X stood in the underground, looking out over a balcony that looked over the rest of the underground. Master Xehanort wasn't far from him, looking in a similar direction. X cast a glance in his direction, waiting for the old coot to speak. But he didn't, much to X's annoyance. He just stood there.

"Didn't think I could do my job?" X asked, his anger and annoyance showing plainly in his voice. Xehanort looked at X calmly before returning his gaze to the underground. X couldn't imagine what was so interesting that he couldn't look away from it for an extended period of time.

"Time is of the essence. You were taking too long." Xehanort said calmly. X rolled his eyes and shook his head in disbelief. A lame excuse. They were nowhere near ready.

"Man, wish that crazy guy had shot you. You're really a pain in my ass." X said. Xehanort looked at him with a glare, his attention seeming to finally be dragged away from the nothing he was staring at. The old coot, however, didn't speak, just glared at the Heartless monarch besides him.

"Hey, you old coot!" The voice of the man that had targeted Terra yelled out. Several arrow-like projectiles were shot at Xehanort, but they all bounced off of an invisible barrier. The man didn't seem to care as he drew closer continuing to shot while he raved on. "You said I wouldn't get hurt! I didn't sign up to be collateral damage!" The man held his gun up to Xehanort's head. X fought his urge to snicker in amusement. "No way, as if!"

Xehanort summoned his keyblade without a sound. At the sight of the keyblade X frowned. He really did hate those stupid showy keys. There was no point in them, except to destroy everything in their way. The man leaned back from the key in the fear that was appropriate when faced with such a weapon.

"Okay! Okay, fine. Fine!" The man said in a panic. "Just..just put that down! You still need me! You still need me to do something, right? And all I'm asking is that you hold up your end of the bargain." He said trying to remain calm. X watched him in disinterest. Xehanort banished his keyblade calmly. The man let out a deep breath of relief. "Heh, I mean, what's a little scratch on my face, huh? All things considered. I'm just lucky he didn't steal my heart like princess Whatever-it-was. That would've ruined my week for sure." He said calmly. X resisted his urge to snicker. This man really didn't know anything about what was going on. Xehanort was using him like he used everyone else.

"Unlikely," Xehanort said, turning back to the underground. "A powerful light still lives inside of Terra. You see people like him, they don't have the power to steal hearts." He continued. He cast a glance at X. X pretended not to noticed and picked at his nails calmly. The man looked at Xehanort in confusion.

"So wait, you mean, he's not the one who stole her heart?" The man said in shock. Xehanort only smiled a cruel smile in reply. X looked up from his nails, meeting the man's eyes. X flashed his eyes bright yellow, causing the man to back away in fear.

X once again had to fight to keep himself from laughing.

*<3*

It took X awhile longer than he intended to find Terra. With so many options of where he could have gone, X made about three stops prior to finding Terra.

The world X found Terra in was bright and colorful. It looked rather peaceful compared to all the rest. X didn't notice any Unversed at all. Maybe Vanitas hadn't gotten into this world yet. Terra was talking to a group of inhabitants, each of which looked like some type of animal. Like the mouse, Ventus had fought with.

X blinked in confusion but approached the group slowly. He took note of two chipmunks, a mouse queen, and a female duck.

"I can't say racing interests me, but I need to defeat the Unversed. Tell me what I've gotta do." Terra said as X came into earshot. No one had noticed him yet, but that was fine by him.

"Are you talkin about all those carts that look like scary, ugly monsters?" One of the chipmunks asked. It, he, had a black nose while the other had a red nose. Terra nodded in reply. Both chipmunks hummed in thought.

"Well, we've only ever seen the monsters on the track." The mouse queen said calmly.

"That's it! Terra, you just need to enter the races!" The black nosed chipmunk said, jumping up into the air a little. He was already up on a platform so he would be easier to see. "And while you're at it, take that Captain Dark down a notch or two. He's always breakin the rules and causin trouble." He added.

"I have to become a racer?" Terra asked warily. X glanced towards his side where there was a race track. That had to be what they were talking about. So all the Unversed were there. Weird.

"Mm-hm, mm-hm." The chipmunks confirmed in unison.

"Now, I'm sure I don't have to tell you--" The queen began. Terra cut her off with a smile.

"I know. I'll play by the rules." Terra said. The queen laughed happily. X decided then would be the best point to interject.

"What's going on?" X asked. The entire group turned to him quickly, with varying degrees of surprise. Terra was the least surprised, but that was probably because he was used to X.

"Oh, why, hello." The queen greeted. X acknowledged her with a small bow. Terra watched him with a laugh.

"X, what took you so long?" Terra asked as X straightened up.

"I was being sure Master Xehanort wasn't hurt. And then I got lost. What are you signing up for?" X replied, quickly reasking his question. Terra frowned and looked at the race track.

"The Unversed are on the race track. The only way to get them is to be part of the races." Terra explained. X nodded slowly. Still very strange that the Unversed would be only there, but whatever.

"Oh, well, uh, good luck?" X said, trying to figure out the appropriate response. Terra laughed at his confusion.

"Thanks," Terra said with a chuckle. X supposed that meant his response had been somewhat close to what it should have been. Sometimes the playing human thing seemed to get harder the longer he was a Heartless.

The race didn't interest X too much. It was just people driving in a circle and you could really only watch a small part of the competition.

At the end of the race, Terra was the victor. A large cat-like creature wearing a dark suit of some kind was extremely angered by this, for whatever reason. X wondered if this was the one who needed to be put in his place.

"My kart musta sprung a spring! You yahoos just wait, next time, I'll clobber all of you!" The cat said angrily. Before anyone could argue he jumped into his kart and drove away. X thought it was a miracle the kart didn't break.

"Yippee! I hope he's gone for good. Nobody's going to vote for a weasel like you, Pete!" The black nosed chipmunk yelled. X tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"What's all that about?" X asked.

"Chip means the Million Dreams Award. It's a very popular part of our Dream Festival. Everyone in town votes for who we think is the most exemplary citizen." The queen answered. X nodded in understanding, glancing at Terra who stood beside him.

"And since everybody knows how much of a troublemaker Pete is, he probably figured wearin a disguise was the only way he'd get any votes." The chipmunk with a black nose, who was apparently Chip, said.

"No votes, no prize!" The other chipmunk said.

"Yeah, the prize is all he really wants anyway. He doesn't care about bein a good citizen." Chip said bitterly.

"Oh, I think that's very sad. The award is supposed to help us appreciate how much we all look out for each other every day." The queen said sadly. Terra frowned at her words.

"Well, one thing I know for sure. I'm votin for Terra! Your racing really saved the day against those monster karts!" Chip said happily, turning to face Terra. Terra looked at them in shock.

"Hip-hip-hurray for Terra!" The other chipmunk cheered. X chuckled glancing at Terra yet again.

"I think they like you," X commented. Terra smiled down at X and shook his head, laughing softly.

"Well, I got something out of it too. I learned that you don't always have to bend the rules to reach your goals." Terra said. X pretended to smile. That was by far the most overrated thing he had heard. But based on the queen's happy laugh it probably wasn't the best thing to say. "All this time, I've been staring into the darkness. But, that doesn't mean I have to jump in." Terra said in a whisper.

X and Terra said their goodbyes and left the group to go to the outside the town. X stood staring up at the sky with his hands behind his head.

"Hey X," Terra said, catching X's attention. X looked at him in question.  He motioned with his hand for Terra to continue. "Do you ever regret accepting the darkness?" Terra asked. X looked away, trying very hard not to scoff. He still couldn't believe Terra trusted every word he said.

"I guess sometimes," X said softly. Terra tilted his head to the side.

"Only sometimes?" Terra asked. X shrugged and walked away, moving his hands to his pockets. He looked up to the sky again.

"Even though I miss having a heart, and everything that came with it. I'll admit being a Heartless has its advantages at times. The darkness can do some pretty cool stuff." X said looking over at Terra. He was frowning, thinking over X's words.

"But the darkness is dangerous," Terra said.

"No more dangerous than the light," X said with a shrug. Terra frowned at X in confusion. X supposed he had never heard it suggested that the light was dangerous.

"But light isn't dangerous. It only helps others." Terra insisted stepping towards X. X only sighed and shook his head. Such a shame Eraqus had brainwashed his pupils.

"Anything can be dangerous if used the wrong way. Light is what started the ancient keyblade war, darkness was just a by-product." X explained, glancing back to Terra. "Not to mention light created darkness in the first place." He added.

Terra looked confused, clearly fighting with himself. What X said defied his teaching. A little and more and X was certain he would fall into the darkness. Right where they needed him. X smirked as he looked up at the sky again.

"In the end light is a beautiful lie, and darkness the painful truth," X whispered so quietly Terra hardly heard him.