Note: as I said last time, skipping the training scenes. That is all for now.

Midnight's POV

I stared at the ceiling of my new room. Originally I had bunked with Isa(Lea's idea to piss him off), but when we actually started to get along, Lea removed his illusion hiding a spare room and I moved in.

I was a little frustrated by the current events. Namely, the fact that Sora had told me what that fruit in the ice cream was. Why did Ansem even have it? I wondered angrilly. I had basically tricked us both into eating a love potion! That wouldn't be a problem normally, but guess what? I'm a freaking Heartless! Needing to vent some anger, I went outside to murder some practice dummies.

I stood in front of the yard filled with dummies and summoned my Keyblade. Black blade with a classic four inch wide sword build with a wicked point on the end and red edge, red pommel with black hand guards, red runes running up the blade that translated to "Sink into the Darkness," teeth made of ruby shaped into a shuriken and connected to the blade by two out of four blades with a black metal center, a red chain with four-pronged star links and a keychain shaped like a demonic red eye wrapped in black chains, the Bitter Blackness was a sight to behold. I readied it and attacked the dummies in a frenzy, cutting them all to peices before the sound caught up to my Keyblade.

I sighed as they rebuild themselves and my Keyblade vanished. Ven came out just then. "Hey, Mid. Were you using the training ground?"

"Just finished," I sighed.

He seemed to see the frustration still on my face. "Are you still upset over sharing a Paopu with Xion? Come on, is it really that bad?"

I groaned and crossed my arms. "I wish I could tell you how bad it is." He was instantly curious. "I said I wish I could, but I can't. That's for Yen Sid and Ansem to know. Sorry."

He sighed and summoned his Keyblade before hacking away at a dummy. "Can you tell me what world you're from? I just realized that no one knows."

I thought about what harm it could do before answering, "Sunset City." This caused Ven to miss his hit and practically tackle the dummy.

"Sunset City?!" I was confused by his disbeleif. They couldn't have-

I suddenly remembered when the person with the key-shaped sword tried to save me. Trying hard to remember their face, I was surprised and horrified to recognize Xion. Ok, this shouldn't be a problem. She didn't see my face, only one eye, which changed when I turned. She won't recognize me. "Yeah, up until a few weeks before I met all of you, I lived in Sunset City. Then I just woke up in the Realm of Darkness." I left before he could ask too many questions.

Yen Sid had asked for me to visit him for an important assignment, so I headed to the tower. He was waiting in his study with Xion and Isa, and nodded in greeting as I entered. Xion avoided my gaze, her face steadily turning red. "Thank you for coming, Midnight. I called all three of you here for an important mission. Yesterday I sensed a great Darkness forming in The World That Never Was. I want you three to inspect it. Since Xion and Isa lived there while they were part of Organization XIII, you two are the best suited for this. I would have sent Lea and Roxas with you, but I sent them on another errand before I sensed this power. Unfortunately they have yet to return. Midnight will join you as extra strength, seeing as how his power should grow since the castle lies so close to the Realm of Darkness." I nodded. "As well as that, Ansem's research shows that you may be able to pinpoint it's location so to avoid exploring the entire castle."

Isa crossed his arms and looked up in thought. "What could be there? Ever since the Organization's destruction, Nobodies have stopped gathering there."

"A giant Heartless?" Xion suggested.

Yen Sid shook his head. "I would have been able to sense what it was in that case. That is why I'm concerned. But should that be the case, only engage if you cannot escape." We all nodded and left.

Due to mine and Isa's lack of Keyblade Armor, we had to travel by Corridor of Darkness, which, in truth, was faster and easier, but made me feel like I was giving up on returning to the Realm of Light. We arrived in seconds and immediately landed in what looked like a graveyard. My friends looked around sadly. "Proof of Existence," Xion sighed.

"A room for remembering fallen Organization members," Isa continued. "While a member lived, the crystals shone blue, but a dead crystal glew red." He knelt down next to one. "The Luna Diviner. That was Saïx; me."

I looked at Xion. "Where's yours?"

"I wasn't an official member, so I didn't get one."

Something suddenly went off in my head and auddenly I felt which direction our target was in and how far away it was. "I've got it," I reported. I pointed downward to my left.

They both stared in that direction for a moment. "The only thing in that direction is..." Xion stopped short.

Isa finished. "Where Nothing Gathers."

They started leading me in the direction of the area. My mind wandered in our nervous silence to that day in Sunset City. Xion tried to save me, I said to myself. I have to find some way to thank her without her recognizing me. "Xion?"

She jumped from the sudden interruption; she'd obviously been thinking hard, too. "Yeah?"

"I, uh, heard you two and Lea were on a mission to save a World called Sunset City."

She instantly wilted. "Yeah, and I'd say we did a pretty bad job of it. No one but us and Braig survived."

"That's not entirely true," I informed her. She looked at me curiously, those big, beautiful- Shut up, Paopu! "I'm still standing here. Sunset City was my home." Her and Isa stopped and stared at me in shock. "Thank you both for trying, even if it was for nothing."

My hand was suddenly between Xion's, and she was starting to cry. "I-I'm sorry... I couldn't... I almost..."

I put my other hand on her head. "It was a trap. You're lucky you made it out, but my World was doomed from the start. I lost everyone close to me, but thanks to everyone you introduced me to, I have friends again. Thank you, Xion." She stared into my eyes, then started crying even harder. "Isa, you think we could take a break? You two might need a minute to process this." He was more than willing to sit down and put a hand on his obviously light head, a look of disbelief plastered onto his face.

Xion's POV

I couldn't stop the flow of tears that fell from my eyes and were absorbed by Midnight's jacket. I failed him. How can he even look at me? He lost everything because I couldn't cut it! My fingers grazed the small Mark of Mastery pendant I wore under my shirt. I don't deserve this. I stood up, much to Midnight and Isa's surprise, and removed the necklace. I made to smash it on the ground, but Midnight caught my hand.

"Stop acting like what happened was your fault." He took the necklace from my hand and placed it back around my neck. "You deserve this. You need full control over the Light and Darkness inside of you to be a Master, and you earned that. I'm never gonna get one of those because I can't even tap into what little Light I have." I looked up at him in surprise. "Xion, you're stronger than me. You've been through more than me. You shouldn't blame yourself just because you couldn't save an already dead world. If anyone thinks differently, then they need to pull their heads out of their asses."

My Heart started thumping like mad, and I didn't even try to fight what happened next. Ansem's data was right, I told myself as I put my arms around his neck. I am in love with him. I pressed my lips against his.

Isa's already unfocused eyes blanked even more. "Thanks, now this'll take longer." I ignored him and continued to kiss the boy who had finally made my Heart real.

Midnight's POV

I was shocked when Xion suddenly kissed me, but I quickly recovered and returned it, putting my arms around her waist. Looks like a Heartless just fell in love. Screw you, science.

We broke apart for air, and she smiled up at me. "That's what was wrong with my Heart when we went to see Ansem. It wasn't damaged; I was in love." I put my forehead against hers and closed my eyes, smiling.

Isa told us it was time to continue on before we did anything else that his brain had to process. We continued on until we came to a large door. "Where Nothing Gathers" popped into my head when I touched it. "This is definately the place" I confirmed. "Whatever we're here for is right through here." Isa summoned his claymore and raised it into the air. A beam of light shot from the symbol on it into a mirror on the door, and it slowly began to open.

We stepped inside, then immediately the door slammed shut. "Nice one, losers!" We looked up to see Braig sitting in one of the thirteen seats. "Welcome to my Do-Gooders' Death Trap!" A large mass of Heartless and Nobodies rose from the abyss beneath the platform the seats were anchored to. His eye suddenly focused on me. "Wait, aren't you that wierdo that kept his memories?" I stiffened up. "Yo, how's it been man? Still kickin' ass and regeneratin' crap that would've killed anything else?"

Xion looked at me questioningly. "Mid, what's he talking about?"

"'Mid'?" Braig laughed. "Nice name, but I'm guessing you haven't told them what you really are, huh?"

Isa looked at me from the corner of his eye, though mainly looking at the enemies. "Midnight?"

Braig laughed again. "Seriously, you betray your own kind, now you won't even tell your friends your darkest secret? How do you sleep at night?"

"'Own kind'?" Xion questioned.

"C'mon, man, not even your girlfriend?" Braig was obviously enjoying himself. "Well, how 'bout I tell them myself? Well, traitors, your friend there is actually-" He was cut off by a Dusk landing on his head, then jumping off, followed by a Neoshadow landing on his crotch. "Dammit!" He backhanded the Heartless and stood up, holding his groin. "Who cares if you know or not? You'll all be dead in a few minutes anyway." He vanished into a Corridor of Darkness.

Isa looked at me accusingly. "We'll discuss your secret later. Right now we need to find a way out of here." I tried opening a Corridor of Darkness, but it vanished before it finished forming. "Braig blocked us in. We might be able to break through, but the stone this castle is made of is impervious to Light. Xion won't be able to make a dent." We readied our weapons as the onslaught approached. "Any final words, just in case?" He raised Lunatic in preparation.

Xion started, readying Oblivion. "I wish I'd gotten to spend more time with you, Mid. I shouldn't have avoided you for the past few days." She smiled sheepishly.

I held Bitter Blackness at my side, perpendicular to the ground. "I don't plan on dying, but I don't want you two showing me up." I looked over at Xion and smiled. "I love you, Xion, and thank you for trying to save me."

"Trying to...?" She suddenly realized what I meant. "Wait, you were the boy I tried to save?" I nodded. "But I saw him- er, you vanish!"

"I'd say I'll explain, but there's a chance that by the end of this, I won't need to." We backed up so that we were all back to back. "What about you, Isa?"

He sighed. "I wish I had gotten a Keyblade. I've always been better than Lea at everything, but then he was chosen to wield one." The swarm was closing in. "It was a pleasure fighting with you. Thank you for accepting me despite my mistakes as Saïx."

I smiled. "Thank you both for taking me in on such short notice. Your group seems to have a habit of making fast friends."

Xion finished it off. "Thank you two for sharing our last moments." With that we all bathed ourselves in our respective attributes and started hacking away at the oncoming tide of monsters. Xion summoned her armor immediately, Oblivion splitting into two red Keyblades. Isa went Berserk, attacking the monsters with speed no other man could have with that weapon. Unlike them, I stayed normal; I'd only transform if I absolutely had to.

The swarm didn't seem even close to gone a minute later. My previously empty Munny pouch was now going into the millions due to how many enemies I was destroying, though the others were probably doing a lot better. I started to feel confident until suddenly a Twilight Thorn climbed onto the platform, crushing several of its own kin in the process. On the other side, a Darkside was floating into view. Without even noticing, we'd rotated our positions in the triangle we'd formed, with Xion looking toward the Twilight Thorn and me facing the Darkside.

I was about to fire a blast of Darkness at the approaching Darkside, but I was interrupted by a crunching noise and a scream. I whirled around to see Xion sprawled on the ground, her armor in pieces around her. The giant Nobody retracted its fist as though it had just thrown a punch. Anger suddenly flooding my senses, I let out a loud cry and the room was filled with Darkness.

The power faded, revealing my friends to be perfectly fine and the entire horde wiped out. Undortunately, even more were appearing. Taking advantage of the time I'd bought, Isa and I knelt beside Xion to assess her injury. "Her whole leg is shattered," Isa deduced reluctantly. "There's no way only the two of us can handle this. We're dead."

Thinking hard, I reluctantly disagreed. "No." I stood up. "I might know a way." I held Bitter Blackness the same as before. "Both of you, cover your ears and look away. I don't want you to see what I'm about to do."

Isa looked suspicious. "Is this about that secret?" I nodded. "Then I'm not looking away."

"Me neither," Xion added. "Mid, whatever your secret is, you have to trust us."

"It's not that I don't trust you," I informed them. "It's that you won't trust me after."

Xion shool her head. "I believe in you. Whatever you do, I'll trust you. As long as you don't try to attack us, of course."

Isa put a hand on my shoulder. "We're your friends. I'd trust you with my life."

I clenched my teeth. "You don't understand." Xion tried to interrupt, but I stopped her. "You couldn't possibly understand what it's like to lose everything!" I shouted, Darkness flowing around me. The horde was closing in. "I only just got everything back and I don't want to lose it just because I'm a-!" Xion quickly forced herself to her feet long enough to slap me hard across the face before losing her balance and falling into my arms.

"Mid," she groaned through her pain, "we need you, and we need to trust you. If I can't see the real you, then how can I trust you?" I was at a lose for words, so I just set her down.

I walked toward the approaching monsters, emptying my mind of all positive encouragement. Who cares if the find out? I'd rather have them shun me than lose them forever. My pendant glowed and started flailing wildly, revealing itself while I raised my Keyblade into the air. Darkness flowed from the tip, forming a ball around me. The ball solidified, and my transformation began.

Xion's POV

I watched as he was encased in Darkness. I don't care what comes out of there. I love him, no matter what!

A Heartless emblem appeared on the orb, then cracks, and it suddenly exploded.

Midnight's POV

The orb broke, revealing the real me to my friends. My original Heartless form had returned with this transformation, only adding a Heartless emblem to my chest and my Keyblade remained in my hand. I turned to Xion and Isa, both of them shocked at my appearance. I held out a hand to Xion. "Could I borrow your Keyblade for a minute?" I hissed into her mind. She held out the sword, which I took with my left hand. I turned back to the swarm of enemies and roared before taking off at lighning fast speed into them. I let go and let my Heartless side out, destroying them ten times faster than the three of us together could.

Isa's POV

I watched in amazement as Midnight started whittling down the number of monsters in the room. The population had dropped by an eighth already, by my estimation, and the amount coming up from the abyss was shrinking rapidly.

Then he seemed to lose all control. He suddenly stopped in the middle of the room, floating perfectly still in the air before starting to curl into a ball. Wind began to howl as the enemies were sucked toward him, being pulled into a huge ball above his head. Once he had them all, he uncurled and held both Keyblades before him. He slowly closed the distance between them, shrinking the ball at the same time. The Heartless and Nobodies screamed in pain as they were crushed. The tips finally touched and the enemies all let out on final screaxh in unision before several hearts suddenly rose out of the ball, indicating that the monsters had been slain.

The now basketball-sized orb of Darkness and Nothingness floated down to Midnight. He grabbed it between both Keyblades, pulled it back behind his head, then hurled it at the ceiling. It exploded in a flash of dark blue and silver, raining peices of white stone down. The explosion continued to rage on even past the ceiling's destruction, most likely spreading to take out most of the upper levels.

After a few minutes of the deafening explosion, Midnight fell from the sky, out of Heartless form and completely unconscious. I ran to catch him before laying him beside Xion. With the barrier now gone, I summoned a Corridor of Darkness and carried them home.

At Yen Sid's tower, he immediately healed everyone's ears(as I had only just noticed that all our eardrums had been shredded and blood was flowing down our faces), but Xion's leg was past magical help. I hoped that the wizard had answers for the mountain of questions piling up. "What was with that transformation Midnight went through, and why was he so hesitant to use it?"

Yen Sid sighed. "I suppose keeping this secret is futile now, at least from you two. What you saw was not a transformation; it was a reversion. I'm afraid that what you imagine to be his physical form is fake. What you saw a few minutes ago was the real Midnight; a Heartless." I looked at they boy, failing to see any signs of him being a Heartless besides his chain.

"But that's impossible!" Xion said. "He has emotions!"

The wizard nodded. "Yes, he is quite a curious case. That is why I sent him to Ansem the Wise. I just recieved the results of his test from Dilan."

Still sceptical, I asked, "Did they tell anything helpful?"

He shook his head. "They proved very contradictory. The test showed that he still would have been an extremely powerful Heartless, but his memories should have gone to a Nobody." He waved his hand, summoning a small Shadow on top of Midnight and a one-way mirror in between us. It looked around and seemed to register that my friend was there, but not seeing him as prey or a threat. Yen Sid dismissed his summons and tapped Midnight on the head. He immediately bolted up, panting heavily.

"Wha-? How'd I get back here?" I crossed my arms. "What?"

"When did you plan on telling us you were a Heartless?" I asked. His eyes widened with shock.

"How-?" Then his memories of our mission flooded back. "Oh, right." He put a hand on his forehead. "If I could manage it, I wasn't going to tell you at all. That's why I was upset over the whole Paopu thing. If me and Xion got together, I would have to tell her eventually." He laughed slightly and looked at the girl. "But when you kissed me earlier, I forgot all about that. When the time came that I had to show myself, the realization that my secret was going to come out hit me like a train. I couldn't stop thinking about you running from me after you saw what I really was." He smiled sadly. "I won't blame you if you want to kick me out now."

I sighed. "I thought I told you that I trusted you. You saved us, so I still do." He looked at me in surprise. "Plus, Xion would be a complete wreck if you left now."

Midnight's POV

I excused myself and retreated to the roof of our home with Ansem's notes. I read through them carefully, taking in every bit of information I understood. I studied so intently that I mearly missed a Corridor of Darkness opening and dropping Xion right next to me. "Hey," she said to announce her arrival.

"Hey," I replied, not taking my eyes off the papers.

This obviously disappointed her. "Are you sure you aren't over reacting? We know what you are and we still trust you. How is that a bad thing?"

I sighed. "It isn't. I'm just...overwhelmed by everything right now. I thought these notes would distract me, but it's just a bunch of bios on other Heartle-" I stopped.

"What?" I showed her the page I had turned to. This information should help, as my research showed that you should be able to use all of their abilities. "Does this help at all?"

I looked back through the bios. "It might. I found one called a Possessor that can inhabit any non-living thing. I think I can use this!"

Xion understood. "Spying on Braig?"

I nodded. "Next time we see him, I'll make sure to inhabit something of his, probably his coat or eyepatch."

She smiled. "Feeling better then?"

I grinned. "I can use my powers to help in more than just combat. Of course I'm better!"

She moved closer. "Good." She pressed her lips to mine.