DyingofFeels: Yep, unfortunately because Meli has been off gallavanting on her own for so long we skipped most of the KH3 worlds. I did want to get a couple of moments like the last two chapters in there, though! As for your thing about Aqua and Mickey...that's a good point, I hadn't even thought of that!

Hcbnc: Nothing for Re:Mind in this fic, no. Hopefully when it comes out it'll give me something good to work into the next one, though! Thanks for the get well wishes!

Enamis09: I'm glad you love the fighting scenes! We've got plenty more to come! Hope your revisions went well. Thanks for the get well wishes!

Coolmegan123: Haha yes, as Sebastian would say, "Somebody's got to nail that girl's fins to da floor." Glad you're liking the battle scenes. Oh, yes, the little voice...I wondered if anybody would notice/mention that... ;)

A/N: Okay, everybody. First of all...Merry Christmas!

Second, as of now I'm still coughing a lot and needing rest, but I'm not feeling like death anymore. I was able to make it to my parents' house to spend the holiday with my family, and am getting a little better every day!

Third, as my Christmas gift to you, (and to make up for not posting on Saturday), I'm making a double post today! Woo!

Riku and I dove back into the fight with the Demon Tide with maybe not enthusiasm, but definitely determination. When Shadows exploded all over the ground, I swung wildly, taking out as many as I could catch before they reformed. Riku was on the Tide immediately, hopping above the excess Shadows as best he could to chop at the core, and I followed suite.

Possibly the most annoying thing about it was that it was never still. Just when I got a good angle on it, the thing would take off flying again, knocking me over into the water as it went by. I had long, bloody scratches across the bare skin of my chest and arms, and one nice one down my cheek, but I refused to use the rest of the potion in my pocket for myself unless I was actually dying. If Riku needed healing and I couldn't use magic, that was my own fault, so I would save it for him.

I was in the midst of hacking away at the Tide when it vanished and suddenly Aqua was there, instead. Her attacks didn't waste any time, and she seemed to be specifically targeting Riku. Warping through the darkness at a speed that he couldn't keep up with, she rammed into him again and again, until he was stumbling and barely staying on his feet. It all happened in almost the blink of an eye. All I could do was jump in front of him, throwing my Keyblade up to block, before the sparkling projectiles she had been creating all converged on us in a blinding, painful explosion.

When I could see again, she was gone, and the Demon Tide was back. "Here, take this," I ordered, tossing the mostly-full potion to Riku as I ran.

I blasted the Tide with Dark Firaga, fully riled up with anger now. Aqua was a victim, I knew, and I had the utmost sympathy for her plight. If anyone could understand her, it was me. But nobody was allowed to hurt my Grim like that. Plus, that burst of light had done a number on my headache. The next time she showed up, I was going to let her have it.

But the battle with the Demon Tide was dragging on and on. I was still bleeding a bit from various places, and Riku looked completely exhausted. I saw him skid back across the water and pause to pant for breath as I ran in for yet another only semi-successful attack that knocked me onto my butt. When I looked back at him, I had to blink a couple of times to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. Sora was standing by his side.

The two boys put their hands together in front of them, and there was another flash of light that I cringed and looked away from as a stabbing pain shot through my skull. A moment later, when I dared to peek out again, there was a glowing Keyblade reminiscent of stained glass in the air behind them. I couldn't watch the rest of whatever this special attack was. There was way too much light involved for my head. I heard their simultaneous yell, though, and heard the sound of the Demon Tide fizzling out of existence.

Then Riku was running past me, and I followed his trajectory with my eyes to see King Mickey lying face down on the beach. I started to run after him, but I was passed up by Aqua, who had made her reappearance and was sliding fast across the water, throwing up a spray around her, Keyblade at the ready.

"Grim, look out!"

My shout got his attention, and he looked back over his shoulder. He started to summon his Keyblade, but it was impossible to tell whether or not he had succeeded before Aqua made contact and there was an explosion of water surrounding them.

I was in motion immediately, flying forward with dark speed. By the time the mist and water droplets had cleared enough for me to see that Sora had somehow leapt in front of Riku and blocked Aqua with his own Keyblade, I was nearly on top of her. Swinging around to the side at the last second, I slammed my weapon into her stomach and knocked her halfway back to where we had come from.

There was no time to waste, I knew. Aqua was a formidable opponent, possibly even more so than Xemnas. It was time to go Dark Mode, no matter what Riku and Sora might think of it.

She began teleporting again, warping in and out of black holes faster than the naked eye could track. I could feel her, though. I could sense exactly where she was, moving through the darkness, without being able to see her. Gathering my anger into my center, I turned slowly, following her movements with my body, and when she came into view again, I let it all loose.

The impact threw her backwards and stunned her enough that I quickly caught up and lit into her with my Keyblade. She took multiple blows before she managed to teleport away again. This time when she reappeared, there were about a dozen of her. I stepped back, rapidly scanning the copies. I couldn't tell which was actually her, they were all equally dark, but an idea came to me and I smirked. This is going to be fun.

Stretching out my arms, I closed my eyes and felt the darkness all around me. It was everywhere, intense and intoxicating. I began mentally drawing it into myself, seeing it streaming into a cloud over my head in my mind's eye. In the distance, I vaguely heard my name being called, but I ignored it, opening my eyes with a smile to see the churning storm I had created overhead.

Perfect. Take this, Aqua. With a thrust of my hands, I sent the darkness streaking down like a meteor shower. Each of the copies blinked out in an instant, leaving only the real Aqua, who stumbled as she was hit. There was still a little bit of darkness remaining above me, and I called it to my hand, wrapping it around my fist and preparing to shoot it at her.

Something was fast approaching me from my left, and I reacted quickly, whirling around and throwing my hand out before my brain could process who it was I was attacking. The darkness hit Riku square in the chest right as I gasped in realization. Dark Mode dissipated from around me, and I ran as fast I could without the assistance of darkness to where he was now lying on his back at the edge of the water. He coughed lightly, then pushed himself up on his elbows just as I skidded in on my knees next to him, shaking his head as if to clear it.

"Grim! I'm so sorry, are you okay?" I waved my hands frantically over his body like I could somehow sense his hurt. "I don't have any more potions. Can you heal yourself?"

"I'm okay," he grunted, sitting up the rest of the way. He glanced over at me, but didn't meet my gaze. "You look like you need it more than me, anyway."

"No, I don't, I'm fine–" I was interrupted by green light erupting around me, and I glared. "Grim! You should have used that on yourself! I said I was fine!"

He didn't respond. Propping up his knees and draping one arm over them, he stared out over the water, where Sora was now engaged in a fight with Aqua. "I would ask you why you didn't just heal me yourself, but I'm pretty sure I already know the answer to that question." At last he looked at me, his blue-green eyes hard as they bored into mine. "You've given into the darkness, haven't you?"

Now it was my turn to look away and pretend to watch Sora. My shock at having accidentally attacked him was fading, and dread of this conversation was quickly taking its place. All I could think of to mutter in reply was, "Why would it matter if I did?"

Riku growled angrily. "Of course it matters, Meli! Do you want to turn into a Heartless? Because I know you know that's where this leads."

Shifting over off of my knees, I pulled my legs up to my chest. "I thought, of anybody, you would understand." But not really. You knew he wouldn't understand, you just stupidly hoped he would.

"No, I don't understand!" Lunging to his feet, he raked his hands through his hair. "Why would I understand? Because I know just how powerful the pull of the darkness is?" He waved one hand desperately at me. "That's why I wanted you to stay away from it! I told you–"

"Oh, you told me." I rolled my eyes, trying to ignore how much his reaction was hurting me. "What are you, my dad, now?"

"No, I'm the guy who loves you more than anything, and who doesn't want to lose you...anymore than I already have."

My frown deepened, and I scrambled to my feet, facing him tentatively. "What do you mean? I'm still here, and I'm still yours."

Riku sighed, crossing his arms and turning his head further away. "Yeah. But you're not still you."

The words hit me like a punch to the chest. "Shows just how much you really know me," I scoffed. "This is me. The real me. The me that has been waiting to come out all along."

He finally looked me in the eyes again, scowling. "Who...? Has somebody been feeding you these lies? Who has gotten into your head and brainwashed you?"

"I'm not brainwashed, it's the truth!" I stamped my foot, furious. "I can see it clearly all by myself. I'm not like the rest of you. I had hoped that you could all accept me anyway, but it seems I was wrong."

"Yeah, you were wrong." He pointed a finger at me, his expression dead serious. "I'm not going to just accept this when I know how it will end up."

"You think you know," I corrected, hands on my hips. "Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I'm stronger than you were? That maybe I can handle the darkness?"

He shook his head. "Maybe for now. But no one can stay strong forever."

The truth of that statement sank like ice water down into my gut and settled there. "Yeah. Exactly," I murmured after a long moment of silence. "That's why I thought you would understand, because you are the one person who knew more than anyone what my life has been like. I couldn't keep being strong like that."

"So you think this is the solution?" He threw his hands up in the air in exasperation.

Gritting my teeth, I jutted my chin forward. "At least it's a solution! All anyone else could offer me was...a little bit of glue, to put myself back together every time I fell apart, with the hope that eventually, someday, there might be a more permanent answer. But the fragments of myself were getting smaller and smaller, and harder and harder to put back together each time."

Tears pricked my eyes, and one escaped down my cheek before I could stop it. "I felt like I was dying, Grim. This solution might not be the prettiest, or the safest. I'm very well aware that I don't fit neatly into the perfect little group of Keyblade bearers anymore...if I ever did to start with. But it's a solution. I feel better now than I have in months, maybe even years. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

Silence fell again as he studied me. I dashed errant tears away with my knuckles, then stared down at the sand, fists clenched by my sides. It felt like another fist was gripping my heart as I waited for him to say no, it didn't mean anything – waited for him to reject me, just like everyone else in my life. I didn't even know what I would do when he did. I didn't want to be the kind of person who couldn't live without my boyfriend, but he meant everything to me, and the thought of him no longer returning the sentiment was unbearable. Besides, if someone as patient and caring as Riku couldn't even bring himself to love me anymore, then I wasn't sure what the point was in existing. Clearly I was just unlovable.

"Of course it does," he finally answered, softly. "You know I want more than anything for you to feel better."

I interrupted him before he could add on the "but" that I was sure was coming. "The darkness helps. I can just get rid of any bad emotions that come up, even nightmares and panic attacks! They're just gone, I don't have to deal with them anymore! And it's not like I've turned evil and want to join the Organization or anything. I still want to help fight them, even if I'm not a guardian of light–"

"It's not healthy." Placing one hand on my arm, he used the fingers of the other to lift my chin. There was sadness shining in his eyes. "I wish with all my heart that it was, that this was really a viable solution for you. But we as humans are not meant to be able to just 'get rid' of our emotions, good or bad. This darkness is eating away at your heart, slowly, maybe, but surely. It's going to kill you."

I gazed into his eyes as a torrent of emotions flooded through me. There was sincerity in his voice and expression, which led me to believe that maybe he did still love me, after all. That brought undeniable relief. But I also knew that he still didn't understand, not really, and I realized with a pang in my gut that he never really would.

"That's the thing, Grim." Pulling free of his grasp, I took a step back. Maybe he wasn't purposely trying to hurt me, but it still hurt. He thought he knew what was best for me, but he was refusing to accept the person that I had chosen to become. "I'm sorry, but...even if it does kill me...that would be better than what I had before."

A pained look crossed his face, and I turned away with guilt needling at my chest. I'm hurting him, too. He deserves better than me. Out on the water, Sora seemed to be keeping the upper hand against Aqua, and past Riku I could see the King beginning to stir. It looked like everything was under control here, no thanks to me. "I'm sorry. I won't bother you anymore."

"Meli–"

Then I was running away through a dark corridor, yet again.

A/N: Next chapter, coming right up!