Kingdom Hearts: Warriors of Light

The Inner Darkness- Chapter 23

"Finally we're finished…" Jack said as he wiped his sweat off his forehead.

Ti-Day slumped against a wall to relax his sore bones. The town folk came back and helped them to restore the town. For eleven hours, they worked non-stop to repair their beloved town.

"Jack?" The mayor ran to the Pumpkin King and pulled out a scroll.

"What is it, Mayor?"

"Well, the good news is there are no more heartless, thanks to Ni-Ne. The bad news, we still have to finish planning the next Halloween Festival. It's only a month away, Jack!" The worrying mayor said with his worry face on.

"Alright…" Jack said as he walked away with the Mayor.

Ti-Day watched them walking away from the scene, and then he turned his attention to Ni-Ne. Ni-Ne sat on the newly built fountain with her key blade in front of her, she felt terrible from the Agrabah incident. Her head was down and she grasped her key blade's handle tightly.

Ti-Day stood up and walked toward to the fountain. Ni-Ne looked up. Ti-Day saw her red puff eyes. He sat down next to her and gave a hug, however she pushed him gently away from her.

"No, I'm sorry Ti-Day," Ni-Ne said sadly. "I need a time to think. I need to be alone right now."

"Is it the argument with Riku in Agrabah? Don't pay any attention to that jerk, he doesn't know what he is talking about."

Ni-Ne stared at him, "It's not that… I just need space, okay." She got up and walked away, leaving him alone.

"Ni-Ne… I wish I could help you…" Ti-Day sighed.

Ni-Ne walked toward to a crooked house that was Jack's home. She opened the gate and climbed up to the porch. She reached into her left pocket and pulled out a black key. She unlocked the door and walk in. She closed the door behind her and slumped her back against it.

"Why me?" She whispered to herself.

Ni-Ne went to the staircase and made her way to her bedroom. She locked her door and looked around. There was her grand black bed on the middle of her room, her nightstand on the right and her dresser on the left, right beside it, a human sized mirror with a golden frame on it. The huge window illuminated her room with a bright bluish glow. She ran toward her bed, landed face down and cried.

"It's not my fault I was born this way… Why did I have to be a heartless?"

She cried and slowly her eyes started to get heavy. She closed her eyes and drifted into a deep sleep.

"Ni-Ne…"

She woke up quickly and looked around. No one was in her room, only her.

"Don't hide from me, Ni-Ne. Accept the truth about yourself, my sweet Ni-Ne."

Ni-Ne slowly got off her bed and looked once again. She looked under her bed and in her closet. "Show yourself, stranger!"

"Glad to…"

Her shadow grew bigger and peeled right off the floor and stood before her. Her shadow took a form of a woman with pale skin, long black straight hair, and a black v-cut dress. She smirked evilly in front of her and chuckled. Ni-Ne backed away from the strange woman. The woman fiercely took her hand and pulled her to an embrace. Ni-Ne was in a state of shock thinking that the woman was absolutely insane.

"Who are you dark being? Are you my heartless?" Ni-Ne questioned her.

"Yes, I am your heartless, Ni-Ne…" The woman whispered into her ear and licked it.

Ni-Ne shivered by the coldness of her tongue against the ear. She started to struggle. "Let go of me!" She screamed.

"Never. Accept me..." the woman said.

Ni-Ne stared at her dangerously and pushed her away then hugged her own body to protect herself. The woman laughed and glared at her. She gracefully walked toward to her, pulled her in straight and grasped her chin closer to her face. Ni-Ne realized her face was so close, the woman looked like she is going to kiss her.

"W-what is your name?" She trembled.

"When you're ready, Ni-Ne…" She said softly like the silent wind.

She turned her around and made her to face the mirror. She held her face with her black clawed hand and placed her lips close to her left ear and whispered.

"You and I were born together. We're two halves of a person, my nightingale. I am your shadow and you are my mask to hide your true self. We are the goddesses of the night, Ni-Ne. We have the power to control the heartless and the True Darkness. You've wondered why the Heartless stop in their own tracks when you are there. It is because they're afraid to hurt their own goddess. Trust me, Ni-Ne. Accept your inner darkness, your inner self. How else will you find your past and the truth of your family?"

Ni-Ne's eyes shot wide open. "My family?" she slowly started crying.

"Yes, your family, Ni-Ne… The truth is your family were powerful warlocks and witches who were royal to the kingdom. However, someone was also the first heartless in your family. A human heartless… This is your true self, take your true identity and show it to the whole world. You are the key that can unlock the Door…"

"A key… to the Door? No one wonder Ansem wanted me." Ni-Ne stared at herself mirror. She thought deeply about the truth. Riku was right…

"I'm a just a monster who… w-who…" She couldn't finish her sentence and cried.

"They aren't your friends, Ni-Ne. They're afraid of us. They don't care about us. They hurt you in Wonderland and Agrabah. Don't take their side, my precious. They broke their promise, and they will pay with their lives. They abused you. They are afraid of you, scared of you, telling you lies!"

Ni-Ne looked at her refection, thinking about herself… "I only see a heartless staring back. That heartless is me." She clutched her fists and narrowed her dark purple eyes.

"Yes, Ni-Ne… Feel the rage coursing through your veins. Rage is power. Rage is freedom. Let it feed your hunger."

The woman transformed into a black fog, surrounding Ni-Ne. She gasped as the black fog forced itself to her mouth and she swallowed it hard. She coughed and kneeled on the floor and clutched her stomach. She fell laying her back against the floor, and felt the burning sensation in her chest, her stomach, between her legs and through her toes and all over. She moaned in pain and arched her back. She panted harder, feeling her lungs contracting. She felt a deep painful sensation inside her throat and she roared it out. She twitched and crawled to the mirror. She grasped the golden frame of the mirror and pulled herself up. She placed all her weight on the cool surface of the mirror. She breathed deeply, feeling the burn fading away from her body. She pushed back a little and glared at the mirror. She widened her eyes and surprisingly her hair was black as the night and her eyes were the color of the Harvest Moon.

"Tell me, what are you now?" the heartless asked

Ni-Ne narrowed her eyes and said, "I am the Darkness…"

"Yes, tell me more…"

"I am the Shadow. I am the Night. I am the goddess. I am…"

"YES! Tell me, who you really are, Ni-Ne. Say it! SAY IT! Don't hold back!"

She raised her fist and slowly pulled it back. She aimed her fist to the mirror.

"I am… A HEARTLESS!" Ni-Ne punched the mirror hard, causing the mirror to shatter and glass to fly in all directions. She stared down at her bleeding hand. "Tell me Heartless… I'm ready. Tell me your name."

The woman chuckled. "Well then… My name is…"

Ti-Day sat on the newly built fountain in the center of town thinking about Ni-Ne. As he did, Ni-Ne made an appearance as Ti-Day spotted her walking towards the graveyard. However, she didn't look the same. Something was definitely different. Her hair was dark like raven feathers. Her skin was ghostly pale. And worst of all Ti-Day noticed her eyes were glowing lightly like the eerie harvest moon. His heart sank feeling something bad had happened. Nevertheless he got up and left the fountain to follow Ni-Ne.

As he got closer, he realized he'd lost sight of her. He looked everywhere through the trees but there was no sight of Ni-Ne. As he searched, he heard a voice singing in the distance. It was so beautiful and he felt like he must follow the voice and find out where it was coming from. In the graveyard, he found Ni-Ne sitting on one of the tall headstones. She was looking off into the distance singing peacefully.

As Ti-Day approached her, he started to feel sleepy. His own weight was too much to carry and his legs buckled underneath him and he collapsed to the ground. He couldn't hold his eyes open any longer and like a baby hearing its lullaby Ti-Day fell asleep.

Ni-Ne finished her song and turned her head to see Ti-Day out cold on the ground next to her. She jumped down like a cat in the night and walked over to sleeping Ti-Day. "Let the Dead sleep, my love," she said, whispering into his ear.

A twig in the forest snapped and Ni-Ne looked up. "Well, well… look what we have here. Ni-Ne Nite and a sleepy little red grim reaper. HA!" said a large bag-creature covered in patches.

"Oogie Boogie. It's been a long time," Ni-Ne replied to the lurker in the shadows. "My how you changed," Oogie Boogie said checking out Ni-Ne's new get up.

"You like?" Ni-Ne said with a devilish smile. Then without warning she pulled out her key blade and pointed it straight at Oogie Boogie. "What did I do this time?" Oogie said. "Well, if you wanna fight Ms. Nite, then let the fun begin," Oogie summoned a heartless to the spot and ordered it to attack Ni-Ne.

"You fool," Ni-Ne said laughing. "Guess again."

Oogie looked down at his heartless that was still standing in one place. Repeatedly he ordered it to attack Ni-Ne, but it remained firmly in place. "B-but why? What's going on here!"

"I control the heartless now idiot," Ni-Ne said smiling even more devilishly than before. "They wouldn't hurt their goddess now would they?" She laughed at him and her eyes glared and evil glare. Oogie thought it best just to attack her himself and so he charged at her and body slammed her with his baggy body. Ni-Ne was flattened and knocked out by the immense impact. The heartless that had been standing in front of Oogie before now started to move in on him looking mad. But before it could get far, a bolt of lightening came down from the sky and the hit the heartless causing it to disappear.

"Huh?" Oogie said looking around. A woman wearing all black who's face appeared green stood behind Oogie.

"I see you've finally managed to catch the infamous Ni-Ne Nite," said the woman.

"Maleficent," Oogie said catching sight of her.

"Good work Oogie," Maleficent said coldly. "Her powers will be most useful to our plans. Bring her to your lair. And hurry!" As Ti-Day slept, unaware, the villains took unconscious Ni-Ne away.