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Judgement

In all the time she had known him, she had never seen him as out of control as she did now.

If he had hair instead of that helmet, he would have torn it into chunks. Instead, he groped feebly at the sides of the dome, fingers curled into claws. His laughter was high-pitched, wild, taking over his body, and her coat of unversed alternately loosened and tightened like a massive fist.

"Do you think I enjoy this?" he roared. "Being the father of all these . . . things?"

His left hand cut through the air in a sweeping motion, beckoning to all of his creations. He had just finished explaining to her what the unversed were, and how they were created. She didn't know what was more horrifying: that Vanitas admitted to being their leader, or that they were born from his own negative emotions. Taking in the unversed around them, she wondered just how awful he had to be feeling right now.

"You use them to hurt people," she said.

"They're born from negative emotions," Vanitas reiterated, frustrated. "They don't do good things."

"Have you tried?" She saw him stiffen and knew the answer. "Maybe, if you just gave them a chance, they –"

"I don't need your judgement!"

In the aftermath of those words, there was only the sound of rain. Vanitas stood still, his chest heaving. The air between them crackled with unsung emotions: rage, despair, regret. Contained by her living prison, Aqua could only watch as Vanitas looked towards the sky and spread his hands out like some bizarre prophet.

"You want to slay the monster, Aqua?" he asked. "Fine." With a snap of his fingers, the unversed disappeared. Now there was only them. "Let's make this a fight for the ages."

He summoned his dark keyblade, and patiently waited for her to do the same. Uncertainly, she did, holding it loose at her side.

"Come on, Aqua," he chuckled. "I'll let you have the first blow."

Above, the skies rumbled. He held out an encouraging hand, and waited with his keyblade deceptively planted in the ground. Was this what it would come down to? Aqua shook her head, refusing to take the bait.

"You can't chicken out now," he said. His voice deepened, becoming more of a snarl. "I'm just starting to have fun."

She swallowed. She knew then that if she didn't act, Vanitas would take it upon himself to make the first move. Yet, attacking him would be as equally bad. Not only would he probably win the ensuring fight, but she really didn't want to attack.

She saw him relax as she stepped forward, and wondered what was going on inside that mind of his. She was within arm's reach now, close enough to swing.

She didn't.

Vanitas was tense in her arms. She could feel him shaking.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "that you have to go through this."

Time passed. Then, hesitantly, she felt Vanitas lean into the hug.