Chapter Text
In the deep, twisting underground corridors of the castle on a world called Radiant Garden, two youths cling to each other. They’ve never been quite this far down into the labyrinth- at least not this part of it- and the ominous uncertainty of every sudden hissing pipe or creak of a beam sets them even further on edge. They’d been summoned by one of the apprentices to the lord of the castle not long ago, but the lack of detail concerning why exactly they were needed was enough to send the two boys’ imaginations into overdrive.
“Y’know...it’s not too late to turn back.”
The red-haired boy- Lea- swallows thickly as he makes the comment, and though his companion can tell from the delivery of it that Lea is joking, there’s a definite hitch in his voice that betrays his bravado. He’s worried and, as the other boy- Isa- peers into a dimly lit corridor as they pass by, he can’t help but share the sentiment.
“It’s fine .” Isa tugs softly on Lea’s hand, urging the other boy forward, and swallows the uncertainty in his own voice. “Besides, Xehanort asked for us specifically- if we don’t show up, he’ll only send Braig to come looking for us.”
At the mention of Braig, Lea’s pace falters and he pouts; Isa has to tug again on his hand to keep him moving forward. As it is, the two are almost to their destination- so even if they wanted to turn back, someone was more than likely to catch them.
“I guess …” Lea sighs as he again closes the gap between him and Isa. “It’s just- I mean-”
The remainder of Lea’s explanation is swallowed by a solitary expression of awe as the two round a corner and are greeted by a great, expansive hall. The walls of the place are lined with what appear to be row after row of glass tubes that seem to extend on well past the horizon of their line of sight. As they step further onto the thick glass pathway, their shared footsteps echoing dully on the pane, Isa can hear the faint static crackle of electricity coming from the depths below them. Cautiously, he slips his hand free from Lea’s grasp and tiptoes to the edge of the path, grabbing for the handrail as he cranes his head over the balcony and down into the darkness beneath.
“As you can see, we’ve been hard at work.”
Xehanort’s smooth voice seems to cut through the tension of the scene, though his sudden appearance forces something of a startled squeak from the two boys. Almost instinctively they’re back at each other’s sides, and Isa can’t tell who reaches for who first, but within the span of a breath, they’re back to clasping hands, each of them clinging to the others’ as if their very life depends on it. Xehanort stares down his nose at the pair, observing them, and Isa has to suppress the chill that runs down his spine. Has the older man always looked at them like that?
“...Doing what, exactly?” Lea’s voice, now more than a hint of a tremble to it, asks the question that had been on the tip of Isa’s tongue, and the blue-haired boy gives his friend’s hand a squeeze- encouragement and sheepish thanks imbued in the way he grips it.
At the query Xehanort smirks, a mirthless chuckle escaping from him as he approaches the boys and circles around behind them. “An excellent question, Lea.” Xehanort places a heavy hand on either boy’s shoulders and pushes them forward, not roughly, but with an insistence that sets an alarm bell off in Isa’s head. He leads them, grasp firm enough to imply that they should comply with his guidance, to a room at the end of the walkway- one that, until now, Isa hadn’t even noticed. “I had hoped you two would be willing to assist in some… experiments myself and the other apprentices have been conducting.”
Isa gasps softly and he can feel his blood run icy. The experiments- the investigations into the heart… the rumors of these tests were what had spurred the two to steal into the castle in the first place. Swallowing thickly, he remembers the girl they’d befriended over the course of their visits… she’d been his plaything, the muse which incited the tests to go further, even after Ansem the Wise had bid the other apprentices cease. And she… she disappeared. The realization dawns on Isa and he chances a glance to his right- to Lea- who shares the same wide-eyed look of terror and understanding. The urge to bolt is overwhelming, but, almost as if he can read their shared thought, Xehanort tightens his grip on the boys and drives them properly into the room.
It’s a smallish space- relatively empty save for a massive, hulking mechanical contraption on the right side and a large computer with several screens set against a window that spans the entire length of the left wall. He means to inspect the room further, take it in more thoroughly, but as his eyes scan the confines of the place his gaze settles on a most disturbing sight.
“Even! Ienzo!”
Lea pieces the situation together a fraction of a moment before Isa, and in a flash, the redhead has broken from Xehanort’s grasp and is kneeling on the ground beside the unconscious apprentices. His eyebrows knit together, unbridled concern weeping from his very aura, and Lea leans over Ienzo, inspecting him in a panic.
“What have you done to them?” Isa asks the question for Lea, his voice cracking as his entire body seems to tremble with a fear-tinted rage.
“Nothing that they themselves did not ask for.” Xehanort’s reply is smooth and indifferent as he releases his grip on Isa and seems to glide further into the interior of the room. “You see, they’re men of science, and thus understand better than most how necessary it sometimes is to make sacrifices in its name.”
“But… They- he’s just a kid,” Lea chokes out from the floor, his tone thick with tears as he continues to hover over the lifeless husks of Even and Ienzo.
“Yes, but a child wise beyond his years. A child with an exceptionally strong heart.” Xehanort crosses to Lea and crouches behind him, setting a heavy hand upon the boy’s shoulder. “...As I suspect you do as well.”
Isa sees the weapon materialize in Xehanort’s hand before Lea does. A massive, strange-looking blade, with teeth like a key, and unlike anything he’s ever seen before in his life. Except… no, that’s not right, is it? The pair had seen something like this before, though when they’d come across the uniquely shaped weapon, it had been a child’s toy- made of wood, not the glinting black and silver metal that now glimmers ominously under the fluorescent lighting.
Xehanort raises the weapon, drawing it back and positioning it over Lea. As he makes his move, plunging it towards the young boy, Isa makes a break for it, breaking into a full sprint towards his best friend. He connects with the other in a clumsy tackle, and the two slide across the floor, narrowly missing the blow from Xehanort’s blade by mere inches.
“Isa, wh-” Lea’s bewilderment at the perceived attack from Isa evaporates in an instant as his eyes settle on the key-looking weapon and the two quickly scramble to put as much distance between them and the blade as possible.
Xehanort follows after them, an eerie calm in his demeanor as he slowly closes the distance between himself and the cowering children now backed against a wall. Footstep after footstep rings out against the cold stone floor, the only sound in the room other than the ambient beeping and whirring of the machines, and the whimpering cries from the two as they huddle closer. The room’s only exit lies clear on the other side of the room, and Lea and Isa are acutely aware that the chances of them escaping are slim to none. He finally comes to a stop, hardly a foot from them and again, Xehanort raises the blade, poised to strike.
“Calm yourselves, children. We stand on the precipice of a monumental scientific breakthrough, and you two are lucky enough to be among the key players.” Despite everything, there is a soothing tone to his voice, and were he not presently pointing a weapon over the pair, Isa might believe Xehanort actually means to calm them. But as the thought flashes across his mind, Xehanort brings the great metal sword down, the point of it aimed directly at Lea’s heart.
Instinctively, Isa squeezes his eyes shut and thrusts his arm out before Lea- a meager attempt to shield his best friend from the killing blow, and is surprised to- instead of feeling the bitter sting of blade slicing into flesh- hear the tinny sound of metal striking metal as something materializes in his own hand. His eyes fly open and, all at once, he takes in the sight of his own key-shaped weapon. But where Xehanort’s was black and silver, all sharp angles, and edges, the one in Isa’s hand was a deep blue, peppered with the occasional streak of warm yellow or white and made up of soft, round edges.
There’s a brief shared look of awe from the three in the room, and perhaps the shock of this new development is what causes Xehanort to stumble back a few paces, wide-eyed. As he does, the great metal key falls from his hand and plummets, where it disappears in a burst of what looks like black lightning before it can impact with the stone floor. Gripping his head, Xehanort doubles over and he cries out, though the voice that emanates from him is distorted- almost as if two voices were speaking through him at once.
“Isa,” Lea hisses, grabbing for his arm, hand wrapping tightly around Isa’s wrist. Right, of course. Dropping the metal blade in his hand, Isa stands and quickly pulls Lea to his feet. If ever they were going to get a chance, now was it.
But before the two can begin their escape, Xehanort straightens and calls the blade back to his grip with the flexing of his hand. There’s an odd expression on his face, bewilderment mixed with rage, and it keeps the boys glued to the spot. Xehanort thrusts out his free hand, fanning out his fingers with what appears to be a great effort. Isa turns to look quickly behind them, confused at the odd gesture, and is startled by the sight of an inky black darkness that seems to bleed from the very air and melt into an elliptical shape.
“Go!” The twin voices of Xehanort boom towards the terrified youth and the nearly pleading sound of it convinces Isa to take a hesitant step back. Go where? Into the swirling smoke of the darkness behind him? Around the wild-eyed apprentice and through the only certain exit? “Go! I can’t hold him much-”
With another anguished groan, Xehanort lunges forward and grabs Lea roughly by the wrist who- in a panic- releases his vice grip on the other boy and pushes Isa backward, towards the darkness.
In almost slow motion, Isa stumbles back, gasping as he tries simultaneously to right himself and reach back out for Lea. He tumbles backward and can feel the inky blackness begin to wrap its lifelike tendrils around him, pulling him further into the void.
“ Isa !”
Lea screams for him, reaching his arm out for the other boy and Isa reciprocates, stretching his limbs to their very limit as he begs his body to take hold of Lea’s. The darkness pulls him further and Isa can see the wisps of black begin to consume his lower half of his torso. He can’t. He can’t leave him like this.
“ Lea !”
With one last push, Isa strains against the pull of the vacuum and he feels his hand brush against the fabric of Lea’s scarf. Gripping wildly at it, Isa wraps his hand around the thing and pulls with all his might. I have to save him, please.
A ripping sound seems to tear through the air and, as the fabric of the scarf gives under the strain of Isa’s pulling, Isa’s breath catches in his throat. The brilliant yellow fabric comes undone with one last large rip and severs the connection between the two boys. Isa tumbles backward fully into the inky darkness, scarf in hand, and the blackness of the place clouds his vision, leaving only the desperate howling of his best friend ringing in his ears as the portal begins to close around him.
“Isa?!
Isa!!
ISA- ”