Immersion In Darkness
Chapter One: Trip To The Beach
Steal and I'll hunt you down.

It’s right there with you. It’s always there. You can try to run from it. You can try to hide, but you will never escape the darkness within. Don’t fight it. Embrace it. Let its essence engulf you. Immerse yourself in darkness.

“I’m not afraid.”

                 Leya’s eyes opened slowly. She was dreaming. Gradually, Leya raised herself up out of her bed and stumbled over to her mirror. As she gazed at her reflection, she noticed just how tired she was. She rubbed her light purple eyes and yawned. “Time to get down to the library.” She mumbled to herself. Walking over to her closet, she stooped down to stoke her cat’s head. Flute, her cat, purred in delight and rubbed her head against Leya’s hand. Leya smiled and began rummaging through her closet. She picked out a plain black shirt and a lavender colored skirt. After getting dressed, she walked over to her door. She took her long white scientist coat off the hanger on the back of her door and pulled it on. Noticing what time it was, she hurried down stairs. A boy with dark blue hair was walking down the other corridor to her right. Like always, he had his nose stuck in a book. “You know, if you keep reading like that and not look where you’re going, you’ll end up tripping.” Leya chuckled. Ienzo flapped his left hand at her, without taking his eyes off the page he was reading. “Yes, yes. Don’t worry. I have a great sense of where I’m going, and there’s no way I cou…!” Ienzo was cut off in the middle of his sentence as his foot got caught on the rug. “Wah!” Ienzo yelped as he came tumbling down. Leya ran over and got down on her knees. She lifted the book off of the fallen boy’s head and stared down at him. The younger boy peeked up at her. “Maybe…I should watch where I am going.” He said blushing. Leya laughed softly and helped him up. Though Ienzo’s mental maturity was the best, he was the youngest out of all of the residents in the castle. “Come on. We better hurry down to the dining room or Braig will swipe all the muffins!” Leya said, grabbing Ienzo’s hand and running down the next flight of stairs with him.

                    When Ienzo and Leya arrived at the dining room, almost everyone was already present. Braig stood up from the table with a strip of bacon hanging out of his mouth. “Tuk gyou lung nouf.” Leya walked over to Braig and took the bacon out of his mouth. “What?” She asked, cocking an eyebrow at him. Braig spoke again, licking off the last bit of bacon taste on his lips. “I said…took you long enough.” Leya flung the bacon at his head. “Oh please. You usually sleep later than us.” She scoffed and sat down next to a man with long black dreadlocks. Braig shrugged and sat down next to Ienzo. “How’s it going, Ienzo?” Braig asked, resting his forearm on Ienzo’s head. Ienzo pushed his arm off and gave him an annoyed look. “I’m fine, Braig. How are you?” Leya gazed at Ienzo with a small smile on her lips. That boy was never rude, no matter how mad he got. Braig pulled a hair tie out of his science coat and pulled his long dark brown hair back. “I’m alright…Tired.” Was all he said. Braig had a bandage over his left eye from an unfortunate accident in the science lab. A test tube exploded from pressure and a shard of glass had gotten lodged in his eye. Braig scratched his chin and darted his yellow eyes over at Leya. “What about you, Leya? Did you sleep well?” He asked smirking. Leya sighed but smiled. “Yes. I slept fine, after you and Even stopped talking so loud.” Braig nodded, but still had a slight smirk across his face. He had a knack for ticking people off in the castle. “I couldn’t sleep at all.” The man next to Leya said. He was massaging his temple. “Nightmares.” He said opening his deep blue eyes and narrowing them as if remembering the dream. Leya looked over at him. “Yeah me too. What was your nightmare about?” She asked looking at him with sympathy. Dalin looked at her. “Monkeys. Evil circus monkeys.” He knew that sounded silly, but it was the truth. Dalin had been afraid of monkeys ever since he was a child, which is why he never came along to the circus with the rest of them. “What about you, Aeleus? Did you sleep okay?” Leya asked, looking over at the man across the table. The man had a strong build and messy brown hair. He had his eyes closed and seemed to be in deep thought. All he did was nod in answer to her question. Aeleus never spoke much to any of them, except for maybe Ienzo. Leya and the others were never sure why, but Aeleus seemed to open up more to the younger boy. Maybe it had something to do with Ienzo’s kindness and sincerity.

             Leya had begun eating her warm blueberry muffin when a man with shoulder length blond hair and a goatee walked into the dining room. He took in a deep breath and sighed happily. “Mm, smells like blueberry muffins!” He said smiling. “Ienzo made them, master!” Leya spoke up. “They’re really good!” The man walked over to the table, picked up a muffin, and bit into it. He closed his eyes in pleasure and savored the taste. “These are delicious, Ienzo.” Ienzo beamed at Master Ansem’s comment. Master Ansem, or rather, Ansem the Wise, was the lord over the castle. In the past, the younger ones in the castle hadn’t any parents and were put into an orphanage. Ansem the Wise, with his kind heart, had taken all of them in and began caring for them as if they were his own children. He had found Ienzo in an abusive orphanage on the outskirts of Radiant Garden, the world they lived on, and took him away from that horrible place. As for Leya, she had been found by Master Ansem when she was ten years old, after a fire had taken down the orphanage that she was residing in. As for Xehanort…

            A boy walked into the dining room, bowing immediately. “Sorry I am late everyone.” He apologized. “Good morning, Xehanort.” Master Ansem said, smiling at him. Leya got up out of her chair and rushed over to hug him. “Morning!” She said cheerfully. Xehanort had always been like an older brother to her ever since she came to the castle. He looked after her when Master Ansem couldn’t and was always so kind and loving to her. Leya giggled as Xehanort’s silvery white hair tickled her cheek as he knelt down to hug her back. “Good morning, Leya.” He said smiling at her with his gentle brown eyes. He was dressed in a long white scientist coat, as was everyone else in the room. Leya walked back to her chair and sat back down. Xehanort walked over to an empty chair and joined the rest of them as well. Everyone nodded at him, excusing him of his tardiness. “Morning, dude!” Braig said, nudging him in the arm with his elbow. Xehanort rubbed where Braig nudged him and glared over at him. “Morning, Braig.” Braig grinned happily and continued eating his breakfast.



                   “Has anyone seen Even?” Asked Ansem the Wise. Ienzo looked up from his plate. “Oh yes, he’s in the lab working on something.” Ansem the Wise frowned. “I’ll go fetch him.” Ienzo said, standing up. But before Ienzo could go anywhere, an older man with pale blond hair appeared in the room. He adjusted the glasses on his face and flashed his green eyes at everyone at the table. Leya ignored him and continued eating. “Morning, Even. Nice you could join us.” Dalin said in a sarcastic tone. Even walked over to the table and sat down. “Sorry. I was up late studying in the lab last night and fell asleep right on the spot.” He said, taking a slice of toast and spreading butter on it. He looked up from what he was doing and glared at Leya. After about a minute, Leya sighed from impatience. “What is it now, Even?” Even turned his nose up and pointed lazily over at Leya’s cheek. “What?” She asked as she held her hand up to her cheek. She felt a few crumbs and brushed them off. “So messy.” Even said, shaking his head. Leya huffed. “You’re not so perfect yourself, Even.”  She said as she pointed over at his coat. It was terribly wrinkled from him having slept in it. Even smoothed down his cloak. “At least I have an excuse.” He said simply. Leya glowered at him. “Well sorry for not having a mirror in front of me 24/7. I don’t know when I have something on my face!” “Alright you two.” Master Ansem spoke up. “Enough bickering.” Leya sighed and finished off her muffin.

                   “So, I thought we might all take a break from studying today and go to the beach.” Master Ansem said happily. Braig and Leya jumped up excitedly. “I’ll go get ready!” Leya exclaimed excitedly. “I’ll go get the beach ball and water guns!” Braig said running off in the other direction. Everyone was dismissed from the table to go and get themselves ready for the day to come. Leya ran up to her room and rummaged through her closet. “Mew?” Flute meowed and rubbed against Leya’s legs. “Not now, Flute. I have to get ready! We’re all going to the beach!” Leya pulled out a turquoise two piece swim suit and put it on as fast as she could. Looking around frantically, she tried to locate her sun screen. A knock was heard at her door, followed by Braig’s voice. “Leya? Are you dressed?” He asked through the door. “Yes!” She replied. Braig entered her room and watched her running about. “There’s no need to rush. We’re not going to leave without you.” He chuckled. Leya was on the ground, looking under her bed. She peeked up at him. “I know but-have you seen my sunsc…” Leya was about to ask him if he’d seen her sunscreen. When she had looked up at him, she noticed that he was already ready to go. He was wearing black swim shorts and no shirt. Leya blushed a bright red. “He…he has a nice body…” She thought to herself. She quickly pushed the thought away and kept looking around. “I’m looking for my sun screen. Have you seen it?” She asked. Braig held up a white bottle with a sun on it. “You mean this?” He asked winking. Leya pouted and stood up. “You took it.” She sighed. Braig shrugged. “I came into your room earlier to get it.” Leya narrowed her eyes. “You came into my room?” She asked. Braig’s face turned into a devious expression. “Oh yes. I did. Who would have guessed that you hide yaoi doujinshis under your bed?” He said laughing. Leya gasped and hit him on the head. “You were looking through my stuff!” Braig kept laughing. “You…!” Leya growled and chased after him down the hall. Braig was laughing the whole way down the stair case. When they reached the end of the stairs, he hiccupped. “Hah! You laughed so hard, now you have hiccups!” Leya mocked. Braig smirked at her and hiccupped again.

                   Xehanort walked into the room carrying a bag. “What’s in there?” Braig asked. “Water guns.” He replied, grinning. Braig rubbed his hands together. “Oooh hoo hoo…” He grinned scheming. After about a few minutes, Ienzo, Even, and Dalin joined them. Even was wearing sunglasses in place of his real ones and Ienzo was carrying a picnic basket. Braig came up to Even and stared at him in the eyes. “What?” Even questioned. Braig tapped his finger on his sunglasses. “How can you see without your glasses?” He asked. Even took off his sunglasses and rubbed them on his shirt. “Now you got them all smudged…” He mumbled and put them back on his face. “They’re prescription sunglasses. I can see.” He responded simply. Leya was looking through Ienzo’s picnic basket. “Aiya! You packed rice balls and bento!” She exclaimed gleefully. Ienzo smiled at her. “Well it’s not every day we go to the beach. I thought I would pack us all some good food to make the day even better.” Leya smiled and him and hugged him. “You’re awesome, Ienzo.” He smiled even wider. Aeleus walked in with Dalin following close behind him. “We’re ready.” Dalin grinned. He was carrying as big colorful beach ball and extra sun screen. Aeleus just nodded. “Now where’s the master?” Dalin asked. Leya shook her head. “I’m not sure.” “I’m right here.” Came a voice from the stairs. Ansem the Wise walked down with a smile on his face. “Alright. Let’s go.”

               They all walked to the train station and waited patiently for it to arrive. Braig and Leya were waiting near the tracks. Braig grabbed her shoulders and then faked pushing her on to the tracks. “Don’t fall!” He laughed. Leya spun around quickly. She had a frightened look on her face. Braig stopped laughing when he saw her expression. It wasn’t the expression he expected. “Aw…Leya, I’m sorry. I was just kidding around. I wasn’t going to really push you on to the tracks.” He said sympathetically and hugged her. Leya’s heart was speeding. That really scared her. Leya nodded. “It’s okay.”
                  The train to Radiant Garden Beach is now arriving. Spoke the over head speaker. Xehanort and Aeleus were looking through souvenirs in the train gift shop when they heard the announcement. They walked out of the gift shop and followed the rest of them on to the train. Aeleus, Even, and Master Ansem took a seat near a window, while Ienzo sat on the other side of them. Dalin sat next to him and opened up a map. “Hey Ienzo. You like books, right?” Dalin asked him. Ienzo nodded. Dalin flipped the map over to show him. “Well, according to this map there is a big book store close to the beach.” Ienzo took the map and looked over it. He smiled and looked up at Dalin. “Thanks. I’ll have to check it out.” Braig was nearby Leya and Xehanort. They remained standing up, while holding on to the support pole. “What should we do first when we get there?” Leya asked excitedly. Braig’s lips curved into a sneaky smile. “I know what I want to do. I want to play with those water guns.” Xehanort laughed and said, “Yeah, me too.” Leya thought for a couple seconds. “I think I’ll play in the water first.” On the other side of the train, Master Ansem was speaking with Even and Aeleus. “Another one?” Even questioned after Master Ansem finished revealing some information. “Yes. I’m afraid so.” He sighed. “It seems more and more people are being over taken by this darkness.” Aeleus rubbed his thumb against his chin in thought. “How is this happening?” He wondered out loud. “I’m not sure…but I thought up a hypothesis.” Even and Aeleus leaned forward to listen. “I believe…that this darkness is within every person’s heart.” He whispered. “As if it’s just waiting…waiting for the opportunity to grow if tempted. I think that if this darkness is enticed enough within someone’s heart, it can swallow it whole.” Even’s eyes were growing wider by the second. “It makes sense…” He muttered. “More and more people are disappearing. More and more…being lost to this darkness.” Ansem the Wise furrowed his eyebrows. “Exactly. Which is why we have to stop it.” Even and Aeleus both nodded in agreement. Xehanort was close by, listening to the master and his fellow apprentices speaking. Xehanort gazed out the window to his left. “Darkness…”

               After about fifteen minutes, the over head speaker came on again. Now arriving at Radiant Garden Beach. The only people on the train with them were a few other people and one couple, so it was easy filing out of the train. Braig, Ienzo, and Leya ran out of the train eagerly. Leya took off her sandals so that she could feel the sand in between her toes. As they all ran down to the beach, Leya quickly realized how hot the sand was. “Eeep! Hot, hot, hot, hot!” She squealed, running past Braig and Even. Finally she made it to the water and cooled off her feet. Braig followed her into the water, laughing. “Next time, wear sandals until you get down to the wet sand.” Leya splashed him with the water which soon turned into a big water fight. Xehanort opened up his bag and took out the water guns, throwing one to Leya and Braig. “Looks like it’s time for…’The Epic Water Battle!’” Braig shouted. Leya and him hastily filled up their water guns and began shooting the refreshing cool water at each other. Leya giggled as some water hit her in the face. “Oh it’s on now, Braig!” Braig laughed. “It wasn’t me!” Leya looked over to find the person who squirted her. Dalin was laughing triumphantly, holding a big water gun. “Aha! Dalin!” Leya squirted Dalin back and ran away. Dalin ran after her deeper into the water, followed by Xehanort and Braig. Up on the shore, Ienzo and Master Ansem were setting up their picnic spot. Master Ansem dug a large umbrella into the sand and Ienzo spread out a large blanket. Even was taking pictures with his camera while Aeleus stood waiting for the blanket to be set out. Master Ansem wiped the back of his hand across his forehead. “Ah, finished.” Ienzo nodded happily.

              Back in the water, the ‘Epic Water Battle’ was continuing. Braig lunged forward and grabbed Leya by the waist, dragging her down into the water. Leya scrambled up and shot Braig right in the face with her water gun. Braig coughed up water and stuck his water gun down her swim suit top. “Gwah! Braig...!” Too late. Braig shot cold water down her top and she shivered. Xehanort walked over and squirted Braig in the ear. “Agh! Water! In the ear!” He jumped on one leg, trying to get the water out. Leya giggled at the sight. Xehanort aimed his water gun at Leya to squirt her, but she ducked under the water. When she did, she noticed a bunch of colorful fish swimming around their legs. She came back up for air. “Hey guys! Look! There’s fish!” She dived back under the water. Xehanort joined her and tried to grab one of the fish. Leya came back up and laughed at him. “They’re too fast!” He growled. Leya snickered at him. “What the…!” Leya felt someone grab her ankle. Before she knew it, she was under water again. Dalin had hold of her ankle. When they came back up for air, Dalin had his hands on top of his head in the shape of a dorsal fin. “Dun dun…dun dun…dun dun…dun dun dun dun dun!” Leya laughed and ran away from him. “Ahhh! Dalin turned into a shark!” She ran behind Xehanort and he aimed his water gun at Dalin. “Do not fear young girl! I, Xehanort the Great, will sleigh thy giant fish!” Braig laughed. “Yeah! We’re having sushi tonight!” Dalin was shot in the face by two water guns, coming from Xehanort and Braig. “Nooo!” Dalin yelled and fell back into the water dramatically. They all laughed hysterically.

              “You guys ready for some food?” Master Ansem asked as they walked back up on to the shore. Leya squeezed the water out of her hair and nodded. Her stomach growled loudly. Xehanort laughed. “Yeah, I think someone is hungry!” Leya blushed and sat down on the blanket, next to Even. Even surprisingly was in a good mood and didn’t bother to nag her. Ienzo brought some rice balls, bento boxes, and watermelon out of the basket. “Mmm, yum!” Leya took a slice of watermelon and bit down into the juicy pink fruit. Xehanort and Aeleus started eating their bento while Braig was chewing on a rice ball.
              “Having fun, everyone?” Ansem asked. Everyone nodded, their face too full of food to talk. He chuckled and picked up his own bento box. Leya finished off her watermelon and picked up her box. When she opened it, she saw rice, sushi, and a small section of salad. “Oh, Leya. You’re getting a sunburn.” Xehanort said. He knelt down next to her and began rubbing sun screen on her. “Thanks, Xehanort.” She grinned in appreciation. “No problem. Don’t want you getting burnt.” After they were all done eating, Leya asked Ienzo to help her build a sand castle. He happily agreed and they walked down on to the wet sand. “I’ll go get the water.” Ienzo said as he picked up a bucket and walked down to the ocean. Leya took her shovel and dug into the wet sand. “Hey look!” Leya exclaimed as Ienzo came back with the water. “Sand crabs!” Ienzo backed up from them. “They won’t pinch us, will they?” Leya giggled and shook her head. “No, no. They’re too small.” She picked one up and held it in her hand. It stared up at her with big eyes and snapped its pinchers. She chuckled. “You’re not going to be able to pinch me, little guy.” She put it down and it scurried away into the water. After they built their large sand castle, Leya grinned. She picked up a white seashell and pressed it into the castle. A flash of light surprised Ienzo and Leya. They looked up to see Even holding his camera. “I took a picture of it. It looks nice!” He complimented them. Leya grinned.
               When she looked back at the castle, she frowned. A wave had come and taken their beautiful castle away. Ienzo stood up. “Oh well. All good things come to an end some time.” He offered his hand to her and helped her up. They both walked over to a shower and rinsed the sand off their bodies. Braig was on the other side of the shower rinsing himself off as well. He came around to Leya’s side and grabbed her around the waist. “Hello Leya…” She blushed and looked over at him. “B-Braig!?” “You know this almost like we’re showering together.” Leya pushed him away. “You pervert.” Braig chuckled. After they rinsed off, they all walked back to the train station. It was time to go home. Ienzo carried his now empty basket into the train while Xehanort, Braig, and Dalin struggled with the water guns. Their bag that held them blew away so now they had to carry them by hand. Aeleus had fallen asleep on the beach and was now as red as a lobster. Even’s camera was completely full of pictures now and couldn’t wait to get them developed. After such a fun day, almost everyone was exhausted and fell asleep on the train seats.

              After several minutes, the over head speaker clicked on again. Now arriving at Radiant Garden Train Station. Leya yawned and got off her seat. She had been lying on Xehanort’s lap, who didn’t sleep at all. He had been gazing out the window the entire time. Leya walked slowly back to the castle with everyone else. “I’m going to bed…” She mumbled. Everyone else nodded in agreement. They thought it would be a nice way to end the day. When they got inside the castle, Leya, Braig, and Even walked up the stairs and went down the left corridor to their rooms. The others walked the other way to theirs. Immediately when Leya got inside her room, she flumped down on her bed and fell asleep.

             Leya awoke to a bright light shining on her face. She squinted her eyes open and looked over at her window. She slowly got up and walked over to it, closing the curtains.  Yawning, she sat down on her floor and let Flute crawl into her lap. Flute purred as Leya scratched her behind her ear. “Yesterday was a lot of fun, Flute. Wish I could have brought you…but I didn’t want you to get lost.” Flute twitched her ear twice. “Mew?” Flute meowed and jumped out of her lap. The black cat with white feet walked over to her food bowl. “You’re hungry? Here. I’ll go downstairs and get you some tuna.” Leya opened her door and walked down stairs. When she got to the kitchen she saw Ienzo mixing something in a bowl. “Pancakes today.” He said. She smiled. “It smells good already.” She opened one of the cabinets and took out a can of tuna. “Flute is hungry, is she?” Ienzo asked while adding some more flour to his batter. “Mhm…” Leya hummed. She put the can under the can opener and waited while it cut the top off. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.” She said, walking out of the kitchen and back up the stairs. Xehanort was just coming out of his room when he saw Leya. “Morning.” He smiled and continued down the stairs. Leya walked back into her room and scraped the tuna out of the can and into Flute’s bowl. Flute meowed happily and began eating. Leya smiled while she watched her for a few seconds. “Hm…I need a shower. My hair is full of salt from the ocean yesterday.” She said to herself and walked into her bathroom.
                The nice thing about her room was it was spacious just enough for her and had a built on bathroom, all to herself. The bathroom had white marble tile and light pink walls. Leya chuckled. When the people in the castle made her bathroom, they automatically thought she might like pink because she was a girl. It wasn’t that she hated it, she actually didn’t mind it. But it wasn’t one of the colors she would wear or buy something in that color. Leya grasped the shower knob, turned the cold water on a tiny bit, and then turned on the hot water almost all the way. She stepped in to the shower to be welcomed by steamy hot water. Leya loved showering in hot water. Almost to the point of where it was too hot to stand. She washed her hair with her favorite strawberry shampoo and scrubbed herself down with vanilla body wash while her conditioner set in. After rinsing the conditioner from her hair, she stepped out. She looked into her mirror only to see that it was fogged up from the steam. She wiped her hand across it and peered into the mirror. After cleaning her face and brushing her teeth, she walked out of her bathroom. As she opened the door to her bathroom, the steam that was building up in the bathroom poured into her room.
              “Time to get dressed.” She said quietly to herself. Flute was done with her tuna and was now licking her paws and mouth to savor what was left of it. Leya got dressed in her everyday clothes. Black shirt, lavender skirt, and white coat. As she sat on her bed to put her black boots on, Flute jumped on to her lap. “No, no, Flute. I already pet you this morning. I have to get ready.” Flute jumped down and let her put her boots on. Leya walked back into her bathroom to blow dry her hair. After she was done with that, she was ready. “Bye, Flute. See you tonight.” She said waving to her cat and walking out the door.