A Crossing of Two Halves

Set during Act 1;

x.x.x

Blue light pierced the clouds. It provided one of the only traces of color in an otherwise blackened sky. From behind the veil, a golden moon lingered. In time, he suspected it would gain the shape of an enormous heart. Now, however, it resembled nothing more than a bulging, disfigured blob. Yet even that disfigured blob contained immense power. Over the course of a few months, his Kingdom Hearts had grown from a single, miniscule heart to a collection that expanded with each passing hour. All that thanks to one Keyblade. Riku truly had lived up to expectations, at least in that regard.

But now was the time to act. Turning away from the sky, Xemnas crept across the rounded platform that made up the Altar of Naught. With the arrival of the Thirteenth and subsequent alteration of his memories, all they needed was one final piece in the puzzle. A glint of a smirk lined Xemnas' lips at the thought of facing the Keyblade wielder. By now, he suspected Riku was well on his way to Hollow Bastion to tend to the infernal mess his… other half had created. A laughable effort on his Heartless' part. In his naïve pursuit of darkness, he had painted a target on his back. In underestimating the Keyblade, Xemnas fully suspected the so-called Seeker of Darkness would fade within a matter of days.

How ironic, then, that as Xemnas lifted his hand and prepared to tear open a corridor, he sensed a familiar, foul odor wafting across the breeze. Footsteps drew near. At the sound of chuckling, Xemnas' gaze fell upon a near mirror image of himself…

Or perhaps an image of someone else. Regardless, Xemnas' eyes narrowed.

"Is there a particular reason why you've come here, Heartless?"

There was no mistaking his counterpart's frivolous choice in attire. A jacket stretched all the way down to his legs, black on top, white at the bottom, with bulky pads resting over his shoulders. White gloves reached up to his elbows, and the fool seemed so confident in his appearance that he left his muscled chest completely exposed. With his arms crossed and a grin on his face, Ansem took a short look at the moon.

"Call it curiosity," he said. "I had started to wonder if you had abandoned this senseless pursuit, but I see that nothing has changed. While you attempt to piece your hollowed form back together, I have already seized the darkness. Spread it. In time, I suspect even this world shall sink into the abyss."

"Is that so?" Xemnas shook his head, his smirk only widening. "Yet what shall you gain from your efforts? To bury the worlds in darkness… I know that is your deepest desire. What I wish to know is what you plan to do once you've attained your goal. After all, there will be nothing left. Nothing but mindless Heartless. And that is of course if you succeed."

Ansem's brow tensed. He averted his eyes for a few seconds before another laugh escaped him. "A bold proclamation for one who has been cast aside. Why should I fret over the words of an empty shell? Here you are, trying to regain what is standing right in front of you…"

"You believe I would rejoin with you? Pitiful." Xemnas turned away, clasping his hands behind his back. "But let me ask you something, 'Ansem'. Did you not pine for a new vessel yourself? As I recall, you attempted to not only utilize Sora, but Riku as well."

"Indeed I had, and at one point I had even entertained the notion of using you as my vessel."

Xemnas' fists clenched. If he had a heart, perhaps he would have scowled. Instead, he kept a blank expression as he looked over his shoulder. "I suspect there is no further need, however, seeing as you are no longer a disheveled husk of a heart."

"Yes. There were many roads I could have taken. When both vessels failed, I simply moved down the list and took a more sensible route—darkness, from both the Keyhole and that foolish boy."

Xemnas looked away again, taking a step towards the stairs. "Do not underestimate him. For all of your power and wits, you are still but a Heartless. To Riku, you are merely prey waiting to be extinguished."

"And what of you, Xemnas? Once the boy discovers your ambitions, I imagine he'll seek your death as well."

"Perhaps…"

A trace of a smile formed across Xemnas' face. He extended his arm, letting a black shroud descend over his entire body. Wisps of smoke obscured the pale platform. The further Xemnas stepped through, the more the Altar faded. Soon his Heartless and, indeed, Kingdom Hearts, barely appeared at all. Yet before he let the portal close, Xemnas took one final look at his other half.

"What you have failed to realize is that, when the time comes, Riku will have no reason to eliminate me at all."

After all, within the deep recesses of his mind, Xemnas recalled an old encounter. A promise forged along a sunset shore. A meeting between two youths, blissfully ignorant of the heart's follies.

For the time being, he'd face the Keybearer in search of data. He'd spur the Replica's creation and allow his plans to unfold naturally. But on the off chance his schemes encountered road bumps along the way, at least he had a contingency plan.

One could never be too careful.

x.x.x

END NOTE: It always saddened me that Xemnas and Ansem never actually spoke within canon, so I decided to write this little scene for their dynamic in Antipode. Rather than share a mutual respect, I felt that each would see the other as inferior, given how confident they each are in their own goals and abilities among other things. Since this AU's Organization XIII isn't written with KH3D's revelations in mind, their plans do not overlap at all.

With this little scene, I have officially started the side scenes collection. What I plan to do with these scenes is list when they take place within the timeline at the start of each new installment. Some scenes will be very short, like the one here. Others may reach chapter length. I have no planned update schedule, though I do have scenes to add, including XIII and Axel's first recon mission, some cut content from Act 1, and sequences with various other characters. Essentially, expect a mixed variety of subjects and characters here. You do not need to keep up with these in order to understand the main stories, but I think that writing extra snippets outside the plot allows for some fun supplementary material.

Hope you enjoyed!