39Review Replies:
DarkRocketX: Haha, I'm glad I could make you laugh. I love that part of the story. It shows how much power a writer truly has. Ienzo needed to be brought down... or up in this case. He is the main character of this story, though I try not to focus fully on him and make sure the other characters get their fair share of scenes.
BlackRoseMuffin: Yeah, I had to make Sir Prescott an unlikeable character on purpose- I didn't like him either. And yeah, I understand that bias very well, seeing as Zexion is my favorite along with Axel (who I have a lot of plans for in this story as well- my friend helped me plan out some awesome scenes). I'm glad you like it so far :).
sailor winx: Xehanort likes to make things interesting- he feels he's the most important to the story (well, he does change everything in my opinion, but that's beside the point). You'll be seeing a lot more fom him now.
Authoress note: This is my longest chapter to date, 5,125 words in counting when I finished proofreading it (I read it aloud to my boyfriend- it seriously helps you catch mistakes). I also started using the different spelling for Lexaeus's somebody (Aeleus instead of the one I was using, which was Eleus). I'm considering going through the rest of the chapters to change that, depending on my laziness and time, but since I have no more college or kids running around my house, you'll hopefully see more regular updates from me. I'm also considering a name change, just to give you a head's up.
The chapter name comes from a song I liked to listen to while writing this chapter called "Feel Ambivalents" from the Code Geass OST (which seriously helped me get this done). Definition of Ambivalence: uncertainty or fluctuation, esp. when caused by inability to make a choice or by a simultaneous desire to say or do two opposite or conflicting things. I hope you enjoy!
The Pendulum's Path
(Chapter Eight: Felt Ambivalence)
A new determination had set itself into the minds of his apprentices, Ansem mused. Most of them debated with each other and went over the theories he taught them, trying desperately to find ways to test them—to test him, the stranger in their midst. Dilan came up with the theory that if his heart was impairing his memory, then something would be wrong with his emotions. Even debated him on this—how would they test for that? Emotions weren't tangible nor were they easy to see. Besides that, weren't people with amnesia usually lacking in emotion anyhow?
Dilan disagreed with this, causing the two to argue until Aeleus finally spoke. His words were short, forcing everyone to pay attention to them closely. He suggested a complete psychological analysis of the man to determine where he was at mentally and emotionally. With that, they could move forward.
Though, they couldn't go ahead with that until Ienzo was done. Even though they had their own theories of the metaphysical heart being impaired, Ienzo had to be almost undoubtedly right about the man having brain trauma. They had to wait until Ienzo produced evidence of it before they could move forward or go back to the drawing board.
Ansem noticed that none of the apprentices helped Ienzo in his endeavors to prove that the man suffered amnesia from physical defects in the brain; perhaps some did not want to admit that their theory could be wrong. The boy didn't seem to mind this fact at all—in fact, he seemed rather thankful he did not have Even's looming and critical presence over his shoulder. Though, as he figured out quite quickly, he needed help performing the tests on the man to get the answers that he wanted.
Originally, none of the doctorial staff would help him. After all, he was just a child to them and they saw no use in helping him. Without a blink of an eye, he said one simple phrase to all of them that had them doing his tests.
"Master Ansem, the lord of this castle and world, has sent me to do this task," he told them, his tone clipped and smooth, "I suppose I could do this on my own—break the equipment out of inexperience, hurt the patient further, and then have you all banished from the castle because of negligence. I doubt any of you want that, though."
He grew a smirk with his last words, knowing he had won as the doctors begrudgingly nodded and went to perform his various tests. He sat with them through all of them, having to go to a separate building since most of the technology wasn't in Ansem's castle, his eyes frantically searching for his pieces of evidence.
Many tests and an MRI or two later, Ienzo came into the laboratory after a week of being absent from it, the apprentices and Ansem eagerly awaiting the news. In his arms he carried folders that could possibly contain the evidence to disprove their theories. Though, Aeleus had to notice that Ienzo didn't seem too happy to be presenting this information. The confidence in his stride was replaced by anxiety and hesitance, making the muscular apprentice wonder what they would be seeing here.
"I… I can't believe this," Ienzo muttered to himself as he put the folders on a lab table. He then looked at the apprentices and Ansem, sighing before he gained the ability to speak once more. "What you are about to see is the result of my research and testing—some of you will be surprised, I hope."
He gestured to the folders, inviting the others to see. Ansem stepped over to them first, followed shortly by an inquisitive Even. Both of them opened the folder, scouring the information quickly. Their eyes widened as they saw it, looking to Ienzo again.
"This… this can't be right," Even stuttered, "These have to be false. Are you sure these are-"
"I checked everything over five times to make sure these were the right ones," Ienzo replied brashly, not allowing Even to finish. "I couldn't believe them myself—they make no sense to me. They couldn't be his scans, they couldn't be-"
"But they are," Ansem interrupted, looking at them closely with a critical gaze. He then turned to the baffled Ienzo, whose anxiety was not hiding well now. "Ienzo, please tell the rest of the apprentices what you've found."
The apprentice nodded reluctantly, stepping over to the folder again and facing the others. He looked each of them in the eye, his stare on Aeleus held longer than the rest, before he spoke once more. "I performed various tests to prove my theory that this man was suffering from physical brain trauma. However, after these tests and analysis… I have been proven wrong."
Every apprentice gaped at him at these words. Not only did that mean that they were right and that the amnesia was caused by other factors, but that Ienzo had the ability to say that he was wrong. He did not seem to like this fact, still in a state of disbelief. He kept speaking, the attention of the room shifted onto his words.
"Not only was there no physical trauma to any region of the brain, but it was highly functional and almost could be considered perfect. There was not a single defect shown by any of the tests. His ability to take in and comprehend information is on the same level as our own, improving every day despite the fact that he still seems to be in a state of amnesia. This isn't natural."
Ienzo's skepticism was now setting in as the apprentices absorbed this information. This man's brain was perfectly functional, yet he was still an amnesiac—how was this possible? Was he possibly lying? Well, that was certainly easier to believe—everybody lied after all. He was putting on a good show if he was—unfortunately, proving that he was lying was harder than the tests he had done. He would have to read up on this.
The other apprentices were just as shocked as he was, though not nearly as skeptical. Amnesia did not seem to be an easy thing to fake—a slip up here and there could easily prove the man to be a liar. The man's behavior had not differed since he arrived, only becoming more inquisitive about his surroundings and slowly remembering everyone's names.
"It's settled then," Dilan said, breaking the looming silence that had taken over the room, "A full psychological analysis needs to be done. Master Ansem, with your permission we would like to start this tomorrow."
"You have my approval Dilan," the king replied, slightly startled that Dilan of all apprentices was speaking. It must have been because he found the man in the first place—he saw first hand what the man was suffering from when he was in a weakened state. They needed to find what was afflicting this man quickly. His hypothesis had to be correct now—it had to be something to do with the heart.
"Gentlemen, you are dismissed," he told them, "Aeleus and Even, I want you two to lead the psychological analysis tomorrow. Dilan, I want you to record everything that happens. Braig, I need you to run into town for me tomorrow and pick up a few things-"
"Great, grocery shopping again," Braig muttered, interrupting the king, "You got it Master Ansem."
The king rolled his eyes at him, though there was a small smile on his face. "You're the only one that I can tell the list to without you having to write it down, and you get it done efficiently. I don't want to hear about you getting side-tracked, however."
"All right, all right."
"What about me Ansem?"
The king's eyes widened slightly as he turned to Ienzo, the boy's eyes expectant and still anxious. Had he forgotten to give a task to Ienzo? This wasn't too much of a surprise—he wasn't sure what Ienzo could do. Unlike the other apprentices, he didn't know which areas he was good in, what he specialized in, or much about Ienzo as a person. He was a clean slate as far as he was concerned.
While he was thinking these things, the silver-haired boy kept speaking. "I've read many things on psychological theory—I know Freudian theory rather well and I've read more current theories along with it. I know how the human mind works Ansem—it's not that complicated to me."
And there it was again, something Ansem didn't think too much of when he first said it but now saw—the boy hadn't put a "Master" before his name, something which he seemingly didn't have a history for to begin with. He still held a grudge against him for some odd reason that he couldn't quite place. He knew he would sooner or later have to address it, but for now, the rest of the boy's words were important.
"Really now?" he asked with a bit of uncertainty, receiving a curt nod in reply.
"When you're around people every day and on your own and you watch how they act and react, you begin to understand everything quite clearly." Was that a bit of anger in his tone? Ienzo was not going to let this go at all. Either way, if what he said was true, then he could be a good asset to have while figuring out what was wrong with this man. He still wasn't entirely sure, but it was better than having the boy wander around the castle all day. He nodded his head to him.
"All right, then you may assist Aeleus and Even in the psychological analysis," he told him, "However, I do not want to hear a single report of you accusing the man of being a lying drunk. There is more to this man than meets the eye and I hope that this helps you to see it."
Ienzo reluctantly muttered a "yes Ansem" to this, not saying anymore. With nothing more to say, the king nodded to all of them and left the room. The laboratory soon became barren once more, the apprentices scattering off to their rooms and Ienzo to the library—he didn't seem all too unhappy that the man had stolen his room. After all, it would give him more of a chance to figure out what was going on with him.
/_\
The man was honestly confused as to what was going on. He had been taken away to do tests on his brain and asked questions that he couldn't really answer, and then he was taken back to his room. The short man called Ienzo that accompanied him on all of these tests, the one that called him a drunk –whatever that was- and had a similar hair color, didn't seem too pleased after all of the tests. He seemed kind of confused too—though, the man was certain that Ienzo knew what was going on.
He had grown accustomed to seeing him almost every day, almost rudely escorting him out of his room to do further tests and questions without conversation. His presence was an odd one—he always gave the man a rather scrutinizing look and never said much except for a few words. That didn't maim the intelligence the man saw in him, which he seemed to have a lot of. He was glad that over that week, Ienzo's glares became less frequent and instead more curious, more surprised. The tests must not have done what he expected them to do.
He did not seem surprised at all when Ienzo entered his room first thing this morning. He was not expecting, however, to see Aeleus, Even and Dilan following him. They all looked at him, Even studying him with those green eyes of his while Dilan nodded to him, holding a pad of paper in his arms. Dilan was another odd one to this man—he seemed nice to him most of the time, yet he guarded himself rather well from the others. There was a distance between him and the others like Even and Aeleus, who was waiting for Ienzo to say something.
"Good morning," he said in his feigned, polite voice, "Do you remember my name?"
This was another routine Ienzo started after seeing him every day—asking if he remembered certain things. He nodded. "Ienzo," he said, his tone quiet as he received a curt nod, "You brought more with you today."
"Yes, I did—name all of them please."
The man scanned each one of them with his eyes, taking them all in. Ienzo really didn't believe in his abilities, did he? Obviously he didn't since he kept asking the same questions—maybe he wasn't as intelligent as he thought. He pointed to each of the apprentices that were present in the room, saying their names respectively. While Ienzo did not seem surprised at this, the others did.
"Impressive," Even said, "He remembers each one of us without a second guess."
"Like I said, he's improved since he got here," Ienzo replied, "I believe Ansem has been talking to him as well, so he might have something to do with that."
The man remembered Ansem the clearest out of all of them, even Dilan. Ansem came to see him every day with an afternoon snack, sometimes taking him around a bit of the castle for some fresh air. The king also seemed to be searching for answers, for he kept asking questions. Though, his questions were very different from the type Ienzo and the doctors asked him. Their questions often concerned hard facts while Ansem's were often with emotion and what he was learning while he was here, even mentioning once or twice about his famed studies of the heart. This made the man more curious than ever, especially when he realized that these apprentices must be studying that same thing.
"All right, let's get started shall we?" Even put out, grabbing the man's attention once more. "We have a few questions for you sir that will help us figure out what's ailing you."
Wait, now there was something wrong with him? Well, that explained Ienzo's odd stares from time to time. These men thought something was wrong with him, though he felt fine. If they let him out of his room more often, he could show them that he was not ill. He could walk just fine and everything else was in top shape. Why did they think something was wrong with him?
"Even, I do not believe anything is wrong with me," he told the apprentice simply, surprising him, "I do not have any sort of sickness and my body is not impaired. I don't understand why you're doing these tests."
Even didn't seem to like this statement, growing a colder stare as he looked at the man. "You are ill, whether you want to admit it or not. You can't remember a thing from before you got here, so obviously that means that-"
"Even so, that does not make me ill," the man retorted, a bit of annoyance in his voice, "Ienzo and the doctors have already tested me for sickness and I am fine. I don't understand why there needs to be more tests."
The blond apprentice paused, slightly angered by the man's defiance. Ienzo seemed to be the only one in the room who wore a smirk on his face, stepping forward again while looking at Dilan.
"I don't think we need to do the tests after all," he told the others as he continued wearing that smile, "I told you already that he was able to comprehend information very well. Now it's gotten up to the point where he's questioning things and frustrated with how everything is thus far. I don't think anything is wrong with his emotions—I think we would need to be more worried if he wasn't frustrated."
"So you already knew this was going to happen?" Aeleus asked him somewhat suspiciously.
"Well, any normal person would start to feel annoyed after being cooped up in here and then having tests done on them," he responded, "I certainly did."
"That still doesn't answer the question of what's wrong with him," Even argued, "While we may be able to see that he's functioning normally, the question still remains if something is wrong with his brain-"
"Which I've already seen to and proven wrong," Ienzo interrupted, "I showed that to you yesterday—nothing is wrong with his brain."
"That doesn't explain why he still has some form of amnesia and cannot remember anything before Dilan found him."
"How do we even know that amnesia is still a symptom? For all we know, it could've-"
"Aeleus, ask him a few questions."
This startled the aforementioned apprentice as well as the rest in the room. The man gave Even a curious look before moving his stare over to Aeleus, wondering what he would ask him. He was kind of pleased that Ienzo was starting to see things from his point of view though—maybe the arguing could stop if he answered the questions the right way.
Aeleus approached him, standing next to him calmly while he spoke in his soft, baritone voice. "What is your name?" he asked simply.
Great, the question that everyone kept asking him that he didn't remember—how was he supposed to answer this one? Maybe he could make up a name and have them believe it—it would certainly solve the issue of the same, repeated question. Though, would him not saying what he truly remembered and didn't mess things up? How would they respond if he all of a sudden said his name was Michael or Angelo? Knowing how Ienzo reacted to things so far, not very well.
"What about Xehanort?"
A new voice entered the room, a somewhat jovial one that made everyone jump. Braig stepped into the room, a book under his arms and a grin on his face. He looked to the confused face of the man, and then the startled and baffled ones of his fellow apprentices.
"How in the world did you concoct that name?" Even barked, "This isn't a time for jokes."
"I know, I know," Braig replied, opening his book. It was unmistakably 'The Legend of the Key', not surprising anyone there except perhaps the man, who still remained confused. If any one of the apprentices was odder than the rest, it had to be Braig. He was more unorthodox than the rest, coming in at the most random moments to see him and talk about random subjects, then leaving again to wander around the halls. It was certainly strange to the man to see him being the only laid-back apprentice compared to the likes of Even and Ienzo.
Once Braig flipped to the right page, he nodded and shoved the book in Even's face. "That's where I got the name," he told him proudly, "It doesn't make much sense, right? But this guy in the book, he's a powerful mage. I thought it would be cool to give the guy a different sounding name and one that meant something, you know?"
"And maybe he's who they're looking for," Braig thought to himself, "He did appear after the Great Keyblade War after all…"
"Of all the nonsense you think of Braig…" Even interrupted his thoughts nicely, stopping to think—giving this man a name would certainly be easier, even if the name was unorthodox and strange. He looked to the other apprentices, who seemed just as dumbfounded as he was. Dilan seemed to be waiting for him to make up his mind. Even changed his gaze to look at the man, who was also expectant—his interest seemed aroused.
"What do you think?" he asked, "Does the name Ze… Zeha… how do you pronounce-"
"Xehanort," Braig stated calmly.
"Right, Xehanort—would you mind being called that?"
The man thought about this for a minute. For some reason or another, the name had a striking familiarity to him—he couldn't quite place it, but he recalled hearing it before. He just couldn't name where, when, from who, or any other important details. He only remembered the name.
"I would not mind," he said. What other choice did he have anyway? It seemed Braig actually thought about this for a while and he didn't want to waste the apprentices' time, even if they were wasting his with repeated questions. Even, oddly satisfied, nodded to Braig.
"Thank you for your stroke of brilliance Braig," he intoned somewhat sarcastically, "Now, is there anything else you wanted?"
"Yeah," he replied, "Master Ansem wants to see us all in the laboratory. He says he has a new theory about Xehanort here."
It would take a while to get used to that name, the man mused as Dilan nodded before Even could. "All right—I'll bring what we've observed with me."
"Good—he'll probably want to see that. Are the rest of you guys coming?"
Even, seemingly in thought, nodded his head quickly. "Yes, I'm coming." He then quickly left the room, leaving the rest to watch his retreating form. Braig left after Even, Dilan staring at them for a couple of minutes.
"I'll meet you two in the laboratory," he told them shortly before leaving himself. Aeleus watched him go before he looked to Ienzo, who was staring at the newly named Xehanort. His stare seemed inquisitive and unsatisfied—the gears were still turning in his head. The tall man shook his head with a small smile, putting a hand on the younger's shoulder.
"Let's go—Master Ansem is waiting for us," he said, only receiving a nod in acknowledgement. "I'll meet you there."
With those words, Aeleus left Ienzo in the room alone with Xehanort. His eyes became harsher and colder as he got closer to Xehanort, The man was still pondering the new name he had, not noticing the advances of the smaller one. He only noticed when Ienzo's small frame cast a shadow over his bed. He looked up to the short man, his orange eyes curious.
"I'm starting not to buy your little act," he said, his tone cold and low, almost murderous, "I'd quit while you have the rest of the apprentices stumped. I know a liar when I see one."
Xehanort raised both eyebrows to this, not understanding what Ienzo was getting at. He hadn't lied once to him or any of the apprentices, or Ansem. Though, Ienzo's look told him that he firmly believed that he was lying, faking amnesia. He was at the point where he was wishing that he was faking amnesia—it was so dreadfully annoying when you didn't remember your own name or have any past memories to go on. Though, he honestly saw no reason to lie about amnesia. He didn't need the special attention of the king or his apprentices.
"I am not lying to you or anyone in this castle," he told Ienzo calmly and firmly, "I do not see a reason to gain attention from Master Ansem nor the likes of you." He stood from his bed, surprising the younger as he stood at his full height that towered over the other's with ease. "Everything you see here is real, none of it fake. If you're going to call me a liar, it would be wiser to have more to go on than your anger at not getting the answers you wanted."
Ienzo did his best to hide his widened eyes at this. The man spoke incredibly smoothly and with a persuasive edge, one that he was all too familiar with. His presence was also slightly intimidating—now that he saw the man standing at full height, he had to realize that there was more to him than his amnesia. Ienzo's presence was dulled in the room the minute this man stood up, his words falling short of their former persuasive glory. The silver-haired boy couldn't help but nod, complying with his words.
"Yes Xehanort," he muttered, bowing his head slightly—to think he had been put in his place by a patient in the castle. The sound of it was bombastic to the boy. He turned and walked away from Xehanort, his steps syncopated as he exited the room and walked down the hall. From the moment he closed the door and left the area, he knew that he had lost and that Xehanort was right—he was not a liar.
"How did he do it?" he thought to himself. He spent a week doing all of those tests and having the apprentices try to persuade him that the man wasn't a liar. All the man had to do was say one piece of dialogue and he was convinced.
He was in danger of not being able to hide behind his masks of cold certainty any longer. Because of the man's level of comprehension, he was able to understand his surroundings and others very quickly and very proficiently. He spent so much time with Ienzo that he was able to read part of his motives, part of why he called him a liar; apart from Ienzo's "Everybody lies" philosophy. If this man kept developing at this rate, he would be able to read Ienzo like a book.
"Well we can't let that happen now can we?" he said to himself slyly. It was time for him to become the patient observer, watch from afar and throw the man off slightly as things continued. This man, Xehanort, did not know who he was dealing with.
/_\
Ansem waited patiently until all of his apprentices were in the room before he decided to speak. The light outside had grown dimmer, the clouds overcast and the sun not able to be seen at all. It hadn't even reached midday as his apprentices made it into the laboratory one-by-one. Dilan showed him notes from the observations he made, which didn't really do much to change what Ansem wanted to say, only fortifying it. They had to wait a bit for Ienzo, who came in with his same, confident stride as always. It was only after he approached the group when Ansem started speaking, making sure everyone's attention was on him.
"It has been previously concluded that there is not a problem with this man's brain," he stated, receiving a couple of nods, "And judging by Dilan's observations, there is nothing wrong with his psyche. However, I do believe something is wrong with his heart. I believe that it's an imbalance in his heart that we have to correct."
"What sort of imbalance?" Dilan asked curiously.
"An imbalance of the light and dark." This response aroused everyone's interest, though Ienzo raised an eyebrow to it. "I have talked with you before about every being having light and dark in their hearts. Perhaps this is what happens when too much darkness sets in and messes with the light…
"While this theory may be correct, testing and finding it will be difficult. This will push previous limits that you may have set for yourselves in research. I want to go farther with this research, to see the heart's true essence. I want you all to help me."
Every apprentice gave him a different look: Braig's was one of slight interest, not disagreeing with him at all. Dilan's interest was piqued and he seemed to be mulling it over. Even seemed excited by the idea of new research and something to do while Aeleus was also thinking it over. Ienzo's eyebrow was still raised in skepticism—Ansem had never taught him his theories did he? He knew the boy wouldn't be so earnest as to go after the metaphysical like Aeleus and Even were. Though… could that be curiosity in his eyes?
"I think it's possible," Aeleus said, "We would need new technology, however, and more space to put it."
"And that's something we don't have with this lab," Braig added, "I like the idea, but we'd need more space."
"Then where would we put it?" Dilan questioned, "Clearly most of the castle's space has been taken up already."
"Not all of it," Ansem noted, grabbing their attention once more, "I think I can leave you gentlemen to find a good place to set up a new laboratory."
"That's all fine and good, but even if we found a place, we wouldn't have the money to do it," Even told them, which brought the hopes of the group down. He was right—they didn't have that much to go on as far as funds, even if they were all to go out and raise money somehow. The technology would cost too much money for them to be able to pay for if they wanted to continue the research.
"Don't worry about the money," Ienzo told them, getting into the conversation for the first time, "I'll take care of it."
"If you mean stealing, we want no part of it," Even said abruptly, causing Ienzo to scowl, "That will get us nowhere and furthermore-"
"If you would let me finish," he intoned, cutting Even's statement short, "I was not going to steal. My family left behind a large sum of money that, since I am considered an adult now, goes directly to me. I believe it will be enough to pay for the technology and any remodeling that will need to be done."
"Ienzo, shouldn't you save that?" Ansem asked him, concern evident in his tone, "Shouldn't be turned to something useful?"
"Are you saying this research isn't useful Master Ansem?" Ienzo asked with a slightly mischievous voice, "My, and I thought you thought highly of your work."
Ansem smirked—this boy sure knew how to win him over. He knew Ienzo's stubbornness—he wouldn't be able to change his mind. After all, it was his money. He nodded his head to him. "I will bring you to the bank to get this sorted out. In the mean time gentlemen, I want you to find a place to put this laboratory—remember it has to be big enough to house all of this technology and have all five of you working in it."
"Yes sir," Even replied without hesitance. The apprentices all stood when the words left his lips, all of them having a set duty in mind. Ansem left the room as well, his heart swelling as he walked down the halls of his castle.
Finally, they were getting somewhere.
-End Chapter Eight-