It didn't take long for the two princes to get down to brass tacks, focusing on their hearts and their properties. Tenmei understood, fully, that what happened was not a full surrendering to the Darkness; with how his heart stood, an eternal balance, it was impossible for his heart to be overfilled with Darkness. However, that surge of anger was what triggered the darkness to flow through him freely, and he wanted to understand why.

So, he suggested meditating to Ren, wondering if focusing on the Darkness would help them decipher this new power. Tenmei was a veteran - meditating came natural to him thanks to his training as the neutral judge of Light and Darkness.

Ren, on the other hand...

"...I think my leg is cramping up," the bored voice from the boy came, irritation clear in his tone. "What is sitting here in silence supposed to do anyway?"

Tenmei opened one eye, glaring slightly at the other boy. "Meditation is a wonderful tool for a Keyblade Warrior. For normal hearts, it calms the maelstrom of emotions, allowing a warrior of the Light to expel their negative thoughts and pretty much cleanse themselves, if only temporary, of any darkness threatening to swallow them." He then moved his hands to his own heart, fluidly and elegantly. "As for my heart, and by extension yours, it allows you and I to ponder the chaotic nature that is the Twilight, understanding both Light and Darkness as if speaking to an old friend, or listening to the stories of a beloved grandfather."

Ren blinked a few times before summoning his keyblade, looking at the keychain for a moment. "Understand it? I think it's kinda just like the yin-yang symbol or whatever... but alright, I'll keep trying." Ren sighed, closing his eyes again and attempting to calm himself from all the stress and negativity that has been laboring his heart for the last few days since they arrived to the future, though clearly he was having a hard time with it, as it was not long before he opened his eyes again, sighing as he lied down and looked at the ceiling.

Tenmei let out a low groan, opening his one eye again. "You have to focus on nothing to expel that stress, you know", he stated, clearly irritated with Ren's lack of focus.

Ren ignored the irritation coming from the boy, holding out his hand to the ceiling and looking like he was reaching out to something. "The only time I felt truly stress free was when I was in that place. If I could get there again, this would be so much easier..."

Tenmei was about to admonish Ren, but soon he stopped, both eyes now open. "That place... wait, was it a void, with a stain glass window set atop a pillar? Holding your image and those that were important to you?"

"Exactly!" Ren shouted, standing up suddenly. "There, I felt at peace... like whatever could happen to me there was going to make things ok! Even though I was confused as heck about what was going on, the stress from being chased by the heartless earlier was gone... if I could just get back there..."

Tenmei blinked a few times, before standing up. "Ren, that place was your Dive to the Heart. It's... well, I'm not fully sure what it is... basically, it's a part of the spiritual awakening of a Keyblade Warrior." He held up his keyblade. "I witnessed mine when I was very young... and I haven't been able to return since. I don't even know if a normal keyblade wielder can ever go there more than once."

Ren frowned at that, but the puzzled expression on his face remained as well. "Well, we aren't normal... so why not give it a shot?" Ren sat down, sighing a bit and closing his eyes. Tenmei rolled his eyes, finally grateful that Ren was at the very least going to focus on something instead of bothering him, going back to meditation. For a few minutes, there was nothing but silence between the two boys, before finally it was if they connected. Tenmei and Ren were not at the platforms, but were both floating in a void space. A single heart flew in front of them, darkness and light in equal quantities, swirling within the crystal like container, was floating in front of them. Then, suddenly, a second one appeared from behind the first one, floating to the side. Both hearts began to change just then, the light in one extending outwards while the darkness flowed inwards, making a core. The second heart did the opposite, darkness taking the outside while the light became a core on the inside. Just like that, the vision ended, and both boys found themselves back on the floor of the training room once again.

"W-what just happened?" Ren asked, confused.

Tenmei blinked several times, trying to burn the image into his mind. Slowly, he grinned. "That... that was it! That's how we beat Xao!" He stood up, focusing once more. Tendrils of darkness began to pool around him, swaying slightly in the air as he continued. It wasn't as powerful as the burst he had used in Agrabah, but it was there. Soon, the dark surge faded, leaving Tenmei as he was.

"That vision... it showed me how to create that surge again!" the former prince stated, beaming with pride. "I may not be able to fall to Darkness... but I can make my heart appear Dark, giving me a stronger connection to that side of the spectrum!"

Ren blinked, giving a small 'huh' as he stood up, and slowly darkness began to extend from his body in an aura, his eyes closed in meditative focus. Soon, darkness was surrounding him entirely, and his eyes opened to reveal that they had taken a chartreuse yellow coloration. He closed his eyes again, and the darkness completely evaporated, before a light aura surrounded him instead, and his eyes snapped opened to reveal a cerulean color had taken them instead. "This feels weird... I had no idea that the heart could even change this way."

"Well, we're the first Princes of Twilight in who knows how many generations", Tenmei said, walking over and gripping Ren's shoulder. "I think it's about time someone began making new discoveries, don't you?" He gave a gentle chuckle at that.

Ren looked down at his body, which was still glowing with golden light. Tenmei had turned away at that, celebrating his victory, but Ren did not seem as happy as the former prince was. "Tenmei... don't you think this is dangerous? What could go wrong if we stay in these Surges for too long?"

Tenmei stopped his silent cheering, glancing back at Ren. He began pondering the outcome of those new forms. "Hm... well, I would say that for a normal person, it's a huge risk to them because their heart might not be able to handle that amount of Light or Darkness... but for us... it might affect our personalities a bit. But how exactly?" Tenmei began to pace a bit, the new question getting the gears turning in his brain. "Perhaps accentuate different virtues in our personalities? I know that one of my major weaknesses is that I can get tunnel-vision, so I might be blind to it right now... but I don't see anything that would make using these forms dangerous."

Ren looked down at his hands, gripping them into fists as he let the aura of light fade. He silently had decided to himself that the forms might not be worth the risk, and that he would only use them if he needed to. "Right... hopefully we can beat Xao without resorting to them, but they are nice to have."

"They might be necessary", Tenmei stated, holding up a finger as he gave his argument. "When I fought Xao initially, he had me on the ropes without any effort... his darkness was simply too powerful, and he truly wielded it like a master. Even now, he is a strong threat, and I would never send Yumi or Hikari after him." He then smirked, walking over to Ren. "But I think I found his weakness. He may be strong with his dark powers... but he absolutely is defenseless against an actual, physical attack. I think, if we use the surges to push past his darkness, we can take him down before he gets too powerful."

"Let's hope that is the case," was all Ren said to that, as the two left the training room and headed into the main area of the ship. Hikari and Yumi were sitting at the console, watching as the Gummi Ship was carrying them to their next destination. Hikari only looked up briefly at them as they walked in, before turning back to stare out the window.

"Hey, guys... how did it go?" Yumi asked, although it was obvious she wasn't happy.

"Rousing success", Tenmei said, smiling. "We've discovered a way to make our hearts connect to both Light and Dark alignments better, allowing us to use powers that we didn't have access to before." He gripped his fist a bit. "With these new Surges, we can finally take him down."

Hikari looked at Ren for farther explanation, and thankfully she received it. "Basically, we can alter how our hearts... represent us. Normally, they act like a yin-yang symbol, with darkness and light swirling together in harmony, and basically what we do is channel it so one alignment is on the outside, while the other is repressed into the core of the heart. So, essentially..." Ren thought carefully about how to phrase this next part, cause both Hikari and Yumi were staring at him with a mixture of fear and interest. "I can weaken my connection to the darkness by repressing it to the center of my heart, while augmenting my powers with the light by bringing only it to the surface."

The fact he said light instead of darkness eased the tension a little bit, and he even got a smile from both of the girls. Hikari spoke for the first time since they entered the ship. "So this 'Light Surge' might be your best chance at beating Xao then... that's great news!"

Tenmei, on the other hand, frowned. "Not necessarily... but I won't rule it out. I know that using Darkness against him might be a bad idea... but..." At this he shook his head, knowing it was possible the girls wouldn't like it. "I'm... planning on using the Dark Surge at least one more time against him. I need to know if my theories about him are correct... and plus, it'll add the benefit of strengthening me against his abilities, should I be wrong."

"Strengthening you against his abilities?" Yumi asked.

Ren sighed, hoping to have to avoid talking about this part. "Darkness is weak against Light, while Light is weak against Darkness. Essentially, by taking a Light stance, you're strengthening your offense against the Dark, but at the same time, you're putting yourself more at risk to being hurt by it as well... these 'Surges' are a double edged sword, essentially..."

"Which is why we will not even attempt to teach you", Tenmei stated. "For the most part, your hearts are light. You wouldn't be able to handle allowing Darkness into your heart long enough to create a surge. And since you lack any darkness at all, you won't be able to create a Light Surge, either. You'll have to rely on your own strength and intellect to find your own power, I'm afraid." He shook his head once more, deciding to end this conversation before the girls tried to talk him out of his new plan. "Anyway... which world are we arriving at next?"

"...Halloween Town," Hikari muttered, turning away, once again in a sour mood. "We thought it was the best bet since Sora is already heading there as well... after being spat out of a giant whale."

"Don't ask," Yumi stated, seeing the look on Ren's face.

"Right... Monstro", Tenmei said, blanching a bit. "At least it's not Atlantica." The name made him shudder a bit, and he quickly composed himself. "Alright... then, we'll drop down, examine this world, and get out if we don't see any signs of Xao. I don't like Halloween that much, anyway."

With the plan in motion, despite not all members agreeing with it, the Gummi Ship touched down on the world, where Ren could see that true to the name, it seemed like a horror movie (at least a cheap one) come to life. He stepped out onto the world, not even realizing that his outfit had changed at first. He finally noticed it when he stopped to look down since he felt like something was off. It was like someone slapped him into a fantasy novel, as silver armor covered him from his head to toe, and despite not feeling like he was wearing anything heavier, just looking at it made him feel like it weighed a ton. "...so, what? Do I get a princess to save from a dragon, too?"

Tenmei blanched a bit, staring at Ren. "You've got to be kidding me... does this world turn you into a walking costume?" he asked, glancing over at Yumi.

"Yeah... this is the home of the Pumpkin King, after all", she stated. "This world is a literal embodiment of Halloween. If it didn't put you in a costume, I would be really surprised."

Tenmei glanced out at the world, now very reluctant to leave the ship. "Um... do one of you want to go first?"

"I'll go," Hikari bluntly said, stepping forward. Her change was much quicker to notice, as she was aware of the world's powers now. A purple robe donned her entire body, complete with a witch's hat. "...I am ok with this!"

"Better than my bulky setup," Ren muttered, a bit of salt coming off his words.

"So, you're next, right?" Tenmei asked, looking over at Yumi.

The redhead gave him a slow glare. "What's your deal? Are you afraid or something?"

"No!" Tenmei immediately shot down, before realizing how he said it. "No... it's not that. I just... I don't... want to change", he admitted. "I'm used to looking a certain way all the time... and I really, really hate sudden costume changes... I'd rather have a bit more warning..."

Yumi's eyebrow twitched at that. "If we have to deal with it, then so do you, your highness", she scolded, a bit of bite on the last two words. Tenmei flinched, but he didn't argue. She gave a sigh, before grabbing his hand (and fighting back the intense blush that threatened to light her face up). "Look, I'll go with you, okay?"

"... fine." And with that, the two stepped onto the world.

Tenmei's outfit melded away, turning into what looked like an elegant, black suit. A black, royal jacket covered the black vest underneath, with yellow trim and collar forming instantly. A cape, bound to him by a silver chain, flowed down to his knees, where his shoes became boots. Yumi, on the other hand, had taken to a green dress, that only traveled down to just above her knees. A white frill formed on the collar of her new outfit, while white socks traveled up to her knees, finishing the look off with a pair of yellow heels. A green ribbon tied her hair back, completing the ensemble.

"... and this is suddenly okay", Tenmei said, straightening himself and fixing his collar, showing off a pair of fangs as he spoke.

"See?" Yumi commented, nudging his side. "You were freaking out over nothing."

"He got a better outfit than I did," Ren muttered in jealousy. "I still want my princess, dammit."

Hikari gave a slight giggle at that, "Your trusty mage will accompany you on your quest to save her, Sir Ren."

"... you're making fun of me," Ren pouted with a bit of a blush on his face.

Tenmei and Yumi caught up to them at that point, both giving a smile. "Well... it's not ideal, but this'll work", Tenmei said. "Now... should we find out where Sora is in this mess? Or do we just see if we can spot Xao all over this place?"

"Well, if Xao was here, the world would be teeming with more powerful heartless, right?" Ren asked, looking around. "I don't sense anything too out of the-" he suddenly sensed a powerful darkness out of nowhere coming from the graveyard, his eyes flying towards that direction. "...and I spoke too soon."

"Perfect timing", Tenmei groaned, before summoning his keyblade. "Let's go!" The quartet ran off, heading towards the graveyard with serious and concerned looks on their faces. But when they arrived, there wasn't a trace of their target or his endless minions. Instead, a single Darkside heartless sat there, looking at them curiously as they approached.

"...a Darkside?" Ren tilted his head.

"Isn't that what Sora fought when Destiny Islands collapsed?" Hikari commented, also looking confused. "What is one doing here?"

"Seriously?" Tenmei deadpanned, his expression one of disbelief. "We felt that surge, followed it here... and all that we get is a bloody Darkside?"

Darkside faced off with them for a few moments, before suddenly a pulse of darkness escaped him, causing the four to flinch at the energy. A red glow surrounded him, as his eyes took on the same color, and four extra arms erupted from the body of the creature, complete with red tattoos all over the black body of the creature. The energy coming from the beast rivaled that of Xao when he assaulted their world, flooding the surrounding area with more Shadow heartless that were attracted by the dark power.

"...I don't think Darksides are supposed to do that," Ren sheepishly stated.

"You think?!" Yumi shouted. "The hell are we supposed to call this thing?!"

"Our target, that's what!" Tenmei shouted, taking charge. "Hikari, use Thunder on those shadows! They might have been drawn here by that thing, but they're still weak in the realm of light! We can't let them swarm up like they did on our Citadel!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," the blonde muttered, blasting a large number of them back with Thunder, destroying them instantly. Ren took charge as well, summoning light orbs and knocking away several of the shadows before turning to the 'super' Darkside, readying his weapon. The beast was much faster then a normal Darkside, his arm slamming into the ground so fast that it was practically undetected. Ren narrowly was able to escape getting hit before he began swinging at the arm, though he only got in a good two hits before the arm was withdrawn, and another was swung where Ren once stood, had he not side stepped out of the way.

"Seriously, this thing is strong..."

Tenmei flinched, taking a few whacks at the other hand before jumping back again. "I think Xao's just trying to mess with us, now", he said with anger. "Ren, you think you can target that thing's head?"

Ren nodded, before he ran back and spring boarded off a grave stone and onto the back of the beast. Before it had a chance to realize what was going on, several keyblade slashes had already flown at it, stunning the beast. Hikari summoned orbs of light much like Ren had earlier, and flung them at the Darkside as well.

"What can I do?" Yumi asked, growling in frustration. She swung her fist at another shadow, destroying it instantly. "I can't cast magic like Hikari, and I don't have a keyblade like you guys! I can't get close to that thing at all to hit it!"

Tenmei glanced over at her, then back at the beast. An idea formed in his head. "Do you trust me, Yumi?"

The redhead looked over at him, seeing his arm extended. She slowly nodded, before taking a hold. "Whatever idea you've got, I'm in."

"Then hold on tight", Tenmei stated, before jumping into the air. The two launched high above the monster, before Tenmei began spinning, picking up momentum. After a few hard swings, he launched Yumi downward, who had curled her hand into a fist, and with a roar, punched down, hitting the Darkside right between his red eyes. The beast let out a roar, stumbling back, before a beam of light struck it as well, with Tenmei pointing Twilight's Guardian down towards his back, where the arms all connected. Darkside flinched, before suddenly roaring out, evaporating into nothingness before them, leaving the four panting and exhausted in it's wake.

"A-alright... go team," Ren croaked, sitting down with sweat coming from his forehead.

"That was not fun," Hikari hissed, also sitting down.

Tenmei, while exhausted, merely used his keyblade as a crutch, leaning against it so he wouldn't fall over. "But... it was pretty damn good", he said, smiling a bit. He glanced over at Yumi, who took a seat next to her sister. "You okay?"

The redhead couldn't respond vocally, but she lifted her gauntlet-covered hand, slowly forming a thumbs up as she panted heavily.

"Quite a show you gave me," an all too familiar voice suddenly rang out, causing Ren to shoot back onto his feet instantly, gripping his keyblade tightly. Where the monster Darkside once stood, Xao suddenly was standing, looking over at them all with a pleased look on his face. "Did you like my present? I was testing the limits of my new powers."

"You can take your present and stuff it where the sun doesn't shine, Xao", Tenmei spat, standing up straight again as he held his keyblade once more.

"Hold your tongue," Xao stated, looking slightly amused. "You might even want to thank me. It was good practice was it not? Of course... it did also benefit my cause as well, so... maybe not."

"What sort of cause would you have that requires a super powered darkside?" Ren inquired, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"As I said before, why explain it to you if you do not figure it out for yourselves," Xao explained again.

"Maybe because you're a psychotic riddler who gets off on messing around with people's minds?!" Tenmei stated, obviously annoyed. "We don't know what you want! THAT'S WHY WE'RE ASKING, YOU IDIOT!"

Xao only smirked at that outburst, seeming to get joy at the fact that he was making Tenmei so mad. "Temper, temper... fine, if you really want to know, then let me give you a small clue that might piece it all together. A long time ago, a man existed who would sire two sons, legendary warriors who would become strong in the Twilight... his power. THAT is what I want."

Tenmei's blood ran cold at that. "The... the power of the King? But... he made the path of Twilight!" The prince brought his hands to his head in frustration, clearly upset. "I don't get it! What the hell are you even talking about?!"

"Maybe he's even more of an idiot then we thought he was," Ren suggested, shrugging off what Xao had said.

"Or maybe I'm not a fifteen year old novice and know what I am talking about," Xao shot at Ren. "That's all the hint you get. I want hearts, and I want the King of Twilight's power. From there, you four can work the rest out."

Tenmei let out a growl, not wanting to let the madman get away again. "Well... how about I stop you here so we don't have to listen to that again?" And with that, he focused on his heart, making it change before everyone's very eyes. Once more, the tendrils of darkness surrounded him, but this time, they soon exploded into an aura, exhuming the Darkness around him. He opened his eyes once more, revealing an amber glow that reminded everyone of the Heartless, and he slipped into an offensive stance, getting ready to charge again.

Xao raised his arm, and fired a blast of darkness that sounded like a cannon ball, but Tenmei was too quick for him. He parried the assault with his keyblade, before dashing forward and slashing at Xao, who narrowly managed to dodge the assault. Ren suddenly came from nowhere, and swung as well, though Xao dodged this as well. However, this is when he had made a mistake, underestimating the two boys, who suddenly turned and each one had struck one of his sides, causing him to yell in pain and warp onto a headstone, glaring down at them with a mixture of fury, but some amusement as well.

"Well, that happened..." he muttered, darkness surrounding his wounds to mend them.

"What's the matter, Xao?" Tenmei taunted, pleased that they had injured him again. "I thought if we attacked you like that again, you would destroy us. Or was that all talk?"

Fury and frustration raged up inside Xao for a brief moment, before his eyes became focused, and he stared down at them with what almost looked like... pity. "You two... have no idea... fine. You want me to unleash my true power? Then meet me in the world of pure darkness. There, you will receive my wrath." Xao turned to look at Ren, then turned back to Tenmei. "I'll destroy him right in front of you, for that big head of yours, Tenmei... and you will be his undoing by leading him to his demise."

Tenmei's eyes narrowed, and his smile faded. "If you try... Darkness or not... I will destroy you." Their clash had the prince convinced; Xao was not a physical fighter.

Xao only smirked at this, before he began to vanish into the dark portal that he conjured underneath him, sinking into it. "If you can."