Hello everyone! So this is a quicker update than normal. And that is because today/yesterday !0/3 was the anniversary of the Light Protectors tag on TikTok. So I wanted to get this out to celebrate that. However this chapter also marks the end of a story arc for Tenebrae.
So I hope you guys enjoy it and are ready for some feels.


Tenebrae stumbled into Twilight Town, coming from the woods. His clothes were torn and not regenerating. He had cuts and bruises everywhere visible. Even his hair had hints of red from dried blood. There was even a limp in his step.

Tenebrae made it to the apartment of the Light Protectors. He opened the door and collapsed on the floor. He could barely hear the voices of the others as he passed out.

"Tenni!?" the yelling at him was familiar.

"Laci?" He opened his eyes and noticed his glasses were on. He looked into Laci's light brown eyes, which had a look of worry. "How long was I out?"

"Not long, thankfully," she said with a nervous giggle. She sat back, both being on the ground in Wonderland. "There may have been a tiny, huge explosion that knocked you out."

He sat up, clutching his head. "Which is Laci-speak for, your spell was max powered, and I was too close to the Heartless. I could have sworn we agreed that, when we fight, you don't target the ones I'm engaged with."

Laci giggled. "To be fair, I did get rid of mine. And you were taking long."

Her whining should have been annoying, but it was cute and endearing to Tenebrae. He chuckled as he removed his glasses to clean them. Sure enough, there was soot and dirt from her magic. Yet Tenebrae couldn't be mad at her.

After all, she was his… A sharp pain went through his head. Why would he be in pain? That didn't make sense.

'I must have taken more damage than I thought,' he thought as he stood. Laci did the same next to him. 'It's probably my imagination.'

Tenebrae looked to Laci. "Okay, this is your mission. Where is the target?"

"We are almost there!" she said, skipping away. "Once we get to the Queen's courtyard, we should find it. And then we can go back and work on experiments!"

Tenebrae nodded and followed her. He couldn't help the smile on his face. Every moment he spent with Laci, was another he could remember why he lo…

Another pain surged through his head. This one was strong enough to bring him to his knees. Tenebrae clutched his head. The pain was worse than before, and he had no idea why.

Laci looked back at him. "Tenni? Tenni!" She ran back to him and placed her hands on his cheeks. "Hey, I'm here. Are you okay?"

The feelings of her hands dulled the pain. Tenebrae stared into her eyes and smiled. Just see her was enough to bring him happiness. He couldn't want anything else.

But there was a nagging feeling. Something was off about all of this. And the last two surges of pain meant something. He just wasn't sure.

"I'm okay," Tenebrae said, smiling at Laci. "I think I may have to rest after the mission. I think those experiments are messing with me. But I'm good to finish the mission."

Laci looked at him worried but nodded. She helped him stand and led the way.

The pair walked through an arched doorway. The change from the forest to hedge was drastic. The patterned carpet and wooden stands didn't help either. Tenebrae kept forgetting how unusual Wonderland was.

"Weird," Laci said, walking ahead. "The target should be here."

Tenebrae took one step forward, and things got weird. He felt a presence and the air around him grew heavy. He noticed Laci stop moving, like she was frozen in place. He ran up to her and tried to hold her hand.

Tenebrae was surprised when his hand passed through hers. He jumped back in shock. Tenebrae looked at his own hand and saw nothing wrong. But what had happened?

"You know you had a choice to make," he heard a voice like his, but darker.

Tenebrae turned and saw his Seeker version. The red eyes narrowed as the two stared at each other. Tenebrae felt the same pain as before.

"You can't be in two places," the Seeker version said. "And you noticed it too. We don't belong here. You can't feel what you feel for her, for any of them. We just need to embrace what we are."

Tenebrae clutched his head. There were too many thoughts. Visions, memories, people. There were too many things. And they were corroding. They were becoming…dark.

Tenebrae looked at the Seeker version. "Is it really impossible? To have both. We can find a way."

The Seeker version shook his head. "It won't be us. We are not strong enough."

Tenebrae let his arms drop. "They will make me stronger," he said.

The Seeker version looked at him. It raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Tenebrae summoned his Keyblade. It looked to be an upgrade version of Starlight. He rushed at the Seeker and swung.

The Seeker version summoned Kingdom Key D. It was able to block his strike. The resulting shockwave shook the world they were in. But the Seeker didn't seem fazed.

"Not strong enough," it said, before disappearing. "You don't have enough Light."

Kingdom Key D burst out of his chest. He looked down at the Keyblade in shock. There wasn't a lot of pain, just shock.

Tenebrae looked over to Laci. He reached for her frozen form. Tenebrae could feel his tears falling as he faded into unconsciousness. -

Tenebrae gasped awake. He had felt something on him, so he sat up quickly and lunged for whatever was near him. His hands wrapped around something warm, but he was determined to kill it.

He heard muffled voices as his senses came back to him. He saw black and white as he blinked. Tenebrae also heard multiple male voices becoming clearer. He shook his head as everything finally realigned.

Tenebrae was looking into Mojie's terrified eyes. Her small hands were holding onto his, which were wrapped around her throat. Tenebrae noticed Rylan, Ray and Keval all had their Keyblades at the ready.

Tenebrae let go of Mojie and watched her scurry back and away. He felt bad for scaring her. But he had no idea what had happened.

"I'm not a Heartless," he groaned, putting a hand to his head. "You don't need to point those at me."

Ray held Diamond Dust in his face. The crystal blade was only inches away from Tenebrae's face. "After what you did to Mojie!? You think we won't be cautious!?"

Keval had already dismissed his Keyblade. The taller Wielder walked behind Ray and put him into a full nelson hold. The mask wearer was caught by surprise and started kicking in the air.

"Hey! Let me go Keval!" Ray shouted. His limbs were flailing comically.

"Easy there, Sunshine," Keval laughed. "The guy just woke up. Maybe he just needed some time to fully adjust, like we all did."

"He hurt Mojie!" Ray yelled, squirming in Keval's grip.

"But he isn't anymore," Rylan said. He dismissed his Keyblade as well. "And he was asleep for 3 days."

'Three days?' Tenebrae thought. 'I guess it's better than losing everything.'

He looked over to Mojie, who flinched when they made eye contact. "I'm sorry," he said. "I don't know what came over me. I had an unusual dream, and I thought it was still happening."

"Apologizing doesn't change a thing," Ray said, still struggling to get out of Keval's grip. "You could have killed her!"

Keval sighed, "But he didn't. And he's aware of his situation."

"It's fine," Tenebrae said, standing up. He was still in his travel gear and it wasn't torn. They had regenerated. "I'll spend a few days away. Give them some time to calm down."

"You don't have to," Rylan said. "Ray is just feisty."

Tenebrae turned to look at the struggling Vulpeus, held back by his old Union mate. "I'd rather not take my chances. I'll be at Sunset Hill if you guys decide to go anywhere."

Tenebrae exited the apartment. He left the complex and walked to the Shopping District. He noticed it was about midday, as he walked. People were out and about. Tenebrae needed to find a quiet place before going to the Hill.

Tenebrae went into the tunnels. He had to clear his head first. What had happened?

'I need to go over the past events,' Tenebrae thought. 'I should think about the last mission I did. Shaylex and I had gone to Neverland. She and I fought some Heartless, had a chat and then continued to the next area. Before we parted, we became friends, which was a surprise, then we split up.'

He walked deeper into the tunnels, as his thoughts continued. 'And I waited for her. She never came back to the meeting place. I went to look for her and encountered Heloa instead.'

Tenebrae shook his head in anger. 'Damn it Heloa! That bastard. He just keeps messing with me. But was he wrong? Am I just a means to an end? And what of the Protectors?'

Tenebrae thought of Mojie's face when he woke up. And thought of Ray's anger after what he did. 'But what was I doing? I was out for 3 days… how?'

Tenebrae made it to the gate leading to Sunset Terrace. 'After my talk with Heloa, I wasn't sure where to go. So, I went to the one place I could feel comfortable. But I was ready to end it as well.'

The Realm of Darkness. He should not have gone back. But the familiarity of the Darkness was refreshing. The Light was confusing him. It hurt and helped, but of its own accord.

Tenebrae walked to Sunset Hill. He looked at the diorama of Twilight Town. Even though he had looked it over before, it eased him to examine it.

He sighed, not sure what he was doing. Tenebrae walked down the Hill. He needed to keep moving to clear his head.

Tenebrae walked to the train station. He got a ticket for the local line. Tenebrae rode the line back to the Clock Tower. As he walked out, he walked by two individuals.

He didn't look back, but he noticed the coats. Both belonged to Organization XIII. One he had recognized, the other he did not.

'No…' He thought as he kept going. 'They mean nothing to me.' Tenebrae wandered through town aimlessly. -

Tenebrae spent the next day doing nothing. He simply had no motivation. No drive. No desire.

He didn't meet back up with the Protectors. Instead, he spent the night on a random roof. After everything, he didn't think he could face them again.

Even now, after being up for most the day, he had done nothing. This was the only way he could keep himself sane. He just sat on the bench of Sunset Hill, staring at the sun. He wasn't sure why the sight was both soothing and annoying.

"Hey! Tenebrae!" a voice called out.

He turned his head to the voice. Shaylex was walking up the Hill. Tenebrae wasn't sure if he was happy or mad at seeing her.

"Shaylex," his voice was slightly bitter. She did leave him alone, without an explanation.

"I'm glad I found you," she said. "Sorry it's taken me this long."

'A little too late to apologize,' he thought.

He just made a noise before looking back at the sunset. "Whatever."

"Listen," Shaylex said. "I'm sorry for running off the other day. Saix showed up out of the blue, and he demanded that I return to the castle immediately. I wanted to tell you, but he was persistent." She had walked up to him as she spoke, now standing next to him.

"I kind of figured." He was still upset, but she was his friends, right? "So, what happened?"

"Well, I'm being sent on a secret mission to the Organization's other research castle," She explained, looking to the sunset. "I leave tomorrow."

'What!?' he thought, as he stood to face her.

"They have another castle?" Tenebrae asked.

Shaylex nodded. She turned to him and spoke softly, "Yeah, I have no idea why I'm being sent there. But I have to go."

'She's leaving…She found me just to say she's leaving!?'

Tenebrae held down his frustration. Instead, he chose to look at the sunset. "That's fine." He tried to keep his voice even as he spoke.

He heard Shaylex sigh. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah." He pushed her hand away. She didn't open up about everything right away. So, he didn't have to either.

Shaylex sounded uncertain when she spoke next. "You know, you can tell me. We're friends, right?"

The word "friends" made his anger rise. If they were friends, she wouldn't have left him. She would have tried to find him sooner. She wouldn't have…

"Friends." He turned to her and glared. "Is that why you waited all this time to tell me? You could have found me thw other day, but you seemed too preoccupied with your Organization buddies!" He had realized too late how made he actually was. Because he ended up shouting at her.

Shaylex held up her hands. "I wanted to find you and tell you. But I had to stay with Roxas," she said. "I'm already not trusted in the Organization. I'm trying to get back in their good books."

"And yet, they're sending you to this castle!" he shouted at her.

Shyalex took a step back. "I have no choice. Trust me, O fought to stay. But with me gone, it's up to Roxas to take down the Heartless, hence why I was saddled with him the last few days. I had to make sure he was prepared. Who knows what's going to happen? I'm sorry."

Tenebrae turned his back to Shaylex. 'Can I still be mad after that? She was only doing what she was told.'

Shaylex may not have read his emotions correctly. "Look, I am sorry. Things have been hectic. My mind has been all over the place recently. First Keval abd then this stupid mission and Roxas. But I had to let you know. I couldn't leave without telling you. Okay?"

'What am I doing?' he thought as he calmed down.

"Yeah," he said softly.

"You sure you're going to be okay without me?" Shaylex asked softly.

Tenebrae nodded. "I'll be fine. I was on my own for a long time before I met you," he explained. "I've found some other people that I can keep myself busy with while you're gone."

"That's good. Are we still friends?" Shaylex asked.

What reason did he have to say no? She is the only one he had opened up to. He hadn't even done that with Keval.

"I guess, sorry for being so distant," he apologized.

"No, you have every right," she said with a smile. "I have to go now. But when I get back, we'll swap stories!"

Tenebrae couldn't help the smile on his face. "I wonder whose story is going to be more eventful." He couldn't help the sarcasm that came out of his mouth.

"I guess we'll find out," Shaylex chuckled before turning around. "I'll see you around, Tenebrae." She opened a corridor and stepped through.

Tenebrae couldn't stop smiling. He hyped himself up and headed back into town. He did want to have stories for Shaylex whenever she came back. But he also didn't want to make the Light Protectors worry.

Tenebrae made it back to the apartment and entered. Everyone was relaxing, doing various activities. Keval and Rylan were playing a game on the couch. Solas was close by napping away. Ray was on a chair, cheering and goading the two gamers. Mojie was on another chair with a book in hand. She was watching the game as well.

Tenebrae felt his Light surge. But there was a jealousy to it. He quietly closed the door and turned to leave.

'That is what real friendship is,' he thought, summoning a portal. 'Not something I can ever hope to gain.' He stepped through the portal, not looking back. -


And there we go! I hope you all enjoyed!
Like I mentioned this is the end of an arc in a sense, so the next bulk of chapters will have a bit of a theme. However there won't be an update for a while. That being because this story is almost a year old. And when that day comes will be the start of the next arc.
So until then, may your heart be your guiding key.