Vanitas coughed, spitting out whatever had fallen into his mouth as he braced his body as he and Ventus fell through the other end of the doorway. His body hit the ground, loose sand flying around the two as the doorway closed behind them, his body tense as he gasped for breath.

The sound of waves caught his attention. Lifting his head he looked around. While it was day in the place they had fled from , this place seemed to be in the middle of the night, the light of the moon casting a calming light across the land, a small area surrounded by water as far as he could see. The sand that he had landed in was looser and cooler, compared to the harsh heat and compaction of the previous, along with plant life of all kinds, ranging from grass to trees, giving the land a feeling of life and energy.

Vanitas shivered as a small breeze flowed over the two of them, this world being colder than the previous. Looking around, towards the back of the area, he noticed what looked to be a small cave, slightly hidden behind a waterfall. Pulling Ventus onto his back he made his way towards the cave, hoping to find some shelter from the wind. Almost at the entrance he saw a pool of clear, clean water, but froze as he got closer.

The surface of the water had a reflective feature to it, but what had caught his attention was the image of himself and Ventus. Carefully, he placed Ventus against the wall of the cliff and slowly approached the pool. The closer he got the more fear seemed to seep into his heart, until he was face to face with his reflection.

As Ventus's darkness he was expecting to see a face similar to his other half but that was not what he was now facing. He wore what looked to be a glass helmet that covered most of his face with over a third of the left side shattered and missing, explaining the glass shards when facing the man. A face that seemed to be entirely made up of shadows with a pure red eye and what looked to be some kind of antenna. A semi deep gash seemed to curve underneath his eye and followed what seemed to his jawline.

How? Why Why did his other half look human and he did not? Was this more proof that he was one stripped away from Ventus?

A sigh behind him quickly caught his attention as he turned to look at Ventus. While the boy had a pained look upon his face that did not seem to fade the boy suddenly had a look of peace on his face. Panic rushed through Vanitas. What was happening? Was Ventus okay? Was he fading even further?

Latching onto the connection between the two he found himself once again within his heart, before following the connection to Ventus's heart. What was happening? Was what that man said about Ventus fading away true? Was he too late to stop it from happening? He could still feel Ventus's heart, so maybe there was still time to save him.

He came upon the remnants of Ventus's heart station, but froze. What? How? How was this possible?

The heart platform, which had originally been pure white and crumbling away at the edges, was now whole and complete. An image of Ventus above a green background now took the place of the pure white that was originally in its place. He looked to where Ventus was standing at the center of the platform and noticed that he was looking at a small light that was hovering over his hands, with a look of happiness and peace.

"Ventus?"

The blond and the light both turned to him as he called to the other boy. Ventus gave a small smile as the light quickly flew over to him, twirling around his body.

Are you Ventus's other half? The one that was forcibly taken from him?

Vanitas could only stare in shock at the small light. It wasn't large, but it was bright, almost as bright as Ventus's. He slowly reached towards the lgith as it settle in his hands. It felt young, almost like a newborn. But why was it here? How was it here?

You feel like you're disconnected as well.

Vanitas continued to look at the small light. What did it mean?

I can help you like I did with Ventus if you'd like.

Vanitas's gaze grew in shock. How was this light able to help him? Ventus was now a being of pure light, like this young light before him, hence why he was able to help him. But how could a being of pure light help him, a being of pure darkness?

Vanitas felt a hand fall onto his shoulder. Quickly looking up, he came face to face with Ventus. The blond boy, though his face still showed exhaustion, smiled at him, as if to silently tell him that it was alright. Not taking his eyes off of the other boy he gave a slight nod. He wanted to be whole again. He didn't want to feel this shredded pain.

The light gave a small chuckle before flying around the two, a faint light beginning to condense around Vanitas. He closed his eyes, giving a sigh of relief as the pain slowly began to melt away as the light began to fade away. A feeling of peace finally coming over him since he and Ventus were separated.