Yumi let out a grunt, her fist striking out at the punching bag provided for her. She continued practicing her jabs, being quick and light, but trying to punch as hard she could with each strike. Tenmei had discovered the different training modes, and told Yumi that, each day, she needed to spend between fifteen minutes and half an hour just wailing on these bags, which would help increase both her stamina and strength, and be a good way to start some cardio as well. So, for her first session, she felt pretty good as she heard the timer go off, signaling she was done. She gave a sigh, before looking over at Hikari. "How are you doing over there, sis?"

Hikari, meanwhile, blasted back a magical conquered training dummy with a Fira spell, sending it rocketing towards the other side of the room before it quickly re-spawned, where the blonde blasted it again, this time with a Thundera spell. She sighed in frustration before cursing loudly, and eventually being able to cast Blizzaga on the dummy. "...I don't get it. Why do my emotions have to be at a peak to cast Level 3 magic? It doesn't make any sense to me..."

Yumi walked over, watching her sister as she slung a towel over her shoulder. "You got me. I never understood magic, to begin with. You sure you don't want Tenmei to try giving any pointers?"

Hikari shook her head at that. "No... and no, it's not because I don't trust him", she defended, seeing Yumi's deadpan gaze. "The potential is there, no pointers are going to help with that. It's... more like a block. A block that makes me feel weak..."

"And 'Hikari is not weak', I know", Yumi finished for her, sighing. "I know you've always been the top student with Grandpa, so... this is new territory, for all of us." She placed a hand on Hikari's shoulder. "Maybe you should take a break? Obsessing over it like this isn't going to help."

"She has a point", Ren stated, walking over to them and having heard most of the conversation. "You can only do so much training before you wear yourself out, after all... take five and you can keep trying."

Hikari looked at Ren for a moment before she finally had to ask. "Did you struggle with Level 3 magic?"

"A bit", he admitted, shrugging. "Though, again, I was literally without a physical form to wear out so it was simple to adjust after some time. I had an... advantage, so to speak."

Hikari pouted, before facing Ren, fireballs appearing in her hands. "Hey, help me for a moment... then I'll take a break. Just do a bit of sparring. I want to remember what it feels like, ok?"

Ren sighed, shaking his head as he got ready himself. "Ok, but you really should just rest."

Hikari nodded in acknowledgement, then launched the two Fira spells at Ren, who effortlessly dodged them, not even taking his eyes off her. She launched a few more spells from her staff, which Ren continued to either dodge or block with his bare hands. The sorceress felt her teeth gritting in irritation, becoming annoyed with how easily he was nullifying her spells. She had worked on her magic for years to get it to where it was today, and Ren, in one year, had managed to somehow make her spells seem like a joke?

Finally, her emotions surged again, only this time they were focused on Ren directly. The way he looked so calm while dodging literal fire and thunder made her irritated, his apparent smugness radiating off him. She gritted her teeth, seeing him easily block a bigger fireball and not even bothering to avoid a thunderbolt, not even discomforted by her spell as her anger spiked.

"STOP TOYING WITH ME!" Hikari suddenly screamed, her staff glowing with an intense amount of light. Suddenly, she fired it all at once, causing a sound that almost resembled a bomb going off. Yumi, clutching tightly to her shield, was pushed back a bit by the shockwaves, and Ren's eyes widened in shock as the blast surrounded him. A column of light erupted where the spell had made contact, shielding Ren from view for a few moments. Hikari's eyes were wide in fear, until finally she saw Ren again, standing with both of his arms raised in an X formation across his body, the remnants of a Reflect spell vanishing around him.

And his jade eyes glaring directly at her.

"Break. Now", Ren commanded, and immediately Hikari did as she was told, sensing that Ren was not happy with her. Yumi walked over, watching the lecture with interest (and caution) from behind Ren. "That was seriously dangerous you know... you should never turn that high a level of magic on a friend, no matter what. Had I not used Reflega in time, I could have been seriously injured. In the future, use Holy only on heartless. Am I clear?"

"Y-yeah", Hikari sheepishly muttered, embarrassed about letting her emotions get the better of her again.

Ren gave an irritated huff, rubbing the back of his head for a moment before turning to show sudden interest in the training dummy, or what would have been one. Hikari's spell had vaporized it, leaving nothing but a big scorch mark and a remnant of a base, a jagged, hot-red cut showing where the target used to be.. "...although, if you want proof that you aren't weak... there it is." He then cleared his throat, giving a simple hand wave. "I'm going to go relax before we get there."

As Ren began to leave the room, Tenmei suddenly stepped in, his eyes wide and darting around in a panic. "W-What the hell was that?!" he asked, sweating a bit. "I was just chatting with Shun and Sora when I felt that spell!"

"I'll explain later", Ren muttered to him, placing a hand on his shoulder and almost forcing him out the door. "No seriously, I think your brain couldn't handle it right now."

As the door closed, the sisters could just barely hear Tenmei yelling, "What did Hikari do to that dummy?!" before they were left alone, leaving only an awkward, heavy silence as they processed what happened.

"Well... at least he won't toy with you anymore", Yumi finally said, breaking the silence. "Now he'll see you as the powerful, beautiful, older woman you are." She flashed a playful smile to her sister, expecting her sister to give at least a giggle, but after a moment, the toothy grin fell, as Hikari only stared at her lap, obviously distraught. "... Hikari?" Yumi asked, walking over and kneeling down so she could look her in the eye. "What's wrong?"

Hikari looked down for a moment before looking back up, her gaze focused on Yumi intensely. "Do you feel like Ren isn't... Ren? Like he's been replaced with someone else entirely? The old Ren probably would've still warned me about Holy, but screamed 'that was awesome' or something like that, the big goof that he was." Hikari smiled for a moment, almost imagining it happening before the smile faded. "Now? He's all serious... almost as if that part of him died when... when he was..." She couldn't bring herself to say the words, instead opting to look down once again.

Yumi gave a gentle sigh, before sitting next to her. "I get what you mean", she stated, preventing her sister from uttering the phrase she hated. "He and I used to have way more fun, learning together... but... something must've happened", Yumi told her. "We've been asleep for most of a year. A lot can happen in that time. Maybe something happened with Xao?"

"No, they keep telling me he's been quiet for the past year..." Hikari muttered, thinking it over. "It's... it's almost as if one of us died or something... I dunno how to describe it." A heavy sigh escaped her, as she looked at the door where Ren had just exited the room moments ago. "Maybe we can ask him about it later..."

"Maybe...", the younger sister said. "While we're at it... we can ask Tenmei why he seems so... gloomy when he thinks he's alone."

"Gloomy?" Hikari asked, looking over at her sister in confusion. "I mean, he's not using the keyblade anymore, that's one thing, but I don't really see him being 'gloomy'."

Yumi gave a gentle sigh, leaning her chin on one of her hands. "It's really subtle. Probably has something to do with years of practice, being a prince and all... but... I dunno, I've felt it since we came to this timeline. He's... he's not okay." She looked over at Hikari. "I mean, I know he wants to avenge our world, and he did have his Darkness kick, but- maybe I'm overthinking it, but... to me, it feels like... he's really hurting from everything that happened, you know? Twilight Citadel, Shun, Ren - every time something happens... I'm worried about him."

Hikari thought about it for a moment before she firmly nodded, standing up and offering a helping hand to her sister. "Alright then, we'll keep an eye on those two sour sports and see what we can do! You with me?"

Yumi gave her sister a smile. "Of course", she said, grabbing Hikari's hand and standing up. Then her nose wrinkled a bit, and she sniffed her own shirt, before blanching. "Eugh... and I'll get started on that right after I don't reek anymore."

Hikari finally let out a laugh, grinning as the two sisters headed for the showers.

XxXxXxX

Sora, Donald and Goofy were staring at the new world in wonder, as it was one that they had not been to before on their pervious journey. The world consisted of a single castle atop a floating platform, surrounded by a forest. The most interesting part of the world, besides the castle itself, was a singular rose, glowing with an ethereal pink haze that sprouted in front of the castle. Shun and Tenmei did not seem to express much emotion, merely looking up and staring at the world to acknowledge it's existance. It was Ren, however, that paled the second the world came into view. "Oh no..."

Tenmei immediately turned to him, and seemed to pick it up quickly. He gave a low sigh. "What did your Nobody do?" he asked bluntly.

"I am not too sure on the details", Ren muttered, still pale as he stared at the world. "But I stole a rose while I was here..."

At that, Tenmei blanched, and he wheeled on the other prince. "You did what?! You do know who lives here, right?!"

"Yup", Ren nodded, before turning and beginning to power walk. "Well I think I'm going to go take a nap, you guys can handle this without me, right? OK bye!"

However, Tenmei was having none of it, and with a sudden increase in speed, got in Ren's way, pointing a ball of Darkness in his hand at the other boy, glaring. "Oh, no you don't", he said with a glare. "If we have to go through hell because of Rexn stealing his rose, then you are paying your comeuppance, Renai. Now, turn your green-eyed ass around and get ready to disembark."

Rexn? The sisters thought, hearing Ren's nobody name for the first time.

Renai? Sora, Donald and Goofy thought, puzzled by Ren's sudden real name reveal.

The other silver-haired boy had an expression of shock and hurt on his face for a moment. "I told you not to use my full name... ugh fine..." Ren muttered, turning and muttering something about how he trusted Tenmei and not even Xemnas knew his real name.

"Oh, hush, you big baby, I said it on the ship", Tenmei dismissed, crossing his arms as the orb faded, though his right hand still was wrapped in Darkness. "No one but us knows it now." He then turned to Sora. "And we will keep it that way, right?"

"S-sure, Tenmei", Sora said with a nervous chuckle.

"A-anything you say", Donald squawked, eying Tenmei's Dark Magic with a wary gaze.

"I think it's a good name", Goofy said with a chuckle, not at all intimidated. "But if he doesn't want us to call him that, Ren's just fine by me."

Ren only huffed, before he pressed the button on the ship which beamed him down the world below. He was followed closely by Sora and Donald, who wanted to get off the ship so they could escape Tenmei's glare at the moment. Goofy, on the other hand, only let out another "hyuck"before walking after his friends, showing no signs of being threatened at all.

Hikari, meanwhile spun on Tenmei, glaring a bit. "What the heck was that about? If you know Ren's real name, then you know how much he hates it, don't you?"

"Of course I do", Tenmei immediately retorted, dismissing the spell as he let out a huff in an attempt to calm down. "I uttered it only to let him know that he royally messed up. I have no intention of using his name against him, so you can relax."

"How would you even know it, anyway? It took years for him to tell me, Yumi, and..." That was when a lightbulb went off in her head, and she turned slowly to Shun, who had stayed behind to watch the fireworks. However, once he realized that he was Hikari's target, the replica let out a nervous chuckle, before sprinting towards the teleporter.

"Asshole", Hikari growled, before storming off the ship after him.

Tenmei turned to Yumi, who still stared with confusion. "Shun called his Heartless that, trying to call him something else besides just plain 'Ren'. We then both learned that, even when he's split in half, Ren still hates that name with a passion... as evidenced by the holes in Shun's old cloak."

"I can see that happening", Yumi said with a giggle, before straightening her hoodie. "So, who's castle is this?"

"The Beast's", Tenmei said bluntly, finding no point in hiding that information. Yumi's eyes widened immediately, as she paled considerably. Then, her look became dark.

"... Ren's Nobody screwed us over, didn't he."

"Yep."

And with that, the last two disembarked, finding themselves in the grand entrance of the castle. The second they stepped in, Sora instantly saw a heartless scurry across the floor, and made a run after it. Ren sighed, knowing that the room contained the one object he really did not want to see right now, before following after him. "Might as well get this over with."

Tenmei gave a sigh, following as well. "Yumi, Hikari, with us. Shun, can you make sure none of the Heartless are able to go after the Beast's servants and guest?"

"Leave it to me", Shun nodded, prepping his gunblade and walking farther into the castle. "Good luck with the drama that results from this one."

The trio of Tenmei, Yumi and Hikari followed Ren and Sora into the room, where they could see Sora duking it out with swarms of heartless, and Ren fighting as well, but he seemed to have nestled himself into a nice little corner and showed no signs of wanting to leave anytime soon. Suddenly, a roar shook the foundation of the castle, and the door exploded open, revealing the beast to them all. Hikari and Yumi blinked, but suddenly found Ren's hand on their shoulders, where he pulled them back against the wall. And only a moment later, Tenmei was suddenly right next to them, pressed as tightly against the wall as he could.

"Beast!" Sora shouted, running up to greet him, only to be knocked aside by the creature. Donald and Goofy met the same fate, being smacked so hard they hit the walls and caused more vibrations. The beast walked up to a glass container, which Hikari saw contained a single, red rose, petals on the base indicating that the flower was wilting a tad. The beast turned and stormed up the room, before he sniffed, and glared at Ren.

"YOU! LEAVE!" he roared, before slamming the door behind him.

"Okay, wasn't attacked yet", Ren muttered, sighing.

"Don't breathe easy yet, you're going to have to face him and apologize for what Rexn did", Tenmei immediately told his companion, making Ren flinch. "We can't afford having him as our enemy if we have to come back here."

"I know that", Ren snapped, before sighing again. "Just not looking forward to it, is all."

"I know, I know", Tenmei conceded, sighing as well. "I'm sorry... just... I'm miffed that Rexn did this. I know it's probably one of the Organization members made him do it, but that's beside the point."

"Uh... question", Sora asked, raising his hand from his seat by the wall, still dizzy from the strike. "Who is Rexn...?"

"Ren's Nobody", Tenmei immediately answered. "He's not really, but... honestly, if we tell you right now, it's an extremely long story that we just don't have time to get into." He glanced over at Donald and Goofy, before sighing, raising his hand. The three of them were covered in a green light, before they got back up, back to full health again. "Now, shall we go check on Shun?"

Ren nodded, and lead the group out into the foyer and up the stairs, before taking a right and going to the East Wing of the castle, before proceeding to head towards the guest bedroom, only to be met by Shun being hugged very tightly by Belle, who had his head in her arms, hugging it to her chest, putting the boy in a very uncomfortable spot.

"... should we come back later, or...?" Tenmei asked, genuinely confused at the sight.

"I do not know this woman and I am very weirded out right now help!" Shun stated rapidly in his panic. Hikari sighed, pulling him away from Belle and muttering something about him being a pervert, smacking him on the head once.

"Hi, Belle", Sora awkwardly greeted, grinning a bit.

"Sora! Donald! Goofy!" Belle greeted, smiling gently at them. "Oh, thank goodness... when your friend said he was here with you three, I just felt so relieved I... sort of hugged him without thinking. I'm sorry about that, Shun."

"You can make it up to me with some headache relief... and getting Hikari away from me", Shun muttered, stepping away from the blonde in question, who's glare was piercing him with such intensity that Tenmei was sure she would blast him with just her look alone.

"So, what's going on, Belle?" Sora asked. "Why is the Beast not acting like himself?"

"And why are there heartless here?" Donald quipped.

"I'm not entirely sure, myself", Belle explained, shaking her head. "It all happened not too long ago... the Beast started getting paranoid about his rose. I know it's important, but this was extreme, even for him. Eventually, he locked me in the East Wing, and I'm certain he's thrown all of his servants in the dungeon."

"Then we will need to go there first", Ren noted. "Once we rescue the servants, we can focus on calming the beast down... or, I can..."

Tenmei nodded. "Belle, you just stay here and wait for us. We'll make sure everyone's alright, and snap him out of his funk."

"Thank you... but please, don't hurt him", Belle pleaded. "I know he may not look it, but he's very kind and gentle... once you get to know him."

"You could've fooled me", Hikari muttered quietly to herself, shuddering at the thought of Ren having to confront the beast eventually.

After getting directions on where to go, the reunited group turned around, heading now for the West Wing. As they walked, the decor of the castle changed, becoming a more lit area with suits of armor lining the halls. Tenmei glanced over at the suits, giving an uncomfortable shift before he picked up his pace a bit. "So... where is the entrance to the dungeon, again?" he asked, glancing over at Ren.

"Over there... behind that weird wardrobe", Ren muttered, tilting his head at the new furniture. "Huh... that wasn't here last time."

"Well, let's push it", Sora bluntly stated, as if it was obvious, before he began to push on the side of the wooden structure, only to have it spring to life instantly.

"How dare you!" the wardrobe shouted, causing Sora to jump back in shock. "Where are your manners, young man!?"

"I-I'm sorry, miss", Sora stated, before looking back at Ren as if he should've warned him, though Ren also looked just as baffled as Sora did.

"Please excuse us", Tenmei said, pushing past Sora to immediately defuse the situation. The wardrobe now was glaring at the white-haired prince, but he seemed to take it in stride. "We're here to go to the dungeon. Belle asked us to help the Beast?"

At that, the wardrobe straightened up, her face lighting up a bit. "Well, why didn't you just ask from the beginning? I'm not just something to rearrange, like the furniture in your own room." After a slight pause, she had the decency to look sheepish. "Okay, that was a bad example... but you understand my point, right?"

"Of course, miss", Tenmei stated, smiling gently. The three original warriors stared as Tenmei continued his conversation, as if this was completely normal. "Though, I must admit... I've never seen a wardrobe talk before. Is this how you are? Or is it some form of curse?"

That made the wardrobe blink. "Um... yes, it is. How did you know?"

"Furniture normally doesn't speak", was the simple response, earning a soft titter from the cursed woman. "Would you mind telling us how this all happened?"

"Well, I would... but I think it's more important for you to save the others", the wardrobe conceded. "The dungeon is a terrible place for a clock to begin with... though I can't say he'd fare much better out here, with all those monsters mucking about."

"We'll take care of those, don't you worry", Hikari smiled gently at her. "Once we save your friends and calm the Beast down, that is."

The wardrobe nodded, before hopping over to the side, revealing the door. At that, Tenmei turned to the group, nodding. "Well, let's keep moving, shall we?" Though he paused, seeing Sora, Donald and Goofy all staring at him. "What?"

"How did you... do that?" Sora asked. "You didn't even let that phase you! I don't know anyone that can talk as smoothly as you!"

That made the prince scratch the back of his head, sighing. "Again... long story, not going to share now. We have some servants to save, I believe. We should really be focusing on them right now."

At this point, Yumi placed a hand on Sora's shoulder. "He's right, Sora. We'll tell you when the time is right, okay?"

"... Fine", the keyblade warrior conceded, before taking the lead again, heading into the dungeon. The group stepped in line after him, and eventually, they found themselves in front of a large, ornate door that depicted two monsters, each grasping the keyhole to the door defensively.

"Keep your eyes peeled", Tenmei warned, looking about. "I can sense a stronger Heartless in here..."

Sora grinned, looking at Tenmei for a moment before stepping forward. "Come on, Tenmei. There's no one in here!"

"Sora, wait!" Ren immediately said, but it was a bit too late for that. Suddenly, the ornate door transformed into a heartless, knocking Sora back in an instant. The brunette looked stunned, before getting up and summoning his keyblade.

"D-did that door just turn into a heartless?" Hikari asked, baffled.

"Yes. Yes it did", Shun muttered, shaking his head. "When Tenmei and Ren say they sense a heartless, they sense a heartless."

"You gotta teach me how to do that", Sora muttered, before charging into battle.

As the battle waged, Tenmei ended up becoming the supporting mage. Whenever a strike would get a bit too close for his liking, he ended up casting Barrier spells no problem, using his Light to counter the Thresholder. After eventually stunning the twin heartless beasts, Sora used his Kingdom Key to unlock them, turning their bodies to stone as a sphere of darkness was expelled, floating about the room.

"That's the heartless!" Yumi said with a glare. "Hikari, mind giving me a boost?"

Hikari only nodded, charging her spell. "Aerora!" she cried, casting a vortex on the ground. With a grunt, Yumi used the mini cyclone to launch into the air, striking the Possessor as she passed by it with her shield, before letting gravity add to the force of her punch, knocking the sphere to the ground. With it being stunned, it took no time for Sora and Shun to finish it off, both hitting it with an overhead strike and releasing the captive heart in the darkness. Without the influence of the heartless, the Thresholder's body crumbled into dust, leaving only a plain door with an indent where the keyhole used to be.

"Good thinking", Goofy complimented, walking over to Yumi with a smile. "Maybe I should be taking pointers from you."

"Heh, it was nothing", the redhead said, smiling happily at the praise. "I couldn't have done it without Hikari, though."

Hikari chuckled, scratching her cheek in embarrassment. "Aw, that? No big deal... anyway, let's go make sure the servants are ok. This place definitely does not seem like it's suited for life."

With a nod, Tenmei walked over to the door, pushing it open, and Sora and his two pals seemed confused when all they found was a candelabra, an antique clock, and a porcelain tea pot and matching cup, which had a chip in the rim. "There's... no one here?" he asked, looking confused.

"No, they're here", Tenmei responded. "Remember the wardrobe? The curse changed their shape, too."

Yumi stepped in, looking around. "Um... excuse us? Belle sent us. We're here to help you...?"

At that, the small pieces of furniture sprang to life. First was the candelabra, who immediately began hopping over. "You see? I told you they were here to help us!" it said, speaking in a very suave, french accent.

"Lumiere, you can't just expose yourself like that!" came an indignant retort, as the clock stepped forward, obviously not amused. "How do we know they're not tricking us? They could be with that man in the black coat!"

That was when the tea pot began to move, smiling warmly. "Oh, Cogsworth, you worry too much. They seam like fine young men and women."

"Hehe, that guy's hair is super spiky", piped up the cup, sounding very much like a young child.

Sora, Donald and Goofy were floored, staring at the speaking knickknacks with awe and wonder. Donald even picked up Cogsworth, wondering how a clock, of all things, was talking, but Tenmei soon came to the rescue yet again. "I assure you all, we are here to help. That man in the black coat is our enemy, and Belle did ask us to get you all out of here and help your master regain his senses."

"Is that so?" Cogsworth said, trying to ignore Donald messing with his pendulum. "Well, if that is the case, I would be more than happy to- Would you stop that?! Put me down!"

After being settled on a chair, Cogsworth explained not only the Beast's current predicament, but also the origin of their curse. It turns out, the Beast was once a human, but his selfish heart made him lash out at those he found unworthy, and even refused to help those who needed it. The last human visitor they had, besides Belle, was an enchantress, who cursed the castle so that it matched the appearance inside his heart. Not only did it warp the Beast and the castle, but all the servants, in turn, were forced to change their form as well.

"And so, we're on our last year before time is up", Lumiere finished. "The master must earn someone's love, and in turn learn to love another."

"And if he does so before the last petal on his rose falls, the spell will be broken", Cogsworth finished. "But, if he cannot..."

"Then you'll be stuck like this", Tenmei concluded. "Well, then it's a good thing he has such a kind guest living in his castle... but he'll be set back by what our 'friend' in the black coat has done. Do you know a way to his quarters, without us being noticed?"

"I know a shortcut", Lumiere declared, taking lead. "Follow me!"

Lumiere began leading them along with Cogsworth through the castle dungeons, down a series of dusty and narrow passages, before the group emerged in the West Wing, just outside the Beast's room. They could hear him growling about how the man in the black coat wouldn't leave, and something about that "kid" being back. Ren sighed, knowing that it was now or never, as he stepped forward. "Right... I'll handle this. Just back me up, ok?"

"Will do", Tenmei stated, stepping beside him. "I'll keep you from getting too hurt... though I can't promise I'll be able to keep him off you."

"If he hurts me, then he hurts me", Ren muttered, causing Hikari to look terrified. "It's no big deal." Ren sighed, stepping forward and entering the Beast's room, everyone else stopping in the door way. The Beast turned and snarled, before he stuck, charging forward and slashing wildly with his claws. Hikari let out a scream, but Ren caught both of the Beast's arms with his bare hands, a light glow surrounding him. "Beast... it's ok. We are here to help you!"

"Beast, it's me, Sora!" Sora shouted, trying to snap him out of it as well, but it was in vain. The Beast suddenly spun, slashing at Ren again, only this time he made contact. A bit of blood hit the floor as Ren got back up, three claw marks present on his cheek.

"Ok then..." Ren muttered, ignoring the muffled wail that Hikari gave from behind her hands. "Plan B." Ren charged this time, and jumped on the Beast. The two struggled for a moment before Ren had the Beast pinned on the ground, his jade eyes turning and looking at Cogsworth. "Hey! I need you to talk to him!"

Cogsworth stepped forward to look the Beast directly in the eyes. "Master! Please calm down! Compose yourself!"

The Beast snarled, still attempting to fight back, but soon a green glow surrounded Ren and the Beast, as Tenmei stepped forward. The magic felt calming, and while it was still a Cure spell, it seemed to do more than just heal the wounds on Ren's cheek. He placed his hand on Cogsworth, helping him out by infusing the clock with Light magic, and with a final cry, Cogsworth eventually broke through to the furry master of the castle, who finally stopped struggling. It took a few moments, but soon the Beast's blue eyes blinked and looked to Cogsworth in confusion.

"W-what... what happened?" he growled out, glancing around. He spotted Ren, and for the first time, didn't recognize him. "You... I thought you were..."

"You can call that my evil twin if you want", Ren muttered, letting the Beast out of the hold he had him in, and helping the master of the castle to his feet. "But he's gone now... I saw to that."

The Beast let out a low "hmph", before he bowed his head a bit. "I... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been..."

"Think nothing of it", Tenmei stated, stepping forward and placing a hand on his shoulder. "You're safe, Ren is safe, and the rose is safe. Now... would you tell us what happened?"

At that, the Beast's eyes flashed with anger. "Xaldin... he's the one who did this... he took all of my fear, my sorrow, my mistrust... and turned it into rage." He looked at Cogsworth and the group standing at the door. "I... I'm sorry for what I've done. I've... been terrible to you."

"Not so much us, but at least you understand that", Hikari pointed out. "Now, I think you have someone else to apologize to, don't you?"

At that, the Beast nodded. "Belle... I've mistreated her..."

"She didn't say anything about that", Sora mentioned, confused.

"Of course she wouldn't... she is far too kind." With that the Beast straightened up. "I... I don't know what I'll say."

"We'll think about it as we head over to her room", Tenmei offered. "But the important part is you admit you made a mistake."

With a curt nod, the Beast joined the party, and they began their trek back to the East Wing. However, they were only halfway there when they heard Belle's voice cry out, muffled by a door.

"I-I'm warning you, you'll be sorry!"

At that, the Beast stepped forward, anger in his eyes. "Belle?!"

"Beast! I'm in the ballroom!" came the reply, and without waiting, they burst into said ballroom, the orange glow of the lights revealing the heartless that was chasing her. After locking herself on the balcony outside, the Shadow Stalker turned to face it's new opponents. It's body was simply a sphere, with two yellow eyes and a big, jagged mouth. Three tentacles sprouted from the top, with one sticking out of the bottom, and it's entire body was wrapped up in heavy, golden chains.

"Leave it to me, guys!" Sora boldly stated, charging forward with Donald and Goofy, Kingdom Key drawn and raised for battle. The trio fought the Shadow Stalker, and Ren noticed that it was possessing everything within sight at random, from the light fixtures, to the pillars and walls, to even the windows. FInally, Sora landed what normally would have been a fatal blow, but that's when they instantly noticed that something was wrong. The Shadow Stalker twitched and looked like it was going to die, but suddenly it began to change rapidly. It assumed the Dark Thorn form, only the flaming orange hair it once had was blue, along with it's claws. The once golden chains took on a platinum coloration, and the blueish lines on the body took on a blood red coloration, along with the eyes of the beast.

"That's... not supposed to happen", Shun muttered, drawing his gunblade instantly, recognizing the magic used on the heartless.

"Xao", Ren muttered. "So, after a year of being silent, he's at it again."

"Who?" Sora asked, confused at the mention of Xao's name.

"Same long story as before, Sora", Tenmei stated once more, stepping up as he summoned a blade of light into his hand. "Look, we'll handle this one, Sora. Thanks for weakening it a bit."

"Hey, come on!" Sora whined, looking at them all as they stepped forward, pulling out weapons. "Aren't we in this together?"

"Sora", Ren said, turning to look at him. "Xao is our enemy, and since he is the one that manipulated that heartless, we need to handle it. Besides, Donald and Goofy got injured in the last fight. We need you to watch over them, ok?"

"Oh... alright", Sora sighed, crossing his arms. "But next time, ok?"

"Ok", Hikari rolled her eyes, staring at Xao's new creation. "Alright guys, let's do this!"

Yumi was the first to charge in, getting the Black Thorn's attention. When it moved to strike, she began blocking the beast's attacks, leaving her unable to move as it bared down on her. But Tenmei immediately offered support, using his light blade to strike at the monster with amazing speed and accuracy. Soon, it had to jump back, and take a new approach, and with a sudden wave, it vanished into nothing.

"It has camouflage?" Tenmei groused, gritting his teeth. "And I thought Stealth Sneaks were annoying..."

"We're going to need to do a large amount of damage on it to even get a chance at finishing it off", Shun stated, looking around the room in a panic, trying to find where the heartless would pop up next.

Ren turned to Hikari, giving her a curt nod. "Remember what I said before? Well, it's a heartless."

Hikari paled a little, "But... I'm not sure I can do that again. My emotions, they're..."

"An obstacle that you can overcome, just like all the rest", Ren encouraged her, giving her another nod. "You charge that Holy spell, I'll try and get it out into the open, ok?"

Hikari nodded, holding her staff up and sighing. "Alright, I'll try."

Ren charged forward, and due to the advantage of being able to sense hearts, he was quick to make contact with the creature. It roared in pain, being hit multiple times by the keyblade before it appeared again, dazed from the strikes. "NOW!"

Hikari slammed her staff on the ground, beams of light forming off of it, along with a runic pattern on the ground in a array of golden light. She opened her eyes, and pointed her staff directly at the heartless, before letting out a cry. "Divine Light!" A blast of light energy shot from her staff again, and Ren jumped off the heartless just in time. An explosion of light surrounded the heartless, causing it to scream in pain, and once the light had vanished, so too had the heartless.

At that, the rest of the group let out sounds of awe, clearly impressed... except for Tenmei. His eyes had widened to the size of dinner plates, and his jaw had dropped, threatening to hit the floor. "W-w-wait... was... was THAT...?!"

"Level 3 Holy Magic", Ren smirked, walking up to Hikari and placing a hand on her shoulder. "I knew you could do it, Hikari."

"T-thanks, Ren", a blushing Hikari said, looking down as she played with her hair. "I-it was nothing, really..."

"NOTHING!?" Sora shouted, his jaw also dropped. "You are the most powerful mage I've ever seen!"

"Hey!" Donald shouted, clearly offended by the remark. "I could've done that too!"

"I mean, he can... but it's too exhausting to keep casting spells like that", Goofy pointed out.

Tenmei kept staring at Hikari, now an expression of fear on his face. Yumi stepped closer to the former prince, frowning at him. "Uh... Tenmei?"

At that, he yelped and jumped, looking over at Yumi, before taking a few steps to the side, keeping some distance between them. "U-uh... I... I think I need... some time to myself", he said, shaking a little bit. "Hikari... I don't think you need any more pointers... and Y-Yumi... just keep up with the punching bag... I... I'm going to take a nap." And before any of the group could ask what his problem was, he immediately vanished, beaming himself back up to the ship.

"I told him his brain couldn't handle it right now", Ren smirked, laughing. The rest of the group soon joined in at that, before they said goodbye to the Beast, Belle and all the servants, getting ready for whatever the next world had in store for them.

XxXxXxX

... remember that joke I made about KH4 coming out before this fanfiction is done? I haven't touched this in so long, I'm, like, 75% sure that'll happen.

Sorry for being silent for so long! I've been busy with a lot of other things and just never had the time to work on these chapters! Blood and I have also been working on other projects as well, and that kinda pushed our stories on the back burner, but have no fear! We'll be working on these a bit more in the future! I'm already working on retyping and editing some future stuff right now, as a matter of fact!

Thanks for reading, and hope to hear what y'all think soon!