Tenmei let out a grunt, swinging his keyblade from side to side, targeting the dummy in front of him. Darkness surged around him, increasing his abilities as he imagined his target as Xao. He needed to ensure his technique was on point, so that should they finally meet, he could fight the psycopath well enough to, at the very least, be considered an equal. With increasingly vicious strikes, Tenmei could only imagine Xao's reactions as every swing struck him.

A swipe to his gut, a cleave towards his back, a parry and a thrust... every move meant he was one step closer towards achieving his goal. Xao was nearly within his grasp, he just needed to-

"Hey, Tenmei!"

The noise brought his attention, and instinctively, Tenmei let out a loud roar, swinging his keyblade downwards towards the voice. It was only a fraction of a second from hitting Ren when Twilight's Guardian stopped, hovering not even an inch away from his nose as Tenmei dismissed the Dark Surge, panting heavily.

"Oh... hey..." Tenmei said, breathing a bit heavy. "You startled me..."

Ren blinked, looking at the teeth of the blade that was inches from cleaving him in two. "I don't think 'hey' is the appropriate response for almost killing a friend, but whatever... anyway, about that dual wielding keyblade thing you do-"

"You want me to teach you how to split Twilight's Balance?" Tenmei asked, brushing off Ren's observation as if it was a minor detail. "Sure, I can do that. It looks like your keyblade was designed for that, so it shouldn't be too hard."

"Really!?" Ren said, looking pleased. "Cool! I think it would be helpful against Xao, and plus it's cool as hell!"

Tenmei looked troubled at the mention of Xao, but did his best to conceal his worry. He instead held his own keyblade in hand. "Twilight's Guardian acts, for me, as not only a weapon, but an extension of myself. Should I need to focus on speed instead of power, or require something to block with as well as attack, the blade changes shape to match my needs. It's mostly an instinctive thing."

Ren summoned Twilight's Balance, eyeing the blade with interest. "I can see how it should split into two... the question is how do I split it?"

Tenmei offered his advice once more. "Try imagining that you need it to split; say you're in a situation where having two blades would be better than one. If you're skilled enough, it should adapt it's shape for you easily."

Ren looked down at the blade, and held it as if he was going to try again, but before he could, Hikari's voice suddenly came from the other room. "Hey, we're almost at Neverland, so you two might want to get ready to go!"

Ren sighed, dismissing the blade. "Alright, we're on our way... who knows, maybe Xao will troll us on this world as well so that I can try it."

"I doubt it... we did piss him off quite a bit last time", Tenmei said with a smirk. "But it's better to check just in case he does have plans here. We'll move on to Hollow Bastion afterwards."

With that, the two left the training room, with the former prince heading straight to the captain's chair, taking a seat. Yumi blinked a couple times, before speaking up. "Um.. you're not gonna take a shower first?"

"No point", Tenmei stated, waving a dismissive hand. "If Xao's here, I'm just gonna get another workout smacking his head around. I'll take one when we get back."

"Besides, we're pretty much here", Ren stated, looking down at the world as it came into view. "There's no point in delaying any longer... I can sense something is going on down there..."

Tenmei narrowed his eyebrows. "Whatever it is, it's dark, but it's not Xao level of dark. But we can't pass this up..." He began hitting the control's, taking the ship in for a landing. "We're checking it out. Prepare to land on the Neverland Island."

The ship descended down onto a small group of islands just off the coast of the mainland, overlooking a ship that Yumi knew Sora was currently encountering Riku and learning about how the young boy could now control the Heartless. They disembarked with haste, mostly cause Tenmei was rushing out the door in order to make sure that everything there was alright and that they could move on to where Xao was awaiting them as fast as possible. After one quick look around, however, it seemed almost fruitless to land on the world at all, as the only thing that seemed off was that the heartless were just a tad stronger then they should be, but nothing like the six armed Darkside beast that they had faced off against last time.

"I don't think he's here..." Hikari muttered.

"But something is", Tenmei mused. "Maybe it's a follower he's managed to pick up? Let's find them and take them down. Maybe beat some information out of them."

They headed farther into the world, beating the heartless that stood in their way but finding nothing of interest until much later. Deep into the world, located inside the cave known as Skull Rock, when it seemed like nothing could be found there other then the usual, was a familiar face, standing in a swarm of heartless that seemed to dare not attack him. He looked at them with a curious expression, one not of joy to see them again, but certainly not of loathing or hatred either. "Oh... hey guys. Fancy seeing you here."

Yumi was the first to react, surprisingly. "S-Shun?" she asked, lowering her shield a bit. "Where have you been?!"

"I think it would be easier to explain where I haven't been", Shun stated, smirking a little as if he had made a funny joke. "Been kinda everywhere honestly. Been focusing on getting stronger as well."

Ren tilted his head, looking concerned at the Heartless that surrounded Shun, but did not seem to want to attack him. He set that aside, however, and stepped forward, dismissing his keyblade. "Come on, Shun. We need to get to Hollow Bastion! Xao is there, and we're about to take him on!"

Shun looked curiously at Ren, "Oh, I know he is there. He took me there, after all."

At that, Tenmei stepped forward, but he did not dismiss his keyblade. Instead, he stared at the teen, noticing something was off. "... what have you been doing this whole time?" he asked, his tone one of curiosity... and hidden ferocity. "You've been focusing on getting stronger... and yet I don't see a sword in your hand... so that means you're not trying to defeat the Heartless here."

"The Heartless obey me, prince", Shun commented, a bit of bite in his tone. "They aren't going to attack me, so there is no reason to have my sword right now... as for what I have been doing, well... bonding with my father, I guess is the simplest way to put it."

"Y-Your father?" Hikari asked, lowering her staff more, looking at Shun with a mixture of confusion and pity. "But Shun, your father is-"

"Not the man I thought he was", Shun instantly said, glaring at the blonde. "I found out the truth recently... about who I am, how I was made to be... everything. I ask you four, how does it feel to be real!?"

Yumi let her shield fall, thoroughly confused. "What do you...? Shun, you're real too! You're our friend, right?"

"I thought what I knew was the truth, but he showed me the truth", Shun stated, gritting his teeth. "Xao... is my 'father', in a manner of speaking."

"That's a lie!" Ren instantly said, stepping forward, but this time he seemed very on guard at the way Shun was acting. "We knew your father since childhood, there's no way that Xao is-"

"That is what I thought too", Shun interrupted, clearly pained by the topic at hand. "But Xao proved to me that I am... a replica."

"A what-a-what?" Hikari was baffled at this point, unable to even process what was occurring anymore.

"A replica", Tenmei said, stepping up. "The program was created eons ago - to us, anyway - to see if one could create a person artificially. If a replica has a heart, it's almost impossible to distinguish them from a normal person... only the creator would know." He stared at Shun, giving the boy a look of pity as his lips twisted into an angry snarl. "The creators of replicas are supposed to care for them... and the subject is so touchy, most of the people of Twilight Citadel avoided them. In fact, a hundred years ago or so, one of my ancestors forbade anyone in the royal family or connected to the Citadel from using one. Xao... he keeps giving me more reasons to hate him."

At that, Shun actually glared, giving Tenmei a look of loathing. "But don't you see? It is him that gave me life, and because of that I can exist, and even taught me way more then I could have learned from any of you, or that old fool... the darkness holds more secrets than even the previous king knew of, don't you see... and together, my father and I, we will unlock them all."

Ren knew his friend was lost, despite the girls looking forward and reaching out to Shun as if he was just a lost child clinging to a cliff in a desperate attempt to get to safety. "You're stupid if you think that. The darkness will swallow you up, Shun, just as it has your 'father'."

Shun growled at that, summoning his sword to his side, though something about it looked different. "I dare you to say that again... old friend."

Tenmei stepped up next, not afraid to speak his mind. "Your father is a delusional psycopath who gets his jollies by messing with kids and destroying an entire world. And if you think you can protect his image..." He stepped into a battle stance, the darkness already pooling at his feet.

"Then I dare you to try and hit me, you novice."

"No, don't!" Hikari screamed, not wanting to see her friends battle. But the damage was already done, Shun had charged forward and began to clash with the two Twilight Keybladers, though unlike his father he was actually adept at physical combat, and was proving that he was not going to be easy to take down. Tenmei and Ren were both giving their all just to try and hit the boy, while he was unleashing his fury onto them, his mind made up about what he used to call his friends. Finally, he pointed his sword down and shot a blast of darkness from it, enveloping the area in smoke as he leapt up, watching them from a high rock outside of the cave's "eye".

"Enough!" Shun shouted, glaring down at them. "There is no reason for us to fight here. We are going to settle this soon anyway, are we not? The gate to Hollow Bastion is open now that Sora is done here, so your way to us is clear. My father is ready, having trained his body to fight physically... the question is... can you handle his newfound powers?"

Tenmei snarled, his amber eyes glaring up at Shun. "I'm giving you one last chance, Shun! Listen to us! We don't want to keep fighting you!" He held his hand over his heart. "Xao creating you for selfish gains is despicable, but I still want you to be here, with your friends! It doesn't matter that he told you you're not real - you are to them! Are you really going to throw that away, along with the rest of all you knew from Twilight Citadel?!"

Shun only scowled at that, "My life has been a lie... I grew up thinking that I had a real family, that I had an actual purpose... but my purpose all this time has been to serve him when the time came... I have to serve him, or else..."

Ren ran forward at that, looking up at his friend in a desperate plea. "You don't believe that, Shun! You can choose to defy him! You just wont because you are too afraid of what will happen if you don't!"

Shun actually looked saddened at that, looking down at Ren with a look that a sad puppy would give it's master. "It is... too late to stop what is fated to be, Ren..."

"That's bull!" Tenmei argued. "You always have a choice! Fate?! Destiny?! What kind of lies has Xao been feeding you this whole time?!"

Shun's eyes seemed to change at that, glowing a tad as the boy smirked, a dark portal appearing underneath him as he began to sank into the abyss. "The same lines your spineless, worthless father fed you your whole life, you so-called prince."

And with that, he was gone.

Tenmei stared at the spot Shun was, his eyes wide in shock, his jaw practically hitting the floor. There was plenty he would take; calling him a fool, an ignorant child, all manner of taunt and jab at his pride was easy to handle.

In comparison? Insulting his father was unforgivable.

Tenmei's jaw clenched, his lips firmly twisted into a terrible scowl. The darkness began rolling off of him in waves, more than he ever put out before. "How... dare he..." he muttered, the darkness even making his skin darker. While usually a rather fair complexion, it slowly became an unnatural tan, with black decals starting to form on his arms and legs. "No one... no one... insults my father..." He let loose an inhuman growl. "... he will pay for this."

"No," Ren instantly spoke, stepping up. "Tenmei, he is just trying to get under your skin... he isn't himself right now. Shun is a trouble maker, a prankster, and hell; he's even a bit insufferable... but the way he is acting isn't him, I know that better than anyone. We've been friends since I was a child, and how he is acting isn't how he is... let me be the one to handle Shun, cause I know that once I reach him-"

"HE INSULTED MY FATHER! HIS KING!" Tenmei snapped, turning to face Ren. The boy stared in horror as his teeth elongated, forming into fangs. "As far as I'm concerned, that insufferable replica is just like Xao! I can not, WILL NOT stand for this!" He turned away from Ren, stepping forward and holding his hand up. A dark corridor appeared, the first the prince had summoned in front of them. "I am going to Hollow Bastion, ALONE, and after I have Xao's head on a PIKE, SHUN is going to learn a lesson HE'LL NEVER FORGET!"

Hikari and Yumi were practically pressed up against a rock in fear, looking at Tenmei as if he was a heartless himself. However, Ren, braver than he probably should be at that point in time, only looked at Tenmei with a determined look in his eyes. "Then... we stand on opposing sides. I don't care who you are, Tenmei, but I think you know what I am getting at... I don't let people just hurt my friends. If you want Shun... then you'll have to destroy me." A threat, or a desperate plea, no one knew; either way what Ren had said drew the line. Hikari began to cry, tears slowly falling from her face, and Yumi was petrified in response to that. Ren summoned Twilight's Balance again, holding the blade up. "Either way, I am going to Hollow Bastion, too."

Tenmei stared down at the keyblade in Ren's hand, growling. "... you're just like him", he said softly, glaring up at the boy that stood in his way. "You're just like that man... my father gave him his job, out of obligation... but his boneheaded stubbornness... his meddlesome attitude... sticking his nose where it did not belong. Had I known better, I'd assume he was vying for a place in my court... or even my throne."

While Hikari and Yumi looked confused, Ren seemed to know exactly what Tenmei was getting at, as he stepped forward with Twilight's Balance held firm. "I never cared about your title... nor did my father... we just wanted to do the right thing... and right now, what you're doing is not that."

"What I'm DOING is AVENGING MY PEOPLE!" Tenmei snarled, his perspective warped. His keyblade split into two, both blades pointed at Ren. "Last chance, Ren. Move... or I make you move."

"Then make me", Ren shot back, bracing himself into a battle stance. "But like I told you before, you're going to need to destroy me. If you can't do that, then I will just keep trying to stop you from losing your mind to the darkness."

Tenmei let out a low growl, and Ren soon realized the prince had delved too far. The darkness spread, even taking over his two keyblades as they were wreathed in dark flames. "Don't say I didn't warn you, friend!" And with that, faster than Ren could predict, both blades struck him down, hitting him squarely in the arms. Bones cracked under the force of his hit, and his keyblade was knocked loose within another second, just as the pain began to flood his mind. With a scream of rage and agony, Ren crumpled to the ground, unable to protect himself now. With a swift kick, he was forced aside, landing further away from the corridor.

"It is only because of Master Hiroto that I do not end you now, Ren", Tenmei said with a growl, not caring if he couldn't hear him over the pain. "And... if I did kill you... I would be no better than my target." He looked over to Hikari and Yumi for the first time, and they saw his stance falter. Instantly, the flames on his blades retreated, and for a second, they could see his eyes shine with... was that regret? He even hastily turned away, but the two girls could see a single tear trailing down his cheek. "... take him as far away from Hollow Bastion as you can. I will not allow Xao to take him. This... is my last request to you both."

"Why should we listen to you?!" Hikari shouted, her fear taking over. "You monster! What have you done?!"

Tenmei flinched at that, did not deny her accusation. With nothing else to be said, he walked into the corridor before him, and once it collapsed, the unbelievable pressure of Darkness faded, allowing Yumi to take that breath she desperately had been holding onto.

"...stand up, sister," Hikari shot towards her, seriousness radiating off her voice. She ran forward, grabbing Ren as gently but as forcefully as she could with light magic, turning towards where they parked the Gummi Ship. "We need to go."

Yumi slowly picked herself up, her knees shaking as she attempted to stand. Soon, she followed behind Hikari. "Is... is he gonna be okay?" she asked meekly, still feeling the after effects of the darkness.

"I will make him ok, even if it costs me my life", Hikari replied, her eyes only for the ship that was before them. "I will not let Ren die... not now. Not as long as I draw breath."

Yumi looked back down at her feet, gripping her shield tighter in her hand. She knew that if she spoke, her next words would probably send Hikari into a rage, but she needed to say them. "And... Tenmei...?"

Hikari stopped just as she was about to enter the Gummi Ship, pausing for a moment to either calm down, or choose her words carefully. Either way, Yumi did not like the answer that came from her.

"If he ever hurts any of my friends again... I'll destroy him myself. You can bet on that!"