One moment, Flood was leaping over the strange box. The next, they were caught in a vortex of light, a cyclone of ephemeral wind, drawing them into the dark depths.

Into the place Luxu said would trap Kingdom Hearts. They couldn't imagine what kind of place that could be—but they also couldn't imagine they wanted to be stuck there.

The box inhaled with its hungry breath, and Flood made a desperate choice. They tossed the X-Blade aside, next to where Ven lay unconscious, and gripped the lip of the box with all their might.

It was hollow on the inside, darkness lurking beneath, despite the light bursting from its maw. Their legs dangled, treading thin air.

At least… the X-Blade didn't fall in. Maybe Ven or even Terra could seal Kingdom Hearts away if they failed.

They'd already failed, hadn't they? They couldn't save the worlds.

They couldn't even save themself.

Their grip was too tight for someone who had completely given up, though. The texture of their dark suit helped them keep purchase on the box's rim. They could've hauled themself up, if not for the force tugging them down, down, down. Stretching them like a thread, taut enough to snap.

"You just don't know when to give up." Luxu loomed over them.

He'd grabbed his keyblade again—Master Xehanort's keyblade. The cold gaze of its eye made them shiver.

"I can respect that," he said.

Apparently respect came in the form of a boot crushing their fingers. They cried out pathetically, slipping an inch lower.

Low enough for their head to slip below the light, and into the dark.

Dizziness swept over them. Violet gears spun—the shadowed inner workings of the box—but beneath that, inverted to their sight…

Stars. A sky full of stars, and… lights? A mountainside, terraced with white houses, gleaming under a gibbous moon. Waves lapped at the base of the mountain, at the boats docked for the night. The surrounding ocean stretched for as far as Flood could see.

It was a beautiful world. Too beautiful, too crisp, despite the unsettling aura that permeated it. Like its intensified gravity was the force pulling them in.

They wouldn't let it. They heaved themself a little higher, breaking through the cloud of dizziness to again see Luxu sneering down at them.

"What… is that place?" A question might not distract him for long, but it was better than nothing.

The shock on Luxu's face was visceral. Either he hadn't expected them to hold on this long, or he hadn't expected them to see their final destination.

"I already told ya, it's where we can keep Kingdom Hearts trapped for good. You've seen it with your own two eyes now, right? That enough proof for ya?" He made a show of stepping back, extending his hand instead of his boot. "'Cause if it is, I don't see why we can't still do this the easy way. I wouldn't mind having someone around who gets the whole body hopping gig, y'know?"

Flood gave him a deadpan stare.

"Really? After you just tried to kill me?"

"Hey, you saw where you'd be goin'. Did it look like hell to you?" He grinned. "Actually, maybe it does. The Master didn't exactly let me take a peek…"

"There are people there." At least Flood assumed there were, based on the lit houses and boats. "It's a world. You can't hide Kingdom Hearts there. That doesn't even make sense."

They tried heaving themself up a little more while they spoke. They managed to get an elbow over the lip, but there was no telling how long that would last. Or if their presence was enough to block the box from absorbing Kingdom Hearts. That seemed to be what the box's light was doing—resonating with the light of the moon above, compressing it to pixel-like squares.

"Yeah, not much about Unreality does." Luxu sighed. "Comes with the territory, I imagine. Or don't, rather." He barked out a laugh.

He was stalling. That must mean he thought the box was doing its job—which meant they had to get it shut, fast.

They tried to ready a Sleepga spell, like they'd used to neutralize Terra. The magic didn't come. They grasped for their reserves, which should have built back up after stalling for this long.

Nothing happened.

Panic beat in their chest.

Sleepra?

(Nothing happened.)

Sleep?

(Nothing happened.)

Stopga, Stopra, Stop—

(Nothing happened.)

Zero Gravity—?

(Nothing happened.)

"No more tricks up your sleeves?" Luxu asked, smug as if he'd already won. "The Master wasn't real forthcoming on what Unreality's like, but I did my own digging. Apparently some poor saps nearly got stuck there before, after almost dying. There's some kinda crossover with the Final World, blah blah blah—point is, those who made it back lost any magic they'd got. Bummer, huh?"

No magic—? Did that mean, just from that little slip, they'd never be able to use the keyblade again? Would it even be worth surviving, if that was true?

(Of course it would be. They didn't need magic to eat crêpes.)

"That's why you want to put Kingdom Hearts there," they realized. "It won't have any power without magic."

Luxu shrugged.

"It's a good guess, but honestly, who knows? I'm just following orders. Doesn't really matter to me what the moon gets up to there, long as it's not my problem anymore."

Flood grit their teeth. They could understand the sentiment, but—there were people down there. Could they risk leaving Kingdom Hearts to haunt a whole other reality? A massive cosmic force like that had a lot more magic than Flood did. There was no telling how it could disturb the Unreality's balance.

Or how Unreality could disturb its balance. If Kingdom Hearts was still connected to all worlds, and all of the magic was drained out of it…

Wait. Draining. Maybe… if they could…

"You've… got a point," they said. It was getting hard to speak, with the way they were being stretched thin, strung between two realms. "You said something… about… body hopping?"

"Huh? Oh, you caught that? Thought you were too busy being pissed at me for…" Luxu waved his hand at them vaguely. "But yeah. I took over that poor sucker Braig, and lots'a guys and gals before him. Occupational hazard of being the worlds' watchman. Gotta be around long enough to, y'know, watch."

His nose scrunched as he said that. Flood didn't really care what he was bitter about, though—they just needed him to trust them long enough to pull this off.

"But seein' two guys become one guy? Gotta admit, that's a new one. Are ya really sure you're not either of 'em…?"

For all his cavalier attitude, his gaze was intense. Searching. They still had something the man wanted: answers.

(And, maybe, friendship…? Half of them scoffed at the notion that Luxu could care. The other half knew that maliciousness and loneliness weren't mutually exclusive.)

"Get me out of here… and we can compare notes," they grunted.

Luxu glanced up at Kingdom Hearts, missing several pixelated chunks. Then at Flood, their arms trembling from exertion. Exertion that only grew harder as Unreality sapped the magic that strengthened their form.

He could see it. They wouldn't be able to threaten him in this condition.

"Alright. Deal's a deal, kid." He grabbed their arm to yank them out—

And they used their final sliver of strength to tug him forward. Downward.

His golden eye blew wide. His mouth parted, but his cry of betrayal was cut off as the box swallowed him and his keyblade whole.

They could hardly smile in victory. They were falling, too. And Luxu wasn't like Terra—his effect on Kingdom Hearts hadn't stopped just because he was gone. The box was still going to consume the moon, unless Terra or Ven—

"Aqua!"

Terra. Ven.

They were awake. Awake enough for Ven to launch himself into the box, grabbing hold of Flood's burning arms. Terra gripped Ven around his waist, keeping him from tumbling into Unreality with them.

"We've got you!" Terra said.

And they did. The two of them hauled Flood up, until they collapsed in a heap on the flower's center.

Flood's eyes watered. They blamed it on the pollen.

They didn't waste time saying thanks. They scooped up the cold X-Blade, praying that it would still respond to their shaking hands.

(To their magicless heart.)

"Aqua—!" Ven shouted, scrambling up in a defensive posture. Flood rolled their eyes.

"Relax. I'm not here to fight you. If I even could…" they finished in a mutter.

They pointed the X-Blade skyward, and prayed.

And prayed.

Please. Please, please, please…

(That was a magic word, wasn't it?)

Ven closed the box, in the meantime. Oops. Flood should've thought of that.

The lid snapped shut. Terra helped Ven do up the locks, making sure it wouldn't accidentally come open again, but Flood could already feel the difference. That awful magic-draining aura had been cut off. If there was still any spark left in them…

The X-Blade illuminated. They nearly fell to their knees in relief. But instead, they stayed standing, trembling like a leaf as a keyhole appeared over the X they'd cut in the moon.

They turned the key.

The light of Kingdom Hearts was swallowed into the keyhole, the remaining void fading behind swirling clouds. Those clouds folded over and over into themselves, packing away until the star-specked night was revealed.

Stars. Worlds. Their hearts glowing like a million lanterns… restored to their proper places in the sky.

It was over.

It was over.

Finally, Flood allowed themself to collapse, and let the tears flow like their namesake.

XXX

In Terra's hands, the Keyblade of Heart felt heavier than ever.

Soon, he'd return its components—the Princesses' hearts—to their rightful owners. But first, there was one last wrong to be righted.

(If it wasn't too late.)

Terra crossed the dusty plain to approach Flood, who was leaning against the base of the plateau Master Xehanort had pulled from the earth. What was left of it, anyway. The battle between the Dandelions and Darklings had done a number on it. It now resembled a jenga tower with a good chunk of the base blocks missing.

"You know any of those guys?" Terra asked Flood, nodding to where he'd left Ven talking excitedly with the Dandelions. Apparently they and Ven went way back, but none of them could quite remember the details.

"...I'm not sure," Flood said quietly.

Terra wanted to ask what they meant by that—if it was Aqua or Vanitas speaking—but decided against it. They'd been through enough today.

"Oh," he said with an awkward nod. His grip on the iron keyblade was uncomfortably tight. "Uh. Flood…?"

They looked up at their name, eyebrows raised in surprise. They looked so much like Aqua right then, if he ignored the gold in their eyes.

They weren't Aqua. They weren't Vanitas. But, maybe, they still could be.

"Thank you," he said. "For stopping me. I wasn't myself. I let the darkness control me."

They shook their head.

"Not the darkness. The light." Their gaze flickered to the stars overhead. Where Kingdom Hearts had been, less than an hour before. "It can be… tempting. I get it."

Terra didn't quite get it, but he nodded anyway.

"I want to help you in return, if I can." He held up the Keyblade of Heart, laid flat across his palms. Its single handguard and barbed tip pointed towards his chest. "You asked if I could actually fix what—uh, what happened to Vanitas and Aqua. To make… you."

He winced. This wasn't coming out right.

Flood didn't look offended, though. She just looked sad.

"I did."

"Do you still want that?" he asked. "As far as I know, I don't need Kingdom Hearts to separate you. Master Xehanort's research said that this keyblade could do it on its own."

"And you believe that?" Their voice was flat, dull. Tired. Maybe he should've let her rest longer, but there was only so long he could justify holding onto the Princesses' hearts.

Plus, the longer they stayed fused, the less convinced Terra was that he could fix it.

"He managed it before." Terra looked towards Ven. He'd survived having Vanitas ripped out of him. Terra didn't see why it couldn't happen again.

Flood hummed.

"Do you know who Vanitas was?" they asked unexpectedly.

"Huh?"

"He wasn't half of Ven, like Xehanort probably told you. At least, not initially." They picked at the veins of their suit on the back of their hand. "He was a being of darkness, hidden away for… hmm. I'll try not to confuse you too much. What I'm saying is, I'm not sure Ven and Vanitas were ever fully fused. Not like… me."

That vacant expression entered their eyes again.

"But… I can't just leave you like this," Terra said. "Not when you look so…"

Flood let out a weak laugh.

"It's hard not to hate myself," they admitted, casually as if they were commenting on the weather.

"Because Aqua and Vanitas hate each other?"

They shook their head. "They didn't. Not for most of the time they were together, anyway. But both of them hated the idea of losing themselves… Vanitas, especially."

"Really?" Terra's brow furrowed. "Seems kind of stupid that he possessed you—er, Aqua, then."

"He wanted to be whole." They shrugged. "You felt it. The temptation of light, remember?"

He grimaced. They didn't seem to notice.

"Speaking of temptation…" they frowned and summoned the X-Blade. Its sudden aura of power made him jump, and drew the stares of the Dandelions. "I need to get rid of this. If you can split me, that should do the trick, right?"

Terra blinked. "Y-yeah, I think so. But… I thought you…"

"I mean, yeah, you might kill us by accident. But I got a peek at hell, and it doesn't look so bad. I figure we'll be alright."

Their lazy smirk looked natural on Aqua's face. It shouldn't have.

"Excuse me." Strelitzia cleared her throat, starling him. "You're trying to take the darkness out of Aqua's heart, correct?"

"Uh…"

"I guess you could put it that way." Flood shrugged.

"Sorry for almost killing you," he blurted.

"I'm, um… well, I'm still alive, so I think it's fine?" She blushed. "It's not the first time, anyway, so… um—Aqua, I think I can help."

"It's Flood, actually," Flood corrected her. "Not for long though, I guess, so maybe it doesn't matter. What's your plan?"

Strelitzia straightened up, her expression sobering.

"Master Ava taught me how to examine a heart for darkness after… um." She glanced over at Ven, who looked torn between following Strelitzia and answering Lauriam's questions about the time-glitch he'd experienced. "I can't do the actual extraction, but if you can, I should be able to keep them stable."

"Can't say I'm Ava's biggest fan, but she was right about what happened to Vanitas and Aqua. I'll trust that you know what you're doing. Much as anyone can, anyway." Flood shrugged and stabbed the X-Blade into the ground. "You guys ready?"

Terra didn't feel ready. Flood might be cavalier with their life, but he didn't want to destroy what was left of Aqua if he could help it.

Still, he nodded. He hadn't come this far to give up.

"You might want to… um, lie down, for this. Wait, let me…" She shrugged off her white cloak, leaving her in a lacy white dress, and spread the garment on the ground.

"Thanks." Flood looked like they were trying to stifle a laugh as they laid down.

Terra held the Keyblade of Heart in both hands, its point aiming downward. This had sounded a lot easier when he'd been convinced Vanitas was in control of Aqua's body. He'd have done anything to save her from him. But Flood didn't seem too bad.

He'd really better not mess this up.

Strelitzia knelt on Flood's left, Ven coming to join on their right. Strelitzia quickly briefed Ven on the plan, Terra filling in the few gaps. Flood remained as still and silent as if they were awaiting a doctor's examination.

"Could you back off a little?" Terra said to Myde, who was looking over his shoulder. He hopped back with a sheepish grin.

Terra took a deep breath. Strelitzia nodded.

He closed his eyes, and plunged the keyblade into Flood's chest.

He could feel the light through his closed eyelids, turning his vision red. Shouldn't it be darkness coming out, if it was Vanitas? What if he'd pierced Aqua's heart, leaving Vanitas to inhabit her empty shell?

Ven gasped. Terra opened his eyes.

There was light—and darkness, too. Tendrils of both wafted from Aqua's chest, and from the X-Blade itself. The weapon dissolved, wove with the duality above their heads, tangling together to form…

"He's got a face?" Terra blurted without thinking.

There was no helmet on Vanitas's black-haired head—assuming the figure hovering there was Vanitas. His body shape looked pretty similar, though he was covered in a blue-and-violet suit rather than a red-and-black one.

Terra pulled the Keyblade of Heart free and stepped back—just in time for Vanitas to flop face-first from the air. He landed on top of Aqua with a thump.

"Nngh…" he groaned.

"I'm—I don't know if I—" Strelitzia stammered, but Terra wasn't paying attention. He tossed the Keyblade of Heart aside and knelt in front of Aqua, pushing Vanitas off of her.

The boy hissed. Aqua's arm covered him protectively.

"Don't… hurt him," she gasped out. Her voice was her own, though it was strained and rough.

Then she opened her eyes.

"Woahhh," Myde said, once again too close to Terra's space. "Cool."

Aqua's left iris was blue. Her right, however, was still gold. She rubbed both eyes, blinking blearily.

"Vanitas…?" she asked, hand falling to search for his. Their fingers entwined automatically, their grip anxious and desperate.

Terra felt sick. The Aqua he knew would never find comfort in a creature like Vanitas.

(Flood had said that Aqua hadn't hated Vanitas. How well did Terra know her, really?)

"Aqua," Vanitas gasped in return. His eyes opened—a mirror of hers, in blue and gold.

"I'm sorry," Streltizia said, her hands balled in the ends of her dress. "I thought I could isolate the darkness, but—I don't know why it didn't work, but they both have—"

"Strelitzia." Aqua's other hand fumbled towards hers. Tentatively, Strelitzia took it. "It's alright. I did this… on purpose."

"What…?" Terra asked.

"You actually did it," Vanitas gasped. "You gave me your light."

"Not… all of it." She rolled her eyes. "I'm not stupid."

"Could've fooled me." He grinned down at her.

"Don't make me regret it."

That sounded a bit more like the Aqua Terra knew, even if her scowl didn't last long before softening.

"I won't," Vanitas promised quietly. "Thank you, Aqua."

Terra frowned. The boy sounded sincere… and he had the expression to match, without a mask hiding his face. Maybe Aqua's light had changed him.

Either way, it didn't look like she'd be letting Terra take a keyblade to him anytime soon. He was probably too tired for another fight, anyway.

"And… thanks, I guess," Vanitas reluctantly mumbled to Terra. "Glad I didn't kill you after all."

Aqua let out a snorting laugh. "He means it, for what it's worth," she said.

"Uh… sure," Terra answered, too baffled to say anything else. (Not to mention a little bit embarrassed that he'd still wanted to kill Vanitas, if the feeling wasn't mutual.)

Terra stood and helped Aqua to her feet. She didn't let go of Vanitas's hand. Not when Ven hugged her, not when Vanitas rolled his eyes, not when Terra let Ven pull him into the group embrace. Vanitas stuck out from her side like a sore thumb, or maybe a tumor.

But Aqua hugged Terra and Ven back just the same. All things considered, this new Vanitas was a small price to pay to have his best friend back.

Terra rested his cheek on top of her hair, if she could feel the few tears that dripped there, she didn't mention it.