one another---but very rarely, their estates were far apart---but it was fun. They began to experience the first stirrings of teenage love. Perhaps if it had lasted, Ramenui might have become her paramour and married her… but there were people who were opponents of her parents who were quite influential. These opponents arranged for the secret to be revealed and a terrible thing happened... Nell was put under suspicion. That year, the year Ramenui and Nell turned fourteen was the last year in both of their lives. Nell was forced to prove her loyalty to the Empire and enlist in the army, though she was little more than a child. Ramenui pleaded with his father to make Nell one of the soldiers under his command. In a rare show of mercy, Judge Ghis actually listened and made Nell a navigator on the Leviathan, the airship that he commanded. Then, disaster struck. Thanks to the Princess Ashelia B'nagin Dalmasca and her group he lost all in one fell swoop. The Leviathan and its surrounding fleet were annihilated by a magical Nethicite Stone known as the Dawn Shard. Ramenui's father and friend were both on the Leviathan…they did not survive. When Ramenui received the news of this…he was devastated. He became enraged at his loss and went quite crazy for a while. He would take long walks around the woods around the estate that he lived in, abandoning his studies. He would sit at the base of a great oak tree that he and Nell had carved their initials and weep for hours. Quite pathetic if you ask me. It was during one of these wanderings that he met a man at his tree…a tall, dark skinned and silver haired man in a white trench coat who introduced himself as "Ansem." He asked what the matter was.

"What are you doing on my property?" Ramenui demanded, for the ownership had passed to him as the heir.

"I simply enjoy long walks through the woods" Ansem answered simply. Ramenui was jerked out of his sadness by two realizations: One: that this man seemed to emanate a terrible cold. And two: he did not cast any shadow. Immediately the son of Judge Ghis became convinced that he was talking to a ghost or some other monster. He backed up, and drew his two sabers.

"Stay away from me!" he yelled. The man called Ansem laughed softly and stretched out his hand. A pool of pure blackness appeared and small black creatures swarmed out of it. "What are you doing?!" Ramenui cried in fear. "Who are you---those creatures, they---"

"Are the Heartless" said Ansem. "This world has been connected, Ramenui. Connected to the darkness…" he trailed the word off in a hiss. "Ramenui…I sense a great sadness within you…you lost someone dear to you, have you not?"

The words awoke a great rage within him. "Yes" he snarled. "I did, thanks to that bitch Princess Ashe!"

Ansem smiled. "What if I told you that you could have your vengeance upon this Ashe…and I would help you?"

"I'd ask what you wanted in return" Ramenui responded. "That's what I'd say."

Ansem shook his head. "Smart as well as small. I like that." He held out a silver gloved hand. "Kneel before me, Ramenui" he said. "I will give you control over the darkness power. It will give you abilities that would put the greatest Nethicite to shame!"

Ramenui eagerly knelt before the man. As he put his hand on his forehead, Ramenui felt knowledge rush into his mind, body, heart, and soul…and his heart eroded just a little bit.

"You know what you must do" said Ansem.

"Yes, I do" said Ramenui. He walked off and went back to the house without weeping. He threw himself into his training. He studied harder than ever…eventually he was so accomplished that he was chosen to represent Arcades to Dalmasca. The war was over, and Vayne was dead. His brother Larsa Solidor was the head of the country now. Though many protested that he was just a fourteen year old child, he had the knowledge and many pointed out that Lord Larsa was just a child as well, younger than Ramenui. Ramenui cared nothing for this. The whole point of his mission was to murder Ashelia. She was the source of all his problems. The boy's hatred and rage had grown at a prodigious rate. He dreamed nightly of killing the princess. What he didn't know was that the darkness in his heart was reaching critical mass. Soon the day of a play in which Ashe was going to perform in was going to happen. As a diplomat, Ramenui was expected to watch…he had been waiting for a moment like this. As the play progressed in the middle of the square in Rabanastre, Ramenui drew his two swords and cut the throats of the few guards that were there. Before anyone could do anything, he summoned the Heartless to keep the people busy. Hacking his way through the confusion, Ramenui only had eyes for Ashe. He was going to kill the murderer of his father and friend. Ashe raised her sword and swung down at him…but it shattered on impact with Ramenui's sabers…it was only a cheap play sword after all. Ramenui felt his sabers tear through flesh and cloth as he sliced open the Princess of Dalmasca. But, as he felt triumph as she fell in a pool of blood…he felt a terrible ripping pain in his chest. He looked down to see a light opening and a heart come out. He clutched at his heart, but it slipped through his fingers.

"Aggghhhh----no----ahhhh----come…BaCk…" Ramenui choked through the agony to his heart. He saw the guards stop and stare in horror at what was happening. People began to run away, believing the gods were cursing the assassin and they didn't want to be anywhere near it when it happened. It was the most agonizing thing Ramenui had ever gone through. He faded into darkness, yet was still aware. The darkness contains the energy of countless fallen hearts…even more than Kingdom Hearts. It was trying to absorb his body into its formless, eternal mass. Ramenui's body was endlessly destroyed and reformed as it tried to regain its original shape without the heart to provide the memory of its pattern. He writhed in pain on the edge of utter oblivion for what seemed like an eternity in Hell. Either he would be absorbed, or his body and heart would conquer the dark power…that was the only way the suffering would end. Finally…something entirely different happened. A new being was formed from Ramenui. The heart of this now nameless boy had been absorbed into the darkness…but his body and soul remained behind and had gained a physical form. But because of his strong heart, it was able to hang on to the memories of the being that it used to be. It found itself on the Dark Beach in the World That Never Was. It remembered the training it had received as a Judge's son…and it remembered all of what had happened. It was found by Marluxia as he was gathering flowers for no apparent purpose and given a number: zero in Organization XIII. It was able to give itself a new name, based on the jumbled up letters floating around in its head: Nexumair. He was a being which felt nothing…only emptiness. Of all the emotions that had warred within him…none remained. His emotional plane was a vast, empty wasteland.

Leon sat, pale and trembling in Nexumair's office. He stared at the young captain of the Bastion Knights and swallowed. "You speak of Ramenui as if he were someone else. Shouldn't you say 'I did this' instead of 'Ramenui did this'?"

Nexumair smiled softly, and poured a cup of tea into a small glass. "No" he said. "Ramenui and I are two different beings. Ramenui was a foolish brat who was impulsive and most of all sentimental. Had he not been consumed by the darkness in his heart, he would surely have hung for regicide."

"But…surely you want to become Ramenui again" said Leon. "That's why you joined Organization XIII! That's their goal!"

"Precisely" said Nexumair. "That is their goal. But I disagree. We Nobodies are different from you humans. Superior. We are not hampered by the chains of petty emotions like you are. You humans bend low under the burdens of ideals such as friendship, sadness, guilt, and all sorts of other ones. We have none. We can do anything we wish, without having to answer to a conscience. It was Ramenui's emotions that got him into trouble in the first place. You could say that I am the most loyal of Organization XIII. I know of Xemnas' true plan and am in favor of it. A universe of Nobodies would certainly be a more rational place."

"Why did you let me live, me knowing what I know?" Leon asked. "Why did you take me to your office and tell me your story instead of killing me right then and there?"

"To show you just how much trouble you and your Guild Leader friends have gotten yourselves into" Nexumair responded.

"What do you mean?" Leon asked. He sighed. "Damn it! I don't know whether to hate you, or feel sorry for you, or just say I don't care."

Nexumair sat on his desk, his sword scabbards making a ratting sound on the wood. "Well, I can decide for you" he said. "Soon you, Aerith Gainsborough, Cloud Strife, Yuffie Kisaragi, and Merlin will be executed. If Cid Highwind interferes, then he can be next. The crime will be conspiracy against the peace of the city and torture of an innocent witness. If anyone asks, I can supply the evidence. When my Dusks and Fencers watched Merlin's house, they recorded Tine's screams from the H.R.S." He pointed out of the large window behind his desk. "You're most likely wondering where all the Knights are…well, that is where they've gone. To pick up your friends."

"You bastard!" Leon said, drawing his gunblade. Before he could even swing, one of Nexumair's swords had stopped the blow.

"My strength and senses have transcended that of a mere human as well, with my transformation" he said. "All the more proof that Nobodies are Superior to humans." Leon sat and put his head in his hands and began to cry. He was still crying as Bastion Knights came in, relieved him of his weapon and led him down to the dungeons of the castle.

Just so I don't confuse anyone, there actually isn't anyone named Ramenui in Final Fantasy 12...it's just that Judge Ghis seemed the most likely to have a son.