"So we're going after her, right?" Kairi asked as Lea, Roxas, and Isa sat-and-or-stood around awkwardly.

Lea crossed his arms. That usually meant he was going to say "no," but didn't feel like dealing with an argument over it.

Well, he wasn't the boss of her. He could disapprove all he wanted.

"Depends on if we can convince Isa, doesn't it?" Roxas asked sharply, his eyes narrowed at the man.

Isa's face remained impassive, but his cheeks pinkened slightly.

"I do not want to cause another… incident, with regards to Aqua."

"Are you kidding? You're not even the one she beat up!" Roxas snapped.

"Yeah. That honor belongs to me, right?" Lea spoke up, surprising Kairi. She'd thought for sure he'd stay out of it. "That's why I've gotta agree with Isa. If she wanted our help, she would've asked for it."

"Seriously?" Roxas gaped. "You know Aqua never asks for help!"

She asked me for help, Kairi remembered. During their brief time together on Destiny Islands, Aqua had asked her how to strengthen her light.

Kairi grimaced. The conversation must not have helped much.

"Look. All I know is that the last time she almost lost Vanitas, her darkness nearly tore her apart. The only thing that saved her was Riku's 'power of waking' crap. And last I checked, Riku and Sora were MIA." Lea's head hung.

Riku and Sora were still in the Realm of Sleep, as far as Kairi knew. She had no way of contacting them until they reentered the Realm of Light.

"You're really not convincing me that we should leave her alone," Roxas said. "What do you mean, her darkness almost tore her apart?"

Lea ruffled the back of his hair. "Don't worry about it. Probably won't happen like that this time, anyway. She can throw all that repressed darkness at Larxene instead of attacking herself."

"Axel!" Roxas's hands balled into fists. "You know I can't just not worry about her! She's stupid, and selfish, but she's my sister."

Kairi felt the pain in his voice, and took his hand on instinct.

"If she's in that much danger, we have to go," she agreed firmly. "Isa?"

The man flinched. She didn't relish making him squirm anymore, but it was for a good cause.

"She knows where you live, too," he cautioned. "But very well. If you are willing to wager your own well-being, I will not stop you."

"Ugh, I thought I could at least count on you to be responsible," Lea groaned. "I want to help her too. Believe me. But I'm afraid the way she is now, all we're gonna do is get in her way."

Kairi's jaw tightened. "You really think that?"

Lea wasn't usually one to try and protect her by telling her to stay back. Not like Sora and Riku did. But having Roxas back might have made him less willing to take risks. She tried not to take it too personally.

"What I really think is, she's gonna cut right through anyone who stands between her and her boyfriend. I just don't wanna see any of you chopped in half." He shook his head. "But I get it. They're both our friends. It would be pretty crappy of us not to at least be ready to jump in if anything hits the fan."

Kairi shared a relieved grin with Roxas, and they ran to don their armor.

XXX

The storage area was clouded with smoke and screams. None of them were Aqua's. None of them were Larxene's—yet.

But they would be. Because Aqua could tell that every one of those screams belonged to Van.

She wouldn't rest until they'd been paid back tenfold.

"Wow, it sure took you long enough." Larxene's grin cut through the shadows like a dagger.

Electricity crackled around her antennae and her gnarled hands, which each clutched a fistful of throwing knives. She didn't look exactly like the picture Kairi had drawn, but Aqua could only assume she'd disguised herself, too.

"Let me guess, you stopped for ice cream on your way here? Or maybe you decided your little toy wasn't fun enough to play with anymore?"

"Shut up," Aqua snarled. She wasn't here for mind games.

She was here to kill.

Floating Unversed eyes swirled around her as she surged forward. She swore she could feel their emotions—their panic, their terror, their pain. Everything Van had suffered without Aqua here to protect him.

Where Larxene had been, Stormfall only struck smoke. Aqua's enraged scream joined the hellish choir around her.

"Ooh, still too slow! Nice try!" Larxene taunted from the other side of the room. Her lightning arced towards Aqua, burning her through her suit.

She growled. She had plenty of experience fighting an enemy who could teleport. Larxene wouldn't escape for long.

The flickering lighting and wisps of half-formed Unversed limited visibility, but Aqua didn't need to see to cast Seeker Mine. Fresh cries joined the echoing screams—but some of them sounded too young to be Larxene. Plus, the lights cut out at the high-pitched wails, just like before.

That kid. That Princess. Frustrating as it was, Aqua couldn't risk hurting her.

"Some hero you are!" Larxene called through the darkness. "First you taint the Princess's vocabulary, then you turn your magic against her? If I didn't know better, I'd think you were one of us already!"

Aqua roared, casting Aeroga as the lights flashed back on. The wind blew back the unformed monsters—and sent Larxene crashing through a stack of canisters, refilling the air with fresh plumes of Unversed smoke.

At least she managed to see the child during the brief respite. Aqua dashed towards her, grabbing her by the back of her shirt and setting her behind a wall of machinery.

"Dammit?" The girl asked, her head tilted. She wasn't holding Aqua's Wayfinder anymore—had Larxene stolen it?

Aqua sighed. The charm would be around whenever the chaos cleared, surely.

"Stay."

Aqua didn't stick around to make sure the child got the message. Larxene's knives were already hurtling towards her. Aqua barely called up a Barrier in time to deflect them.

"At least you're paying attention to her now, I guess," Larxene said sarcastically. "That's more than you can say you've done for your boyfriend."

Van. Van was still hooked up to that—that machine. She'd barely gotten a glimpse of it through the darkness and smoke, but that apparatus clamped over his mouth—

But Van was strong. He could hold on a little longer. She couldn't save him if she gave Larxene an opening to stab her in the back.

"Not even going to try?" Larxene asked innocently. "Why did you bother coming, then? Did you just miss going up against someone who'd give you a good fight?"

Suddenly, Larxene was right in front of her, her fistfull of knives pressed to Aqua's throat. The pain barely registered over the rage roaring inside her.

"You don't have to hide it from me, you know. I can see it in your pretty golden eyes." Larxene grinned, and Aqua's heart seemed to stop.

Gold. Was Larxene just trying to throw her off balance? Or was she actually…

You embraced the darkness for this, idiot. What did you think was going to happen?

"You want this," Larxene whispered. "You can say it's about justice, or about protecting your friends, but at the end of the day, you just want to make someone hurt."

Fire boiled in Aqua's gut, a fury as tangible as the Unversed clouding the air.

Yes. She wanted to make someone hurt.

And she would.

She thrust Stormfall forward, intending to pierce Larxene's stomach, but the woman backflipped out of range and warped somewhere else in the room. A volley of knives spun through the gloom, nicking Aqua's side as she tried to locate the source of Larxene's cackling laugh.

"I hope you're enjoying the show, Vani! Since your girlfriend released so many of your screams, we'll get to have lots of fun together collecting more!"

"Don't you dare call him that!" Aqua shouted.

"Why shouldn't I? Oooh, that's not your pet name, is it? Gag."

Aqua saw red. Red haze, red eyes, red blood when Larxene's knife gouged her cheek.

"ENOUGH!"

Orbs of darkness filled the room. The unfinished Unversed seemed drawn to them, lending their un-beings to the spell in swirls of navy and red. Aqua warped between the spheres, launching them at Larxene in rapid succession.

Teleport Spike. Normally the orbs would be made of light, but she didn't have the luxury of being picky. Plus it was a small comfort to have Van's emotions come to her aid, giving her magic strength.

It should be me aiding you, she couldn't help thinking.

She would. Just as soon as Larxene was finished off.

The woman lay prone on the floor, her tiny wings twitching beneath her. Her golden eyes were closed, and a groan leaked from her mouth, but Aqua didn't let that fool her. Larxene had played enough tricks so far.

Aqua raised her keyblade—

"Petty!" The little girl reached out to touch it. What in the Void was she doing back here?

"That's right. Petty." Larxene's eyes cracked open.

She felled Aqua with a spinning kick, then used her hands to spring back on her feet. She scooped the child up and set her on her shoulders.

"Put her down!" Aqua yelled.

"Hmm, that does sound like what you were trying to do, doesn't it? It shouldn't matter to you if I use the Princess as a meat shield." Larxene bounced the girl, making her giggle. "Here, brat. Play with this and keep your mouth shut."

Larxene took Aqua's Wayfinder from her pocket and hung it around the girl's neck. She stared at the charm, entranced as it reflected the floating red lights. Then she put the Wayfinder, Aqua's most prized possession, in her grimy mouth.

"That's it!"

Aqua yanked the edge of Larxene's coat, pulling her back to the ground. The child screamed, but Aqua was ready for the blackout this time. A weak Zero Gravity spell kept the girl hovering out of the way.

Then Aqua rolled on top of Larxene, pinning her to the floor. The blood from Aqua's cheek dripped onto Larxene's shocked face.

"You were right," Aqua said, raising her blade. "I am going to enjoy this."

XXX

Vanitas was lucky that Aqua had freed his unformed Unversed from the canisters. The wispy beings not only answered his call for help, but their incorporeal forms also shrouded the room. Larxene wouldn't be able to see him trying to escape.

(And he couldn't be too distracted by how captivating Aqua looked while she fought.)

He tried not to shiver as the Unversed near him condensed. He didn't have enough strength to make them distinct, and the mass of darkness and eyes looked uncannily like the Dark Wind's final form. Like an abomination.

Afraid of your own shadows now? he berated himself. He'd thought he was past this, but it had been a long time since so many Unversed had been torn out of him. Since the Realm of Darkness, probably, if not before.

The clump of Unversed melted around the scream-tube, prying it from Vanitas's face with a painful pop.

"Thanks," he rasped, rubbing his raw mouth against his shoulder. That was going to leave a mark. But then again, so was everything else.

Now what? He couldn't see the controls for the machine. Could his barely sentient Unversed figure out how to unlock his restraints?

The mass in front of him shuddered, eyes blinking in erratic patterns. He figured that was a no, probably.

He saw flashes of lightning through the smoke, heard roars and shouts. Maybe he was better off trapped here. It would be easy to become collateral damage out there, like when he'd gotten between Aqua and Marluxia before. Besides, he was too weak to summon his keyblade.

Too weak. Too useless.

He shouldn't feel this horrible, should he? Aqua had come to save him. There was no doubt in his mind that she would win. But still…

Void, he wished she would've been here from the start. He wished she'd come to where he sat trapped, assured him that she would get him out, healed the wounds that his own magic was too weak to soothe. He wished he didn't feel like he'd been run through the Bistrot's food processor.

He wished his life could just be normal.

Maybe Larxene had been right. Maybe he had gone soft while living in Twilight Town. But light, he liked that. He liked being surrounded by people who didn't hate him. He was glad to have avoided torture for long enough to nearly forget what it had felt like.

He'd liked pretending, just for a little while, that he could actually live.

Suddenly, something cold reached out and covered his mouth. He screamed, but it was lost among the chorus still leaking from broken the canisters.

"Shhh." An armored figure held a finger to her lips.

"Kairi?" Vanitas gasped. The pink sheen and catlike ears of her helmet couldn't belong to anyone else.

"Don't worry. Mike knows how to get you out of this thing," she whispered, and on cue, the restraints popped open.

He immediately tried to jump down from the seat, but stumbled pathetically. Kairi caught him before he could land on his face.

"I've got you." She patted his back gently.

He nodded, too dizzy to thank her in words. She guided him to the other side of the machine, where Ven stood in his armor, holding the little Princess. Aqua's Wayfinder hung from her neck, for some reason. In the computer chair in front of them was a green ball-shaped monster—Mike, probably.

"What'd I tell you? I'm a pro," the monster's grin was wide beneath his one giant eyeball.

"I guess that was easier than smashing it," Ven admitted.

"Smash, smash," the girl echoed with a growl.

"Glad you agree, kid. Now come on, let's go get our backup before your 'pals' notice we're here." Mike waved them towards the cracked door, where smoke was leaking out into the hall.

"No," Vanitas grunted. "Need to… stay. With her."

He didn't care if he was weak. He didn't care if he was useless. He needed to be near Aqua.

"Vanitas, you're hurt," Ven said, as if Vanitas was too stupid to realize that. "The best way you can help her is by keeping yourself safe."

Vanitas snorted. Like Ven ever took that advice.

"I know it's hard to stay behind, but Roxas is right this time," Kairi said regretfully. "Trust us. We'll be right here to help if Aqua's in trouble."

Vanitas shook his head. They didn't get it—he wasn't worried about Aqua.

He was worried about himself, and how useless he was without her.

They took his silence as assent. He was too weak to fight back as Kairi led him toward the exit, skirting the darkest shadows along the walls.

Before they could reach the light, a large figure appeared in the doorway. Kairi barely yanked Vanitas out of the way before a blast of something exploded from the figure's palm.

And a scream to trump all screams split the room.

XXX

Aqua's blade plunged towards Larxene's chest—only to be blown off course by a whirlwind of petals.

Her keyblade still struck. Instead of piercing Larxene's corrupted heart, it stabbed through her shoulder. Fabric ripped, bones cracked, and cartilage crumbled as Stormfall cleaved the joint asunder.

Larxene screamed. Aqua's ears rang, but the lights didn't flicker. She could still see perfectly to knock the severed, smoking limb away from Larxene's body, preventing her from trying to reattach it with a healing spell.

"You… you…" Larxene's voice trembled as she gasped for breath.

Aqua was gasping too. The darkness billowing from the wound smelled like rotting meat, despite the lack of blood. Burying her nose in the crook of her elbow barely stifled the putrid scent.

The smell distracted her so completely, she didn't see the boot coming until it kicked her off of Larxene and onto her back.

"What a pity to find you here." Lauriam stared down at Aqua with cold blue eyes. If he had the ability to don a monster disguise, he hadn't used it; he wore a similar outfit to what he had in Corona. "I had hoped we wouldn't meet again."

"L… Lauriam…?" Larxene reached up for him with a single wavering hand.

"Elrena." He smiled sadly, crouching and turning his full attention to her. "I am truly sorry I didn't reach you sooner."

How… how? Aqua had been so close to ending her. Why did Lauriam have to show up now?

"You… should be… you, you idiot…" Tears leaked from Larxene's eyes. "The geezer told me… you were dead…"

"He told us many things, few of which turned out to be true. I'm here. I won't leave you."

"He's… trying to…" She grimaced. Her hand swirled with darkness, as if she planned to attack him.

Lauriam grasped her hand tightly, and the dark snuffed out.

"He will not separate us this time. There is a Princess I have become acquainted with who can eliminate his hold on your heart. I will bring you to her bound and beaten, if that is what it takes. Though, it appears our friend has already assisted with that."

He shot another glare towards Aqua. Did he expect her to feel guilty? He had no idea what his friend had done to Van!

Van. Where is he—I need to find—

"Aqua!" Van stumbled out of the darkness, throwing himself in front of her. Relief washed over her like cool water.

He slumped with his back to her, facing down Lauriam and Larxene despite the obvious lack of weapon in his hands.

"Stay… stay back. I don't care… if you gave me the keyblade… I won't let you…"

"Oh, shut it, pipsqueak." Larxene rolled her eyes as Lauriam cast Curaga over her shoulder. The wound didn't completely seal, so he wrapped it in a bandage of soft vines. "She doesn't need… your help."

That was a lie. There was nothing right now that Aqua needed more.

"Van…"

Aqua squeezed her eyes shut as Vanitas wrapped his arms around her. Last time they'd been in a position like this, he hadn't wanted her to kill Marluxia. She didn't know if he felt differently after being tortured by Larxene.

She didn't know if he'd be sickened by the arm lying discarded on the floor.

"You came," he whispered, holding her tight. His tears warmed the crook of her neck, just above her dark suit.

"Of course I came," she murmured.

The darkness wafting from her subsided at his touch. She hoped that the gold sheen in her eyes retreated, too. If he had noticed it, he didn't say anything.

This was what he'd been fighting for. For him. She'd been stupid to forget that, even for a moment.

Everything else seemed to occur in another world. Roxas, clearing the remaining Unversed with a gust of wind. Kairi, her hands on Larxene's head, muttering a prayer as she cast out the Xehanort within the woman's heart. Lauriam, holding Larxene's remaining hand, his knuckles a stark white. All that mattered was that Van was safe.

"I'll never let this happen again," she swore, her face buried in his hair. "No more leaving the Organization to anyone else. I'll find them myself. I won't let them take you from me. Never again."

"Aqua." His fingernails dug into her back. "Please. Don't."

Her heart ached. His voice was so quiet, so small. She hadn't heard him sound this broken since… since the Realm of Darkness.

"I can take Kairi, if you don't want me to kill them," she conceded. "But I won't—"

"Don't. Don't… try to do this by yourself," he begged. "There's other people who can fight Norts. But there's only one you."

"Who else can fight the Organization? Sora? Riku? Where were they when Larxene took you?" she asked desperately. "How am I supposed to trust anyone else to keep you safe?"

"You still… don't get it." He shook his head, brushing his nose against her collarbone. "I don't need you… to be a hero. I just need you here."

Aqua's heart stopped, just as surely as if pierced by Larxene's lightning. It was one thing for Roxas to accuse her of being too distant, or for Larxene to taunt her with her failures. But to hear those words from Van himself?

"I just wanted to help," she said shakily, praying for him to understand.

Praying for him to forgive her.

"I know." He rubbed her back. The action only made her feel guiltier—he was the one who should need comforting, not her. "You always want to help. You always do help. But there's only one you."

He took in a shuddering breath.

"And I… I'm tired of trying not to be selfish. I want you, Aqua. I want you to be here. I want to come home after work and bring you your favorite soup. I want to make plans with you, and not worry that you'll forget, or decide someone else is more important. I want—" he choked off, dry coughs wracking him.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, her throat tight. "I'm so, so sorry Van. I didn't realize… I keep not realizing…"

"That's why I'm telling you," he said firmly, despite his hoarseness. "I want us to be a team. Like we're supposed to be. Not that you can't care about anyone else, or whatever, but—please. Just… don't leave."

"I won't," she swore. "I won't."

"Tch. I can't believe I almost lost to someone as pathetic as you." Larxene sneered above her. Her eyes were turquoise now, but it didn't make her expression any kinder.

Aqua glared back over the top of Van's head.

"You did lose. And I can't believe you're still here," she said darkly. "What do you want?"

"I want my arm back. But since it's too late for that, I want you to swear something to us."

Aqua's eyes narrowed.

"Why in the worlds would I do that?"

"Because you hate Xehanort as much as we do," Lauriam answered smoothly. "You will face him in battle eventually, and we don't intend to be there."

Van's breath hitched. She wished she could assure him that they wouldn't fight Xehanort, especially after what he'd just begged from her. But he would likely find them, one day, one way or another. It would be foolish not to prepare.

"Give our old Master the hell you gave me," Larxene said, holding Aqua's gaze. "That's all."

Aqua blinked, then nodded firmly.

"Will do."

She didn't apologize for Larxene's arm. Larxene didn't ask her to. The woman just nodded back, an understanding reached.

An understanding that if not for the interference of others in the room, one of them wouldn't have walked out of here alive.

"Wait. Master… Xehanort was… he didn't just possess you," Van realized, looking up. "Lauriam's a keyblade wielder, and he didn't want to talk about his training. Xehanort wanted to keep you apart. You both trained under him, didn't you? You were his apprentices… like me."

Aqua gaped. "There's no way—"

"What, you expect a prize or something?" Larxene snorted. "Yeah, I was the geezer's prototype. He promised to make me the X-Blade, but he botched the whole thing. I've been a Nobody ever since. And Lauriam over here was supposed to be the first vessel—the one the geezer picked your friend Terra for."

"I escaped before I could suffer that fate. Elrena used her Nobody talents to orchestrate our escape." Lauriam looked away. "Now you see why I had no desire to answer Aqua's questions. And why we will let your lin handle things from here."

Lin. The word caught Aqua off guard; she hadn't heard it in so long. The etymology was derived from lineage, and it was used for designating different lines of keyblade masters and their apprentices. But more than that, a wielder's lin carried their culture, their heritage.

If Lauriam was referring to Aqua's friends as a lin, he was using the word all wrong. None of them—not even Roxas, anymore—shared her cherished traditions.

"Sayonara, losers." Larxene made an L on her forehead. With only her left hand, the letter was inverted. "Smell you never."

Lauriam gave a curt nod, and the two of them disappeared through a dark corridor.

"Smell you never," Van echoed in a high-pitched voice. "She'd better be right. I don't care if she's like me—if I see her again, I'm taking off her other arm."

Aqua let out a surprised laugh. "I was worried you'd be upset that I did that."

"Nah. She was awful, even for a Nort." He shivered.

Aqua wanted to ask what exactly Larxene had done to him, but the hollow look in his eyes stopped her. He deserved to rest before having to recount any of that.

She scanned the room, wondering if any of his Unversed were still trapped in those strange canisters. She couldn't tell, but she did see a large polka-dotted monster bringing Lea and Isa—poorly disguised in monster masks—over to Roxas and Kairi. Apparently they'd all come, despite her express demand not to.

She guessed she couldn't be too upset. They'd probably freed Van from the machine while Aqua had been distracted.

A round green monster approached, holding her Wayfinder by its cord.

"Uh. This yours?" he asked.

"Yes," she said quickly, reaching around Van to snatch it from his hand. "Thank you."

"Well, normally I'd say 'no problem,' but you and your pals really wrecked the place."

Aqua grimaced. Collateral damage had been the least of her worries.

"Take it easy, Mike," the bigger monster told him. The little Princess was cradled in his arms, tugging at his fur. "It looks like they've been through worse than a few busted canisters. I should've had this room taken apart long before now, anyway."

"Alright, alright, fair enough. Let's just get these humans back through their doors before the CDA catches wind'a this…"

"Man. That's lighter than Scrooge let me get off," Van muttered, and Aqua laughed.

She stood, and instead of helping him to his feet, scooped him up into her arms.

It was time to go home.

XXX

"Man, this takes me back." Xigbar put his hands on his hips and sized up the room.

Dim lighting, hissing machines that did who-knew-what, piles of stacked canisters, with more scattered and busted across the floor. The old Radiant Garden lab was usually a little neater than this, but the atmosphere was equally creepy.

"I do not believe you ever performed reconnaissance on this world," Xemnas said, hovering behind him.

"Ha! Real funny, big guy. You know what I'm talkin' about."

Xigbar bent over next to some of the canisters, inspecting the charge on the side. Nope, these ones were duds.

"...It does feel strangely nostalgic," Xemnas murmured. His hands were folded behind his back.

Still not helping with the dirty work. Heh.

"Feel, huh?" Xigbar grinned, tossing him a canister that flashed with a full red bar.

Xemnas reached out and caught its end with one hand. Effortless, despite how heavy the things were.

He didn't respond. Just stared distantly—lost in thought, or memories, or simply trying to make Xigbar drop the subject. Even after all these years, it was difficult to tell.

"Heh. Maybe I'm just hearin' things." Xigbar smiled, then went back to sorting the canisters. Full ones on the right, empty ones on the left. "Really appreciate how they found the one place creepier than the Mansion to send us off to."

He'd hoped that getting Xemnas out of the house would cheer him up a bit—as much as a guy with no heart could be 'cheered,' anyway. It was unclear if the nostalgia of a place like this was helping or hurting, though.

Xigbar moved a dud canister out of the way, and—oh, that was nasty.

"Hey, Xem." Xigbar picked up the severed arm. The skin was an unnatural baby blue, but the white cuffs stitched to a black sleeve marked it as Larxene's. "Now that Aqua's is gone, if you're lookin' for some new arm-or…"

Xemnas gave him a dull glare. At least it was something.

"We should move with haste," he said in his usual slow voice. "The replicas will not persist long on the power that Number XII left us."

Xigbar couldn't say he'd miss Larxene, but it was a real bummer to have another of their number taken out so quickly. Did Xehanort even care? What was the point of having so many vessels just to let 'em get killed off? They hadn't been ordered to replace her, just like they hadn't with Marluxia, Saix, or the Imp. Somehow, they still counted towards the final thirteen.

"Riiiight," Xigbar drawled, giving Larxene's arm a little shake. "If only the old man had sent another hand with me to speed things along."

Xemnas smiled a little, muffling a snort. Then, finally, he got on his knees across from Xigbar and started passing canisters through a dark corridor.

Xigbar let out a sharp laugh.

"Do you find something amusing, Number II?" Xemnas laced his fingers over one upright canister, then rested his chin on them. It should've looked silly—and it did, a little—but his deliberate way of moving made every pose look sincere.

Xigbar shook his head, a grin on his face. He chunked the arm through the portal, where hopefully Ansem would get a kick out of it. Or a punch, he guessed, heh.

"Just nice seein' you sink to my level, Superior."