Neoshadows were swarming the entire area of The World That Never Was, like a cockroach infestation at an empty house that was abandoned years ago, but this only added the the targets that Rexn had as he raced through the world, slicing everything that stood in his way. Light energy surrounded him, showing his righteous fury. The neoshadows did not stand a chance, falling to the light half of Twilight's Balance faster than he could run, but he did not care about that. He only had a single goal, and nothing was going to stand in his way to achieving that goal... to get her heart back.

Xion... Her name was continuously being thought by Rexn, as well as her face. He had to remember her, despite the memories that he had of her threatening to slip away quicker as the moments went by. He had to hurry, as he was scared that the more time he delayed, the less likely he would even remember why he was here in the first place.

Suddenly, a barrier of light erected itself mere feet away from him, barring his path forward. Gritting his teeth from underneath his hood in frustration, he rounded the corner and started sprinting up another alleyway, though when he attempted to turn right, another barrier had appeared. His frustrations grew as he was forced to go left, away from where Roxas probably was, but he knew who had cast the barrier, and with only half of his complete power at his side, he stood no chance at getting past it.

Finally, he found himself in a large, open section of the world, where Neoshadows had swarmed in such large numbers that they were almost engulfing him. He roared in anger, slicing through each and every one of them, as he watched barrier after barrier appear, blocking his way out. Finally, the last bunch of Neoshadows were eliminated, and only a single figure stood with him in the boxed off area.

Ren's heartless.

"Move", Rexn growled, glaring at Ren with anger. "I do not want to destroy you."

Ren raised an eyebrow at that, "And why are you acting this way now? You told us that once you were done with your mission of spying on the Organization, you would rejoin us... or did you forget that too?"

Rexn growled at that, but did not move to attack. "I... I have to get her back!"

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Ren asked, actually wondering what exactly the light half of him had in mind. "She's gone... she had no heart so-"

"She did have a heart!" Rexn shouted, suddenly realizing that he could no longer recall her name, only her face. This was not good, he was running out of time. "I sensed it! You can sense it too, can't you? She's within Roxas! If I can just get to him I can-"

"Destroy him?" Ren asked, showing some rare anger at the fact that Rexn was thinking of going through with it. "You damn well know that we cannot change the history more than we already have. She is to vanish, and we cannot change that."

Rexn hissed in frustration, but then he actually changed his tactic, staring at his opponent with a pained plea in his gaze. "Please... I beg you. Just let me get her heart... we can keep it with us until it's time to bring her back..."

For a split second, Ren actually considered saying yes to the request. He could feel the pain that the light half of his heart was currently feeling within Rexn, the attachment that he had to her, and it almost flowed into him as well. However, the logical side of him took back over, and he shook his head. "We cannot. She belongs with Sora and that is where she will stay... if she is meant to come back, she will... but we cannot interfere..."

Rexn's lips twisted into a snarl as he shifted his stance, raising the light half of Twilight's Balance onto Ren. "Then... you will be removed from my path... once I get her heart, I will destroy myself so we can be recompleted... her heart with us..."

Ren glared, summoning the dark half of the keyblade, saying nothing. They faced off for a moment, before they flew at one another, slicing and attacking with fury. Meanwhile, Tenmei and Shun were looking on from above, staring down at the fighting below, watching with both concern and interest.

"Who'd ever thought we'd see two Ren's fight one another", Shun muttered. "Honestly, this is crazy!"

"At this point, I think we're a little too used to seeing crazy things", Tenmei pointed out. "If this'll help bring some normalcy back to our lives, I'll take it." He felt his hand tingle, itching to summon Twilight's Guardian to help his friend... but he had promised not to interfere unless he absolutely had to. "... besides... this, along with your return, will help smooth things over with Hikari... at least she won't hate me as much."

Rexn was striking with absolutely no remorse. He didn't even care if the opponent he currently had was supposed to be him, he only kept imagining the face of the girl he no longer remembered the name of, only knowing that he had to get her back. Meanwhile, Ren was trying to hold back a bit so that he could find a way to end them both at the same time, which ironically enough was making them even since Rexn was distracted by his own memories and emotions. Finally, it happened. Rexn had gotten a hit in, hitting Ren right in the leg, sending him backwards. He then grunted as he trust his blade forward, pointed directly at the chest of his heartless opponent.

And Ren had done the same motion.

All Tenmei and Shun saw at first was the light half of Twilight's Balance sticking out of the heartless' back. They gasped with pain and shock, before suddenly realizing that they only got half the image. Rexn also had a blade through his chest, sticking right out of his back, the nobody gasping in pain and looking at the blade with shock.

"I... only... wanted her back", Rexn gasped in pain, a tear rolling down his cheek. "She... she..."

"And I told you before, if she is meant to return... we will see her again...", Ren muttered, grinning through the intense pain he was feeling. "Together, as one..."

Rexn actually laughed a bit at that, smiling as he felt the sincere comment coming from the heartless. "She... likes ice cream..."

And with that, the two halves of Ren vanished back into hearts, before beginning to swirl around one another. Instead of going into Xemnas' Kingdom Hearts, the barrier spell made sure that they stayed put, and soon enough the swirl of light and dark energy became a single, grey flash of energy, before revealing Ren's complete form, wearing an Organization XIII cloak, and looking much taller then he did before. He had grown a bit, and his face was more mature. The Twilight Keyblader grit his teeth a bit, staggering on his feet as he rubbed the side of his head.

"I... need a moment..." Ren muttered in pain. "I just experienced a single year as two separate people, so... yeah major brain ache."

Tenmei let out a light chuckle, lowering the square barrier he had formed. "Go ahead and say hi", he told Shun. As the replica jumped down, he shouted after him. "I'll make sure no heartless get near you right now!"

"How you feeling, man?" Shun asked, looking concerned at his friend.

"Both of my sides are idiots", Ren hissed, though he stood up within time, sighing. "Though since they're me... I guess that makes me an idiot too... man, it's been a crazy year, huh?" He then summoned the two sides of Twilight's Balance, before merging them back together, smirking at the blade. "That's better."

Shun chucked a bit, patting Ren on the back before turning to the approaching Tenmei and nodding. "Alright, he's good to go!"

"Good", Tenmei stated, firing a small bolt of light and instantly killing a Neoshadow. "Then let's get out of here. The reunited keyblade might be stirring the heartless up here, and I'd rather be back in Twilight Town when everyone finally wakes up."

Ren nodded as both Tenmei and Shun walked forward, though when he moved to follow after them he felt something within his left pocket. He paused for a moment, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a single Thalassa Shell, laying it in the palm of his hand. Looking at the shell caused a sudden spike in emotion, and a single tear ran down his cheek. Stunned, Ren wiped the tear suddenly away, wondering where that had come from.

"Ren!" Shun shouted from ahead of him, already standing near a dark corridor. "Hurry up, will ya!"

Ren nodded, pocking the Thalassa Shell again before running after Shun, putting the emotions that he suddenly felt behind him for now.

XxXxXxX

The three warriors emerged from the portal in front of DiZ, who merely looked up for a brief moment to see who had appeared. "Ah, Ren. I am glad to see you have returned to your true form. I bet it is nice to be complete again."

Ren nodded, "Yeah, feels good."

"Better then being a nobody, that's for sure", DiZ muttered. Ren clenched his fist, glaring at DiZ at the comment, but quickly once again suppressing the emotions that had risen within him. "Now, we must make haste. Sora is regaining his memories again since Roxas is within my virtual Twilight Town. The memories he stole from Sora are beginning to return to him, so we should have him back soon, along with his friends. Ren, Shun, I will need you two to make sure nothing happens to Roxas. I fear that the other members of the Organization might be looking for him soon."

"Without a doubt", Tenmei stated. "I guess I'll return to my post in Sora's chamber. Ren, Shun... let me know if you need help, alright?"

"Of course", Ren nodded, though unlike his past self he did not smile, almost as if he had changed within the year that he spent split. The two friends turned towards the machine that would virtualize them, and Ren sighed. "Great... going to be digitized... gonna love this." With that, the two entered and were beamed into the world, disappearing before Tenmei's very eyes.

Once they were both gone, however, was when Tenmei let his face twist into a scowl, and he approached DiZ from behind. He held up one hand, an orb of light forming, and while he didn't turn, DiZ could feel the heat behind him. "Word of caution, DiZ... I may not like the Organization, but there is nothing wrong with Nobodies. Especially not Roxas, Naminé or Rexn. If you insult them again, I will not remain silent."

"And a word of advice to you, Tenmei", DiZ countered, not threatened at all by the prince. "I am the only one that can get your friends back, so I advise that if you want them, you might not want to threaten me again."

Tenmei lowered his hand, though he smirked. "And one more to you... you're terrible at bluffing", he stated, starting to walk back to Sora's room. "You need Sora back, just as much as we do."

"A fair point", DiZ mentioned, nodding his head to confirm that Tenmei was correct. "But you cannot really threaten a man that hates himself more than anything else."

At that, Tenmei paused, before glancing back, shooting the mummy a look of pity. "Believe me, Ansem... I'm all too aware of that." And with that, the two got back to work, never speaking of this moment again.

When he arrived at the chamber, though, he found his face turning bright red. Naminé had spotted his sketchbook, and was currently flipping through his drawings. With speed he wasn't sure he had before, the prince darted over, snatching the book out of her hands, and quickly threw it to the other side of the room, well out of her reach. The blonde nobody blinked, unsure of what happened, before looking up at Tenmei.

"How much did you see?" Tenmei asked, looking at her with a very panicked expression.

Naminé only smiled, not at all phased. "I saw most of them. You're very talented, Tenmei."

The prince sighed, blushing bright red. "Th-thanks... just... don't tell the others about them, alright? If they're going to know, I'd rather tell them myself."

The blonde gave a playful grin, looking slightly mischievous with her blue eyes. "Really? You sure it's not that you don't want them thinking you have a crush on Yumi? You did sketch more of her than anyone else." At his reaction, Naminé only gave off a giggle. "Don't worry, Tenmei... your secret is safe with me."

"I-it'd better be", the boy stated, walking back to pick up his sketchbook.

"So... what happened to your world?" Namine asked, causing Tenmei to freeze up. "I'm assuming it hasn't been restored, since you three have been splitting your time between Hollow Bastion and here... is it one of the sleeping worlds?"

At that, Tenmei's expression fell. No longer was he flustered or embarrassed... now, he was just sad. "... it's none of your business", he said softly, getting back to his chair. "Just... focus on Sora, please."

As the blonde sighed and nodded, returning to her work, Tenmei stared at his sketchbook once more. Flipping to a new page, he began a new piece, the memories of his old castle beginning to fill his mind.

XxXxXxX

"You really need to cheer up, dude", Shun was muttering, as Ren and the said boy appeared through a dark corridor where Tenmei was. "Seriously, I feel like I'm still with the heartless version of you."

Ren only gave a slight glare at that, before turning back to Tenmei. "It's almost time. Naminé should be almost complete with the restoration of Sora's memories, and Roxas is on the verge of merging with Sora. Once that happens, we can get Sora back and move on... and get out of here. I am not a fan of DiZ, to be honest, and would rather have this contract I have with him terminated sooner then later."

Tenmei looked up from his work, nodding. "I can't agree more, though for different reasons." He brought a hand to his chin. "Despite the few sightings with the Organization, Xao has been... awfully quiet. We need to get back to our mission, finding out what exactly he has been doing and maybe finally learn what his plan is." He looked to the two boys, concern etched into his brow. "I'll ask one last time; are you sure neither of you remember anything else he did? Either while you worked for him, Shun, or while your nobody was at the castle, Ren?"

Shun shook his head, "Like I said before, all he really did was teach me how to control heartless, and have me fight him a lot so that he could eliminate his weakness for physical combat. After that, he sent me to fight Ren and abandoned me."

"And all he did with Xemnas was ask him over and over if he was sure that he didn't want his help", Ren stated, looking a tiny bit irritated that Tenmei had asked this question again. "Xemnas refused every time I saw it happen."

"Great", Tenmei said, sighing. "Then we're just as in the dark as we were when we started... no pun intended." The prince sat up straighter, thinking. "Hearts of Light and Darkness... and the First King's power..." Finally, he shook his head, knowing he didn't have all the pieces. "Well, we'll worry about that later. If I keep focusing on that... I'm likely do something stupid again." He looked at the sketchbook, an extremely detailed depiction of Twilight's Citadel etched onto the pages, before looking back up at the two boys. "Shun... you'll be here with me when everyone wake up. Ren, I need you to speak with Master Yen Sid. Perhaps we can get something set up so the fairies will provide us with some new outfits as well."

Ren and Shun both nodded, with Ren disappearing into a dark portal to warp himself to Yen Sid's place. Meanwhile, Shun was sheepishly rubbing his head in embarrassment. "I am going to get it from Hikari, huh?"

"I'm the reason Ren got turned into a heartless, Shun", Tenmei countered, lightly scolding the boy. "Trust me, she'll be thrilled to see you alive and well... and I need you to protect me should she still be holding a grudge." He looked over at Shun, giving another smirk. "Besides... she'll probably just try to give you the whole 'being a replica doesn't make you any less real' spiel that we gave you before."

"Yeah, yeah... well, leave it to me", Shun grinned. "I'll make sure that she doesn't do anything too crazy!" He then looked over, noticing the sketchbook in Tenmei's hand. "Wait... you draw?"

"...Yes, I did... a long time ago", the prince admitted. He looked back at the book, giving a soft smile. "When you're a prince, you have specific training to go through. Combat, obviously, diplomacy, bartering, economics... the boring stuff most people in power have to learn. But there is also the cultural lessons I had to learn as well." He stood up, taking a few steps of a classical dance. "Ballroom etiquette, poetry, music theory... stuff that was supposed to help expand my horizons, allow me to see the bigger picture. I took to painting and drawing the most... it was my hobby until I turned thirteen. Then my training to become the Prince of Twilight really began, and I had to forego anything that didn't have to do with my keyblade or learning how to use Light and Darkness."

Shun rubbed his head sheepishly again, looking almost like he was repressing a bad thought. "Er... sounds like you had an 'interesting' upbringing."

"Say what you mean, Shun", Tenmei said with a chuckle. "You would have died of boredom if you were in my shoes."

Shun scowled a bit as the thought of Tenmei reading his emotions got to him. "Oh... well, I was just gonna say that your dad didn't have to put you through that... you should have had a normal life like us! You just didn't like it when my 'dad' possessed me and insulted your father so I thought... ya know, that you wouldn't want me saying that like I was insulting the way he brought you up..."

Tenmei paused, thinking about it. He did understand where Shun was coming from. "But... if it's from you, now... I don't mind", Tenmei stated. "It was normal for me, but... after living with you and Ren's heartless for almost a year... I think I have a little more perspective." He gave Shun a friendly smile. "What Xao did while controlling you doesn't effect how I see you, Shun. I forgive you for what you've done. And you shouldn't be afraid to tell me how you feel, if we're going to be traveling together again."

"Right", Shun muttered, embarrassed that he had felt afraid to say what he was thinking. "Well, thanks man, but we might want to get ready. Hikari and Yumi should be waking up at any moment and I think we might wanna brace ourselves for anything."

Tenmei nodded, closing his sketchbook and stuffing it away for the time being. "Right." He stood beside Shun, giving the replica an encouraging smile. "Remember... no matter what, I've got your back now. Deal?"

"Deal, and I got yours, dude", Shun smiled, feeling no longer pressured by being around the prince of his world.