Chapter 10 Through the Fire and Flames

Ienzo wakes before dawn, after spending the rest of the night tossing and turning restlessly, sleep eluding him once again. His heart feels heavy as he dresses in his usual attire for what he knows will be the last time.

One way or another, his fate will be decided today.

He makes his way to the kitchen, which is mercifully deserted this early in the morning and sets about making himself some tea. Without Ansem around, they have dropped the façade of being a family and eating meals at the same time and everyone pretty much fends for themselves now. Ienzo doesn't mind; it means he can eat when he wants, which is never at the same time as the others and he can eat what he wants, which is never anything the others would ever eat. While the water for his tea is boiling, Ienzo makes some toast to go with it because it's all he trusts himself to eat right now.

He doesn't bother turning from where he's removing the whistling teapot from the stove when he hears footsteps entering the kitchen; he already knows who's coming by the sound the footsteps make on the wood floor, the footsteps he knows as well as his own.

"Good morning Aeleus," he says, carefully pouring boiling water into a cup and adding a tea bag. "There's water ready if you'd like some tea with your breakfast."

"Thank you," Aeleus says.

Ienzo moves away from the stove with his cup of tea and lets it steep while he butters his toast. He doesn't dare glance at Aeleus who has taken his place at the stove; he doesn't think he can ever look the man in the eye again, not after what he did.

He eats his breakfast silently, as he has been doing the past several days. Aeleus is still in the kitchen when he's finished and he can hear the others stirring so he hurries to take care of his dishes before they come. Instead of going to the library like he normally would, he returns to his bedroom and sits on the edge of his bed with the lights off and the curtains open, waiting. He waits and watches the sunrise from his bedroom window. He's never appreciated how utterly beautiful the different colors it creates are until now, until his last sunrise.

He turns as there's a soft knock on the door and then it opens, revealing Aeleus.

"It's time," Aeleus says quietly.

"I'm coming." Ienzo's voice cracks and he mentally curses his weakness.

He rises and closes the curtains, shutting out all the natural light, and leaving only darkness. Then, he follows Aeleus to meet his fate.

Aeleus and Ienzo are quiet as they walk down the hallway to Ansem's study and the research lab beyond. Aeleus can't help glancing at Ienzo from time to time. He looks so calm, but Aeleus knows he is not. He knows that Ienzo merely appears to be calm and emotionless, that he only lets people see the boy he wants them to see.

The rest of the group is already assembled when they enter Ansem's study. Aeleus frowns at the disorganized state the room is in, but merely puts his hand on Ienzo's shoulder and holds his tongue.

"Now that we're all here, shall we proceed?" Even says.

Xehanort gives the nod of approval so they all file into the research lab. In the center of the room is the machine Xehanort made to create Heartless artificially, which is where they congregate. Aeleus stands behind Ienzo, keeping his hand on the young boy's shoulder.

"Perhaps you would like to say a few words before we switch the machine on?" Even suggests.

"Indeed," Xehanort says. "Today is a momentous day. Today we take the first step towards a bright new future."

He flips the switch. There's a long, pregnant pause and then the lights dim and come back on and then the machine whirs to life. Aeleus squeezes Ienzo's shoulder as a creature is born of the machine.

It stands on two legs in a dark blue body suit with a strange red and black symbol on the chest. There are no fingers, but long, wicked-looking claws. The majority of its face is obscured by a knight's helmet. Aeleus feels Ienzo recoil against him and he tightens his grip on the boy's shoulder.

The Heartless looks around at all of them with its luminous yellow eyes and Aeleus shudders slightly; this creature, this Heartless looks like something straight out of a nightmare. Its gaping maw opens, revealing rows and rows of razor sharp teeth and then it leaps at Ienzo. Aeleus reacts without thinking. He shoves Ienzo to the floor and kneels over him protectively.

There's a loud clanging sound of metal on metal and Aeleus looks up. The Heartless has stopped in its tracks, its attention now fixed on Lea. Lea, who has never taken anything seriously before in his life, least of all fighting. Lea, who now stands in a defensive positon with a pair of deadly-looking wheeled shaped weapons in each hand, eyes narrowed.

"Well come on, then," he challenges the Heartless.

The Heartless snarls at him and leaps to attack. With one swift movement, Lea throws one of his weapons at it and hits the Heartless squarely in the chest. The Heartless vanishes in a puff of smoke with an ear-splitting screech.

"Oh hey, looks like my aim is getting better," Lea comments as the weapon returns to his hand.

Aeleus just stares at him for a while, unable to fully process what just happened. He starts when he feels a hand on his shoulder.

"Easy," Dilan's voice says in his ear. "The danger has passed. Perhaps you would like to get up before you smother Ienzo."

It's then that Aeleus remembers that Ienzo is beneath him. He straightens up and looks down. Ienzo is curled tightly in a ball.

"Ienzo," he says gently. "Ienzo, it's okay. It's safe now. I promise."

A few moments pass and then Ienzo lifts his head.

"Oh. Right," he says.

"Are you all right?" Dilan asks as Aeleus gets to his feet and then helps Ienzo to his feet.

"We're fine," Aeleus says. He looks at Lea and adds, "Thanks to you."

He expects Lea to gloat over the fact that Aeleus is thanking him, but he doesn't. Instead, he nods and says in a rather scratchy voice, "You're welcome."

"Let's try that again," Xehanort says. "Hopefully this time with more favorable results."

He switches on the machine again. This time, it goes haywire and Heartless come flooding out.

"Turn it off! Turn it off!" Even shouts.

"I can't," Xehanort says in an eerily calm voice.

"What do you mean it won't shut off?" Even shouts over the din of the machine. "Cut the power or do something, I don't care. Just stop it!"

"It's no use," Xehanort says.

They cluster together as the room fills with Heartless, their path cut off.

"What are we gonna do?" Lea mutters.

"You're going to run," Aeleus says. "While I distract them and hold them off as long as I can."

The others stare at him like he's crazy.

"That's suicide," Dilan says. "You cannot possibly hold them off by yourself."

"There's no other choice," Aeleus says. "And this way, at least some of us might make it out alive."

"Aeleus…" Dilan protests.

"Don't," Aeleus growls. "I've made up my mind."

"I won't leave you."

Aeleus turns to Ienzo, surprised. The young boy stares defiantly up at him with one blazing blue eye.

"I won't leave you," Ienzo repeats firmly.

Aeleus kneels down and puts a hand on his shoulder.

"You must do this," he says softly. "For me."

Ienzo shakes his head. "I can't. I can't lose you too."

"We'll meet again in our next life. I promise," Aeleus says.

"Please don't do this," Ienzo begs, his voice breaking, but Aeleus's mind has already been made up.

"Even," he says and the scientist looks at him. "Promise you'll look after Ienzo for me, okay?"

Even merely nods. Aeleus draws in a deep breath and gets to his feet, filled with determination, and steps forward. He's surprised when Dilan steps next to him.

"I will help protect the others," Dilan says. "What kind of guard would I be if I didn't protect the ones I care about?"

Aeleus knows that Dilan's mind cannot be changed and nods.

"When I give the word, run," Aeleus says.

He turns around and, drawing up all the courage and might he has, runs headlong into a group of Heartless blocking the path to the door. They stop, confused. Aeleus feels a surge of power and an axe sword appears in his hands. He doesn't hesitate in swinging it around into a group of Heartless, eliminating them in one fell swoop. The Heartless swarm him, but suddenly Dilan is there, holding several lances. Aeleus glances curiously at them and Dilan's response is to merely shrug. Together, they cut a large path toward the door.

"Now!" he bellows at the others as he and Dilan split up to make sure the path remains clear.

The others start running for the door that leads back to Ansem's study. The Heartless rapidly multiply by the minute, faster than Aeleus and Dilan can destroy them, but they keep going. They don't stop, even when the others are safely gone, nor when they stand back to back, surrounded by Heartless. They keep fighting, even when they are exhausted.

"I guess this is it," Aeleus mutters.

"Indeed," Dilan says. "It's been an honor serving beside you."

"Likewise," Aeleus says.

They raise their weapons as the Heartless leap at them, teeth bared.

Luminous yellow eyes and rows of razor sharp teeth are the last thing they see as they are claimed by the darkness.

.o.O.o.

Ienzo's first reaction is to run to the window that overlooks the research facility and watch the scene below. The glass muffles the sound of the fighting and Ienzo is glad; watching is hard enough. For some reason, he is unable to tear his eyes away as Aeleus and Dilan are surrounded by Heartless. He pounds on the window until his hands bleed, leaving behind bloody handprints on the glass and screams at them, but they don't hear him. He watches as a pair rush toward them, recognizable by their red and blue hair.

"Fools," Even sneers from Ienzo's right. "They're going to get themselves killed."

"They're doing as their hearts command," Xehanort says from Even's other side.

"What good is a heart if it leads them to do something stupid like that?" Braig says.

"Don't look, Ienzo," Even says sharply, but Ienzo cannot tear his eyes away.

The Heartless surround Lea, Isa, Dilan, and Aeleus and then overtake them. When they move away, the four of them lay motionless on the floor. Ienzo turns to run back into the lab, but Even holds him back.

"Let me go! Let me go!" he screams.

"It's too late," Even says softly. "There's nothing we can do."

"No!" Ienzo screams, thrashing wildly in Even's arms.

"I'm so sorry." Even's voice breaks.

Ienzo finally sags in Even's arms as his brain accepts the truth; Aeleus, Dilan, Lea, and Isa are dead. He lets out a muffled sob.

"It's such a shame, but it is necessary," Xehanort says.

Even and Ienzo both stare at him. The expression on his face is unreadable.

"What do you mean?" Even asks.

"They needed to lose in order to gain and so must you," Xehanort says.

He holds out his hand and summons a Keyblade.

"What are you…no!" Even screams as Xehanort plunges the Keyblade into his heart.

Ienzo's mind goes numb with shock as Even's grip on his shoulders loosens and his body hits the floor with a thump. All he can do is stare up at Xehanort and the sick twisted grin on his face. It may just be shock, but he feels nothing right now, not anger, not fear, not even sadness.

All he feels is emptiness.

He closes his eyes as Xehanort thrusts his Keyblade into his heart. There's pain, but that quickly goes away. He's not even aware of his body hitting the floor; he feels as though he is floating away. The darkness is beckoning to him, softly, gently, like waves lapping against the shore.

He exhales softly and lets the darkness take him, a single tear slipping down his cheek as he fades away.

.o.O.o.

Author's Notes

The Heartless: if it wasn't already obvious, the first Heartless that's summoned is a Soldier. It's never mentioned or shown that the Soldiers have teeth, but I feel like they were trying to be somewhat family-friendly when designing them (though KH quickly stopped being family-friendly) so I added the teeth to make them look even more terrifying than they already are (seriously, study the Soldiers for a long time and tell me they don't creep you out at least a little).

The weapons: I feel like it would be an interesting twist if they were able to start summoning their weapons while they were still human, though they don't really have much control over them (aside from Even, apparently).

The music: First is "Through the Fire and Flames" by Dragonforce, which is the chapter's title and also its theme. It's a very epic piece that fits very well, especially during Aeleus and Dilan (and then Lea and Isa)'s final stand. Second, I listened to "Musique Pour La Tristesse de Xion" from the Kingdom Hearts 1.5 Remix OST, which translates as "Music for Xion's Sadness" from French, more or less, for the final scene. I know Xion doesn't exist yet, but the song is so goddam heart wrenching, especially the remixed version where they add a violin in which just takes the song up to eleven.

Updates: I'm not sure when this is going to be updated. I got kind of sidetracked by another fanfiction that I've been working on called Children of the Underworld. We'll see what happens. If people genuinely show interest in this, I might consider working on it instead of Children of the Underworld. I just don't know.