Ventus searched all around for his brothers. It seemed like they've gone out without inviting him.

"Where are they?" Ventus groaned, searching for his little brothers. Then, he called for Aviva. "Querida? Have you seen my brothers?"

"Oh… they went to a secret meeting."

"They've been doing this secret meeting thing between them for a long time. I could join for them one day, couldn't I?"

"Don't worry, cariño, I'm sure they didn't go too far." She sounded uneasy.

"You okay, Viva?"

"I'm alright. But you know they'll come back after a while."

"But you know how tricky it is to find them when they don't have their own Creaturepods with them." Suddenly, a blast of cold wind hit his face. "Uh, nevermind. I think I found them. Zap out."

"That's it... That's it..." he heard mumbling. Ven peaked over a bush. Martin and Chris were in a small clearing, and it looked like they were training. However... their earrings were nearly black.

Martin looked like he was really concentrating on a converged ball of water. Suddenly, he made it freeze with a snap of his fingers.

"No... Are they..." he mumbled in shock.

"Nice job!" Chris walked forward and the sisters applauded. "You're really getting the hang of it, bro!"

"Thanks. And so are you! After all that time with disturbed meditation, now you found your inner peace once more. And no more freaky nightmares, right?"

"At least those I know for certain is a bad dream." He nodded in agreement.

"I think I've seen enough!" Ventus yelled, revealing himself. His siblings froze in horror.

"Ven?!" Chris yelped. "Uh, how long were you sitting there?"

"Long enough to finally see where you two run off to. So this is what you've been doing?"

"Ven, this is the best control we've had for weeks," Martin tried to assure. "We're getting the hang of it."

"No, you two are not using them again. I forbid it."

"B-but Ven-"

"Do you already forget what Darkness did to me?! I pretty much killed both of you because of that… that… MONSTROSITY!" The brothers stepped back in fear. Ventus then felt a yank on his ear. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow…"

"We need to talk. NOW," Aviva said sternly, as she pulled him. Ice and Thorn looked from behind the brothers.

Martin and Chris peeked through the door to find out what was going on.

"Aviva, don't you get it? Darkness is dangerous! Mom said th-"

"No it ISN'T! Those two haven't done anything wrong in any of their appearances. You're acting imprudently just based on your past! You have to let this go once and for all! THINGS CHANGED!"

"This isn't about the past, Aviva! I'm worried about their future! If anything happens to them thanks to those monst-"

"They're NOT monsters! The problem's not with them… it's with YOU!" Ventus gasped loudly.

"Ooo, right in the heart," Chris whispered, to which Martin nodded in agreement.

On prime impulse, he pushed Aviva away.

"Fine! Be like that! Don't blame me if they fall to Darkness!" Aviva stared in shock as he stomped away. Martin and Chris hid behind Jimmy's station, seeing their big brother's eyes glow silver intensely.

"And I thought he finally had let it go," Martin sighed.

"Me too, bro. But I guess, as they said, he needs to understand. The question is… how?"

Ventus punched the wall of his old room in Hermia's temple.

"Have I done SOMETHING WRONG?! How could THEY use THAT?!" he screamed, as he crushed everything he could see. "I tried helping them! I'm their big brother! I KNOW WHAT I AM DOING!"

As his tantrum started to end, he breathed in and out and laid down for a moment.

"So… finally calmed down?" he heard a very familiar voice.

"Huh? Who's there?" He immediately sat up.

"Just you."

"Come out this instant!"

"Right behind you, genius." Ventus turned around. His eyes widened in shock.

"Th-that's not possible… Y-you cannot be the same Black Storm-"

"Don't call me that," the dark entity said harshly. "Just call me Storm. Please," he calmed himself. "Can I... speak with my own bros?"

"And do YOU have bros?"

"Uh… hello? Ice and Thorn, remember?"

"You don't even know them."

"So? You didn't know Martin and Chris. You only knew them as Aqua and Terra."

"... Good point." Ventus stood up. "But... why exactly are you so... calm?"

"Look, I know what I did in the past, but trust me: that was not the real me. It was Chaos, remember?"

"Didn't Chaos make you stronger?"

"No, he didn't. He only manipulated your fear into hatred. Therefore, it affected me too. Your fear of losing your loved ones... into hate for them."

"Okay… so what exactly are you doing here?" Ventus didn't want to believe him, although a small part of him did. "Were you, like Chaos, locked inside my mind, instead of vanishing?"

"We all need Darkness, Ventus. But just like mom, you had forgotten that. And I'm trying to help you see."

"See what?"

"The closer to light you are... the darker it gets behind you. Remember that." He vanished, as Ventus heard a knock on the door.

"Ventus? Is everything alright?"

"Uh… yes, mom. I'm fine. Just… need to clean up this mess..." He looked around to see the mess he left due to his tantrum.

Returning to the human world, Ventus questioned himself if Black Storm, or Storm as he prefered to be called, was really there… or was he imagining that?

He entered the Tortuga carefully. Then, he saw no one was home.

"Guess no one's here now. Neither your cute girlfriend..." Storm reappeared nearby.

"Never mind me thinking it was a dream..." Ventus mumbled in irritation.

"Oh, but it was not. I'm here talking to you, aren't I? As visible to you as the way you ignore the fact that your brothers lead better with their "new abilities" than you lead with me."

"Don't put them into this!"

"Why not? It's the truth. They've accepted their fears and found their way. You on the other hand... You don't even know what you fear so much... or how to face it."

"Just leave me alone!" Ventus tried hitting him, then Storm disappeared, and the Multiplicator nearly fell off the station. Koki entered the room. She caught it.

"Whoa! Ventus, careful! You nearly broke the Multiplicator. Aviva's been working hard on fixing it, you know."

"But it wasn't me! I was…" He sighed. "I saw Black Storm."

"What? That's impossible. Black Storm is gone, remember?"

"But, he was…. I… uh, nevermind."

"Speaking of her, Aviva won't be wanting to see you for a while. Whenever she has a fight like that, she wants to get locked in the garage with her inventions."

"You know what happened?"

"We have cameras here, you forget? Besides, M.A.T.I.'s always online watching the HQ."

"Hm… right. I also don't feel like… speaking with Viva already..." Ventus sighed. "I'll… go for a walk. Where are Martin and Chris?"

"They're out with their girlfriends, and added that they wanted to be with someone who would understand them."

"What do they mean, "understand them"?"

"Ventus, you've broke their hearts. It was simply Strike 3 to them. They're trying to do right, and all you did was step on their hopes. I'm sorry, but… you've been a real jerk," Koki sternly answered.

"I didn't do anything wrong! They were using Darkness! And behind my back!" Ventus's tone started to get angry again. "The more they use it, the-"

"See? You're doing it again!" Koki stomped, interrupting him. "All based on past facts! For someone who has SUCH a perspective for the future… you are very trapped in your own past. And you even went as far as..." She left the room, sighing. "When you're ready to catch the "now" train, let me know."

Ventus glared at her as she left.

"Wow. She can be mean when she wants to." Storm appeared again.

"Where were you?!"

"I was right here."

"B-but… Koki, she… she didn't..." Ventus grunted loudly, holding his head, trying to understand what was going on. "Nevermind."

Meanwhile, not far from there, Ice and Thorn saw Martin and Chris with their girls.

"Man… they look upset."

"All you-know-who's fault."

"Thorn!"

"Well, it's true!"

"Um… excuse me..." Storm approached them. Ventus followed him.

"So... You're the infamous Black Storm. Doesn't look that bad if you ask me."

"No... It's just Storm. What the world saw was me under Chaos's manipulation. That wasn't the real me. Or at least..."

"The you that doesn't present fear," Thorn finished. "We know."

"No, you don't. It's because of Chaos all of this has happened. He... I practically killed them."

"No, you didn't. They did this to themselves for the good of all they loved," Ice said.

"And what exactly are you doing here?" Ventus questioned.

"We weren't ordered by Martin and Chris, so we're simply fooling around. Speaking of them, they're really upset with you, Ventus."

"With me?"

"Well, I don't blame them. You kinda, you know, threw all your anger out on them."

"Hey! I was trying to do what's best for them. Is that so bad?"

"But we're not bad," Ice pointed out.

"I know we're not really bad!" Storm yelled in frustration. Then, he sighed. "But Mother Nature, she doesn't care about us. All she cares about is the Light. I've never believed in this practice of shunning one's Darkness. I mean, until today… when I saw you were really trying." Ventus grunted in response and looked away.

"Wow… uh, thanks. But, Ventus, lashing out on others is just going to make it worse," Thorn said.

"There's nothing else I can do. He's-" Storm was saying until he was interrupted.

"I'm not losing them again." Ventus turned his back to them, and Storm stared at them.

"Well, we tried," Ice sighed, returning to Martin. Thorn stayed silent before retreating to Chris.

"Thank you," Storm said quietly. Laura and Tania looked back to see only Ventus there.

"Ventus?" He walked away, seemingly not hearing them.

Ventus sighed in his hammock, locked in a room.

"Why are you not listening?" Storm wanted to know. "It's not so hard to understand, Ventus."

"Go AWAY!" The Kratt in white threw a kick at him, but his foot only hit air… and the shelf where Aviva's tools were. "Oh Zeus! Aviva is gonna be ticked!"

"Not as ticked as before, but still..." Ven froze, then slowly turned around to see the team staring at him.

"Hey, where'd' he go?" He saw that Storm disappeared once more.

"VK... we had a meeting and… we're really worried about you," Koki said.

"Guys, there's nothing wrong with me. I'm telling you, Black Storm is-"

"Black Storm is gone, Ventus," David pointed out. "G-O-N-E. Either you're dreaming awake or you're going... the C word."

"I am NOT going crazy! I know I saw him!"

He felt a cold slap on his neck. It was a long thread of what seemed to be snow. It went back to the Kratt in blue.

"Not another word," Martin said sternly. "Ventus, I don't think we can handle more of this paranoia."

"It's not only affecting you, but all of us!" Chris told him. "I fear you… you have to be punished." He took his CPS and gave it to Aviva.

"No! You don't understand! It's not me! It's Black Storm!"

"He's GONE, Ventus!" the girls snapped.

"I told you, he's going the C w-"

"I'M NOT CRAZY! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! YOU'LL NEVER UNDERSTAND! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Ventus had enough, and showed this, by bringing out his wind wings and blowing everyone off their feet. Then, he gasped as he saw everyone seemingly unconscious. "No… No..." he muttered, flying away.

"Uh… guess that wasn't a good idea," M.A.T.I. commented, as the team stood up.

"You think?" David mumbled, ironically. Then, they heard a silent sobbing in front of them. There, in front of them, was Storm.

"I failed… I failed..."

"No..." Aviva gulped. "It can't be..." Before another word could be said, Ice and Thorn hurried to him.

"It IS him. Black Storm… now merely Storm, Ventus's Darkness. I'm sorry we haven't told you earlier, but..." Thorn started.

"We were very hurt, and we wouldn't listen to you, right?" Martin commented. Storm refused to make eye contact.

"So Ventus WAS speaking the truth..."

"Yes… and no. Storm did appear, but he wasn't the cause of the problems Ventus had today," Ice answered.

"He wasn't?" Koki questioned. "I did think that he was throwing a huge tantrum earlier."

"That's the problem. The worse Ventus feels about his past as Black Storm, the more it'll hurt for both of us!" Storm explained.

"Wow, and I thought Zach had weak spirits," Clarissa commented.

"I tried to warn him… to help both of us… but his paranoia reached a point that he's losing his sense of right and wrong."

"Yes… this we can say for ourselves," Chris commented.

"I fear I can't do anything for him now..."

"Maybe not alone… but with us, brother, you can." Ice placed his shadowy hand on Storm's shoulder, and looked at everyone around them.

Ventus was on the Tortuga's ceiling, still shocked by what just happened.

"Wh-why...?" he muttered. The wind blew around him. "I-I'm right… Storm's trying to get in my head, right? He's trying to gain my trust to turn me against my brothers again, right? So… why does it hurt?"

"Ventus, stop! JUST STOP!" Martin's scream was heard. He turned around to see the team staring at him.

"S-stop? What?"

"Not letting go, that's what," Koki said. "You're so stuck in the past that you're not thinking of the future."

"If you keep bringing it back to you, it'll hurt for you… and for him!" Aviva pointed at Storm. Ventus glared at him, and on an impulsive action, grabbed his wrist. The wind blew around.

"See? I was right all along! I told you he was-!"

"No! HE was NOT the cause! He was trying to help you!" Chris tried reaching his brother. "We were right when we said this paranoia was getting to us too, but it was mainly getting to you!"

"Ventus, we're your friends! Your family! We want to help, but you gotta let us!" Aviva said. Ven kept pressing Storm's wrist with his strength. The wind blew harder.

"I don't need your help!" he yelled, tears in his eyes. "No one CAN help! Don't you understand?!"

"We do understand… but do YOU understand?!" Chris's eyes had tears. "Black Storm would NOT want help, but he's GONE! You're not the person you were before, and Storm's here to prove it!" Ventus's tears kept falling.

"He's here for you! We all are! Please, try to see this." Martin felt like crying. Ice comforted him. "Storm isn't a punishment... He's your guide… to show what you're afraid of."

Ven saw Ice and Thorn comforting their crying fellows, while the team felt scared about the wind and the situation. He saw himself hurting Storm's wrist and took a deep breath, pulling them both from the Tortuga's ceiling.

"VENTUS!" the team screamed in horror.

Time seemed to stop for a moment. And Elsa wasn't even using her powers. Ventus opened his eyes for a brief moment, and saw Storm with a warm, tearful smile.

"Thanks..." he whispered as their hands touched each other.

Before the team could move, there was a large flash of light with a bit of black in it. When they looked up, there with his wings bigger and with some black "feathers", was Ventus, without any bruises and with some tears still falling.

"Ventus?" Chris called. The Kratt in white looked at them, the fierce wind ceasing and replaced with a breeze.

The brothers immediately rushed to hug him, knowing their brother needed them more than ever. His wings vanished into light, except a single black and white feather that fell to the ground.

The next day, Ventus helped the team clean up all the mess he left. He finished throwing the garbage in the trash bin.

"Ventus…" Martin called his attention. "Now I do forgive you." He gave Ventus back his CPS, receiving back a smile. A volley ball fell from the opened roof and hit Ventus on the head.

"Hello? We're all waiting for the hero of the story, you know," Aviva announced. Martin gave her the "icy stare", making her chuckle nervously. Then, he patted her on the head, making her sigh in relief.

Ventus (voice-over): Kinda ironic… what I thought was the problem became the solution. So simple, yet so hard. But this talkative wind waker can translate it.

The three of them left the Tortuga to rejoin the team, and Ventus followed them, but not before he picked up the feather from before, attached to a string.

Five simple words: my past is not today. *giggle* Just a different way to say that we can all move forward… even me.

He looked back to his shadow, and it gave him a smile, as it left to join its siblings. A trio of siblings was reunited… and a happy family too.