Chapter Text
The war was over, at least for the most part. Light had prevailed and Xehanort had been defeated. Peace had been restored to the worlds and everyone prayed that the peace would not be temporary, but that was wishful thinking and mostly everyone knew that. Though now that the war was over, it was time for rebuilding. More specifically the rebuilding of worlds. Radiant garden was one of those worlds.
Radiant garden had always been run by King Ansem the Wise. While not many people knew that the world was a kingdom- that's what it was. Ansem didn't like being referred to as a king, but unfortunately there was little he could do about that. The dislike of the word king made him not want to seek a lover into his life to continue his family name. Now he was in his mid forties with no lover and no successor- his father had always complained about how he had prioritisied his science work over finding a successor, then he had died and there had been no one to complain about that so he had just ignored the whole thing.
Now he walked down the messy halls of the castle of Radiant garden. He had gotten used to the fact that he needed to watch his step in the castle nowadays. Though that wasto be expected, who had the time to clean a castle during a war? Ansem was glad that his world was starting to return back to it's former glory, people were starting to return back into the world now that a few houses had been repaired by the restoration committee.
Among those people had been the well known troublemakers Lea and Isa, or at least they had once been troublemakers as teens. Now they were adults- though compared to him 22 and 23 were still children. They had gotten at least a little bit wiser during all the years and Ansem was glad that they were back. Even if Lea wanted nothing to do with him and only tolerated his presence because of Ienzo. Ansem did not know what had happened in order for Lea to suddenly listen to Ienzo's requests, but he had a feeling that the reason was not a happy one.
With the return of Lea and Isa had also came their two new friends, Roxas and Xion- the two people he owed a big apology to. Apparently the first thing the four had done was make the two oldest the legal caretakers of the two youngest. Ansem found it quite adorable how they had found the time to create a family even in the midst of all the chaos caused by Xehanort and his schemes.
Sora, Riku and Kairi had all returned to Destiny islands with the promise to come and visit every weekend. They had gladly taken Naminé with them who had had no other place to go to. Ansem didn't know much about that, but apparently Sora had made it pretty clear that he was going to call basically everyone who's number he had on his gummyphone. Every day.
Terra, Aqua and Ventus had returned to the Land of Departure, but that was about all Ansem knew. Though he was glad that the three still had a place to call home.
Ansem opened the door to his office and immediately walked straight through the room and into the lab where he knew he'd be seeing a head of blonde hair and a head of steel-blue hair. He took one step into the lab and that itself already confirmed that he was indeed correct. Ienzo was writing something on the large computer in the room, Even on the other hand was sitting on a chair a little bit further away from the boy with some kind of papers in hand. Most likely documents or reports.
The first one to notice his arrival was Ienzo who looked over to him and gave a warm smile with closed eyes. "Hello Master Ansem." He then said and Ansem couldn't help but shake his head. "Didn't I tell you to leave the 'Master' part out?" He asked and Ienzo turned his head back to the computer, his hair hid most of his face pretty well but Ansem was sure that the boy was at least slightly blushing from embarrassment. The thought caused him to chuckle.
"What are you two working on?" He asked while glancing over to the computer screen which was displaying the files of the protection system that had been created by Cid. "Me and Cid have been working on upgrading the defense system of the kingdom, the peace has returned but the Heartless are still around. We need to keep our people safe which means that we need to work on that system of theirs since it had mostly been created as a temporary solution to the growing Heartless problem." Ienzo explained while browsing through a couple of files to show their work to his mentor.
Ansem was quite impressed. He had always known that the boy was hardworking, but it had only been three days since the defeat of Xehanort and he had already made so much progress in the restorations of their home world. He then turned over to his friend who had stood up and walked over to them during the teens explanation. "What about you Even?" The older blonde asked as he looked over to the documents on the table.
"Since Ienzo and Cid have been working on the defenses, I've decided to try and improve our connections to the other worlds." Even stated, the documents in front of them were mostly about different world leaders that knew about the existance of other worlds. There were most likely some other important things in there as well but he did not have the time to read those when the computer suddenly turned off without Ienzo doing anything to it.
The three watched as it turned back on again, revealing a message which read:
King Ansem the Wise of Radiant Garden
You have been summoned into a meeting. Now that the war with light and darkness has ended and peace has returned into the worlds it is time for us to have a discussion about the future of your world. The meeting will take place in the Land of Departure today afternoon. Please bring your son, prince Ienzo, as well. Do not be late and be ready to answer for all the crimes that you have commited during your reign.
Signed- The Council of Worlds
The letter stayed on the screen until Ienzo clicked it away with a shaky sigh. Even groaned in annoyance with his fist closing to display it even more clearly. "Who do they think they are? Blaming you for crimes you did not commit? The fall of Radiant Garden was not your fault and if they do not know that then they have no right to make any demands!" The blonde exclaimed yet calmed down once Ansem placed his hand on his shoulder with a slight smile.
"Though that is not the only crime I have committed. I did do rather... unethical experiments once. Perhaps the crimes I have to answer for are those and not the one that you are referring to." He said, but he doubted that he was right. Even was most likely correct and the council was blaming him for the fall. Which was good, the last thing he wanted was for them to realize that Ienzo had anything to do with it.
Ansem sighed and set a hand on top of Ienzo's shoulder who had not said anything since the message had been sent. "You should probably go and change into something more presentable, I shall do the same as well." He stated before turning to walk back to the exit- when someone grabbed his wrist. Ienzo was looking at the ground with his hair hiding his face. "What if we don't go. They're not going to let you rule anymore. We will be thrown out of our home." He stated.
"No. I will not let that happen, definitely not to you." Ansem stated with a sure tone of voice. He knew that he wouldn't be able to convince Ienzo with words alone but at the moment he could not do anything else. Ienzo'd grip on his wrist loosened a bit before letting go completely and falling down next to his side. "I shall go and get ready." The boy finally said in a hushed tone while fixing up his coat. He then gave a small nod to the older man before walking to the exit, ignoring the quiet call for his name.
Ienzo had walked over to his room which was still as bland as ever. He'd definitely have to decorate the place up at some point, but right now he just had to open his closet- get the fancy suit that had been specifically tailored for him to use on occasions such as these, get dressed and then get going to some meeting he definitely did not want to go to.
Suits were definitely not the type of clothing Ienzo preferred to wear, the suit made for him did look nice but he hated having to wear it. The pants were just regular black slightly more better looking pants that widenned at the ankles, the shirt and the jacket were the things that had been designed to attract attention. The shirt underneath was an off-white button up shirt while the jacket on top of it was black. The jacket was full of detail but the most noticeable ones were the flowers that had been sewn onto the collar and the lines that had been sewn onto the wrists. The silver string was said to glow in the light but Ienzo wasn't sure if that was true.
Ienzo put the suit on as quickly as possible and looked at himself in the mirror, his messy hair definitely did not match the otherwise fancy clothes so he decided to do something about it. Brushing it would be a good place to start, he could probably put some accessories there as well- but honestly he did not care enough to do so. He was honestly lucky that his hair looked good even if it wasn't taken care of properly for a couple of days.
There was a knock on his door, signaling that it was time to go. Ienzo let out one big sigh before going to open the thing.
The walk through the town and to the gummy ship was quiet and peaceful. It was so early in the morning that not that many people were up. Ienzo was glad that it was this way since he was already uncomfortable enough in the clothes he was wearing and he definitely didn't want more people seeing him in them. Luckily they made it there without almost anyone noticing them. They boarded the gummyship and flew away from the world they called home.
Ienzo wouldn't call himself a good pilot, but he knew enough to be able to fly them to the Land of Departure without killing them both in the process. Ansem had tried to make some kind of small talk during the trip, but once he had noticed that the usually chatty boy was now completely quiet he gave up on the attempt. The trip was silent in an uncomfortable way yet neither of them didn't do anything about it.
Terra, Aqua and Ven had most likely been kicked out of the world for the meeting to be able to happen which made Ienzo even more annoyed than he already was. He and Ansem entered the large building that had two guards standing at the gate, they both bowed slightly at them before going back to their defensive positions. Normally Ienzo would've bowed back or at least greeted the two in some kind of way, but in this situation he hadn't even spared a thought to that. Luckily Ansem greeted them back.
One thing Ienzo noticed immediately was how the place looked nothing like Castle Oblivion, he was glad about that for sure. He didn't know how he would've reacted if the place where a stressful meeting would take place in would look like the castle where he died in... as Zexion that is. They walked over to some kind big hall and then stopped in the middle of it. Right in the place where they were surrounded by other kings, queens and rulers. They all stood up at once when the two entered the room yet only one of them spoke up- a man Ienzo did not recognize. Though someone she did recognize was Aqua, sitting on the left side of the table with an uncomfortable look in her eyes. It was nice to know that they had at least one friend with them there.
"The king and prince of Radiant Garden have arrived, the meeting will now begin."
The room definitely was not meant to be used as a courtroom. It was definitely just a dining room but it served the purpose. Everyone sat around the table and only two free seats remained at the head of the table which was closer to the door. On each side of the table were four rulers and at the other head were none. Ienzo wanted to look over to Ansem for some kind of comfort or assurance, but he knew better than to show such weakness in front of people who could be dangerous.
"Please, sit." A queen on the right side of the table said as she gestured to the two free seats with her left hand. Ienzo nodded but waited until Ansem had walked ahead of him, he was the king afterall. Once Ansem was seated Ienzo sat down as well, placing his hands on top of his knees while the older man set his on top of the table. The blonde king nodded his head as a greeting and the prince repeated the action.
One of the men on the left side of the table spoke up, he was sitting next to Aqua who had yet not raised her head to look at anyone. "Let us get straight to the point. You may not rule over Radiant Garden anymore." He stated, earning approving nods from all around the table- except for the keyblade master. "I am sure you're aware why you cannot." He then added, to which Ansem nodded. Ienzo wanted to shout at them, to insult them, but instead he just closed his fists tightly and bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from doing something he would surely regret.
"But Radiant Garden still needs a ruler." Aqua finally spoke up, silencing everyone around her out of respect. "While you cannot rule anymore, you are free to choose between two options regarding the future ruler of your kingdom." She then continued and finally raised her head to look at the two scientists. Ansem nodded as a signal for the woman to continue her speech. Aqua nodded back with the tiniest of smiles she could.
She then sighed and looked between the two. "You can either choose another ruler from the people of Radiant Garden to take over your place as king or..." Aqua stopped, her gaze dropping back to the table. The king beside her tapped his fingers against wooden table impatiently before letting out an annoyed sigh. "Or you can name your son Ienzo as your heir and he will be crowned as the king of Radiant Garden."
It was quiet.
The two options were a lie, there was only one and that was to name Ienzo as heir. No man in their right mind would choose some random citizen to rule the kingdom their family had ruled for decades. Maybe even centuries. The problem Ansem had with the other choice was that Ienzo wasn't even eighteen yet, his birthday was next month. (Well it was actually the day they had adopted him but still.) He had already perished twice and was under way too much stress already to rule anything. Crowning Ienzo as king would hurt the boy, he would be a good ruler but it would hurt him.
Ansem glanced over to his son who was staring at the hands on his knees with wide eyes that were full of horror and shock. He swore that he could see the boy shaking as well. He looked over to Aqua who mouthed the words "I'm sorry." to him with a sympathetic look in her eyes. "So, what is your decision?" Another queen asked with a similar expression to the one that Aqua had on her face.
The blonde could not look at his son as he answered, he did not want to see the look he would have on his face. He had surely already realized what must be done, yet Ansem did not wish to see the look he would have on his face once his father would say the words. He sighed and looked down, hands closing tightly on the table in front of him.
"I shall name my adoptive son, Ienzo, as the heir to Radiant Garden. His coronation will be as soon as possible."