Aqua gasped, summoning Master Keeper in a shower of sparks, but Drizzle turned with her still in his arms to take the brunt of the hit.

"No!" she called, struggling free and spinning towards the intruder.

His keyblade blocked her strike. The sharp clang of metal on metal echoed through the room. He grunted and leapt back, giving her a better look at him. He wore baggy grey pants and a yellowish vest—no sign of the Wielder's Mark on him.

As he readied his stance, though, she froze. He held his keyblade overhead, his other arm outstretched and taunting. Just like Van.

As he was about to strike again, Drizzle dove underground and surfaced behind him. He gasped as the Inversed's arms trapped him. If he hadn't been struggling and squirming, it would have looked like a hug.

"Who are you?" Aqua demanded, her heart still pounding. "What are you doing in this place?"

"I… should ask you… the same question," the man grunted out, aquamarine eyes flashing.

"I am Master Aqua." She approached him carefully, unsure how long Drizzle's grip would last. "I am… the Master of this castle."

Her voice nearly cracked at that. Her eyes dodged the keyblade in her hands, the memory of who the Castle's previous Master was.

Despite his position, he eyed her as if he were the one in control. "Where did you get that suit?"

"From… a friend."

She suddenly realized how she must look: clothed in darkness, controlling what would appear to be a monster. For all she knew, her eyes might still be golden.

It didn't matter how she looked. She wasn't the intruder here.

"Tell me, where did you get that keyblade?"

"That's a secret that stays with me," he replied mysteriously.

Then his grip twisted on the winged blade, and he stabbed his Inversed captor in the leg.

"Drizzle!" she yelled.

Out of instinct, she cast Cure over the Inversed. Shockingly, it actually seemed to work, stopping the white mist that had leaked from Drizzle's leg.

She didn't have time to dwell on that, though. She held her keyblade high and shouted, "Bind!"

Yellow light swirled around her. The silver-haired man struggled again, constricted by an invisible force.

"Now," she said, forcing as much authority as she could muster into her voice. "Tell me who you are!"

"My name," he hissed, "is Master Riku."

She froze, just as surely as if she'd cast Bind on herself. "...Riku?"

"That's right." His eyes narrowed. "Heard of me?"

She backed up a step.

"But… no. It can't be." She rested the tip of her keyblade against the ground, bracing her weight against it. "He's just a boy…"

"What?" he demanded, breaking free of the Bind spell, but not attacking for the moment. Drizzle loomed behind him, antennae twitching anxiously.

"You said Master Riku," she realized. "Then Terra—did he return? Did he teach you to use the keyblade?"

"You know about Terra? But you can't be much older than I am." He shook his head, taking up his battle stance again.

The spitting image of Van… and the apprentice Terra would've chosen… how could he be as old as her?

As foolish as it seemed, she dismissed her keyblade.

"Please. I need to know where Terra is."

His keyblade slowly drooped from his overhead stance.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him since the day he passed the power to me. I'd almost forgotten."

"Oh…" She shuffled over to a kitchen chair, resisting the urge to collapse into it. She would need sleep soon; the short skirmish had left her even more exhausted.

"How do you know Terra?" he asked, backing against the table where the Inversed couldn't loom over him.

"He's one of my best friends." She couldn't help smiling. "Riku… you remember him. Do you remember me?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Should I?"

Had the dark suit really made her so unrecognizable? Or maybe it was the wear of the Realm of Darkness. Or, perhaps, even her golden eyes.

She searched through the kitchen cabinets for a shiny pot. When she found one, she stared into it. Her fingers reached up to touch her eyes.

"Blue again…" she breathed a sigh of relief.

Her reflection, though distorted by the round shape of the pot, was back to normal. Normal as she could expect, anyway. Dark circles ringed her eyes, and her hair was so disheveled, it almost looked spiked like Van's.

Riku was staring at her as if she'd grown an extra head. Of course, all the things she was saying wouldn't make any sense. She had only met him once, and she hadn't given her name. And if he was around eighteen or nineteen now as she guessed… that meant she should be how old?

"We met once," she told him. "Around the same time you met Terra. You were probably four years old."

"I think I would remember a young girl with blue hair on the Islands," he replied skeptically. She shook her head.

"I wasn't young, Riku. No younger than I am now."

He dismissed his dark-wing keyblade and crossed his arms.

"Explain."

"It's a rather long story." She sighed, finally sliding into the chair now that she was relatively sure he wouldn't try to stab her. Drizzle leaned over her chair, lightly resting his arms around her shoulders. "But I was trapped in the Realm of Darkness for… I don't know how long. I think you were four when it happened. How old are you now?"

"Seventeen," he answered, brow creasing. "I do think I remember a blue-haired woman, but…"

"Your friend. His name was Sora," she said to prove herself.

He started at that, then sat in the chair next to her.

"That's right."

"What happened to him?"

"He's around." He waved vaguely. "Off in some world training for his Mark of Mastery right now, actually."

"Really?" Her eyes widened. "Then—he has a keyblade too?"

Riku nodded. After she had decided not to wish her and Terra's fate upon them… but apparently it had turned out alright. The Mark of Mastery! Sometimes it still felt like it had only been days since she passed her own.

"I wonder if he still looks just like Van…" She reached up and placed a hand over Drizzle's arm. Between the Inversed, Ven, Riku, and Sora, it seemed everyone was determined to remind her of him. Not that she would ever forget.

"Who's Van?" Riku asked.

"My friend. The one who made this suit for me," she elaborated, and he flinched.

"I'm not sure how much of a friend he is, then. Those suits are bad news."

"We were trapped in the Realm of Darkness. It was the only way to keep the Heartless from destroying us. Van is still in the Realm of Darkness. I have to find my way back to him."

She stood, holding the bright Flood's arm for support. Riku quickly got up as well and blocked the path between her and the door.

"Master Aqua—I can't claim I get what's going on, but you can't be serious. I was trapped there once. Twice, actually. I don't even know how I got out. You can't go back there."

Her eyes narrowed.

"If Sora was trapped there, would you leave him?"

"Well, ah…" He sighed. "No. I wouldn't."

"Then maybe you can begin to understand. I have to save him, Riku. I would never ask you to take me to the Realm of Darkness yourself, but can you at least help me get off this world?"

He smiled a little.

"I know someone who could do that. But first, I think you could use some rest, and I could use a better explanation. Come on, we can get you a room here for now."

XXX

Rest came first. Despite her eagerness to come up with a plan to rescue Van, she could only fight the fatigue for so long. She passed out as soon as her head hit the pillow in the room Riku led her to, not caring if there were Heartless about. Drizzle could protect her from those, anyway.

For the first time in forever, she wasn't tormented by nightmares. No Dark Wind haunted her dreams. She was too exhausted to dream at all.

She awoke from the best sleep of her life to find Drizzle curled up against her side, blue eyes bright and happy to see her.

"Um… good morning?" She patted his head.

Had the Inversed slept too, or had it just wanted to cuddle? She didn't think the creatures needed to sleep. This one seemed very different even for an Inversed, though.

He hugged her and then hopped off the bed, waiting by the door like a large, energetic dog ready for a walk. She laughed and then stretched, smoothed out her ragged skirt, and headed out into the hallway.

She wanted to find Riku, and her connection to the Castle guided her as surely as a compass. The room she found him in seemed to be some kind of laboratory.

"This is new," she commented as she entered.

Tanks full of orange fluid lined the walls, labeled with letters and numbers that made no sense to her: R-1, R-2, R-3, No. i…

"What was that?" Riku asked, not turning around from the large computer he was typing on.

"The Land of Departure never had a laboratory. I didn't create it when I set up the Castle's defense mechanism, either. Who has been using this place?"

"Wait, you mean you—you've been here before?" He spun around, paying attention now.

"Of course. I did tell you I was the Master of this castle." She smiled a little, flipping through some notes on a table at the center of the room. Reports of some kind. Drizzle put his face close as if to sniff them. "This place used to be part of the Land of Departure. I trained under Master Eraqus here, with my friends Terra and Ven."

"Ven? Is that the one you're trying to save?"

"No, that's Van… that's kind of a long story. I will need to find Terra afterwards, and find a way to restore Ven's heart."

Riku frowned. "It sounds like you've got your work cut out for you."

"I know. What about you? What have you been working on here?"

He pointed to the computer screen, which displayed a typed report on… time travel? She skimmed through it, but a lot went over her head. She had studied Stop spells, but she had never heard of magic that could actually turn time forward or back.

"Trying to figure out what we can about Xehanort's plans," he said. "To answer your earlier question, he was using this place. His Nobody Xemnas and Organization XIII, that is."

Aqua barely heard the rest of his words. All that blared in her mind was that one name:

Xehanort.

"...Master Aqua? Are you alright?" He peered at her quizzically. Drizzle cuddled up to her side, pushing his head up under her arm.

"I—I—" She stuttered. Dizziness swept over her; she was glad for the Inversed's support.

Xehanort, you bastard…

"I'm going to kill him," she whispered.

"What?" Whether he hadn't heard or simply didn't believe her, she didn't know.

Her eyes hardened. She could feel the darkness stirring in her heart, but for once, she didn't care.

"He's the reason I was in the Realm of Darkness. He possessed one of my best friends. He shattered another's heart and used him as a weapon. The last he tortured and forced to fill the worlds with monsters." Her hands clenched to fists. "I'm going to kill him."

To her surprise, Riku's face turned stony as well.

"I don't blame you. But you might have to get in line."

She shook her head. She should be at the front of the line—she was the line. At least, her and her friends.

Though it's been over ten years. Who else has he hurt in that time, because I wasn't able to stop him?

Oh, light… could it even be because she saved him?

She buried her face in Drizzle's chest; he hugged her protectively. From that position, Riku wouldn't be able to see her tears.

Eventually, he cleared his throat. "Master Aqua… I think we should talk now. You might hold the key to figuring out Xehanort's plans."

She discreetly wiped her eyes. "And you might hold the key to saving Van. Yes. I will tell you what you want to know."

XXX

It felt like hours before they both finished their stories. Aqua felt deflated, like releasing the words had left a void in her chest. Riku's story had only torn the hole wider—he'd revealed that Terra wasn't the only one that Xehanort had possessed. He had been forced to fight his best friend while under the evil master's control.

She supposed she could relate to that, unfortunately. It was a miracle that Van had been able to save her. She could still hardly wrap her head around her possession, and her heart would need even more time to recover.

If it ever would.

"So," she said while sitting on the cold laboratory floor. "I suppose you do deserve a spot in line."

"You could say that." He shrugged. For having gone through everything he had, he seemed remarkably well put-together. If he could survive that, then there was still hope for Terra.

And still hope for her.

"Master Yen Sid says that it will take seven lights to destroy Xehanort," he continued, "so we probably won't need a line after all."

"I hope I am still deserving of a spot in the light." She sighed, clenching a fist in her skirt. "At this point, I could almost believe Van has more light in him than I do."

She'd thought, wished, and desperately hoped that once she returned to the Realm of Light, the darkness in her heart would melt away. Considering she'd left the Dark Wind behind, it should have been easy. But that monster wasn't the only cause of her darkness. She'd had it before encountering the formless monster; why would it disappear after?

She could still feel her fear and targetless anger swirling within, like a storm waiting to break. And now she didn't have Van to help her control it...

"So, this Van guy. He used to work with Xehanort? He used to use the darkness?"

"Yes, he did," she admitted, her face heating in spite of herself. She didn't need to be embarrassed about Van's past. Besides, she had already told Riku that. Why did he have to bring it up again? "But he's changed, Riku. Surely if what you told me is true, you can understand what that's like."

"Believe me, I can." He smiled as he patted Drizzle's arm. She had explained the Inversed, of course, and he seemed to accept the creature now. He'd said the white Flood reminded him of benevolent creatures called Dream Eaters.

"It's reassuring to know that someone else has escaped the darkness," he said. "I'd be interested in meeting him."

Aqua smiled back. "He's still a little rough around the edges, but he has the strongest heart of anyone I've met. I just hope I can get back to him in time…"

Riku nodded, rising from the kitchen table that they had retired to. "We'll make a plan as soon as the King returns."

"We?" she asked. "You mean you'll come too?"

"Why not? The King and I have been in the Realm of Darkness longer than anyone except you and Van. I bet we can help. Besides, I could use a break from research. Lea can take my place for a while."

Aqua wasn't sure who Lea was; she was hardly sure who this King was who had gone with Riku into the Realm of Darkness. He had mentioned him in his tale, but trying to condense three years into a few hours necessitated leaving out some details.

"That would be wonderful," she replied, hope growing within her again, pushing away the darkness. That was one thing she had learned from Van: where hope was, darkness couldn't exist. He had worked so hard to keep her hope alive.

She clenched her hand around her Wayfinder. I hope you know I'm coming back for you. Help or no help, she would bring him back.

"When do you expect the King will arrive?" she asked.

Now that Riku wasn't giving him any attention, Drizzle twitched over to her and laid his head over her shoulder. She had to carefully push him out of her space; cute as he was, he was even more clingy.

"Riku? Do we have guests?" A cheerful voice reached them from the hallway. To her surprise, Aqua immediately recognized it.

She stood, brushing past Drizzle, and ran to the doorway.

"Mickey?" She glanced around, before remembering to look down. Sure enough, there her friend was, staring up at her with a look of utter shock. "Mickey! It is you!"

She knelt down to hug the mouse, but he skipped back.

"Who are…" Then his tall eyes widened. "Aqua?"

"Yes," she replied with an elated laugh. "It's so good to see you!"

She looked over his outfit; aside from a little more red, it looked the same as she remembered. His keyblade, however, was different—a simple gold-and-silver weapon had taken the place of Star Seeker.

"Riku says it's been over ten years, but you haven't aged a bit."

"Gosh, Aqua, I could say the same for you." As he stared, she couldn't help noticing the concern in his eyes. She couldn't help wondering if it was because she still looked haggard from her time in the darkness, or because of her suit. "I'm glad to see you safe and sound. So, um... what happened to you?"

She sighed; the air leaving her lungs felt heavy with fatigue.

"It's a long story. Do you have the time?"

"'Course I've got the time for you, Aqua!" he replied, the bouncy cheer returning to his voice. As he dismissed his keyblade, Drizzle poked his head through the doorway, and Mickey yelped.

"It's okay!" she explained quickly, splaying her arms out to protect the Inversed. "He's a friend."

"But Aqua, I recognize that monster! It looks like one of those—"

"Unversed," she finished for him. Drizzle twitched unhappily at the name. Or at least, that was how she interpreted it; maybe she was reading too much into his actions. For light's sake, she'd already started calling him a he. "I know. That's part of the story. Mickey… do you remember Vanitas?"

His forehead creased in an unusual expression of anger.

"What did that boy do to you?"

"No—it's not what you're thinking at all," she replied quickly. "He was in the Realm of Darkness too. He saved my life."

Mickey blinked, eyes becoming the size of saucers. "He was there with you? And you're telling me he did what?"

She smiled, backing into the kitchen again.

"Like I said. It's a long story."

XXX

Riku cooked dinner for the three of them while Aqua relayed her travels in the Realm of Darkness for the second time. Mickey, however, had many more questions than Riku had. The large wok of stir-fried chicken and vegetables was steaming aromatically by the time she finished answering them. She thanked Riku graciously; she was already starving again. Her sense of time was still distorted too, though that might be an effect of Castle Oblivion, as they'd told her this place was now called.

"Wow," Mickey said, looking abashed. "I'm sure sorry, Aqua. If I'da known you were in there, I woulda come lookin' for you myself. When you never came back… well, we just thought…"

"I understand," she replied in between inhaling bites of the delicious food. Not very ladylike, she registered faintly. After twelve or more years without eating in front of anyone but Van, and that infrequently, she supposed that was to be expected. Riku and Mickey didn't seem to mind, at least.

"I told her we could help rescue her friend," Riku spoke up. "I didn't know that you knew him, Mickey."

"Welp, that's a long story by itself." Mickey shuddered. "Aqua, are you sure he wasn't trickin' you or something? I still remember fighting him. He, uh, didn't seem like the friendly type."

Drizzle pressed close to her. He seemed to understand when people were talking bad about his master. She almost thought she could feel his discomfort, but then again, maybe it was her own.

What had she expected? Mickey only knew the Vanitas who took over their friend and tried to recreate the X-Blade War. He didn't know the Van who had protected her, befriended her, saved her.

"I'm sure." Her voice came out colder than she meant it, and she winced. "Sorry. But you can trust me on this one. I promise."

"Well… I do trust ya, Aqua." He put on a smile, but she guessed he wasn't completely convinced. As would be expected. Would she have believed it if she hadn't lived it? "If you say he's your friend, then I guess we'd better help him, huh?"

"Thank you." She nodded and shoved another bite of food in her mouth. Light, it felt good to have something real in her stomach. "I mean it, Mickey. You have no idea how much your help means to me."

Now his smile looked more sincere; he even chuckled a little. "Gosh, of course! That's what friends are here for!"

Riku smiled too, finishing off his plate with far more grace than she had.

"No one deserves to be trapped in the darkness. We'll find Vanitas."

At that, she felt an invisible weight dissolve around her. Maybe it was the fact that Drizzle was no longer leaning on her, but she felt it was more than that. For the first time since her escape, even for the first time since Van had expelled the Dark Wind from her, she felt her light truly return. When her fingers brushed her Wayfinder, it glowed faintly at the touch.

Hold on, Van. I'm coming.