A/N: this chapter begins Another Side, Another Shadow-the midquel about what happened to Aqua while Vanitas was still in the Realm of Darkness.

XXX

"I won't leave you!" she screamed, her throat still raw from the Dark Wind.

Vanitas wasn't giving her a choice. She pounded against the back of his giant white Flood, but it refused to carry her back to him. It continued its quick march through the waves towards the portal of light.

She couldn't destroy the Inversed. That would hurt Vanitas even more than he already was. Instead, as he sunk into the water, she channeled her remaining magic into the most powerful Curaga spell she could cast. The water glowed faintly where he'd fallen.

That was the last thing she saw before she was thrust into the light.

The portal ripped at her, tried to sear her skin from her bones. It was wrong. Light shouldn't hurt—maybe it was a side effect of still wearing the dark suit. The feeling lasted for only a few seconds, and then she and the Flood landed on solid ground.

She was out. She was free.

She still felt like a prisoner.

Behind the Inversed, the distorted version of the Land of Departure loomed in the distance. Ven would be there. At least, she hoped he would—how long had it been since she had left him? It had been impossible to judge time in the Realm of Darkness. Surely it couldn't have been more than a few months, though it felt like an eternity.

Regardless, Ven could wait a few minutes longer. Van was still in danger.

"Take me back," she ordered the Flood, craning her neck to look for the portal. Maybe there was still time—

No. It was gone. Returning would have been foolish, and she knew it. In that moment, though, the knowledge wouldn't have stopped her.

She took deep breaths, trying to calm herself. The Flood still held her tightly; in fact, it started to stroke her hair, as if trying to console her. It might have worked, just a little.

"Van… do you have any idea what you've done?" A tremor shook her voice. He couldn't have known, could he?

"Come on! You can make it!"

"No. But… you can."

She imagined what he would say if he could hear her thoughts: "Of course I knew what I was doing. I'm not an idiot." The thought almost made her laugh. But if she laughed, she knew the tears would pour out along with it.

She held them in. She had contained her tears for Terra and Ven; she could control these now, no matter how insistently they fought to escape her eyes. There was no time to mourn now. Mourning was for the dead, and she refused to believe Van would die. If he could fight the darkness inside him, then surely he could fight the darkness on the outside, too.

"I'm okay," she told both herself and the Flood, who was still petting her hair. "You can let go of me now."

Its thin arms reluctantly released her, gently placing her on the ground.

"...Thank you," she told it. Could it even understand her? The Inversed sometimes had personality, and they obeyed Van's mental commands, but she hadn't attempted to talk to one before. Could… could it get a message back to him somehow?

"Can you tell Van something for me?"

Her head told her that it wouldn't work. Her heart stubbornly refused to listen.

The Flood tilted its head sideways, as if thinking. Or maybe listening? Could it hear Van all the way from here?

Then it shook its head. Its blue eyes almost seemed sorry.

"That's alright," she assured it, though her heart fell. "You tried your best. Come on, maybe we can find help inside the Castle."

She started up the dirt path to what was once her home. This twisted brown structure felt like an imposter, a shadow of the place she had loved. Staring up at it only fed the ache in her heart. What did she hope to find there? The Master was gone. Terra was… hopefully safe. Somehow. And Ven…

"Maybe Ven can help," she allowed herself to hope. Van had said Ven spoke to him, hadn't he? Maybe his heart had returned to him!

Aqua ran to the doors with the giant Flood on her heels. Master Keeper easily unlocked the doors; they swirled with light and slowly swung open.

"Hello?" she called, squinting and shielding her eyes.

The walls and floor were as white as she had left them. She should have been happy to see the bright color, shouldn't she? Instead it just felt empty, as hollow as the darkness of the realm she'd left behind.

No one answered, not that she had expected anyone to. This was neutral ground, not to be abused. The purpose for her redesign of the Castle had been to keep it safe from ill-intentioned intruders.

Fortunately, it still held a connection to her. Though the rooms and hallways jumbled together with no obvious landmarks, she could feel a tugging in her heart, leading her to where she needed to go. Heartless blocked her path from time to time; she hardly registered the creatures as her blade and the Flood destroyed them. How had she become so desensitized? She should have been aghast to see the monsters taking over her home. Instead she almost welcomed the target for her anger.

It was their fault Van wasn't here. They'd already taken her friend, now they took her home? Was there anywhere they could be safe?

Oh light, is Ven safe…? Her heart beat faster as she cut her way through to the chamber in which she'd left him. Please, please be alright…

She unlocked the door. What would it mean if he was gone? That he'd awakened? Or that the Heartless had found him?

She shoved her way into the room before her fears could get the best of her. The chamber was exactly as she had left it—complete with Ven's form sleeping on the tall throne.

"Ven," she said with a smile, leaving the Flood behind to rush to his side. There was enough room in the white chair for her to squeeze in beside him, so his head was resting on her shoulder. "I'm so glad you're safe…"

As safe as he could be while missing his heart.

Van did this, she remembered. If it weren't for him, Ven never would have lost his heart in the first place.

She should feel bitter. She should hate him; she had every reason to.

Leave him there, in the darkness, a voice whispered inside her. It's what he deserves.

"No," she said automatically, without thinking.

That voice… that wasn't the Dark Wind. In hindsight, she could recognize its hold on her, tempting her with promises that the darkness would keep her safe, take away her fear, make her strong. She had resisted it, thinking it was just her mind.

This was different. This, she was ashamed to admit, actually was her mind.

"I would never abandon a friend," she told herself. "He is my friend, and he deserves a second chance."

Just like she would need a second chance to save Ven and Terra. Terra… She had given him a second chance, saving him from the Realm of Darkness.

Just like Van saved me. Guilt suddenly clenched her in its fist. How could the thought of abandoning him invade her mind, even for a moment? He had sacrificed himself for her!

"Forgive me," she whispered, though whether to Van, or the sleeping Ven, or just the universe, she wasn't sure. She ran her fingers through Ven's hair, the way she once had whenever he was sick or upset. He looked so peaceful… Wherever his heart was, she hoped it was somewhere full of happiness and light.

She couldn't help noticing the similarities between him and Van, now that she knew what to look for. The round shape of their faces, the way they both looked so innocent when sleeping. Though for Van, that was pretty much the only time he looked innocent.

Surprisingly, however, their differences seemed to stand out more. Light hair versus dark. Wiry frame versus a stockier build. If Ven's eyes had been open, she knew they could never remind her of her other friend.

"You two would make the weirdest brothers," she found herself saying with a melancholy smile. When she saved Van and awoke Ven, she would find a way to help them get along.

The white Flood approached them, snuggling up on Ven's other side, almost like a giant teddy bear. It alleviated her conflicted feelings and brought a small smile to her face. If its actions were any indication, Van didn't hate Ven nearly as much as he sometimes acted. The Flood closed its eyes, as if it would fall asleep there with him.

She wished she could sleep, too—fatigue suddenly washed over her, as if gravity had increased fivefold. At the same time, her stomach decided it was hungry enough to eat itself. She cast Curaga just to keep from collapsing.

"Thank you for saving us, Ven. I'll be back," she promised, and she imagined he smiled a little.

After hugging him one last time, she and the Flood left to find the kitchen. Luckily it was close enough that the Inversed could handle all the Heartless in their way.

"You're stronger than a regular Inversed," she noted, pushing open the door to the kitchen. "I wonder how Van did it…"

She didn't have much energy to wonder, though. The small amount she did have was spent on the kitchen. It was much different than the Land of Departure's original one, but more than that, it was stocked with different food. Food that hadn't gone bad, at that. Cabbage, apples, some sliced meat and cheese, and...

"Pasta?" She pulled a Tupperware container from the refrigerator. Sure enough, her first guess was right. Thin noodles mixed with meat, vegetables, and a spicy-smelling sauce hid under the lid.

"Who would have made this…?" Had her protections on the Castle failed?

Her stomach rumbled, and she decided that wasn't her most important question. Whoever it was, she would cook them some replacement pasta later—assuming they were using this place for benign purposes. Right now, she barely had the energy and patience to put the pasta in the microwave and dig through the drawers for a fork.

A minute later, she was eating the most delicious meal in the worlds. A minute after that, it was gone, the red stain around her mouth the only evidence of its short existence. She devoured half of the meat and cheese too—not wasting the time to put them on bread—and a couple of apples. How could she possibly be so hungry?

She then noticed the Flood, which was staring straight at her with its odd blue eyes.

"Could you… not watch me eat?" Obediently it turned to the side, facing outwards towards the door. "...Thank you."

She could hardly believe the Inversed had obeyed her. Had she defaulted to being its master in Van's absence? That was an odd thought.

"Van would have given you a name," she realized, washing her hands and face at the sink once she finished her meal. The Flood turned back to her, and she swore it nodded. "He was always so clever with those… I may not be able to give you one as good as he would have, but I'll try."

The white Inversed waited patiently as she dried her face with a clean dish towel. Whoever had stopped here had left the place tidy.

"Hmm… I would suppose that the name 'Flood' came from your blue color, but you're white. Should I think of a name with that theme…?" She thought for a few minutes, but nothing came to her. "Alright, maybe something with water, then? Funny how he named you after that, when he obviously dislikes it…"

She smiled at the memory of teaching him to swim. Attempting to, anyway. It had been like teaching a fish to fly.

"Torrent? Tsunami?" she threw out the possible names. "No, those sound a little too dark for you."

The Flood still waited, head tilted just slightly. It was probably silly that she wanted to talk to it in the first place, that she'd even thought to give it a name. But who knew how long they would be trapped here? She had no keyblade glider, no way out. It might just be her and this Inversed until… well, until she found a way off this world. She would journey through the wasteland outside the Castle if she had to.

But not yet. One thing at a time. A name for her new companion.

The names Stormfall and Rainfell came to mind, but those were her keyblades.

"Brightcrest? No, that was a keyblade too…"

Then, a completely different idea popped into her head.

"Drizzle," she said definitively. The Inversed perked up, like a pet hearing its owner call it home. She couldn't help a little laugh at that. "Drizzle it is. Van would probably find it silly, but he doesn't have to know, does he?"

If Drizzle had had a mouth, she thought he'd be smiling. But since he didn't, he dived underground and popped back up in front of her, only to engulf her in a giant hug.

She gasped both from surprise and to refill her squished lungs.

"A-alright, Drizzle, I'm glad you like it…?"

When the Inversed didn't let go—but clearly wasn't trying to crush her—she tentatively hugged it back. A warmth flowed through her, pushing out some of the cold darkness that still clogged her veins. It felt almost like… like the way she felt when Van hugged her. When he would cling tight, as if afraid she would disappear if he let go, a part of her always felt more whole. She never would have thought his newborn light could rekindle her own.

She never would have thought she could miss him this much.

A shout pulled her back to reality. Drizzle held her tighter—if that were possible—but over its shoulder, she caught a glimpse of a silver-haired figure in the doorway.

Then, keyblade bared, that figure charged toward her.