//------------------------------// // Chapter XIV: Ansem the Wise // Story: KINGDOM HEARTS: Dark Order // by OliverSparkle //------------------------------// At Radiant Garden, it was filled with shops, houses, an ice cream shop and a big laboratory home to Ansem the Wise and his apprentices. There was also a circle area with flower beds and mini pounds with mini waterfalls. The Gummi Ship slowly and carefully landed in the circle area as the ship doors opened. Sora was the one to walk out of the shop followed by Donald, Goofy, Kairi, Aqua and Oliver with Flurry Heart on his back. “Well, this is it,” Sora said happily to his friends, “Radiant Garden.” Oliver and Flurry Heart looked around the place with amaze. They’ve never seen a place this peaceful before. “Wow,” said Oliver happily, “It’s so peaceful.” “It sure is,” replied Aqua while smiling at the place, “It’s even still the same after I fell into the realm of darkness to save Terra.” Sora suddenly saw Kairi looking a bit off, so he walked towards her and asked, “Kairi, are you feeling okay?” “Huh?” Kairi snapped out of it as she looked at Sora, “Oh yeah, I’m fine, Sora. It’s just that, I can’t help remembering the memories I had here when I was little and before I ended up on Destiny Island. The bad memories of being attacked the unversed.” “Visiting places you’ve been to before can bring back memories you don’t wanna remember,” Aqua said as she walked up to them, “Trust me. When we were at the Keyblade Graveyard to stop Master Xehanort, I couldn’t stop remembering the events that have happened when me, Ven and Terra tried to stop him. It was awful.” “But at least it didn’t happen again the second time,” said Donald. Goofy wasn’t amused by that so he smacked the back of Donald’s head telling him to knock it off. “Ow! Hey!” Donald shouted angrily while rubbing the back of his poor head. “But yes, this place really is peaceful like you said,” Kairi said with a smile on her face once more. Flurry Heart spotted one of the flower beds near them as she flew off her big brother’s back and headed towards the flower bed. She smiled and giggled while looking at the beautiful flowers. “Gwarsh, I think Flurry Heart is starting to like this place already,” said Goofy as he let out a chuckle. Oliver giggled while watching Flurry Heart at the flower bed before saying, “It would seem so, Goofy.” The baby alicorn sniffed one of the flowers which made her sneeze. “Achoo!” After rubbing her nose with her tiny hoof, she saw two beautiful flowers at the far end of the bed, one light blue and one pink. Flurry Heart smiled at those beautiful flowers for a few more seconds before flying over to them and gently picked them up from the bed. She flew back to the group and handed out the two flowers out to Kairi and Aqua. Kairi and Aqua smiled at the baby, thinking how sweet of her to give them a flower each. “For us? Aww, how sweet of you, Flurry Heart,” said Aqua happily as she gently took the blue flower from Flurry Heart’s hoof while Kairi gently took the pink flower from her other hoof. “You’re so sweet, Flurry Heart,” Kairi said kindly making the baby alicorn blush and giggle. “Stop right there!” Shouted a voice from the distance. The sound of that voice made Flurry Heart scared as she quickly flew towards Oliver and hid behind his head before peeping out a bit. The group then saw two tall broad-shouldered men running towards them. They were wearing a dark slate grey guard uniform, which is adorned with a curled heart symbol and white gloves. The front of their jacket sports two rows of gold buttons, silver highlights and a red and white heart like the one their his gloves. They are also wearing a belt and knee-high boots, both of which are black. One of the men has black hair and worn in long dreadlocks. He keeps most of his dreads tied into a low ponytail, but one dangles over the right side of his face. He also has thick sideburns, thick eyebrows and violet eyes. He wields a single lance with silver edges, a blue head, and a handle that alternates from violet to silver. The curled heart symbol is incorporated into the head of the lance. That was Dilan. The other one has a square chin, straight nose and sharp cheekbones. He also has blue eyes and small eyebrows. His hair is auburn and slicked back into rather odd, messy spikes. He wields a small axe sword. That was Aeleus. They were the two of Ansem the Wise’s apprentices. The two men stood near the group and pointed their weapons at them making Flurry Heart hide behind her brother’s head again. “Who are you and what are you doing here?!” Aeleus ordered. “Ahh, not again!” Whined Donald Duck. But then, Dilan suddenly noticed Sora near Kairi and let out a small gasp before saying, “Wait. Are you, Sora?” “Uhh...Yes, I am,” Sora answered not knowing how he was able to recognise him since they’ve never met before. Well, only his Nobody. Dilan looked at Aeleus and said, “It’s okay, Aeleus. It’s just Sora, the Keyblade wielder Ansem the Wise, Ienzo and Even was talking about.” “Is it?” Aeleus asked earning a nod from Dilan as he quickly looked at Sora again and saw he was right. It was indeed the Keyblade wielder Ansem was telling them about. The two lowered their weapons down and Aeleus said, “Our apologies, we thought you lot were working with the darkness and those that still control it, even the unversed.” “Oh it’s okay, we understand,” replied Goofy politely. “I take it you’re here to speak with Ansem the Wise about the break in, right?” Aeleus asked. Sora nodded while saying, “Yep. I’m here to see Ansem about the break in after the call me and Oliver had from Ienzo.” Dilan and Aeleus then saw Oliver, with Flurry Heart on his back, next to Aqua as he gave them a friendly smile. They both let out a small gasp of shock before quickly bowing to Oliver in respect. “Forgive us, your majesty,” said Dilan, “We didn’t realise you were there when we first arrived.” Oliver raised his hoof up to them and kindly said, “It's fine. I understand that you didn’t see me when you came.” Dilan and Aeleus stood back up again as Aeleus said, “Come with us. We'll take you to Ansem the Wise.” The group nodded their heads at them before the two guards started walking towards Ansem the Wise’s lab with the group following them. In the office of Ansem the Wise, it was coloured in creamy yellow with a brown desk with a few papers on it, a couple of bookshelves with a few books on them and an empty photo place of a top apprentice who betrayed his master, and a brown chair behind the desk. And sitting at that desk eating a sea salt ice cream was none other than Ansem the Wise himself. He wears a periwinkle labcoat, identical to those worn by some of his apprentices, save for the color. Underneath this, he wears a dark grey vest, white collared shirt and a violet ascot, as well as black pants and shoes. He also drapes a red sweater, or coat of some sort, over his shoulders. His hair is blond and worn long and slicked back. He also sports a short mustache and goatee. His eyes are bright orange. After taking another bite of his ice cream, the office door opened to reveal Dilan walking in with Sora and the others. Aeleus went back to stand guard in front of the lab doors to make sure no intruders invaded the lab. Dilan bowed to Ansem the Wise in respect. “Master, Prince Oliver Sparkle has arrived.” Ansem smiled at Dilan before giving him a nod and said, “You’ve done well, Dilan. You may leave us and return to your duties.” “Yes, Master,” replied Dilan before standing back up and made his way out of the office to leave Ansem the Wise and the group alone while gently closing the door behind him. Ansem looked at the boy alicorn while smiling at him before saying, “You must be Prince Oliver Sparkle.” Oliver blushed a bit while smiling at Ansem the Wise in a friendly way before saying, “Please, call me Oliver. And I take it you’re Ansem the Wise.” Ansem continued to smile at Oliver before placing his ice cream stick down on the desk, stood up from his chair and placed his arms behind his back while kindly saying, “Ansem will do nicely.” He then walked towards the group. “Sora, Donald, Goofy, Kairi, Aqua, such an humour to meet you all again.” “It’s a pleasure to meet you again, Ansem,” said Aqua politely with the four nodding in agreement. Ansem was about to say something but then saw a baby pony on Oliver’s back hugging his neck and nuzzling her cheek on his mane. “Oh hello,” He said while smiling at Flurry Heart making her stop nuzzling and looked at him, “Who’s this little pony?” Flurry Heart giggled and cooed at Ansem the Wise. Oliver knew he was talking about Flurry Heart. “Oh this is my little sister, Flurry Heart. We brought her along, because she wanted to come with us.” Ansem walked up to Oliver and smiled at the baby while bending down to make better eye contact with her. He let out a chuckle before saying, “She’s a giggler, ain’t she?” Flurry Heart continued to giggle at Ansem the Wise while reaching her tiny hooves out to him. He then looked at Oliver and asked, “May I?” Oliver nodded his head while answering, “Sure, I don’t see why not. She seems to like you already.” Ansem very gently picked Flurry Heart up from Oliver’s back with his hands and held her as she continued to giggle and coo at him. Just then, they saw Ienzo and Even walking through the doorway that leads to the laboratory room. “Sora, it is good to see you,” said Ienzo politely. “Nice to see you too, Ienzo,” replied Sora kindly. “And I take it you’re Oliver Sparkle, right?” Even asked politely. “Yep, that’ll be me,” answered the boy alicorn in a polite manner, “I even brought my little sister along.” Even and Ienzo saw the baby alicorn in Ansem’s arms as she cooed and giggled at them. The two smiled at her. Ienzo walked towards his master and looked at Flurry Heart while giving her smile. “Hello, Flurry Heart. It’s nice to see you too.” He reached his hand out to Flurry Heart, allowing her to wrap her tiny hooves around it. The others smiled at this while thinking how cute it is Flurry Heart holding Ienzo’s hand. “So shall we take a look at the footage of the break in?” Goofy asked kindly. Even gave the captain a friendly smile and nodded his head in response. Inside the laboratory, Even was on the computer trying to find the footage of the break in while the others had a little chat with Ienzo now holding Flurry Heart on his arms. “So Xehanort was using you lot as vessels for his heart and yet you still remember being a Nobody after being re-completed?” Oliver asked nicely which Ienzo responded in a kind manner. “Yes. After Sora and Riku defeated our Nobodies, we woke up here in the laboratory only to realise Ansem the Wise went up and vanish, and knew what Xehanort was doing before making us a part of the Organization.” “Fascinating,” said Oliver with amaze and interest, “That’s why Even told Sora he was once known as Vexen. After the defeat of your Nobodies, you were able to remember your Nobody names and able to tell Sora that you’re no longer under the control of Xehanort. Especially since Even wasn’t being a bad guy again after being re-completed and rejoining Master Xehanort.” Ienzo looked at Even as he continued to find that footage video on the computer. “After realising Even went missing after being unconscious, I thought he went back to being a Nobody and helped Xehanort create the replicas for the real Organization XIII. But as it turns, he was a double agent, along with Demyx and Isa. They were planning on bringing back Roxas, Xion and Namine.” “Sounds like you were all very busy during the upcoming clash between the seven lights and thirteen darknesses, and after waking up from becoming a Nobody,” Oliver said. “Yes we were,” replied Ienzo kindly, “Especially since we also wanted Ansem the Wise to return as well. And now he is.” Ienzo smiled at Ansem the Wise as he smiled at his now grown up apprentice before looking Flurry Heart who was hugging Ienzo’s chest. “The Crystal Empire,” said Ansem the Wise making Oliver let out a small gasp before looking at him. “You’ve heard of our original home?” He asked kindly and happily. Ansem smiled at the boy alicorn. “Yes, it’s quite lovely there. With lots of crystal like buildings, statue of the brave Spike, the crystal heart and all the ponies there in crystal form. I’ve could dream of visiting there myself someday.” Oliver smiled back at Ansem before saying, “Well once this is all over and the darkness is gone for good, I’ll ask Celestia if you can come visit Equestria one day and see the Crystal Empire.” “That would be most kind of you, Oliver,” said Ansem while continuing to smile. Suddenly, they heard Vanitas’s voice. “Yes, that would nice of him indeed.” Even stopped searching on the computer as he and the others turned towards the doorway of the lab and saw a dark corridor appear. It then disappeared to reveal Vanitas grinning evilly at them. Sora, Donald, Goofy, Kairi and Oliver stood in battle mode before Sora growled, “Vanitas!” Flurry Heart got scared again and quickly tried to hide her face in Ienzo’s shirt. Aqua slowly ran to stand next to Oliver and glared at Vanitas. “Why are you here?” “Oh so sorry for interrupting your little meeting,” Vanitas said in a rude way, “But surely you wouldn’t mind me just popping in for a bit.” “Dilan! Aeleus!” Called Ansem the Wise, “Seize that intruder!” Dilan and Aeleus quickly ran into the lab and pointed their weapons at Vanitas. But when Vanitas turned to look at them, he reached his hand out, while grinning evilly at them, as two dark strings rose from the floor and wrapped around them. “Hey!” Shouted Dilan as Aeleus shouted, “What the?!” The dark ropes went up towards the ceiling, carrying the two guards, making them now hanging in the air. They began to struggle to break free, but it was no use. The dark ropes were stronger than they were. “Now now,” said Vanitas while placing his hand down, “Is that anyway to treat your guests? Hmm?” “You’re not even a guest here!” Even said angrily, “Especially since you invited yourself in!” “Oh come now,” he said while chuckling, “I didn’t want to interrupt your nice little chit chat while looking at the break in video.” “And how do you know about the break in?” Asked Kairi while still glaring at Vanitas. “Why, isn’t it obvious?” He replied rudely but still grinning, “Me and Cozy Glow planned this break into the lab plan, with a little help, from some friends of mine. And the ones that your Aunt Twilight might remember way back, even if she was here with you.” Oliver growled at Vanitas before asking, “What are you talking about?” “Oh, you wouldn’t know since you weren’t there.” Vanitas reached his hand out towards the computer, “But I can still show you who they were since Twilight told you about him.” Vanitas’s hand began to glow dark grasp. Suddenly, the keyboard was now glowing in dark grasp making everyone look at it while letting out a small gasp of shock. “What’s going on?!” Asked Donald shockingly. Just then, the video footage of the break in started playing on the computer screen. And it showed Ansem the Wise and his appearances getting attacked by big figures moving quickly, along with a flying figure, as they smashed things and broke glass objects. “And, stop,” Vanitas ordered while turning his hand into a fist while the dark grasp was still around it. The video suddenly stopped playing and froze to where Ienzo was running away from the two big figures and the flying figure while the video was still blurry a bit. “Let's make it less blurry, shall we?” Vanitas opened his hand, while the dark grasp was still wrapped around his hand, before turning it around to make the video less blurry. The screen showed a clear vision of the video showing the four figures and Ienzo now blurry. The flying figure was none other than Cozy Glow grinning evilly at the screen while holding a cylinder glass filled with red juice. Oliver and the group looked at the screen in shocked, surprised and crossly. “Cozy Glow,” said Oliver in annoyed. “No surprise.” “Don’t forget about the other ones that broke in,” Vanitas said while placing his hand down after the dark grasp faded away. Oliver gave Vanitas a glare before turning back to the screen, and what he saw, after looking closer, made him let out a gasp of shock while staring at the screen shockingly. The two big figures were known other than two of the Storm Guards only this time with red armour and a crossover symbol between The Storm King’s and the Unversed’s. This made Oliver believe that The Storm King is somehow back since he’s the only who can control the guards before and while Tempest Shadow was commander. Oliver turned his head round to look at Vanitas while still wearing a shock look on his face as Vanitas looked at him with an evil grin on his face. “Impossible,” He said to him shockingly still, “He’s suppose to be gone after being turned to stone and broke into pieces. How did he return?” “Oh let’s just say the other Tempest warriors found all his stone pieces,” answered Vanitas while slowly walking towards them, “And his spirit was never gone. He found me and Cozy Glow, told us everything, and we agreed to help him since he’ll help us too.” Oliver didn’t have much more to say after that since he now believes that The Storm King has really returned. The others except for Flurry Heart, however, were confuse by this. “Wait, what’s exactly going on here?” Sora asked, “Who’s this “Storm King” you’re on about?” Vanitas leaned back on the desk side with the computer and keyboard were before answering, “Oh just some evil yeti that calls himself king even before taking over every single place in Equestria he can find.” He then looked at Oliver who was now breathing shockingly, “And his Aunt Twilight, she remembers him way way back.” Oliver let out one final breath. “She faced him!” “Along with Tempest Shadow,” added Vanitas. “Years ago,” said Oliver before Vanitas let out an evil chuckle. “But if he has returned, thanks to you and Cozy,” said Even in wonder, “That means he wants something he didn’t get before his defeat.” “Yes indeed,” replied Vanitas making Even look at him as he continued, “A pony that’s somehow related to him and he so wants that pony. Well, I do have a picture of that pony, actually. You wanna see who it is?” Vanitas reached into his pocket and pulled out a purple memory stick, “It’s always good to take photos of the one that someone’s on about. And good thing I did, while you lot were arriving to the Crystal Empire.” The evil brother placed the memory stick into the socket on the keyboard. The group watched the screen, with Vanitas watched them, as the photo on the screen was now loading. Once the picture was done loading, the two ponies and the five guardians were back in deep shock again after seeing who was on that picture. (Can’t tell you who) They all turned to look at Vanitas who was back to giving them an evil grin. Oliver continued to look at Vanitas shockingly for a few more seconds before saying, “He can’t be.” “Oh he can, he pretty is,” said Vanitas evilly, “And anyways, look on the bright side. At least you’re now not the only one whose related to a Equestria villain. I mean, you’d found out that Chrysalis was your mother when Sora first appeared in Equestria. And even though she’s gone now, you’re still her son.” “What?!” Oliver glared at Vanitas before walking up to him while saying, “I’m not!” “Oliver, calm down!” Aqua said, but Oliver didn’t listening as he continued to glare very angrily at Vanitas. “Olive!” Cried Flurry Heart while reaching her tiny hooves out to her brother. “I’m not,” Growled Oliver at the evil Keyblade wielder, “You think I’m one of Chrysalis’s children that she treats as slaves and tell lies to? I mean, look at me, do I look like a Changeling in disguise? Chrysalis is NOTHING! DON’T COMPARE ME WITH CHRYSALIS!” Oliver turned round and bucked Vanitas sending him flying back towards the wall near the doorway and smacked against it really hard before sliding down to the floor. He slowly got up to his legs and rubbed the dust off him before glaring at Oliver while he growled and glared at him. He stopped growling as he turned his head round and saw his sister whimpering at him while reaching her hooves out to him. He then turned his glare to a worry and sad look. “Oh I’m sorry,” he said before walking up to Ienzo and gently took the baby from his arms and cuddled her, “I am so sorry, Flurry Heart. I didn’t mean to that, I’m sorry.” Flurry Heart’s whimper faded away as she hugged her brother’s chest and nuzzled it. Oliver grew a smile on his face once again after seeing his sister was better again. The others smiled at her too before hearing Vanitas growling at them once more making them look at him again. “Stupid family bond,” he said cruelly while pulling out another card that was similar to the one he gave at the castle. Vanitas flicked his wrist, throwing the card to Aqua, who caught it with ease. “I shall let you all continue your quest and mission to save Equestria, he said before grinning evilly at them, “But eventually, you will discover about him. What I said and showed you, is the truth. And he is not what you all think he is.” While still grinning at them, a dark corridor appeared around him before disappearing taking him with it as the dark rope around Dilan and Aeleus faded away making the two fall to the ground but safely landed on their legs. Sora and Oliver glared at the spot where Vanitas last stood while still wondering worriedly if what he said and showed was true. There’s no telling what other surprises awaits them.